By Carol Lucas
I watched the pathetic huckstering of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham last week, almost weeping as he pleaded for monetary contributions for the man said to occupy the 892nd place in the world in terms of wealth (Trump’s worth is said to be $3.2 billion).
As my disgust rose like bitter bile, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel’s 1968 hit, “Mrs. Robinson.” At one point, Paul Simon sings: “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.”
With a little research, I discovered that DiMaggio and Simon met one day in a restaurant, and the songwriter had a chance to explain what he meant, since DiMaggio was still around. Simon told him, “I was asking where all the heroes that we know have disappeared to.” He then added, “Genuine American heroes are in short supply.” I wonder what Simon thinks of the nation’s supply these days.
Having lived in South Carolina for 25 years, and always having had an interest in politics, I grew to admire Senator Graham, despite my Democratic leanings. I felt he was one conservative with whom I could agree on some things. After all, I had voted consistently for John Heinz, a Republican, while living in Pennsylvania, and as recently as 2016, I wrote in John Kasich’s name in the presidential election, despite knowing I was throwing away my vote.
Furthermore, my admiration for Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger knows few boundaries. All of these Republicans are ethical and moral, and I admire that in any person, regardless of his or her politics. Just as these politicians are moderate on many levels, so do I bill myself as a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. It concerns me that in today’s toxic atmosphere, compromise has become the dirtiest of words. But back to our Senator-huckster and his moral bankruptcy.
I decided to research the word “huckster,” not wanting to misuse the moniker. I found the synonyms “hawker,” “peddler,” and a further definition of someone who sells something in an annoying, aggressive or dishonest way. In other words, a con man. Graham’s performance on FOX News couldn’t have been more insulting, more annoying, more dishonest, had he stood on a street corner with a cup in hand. And we question the homeless who do the same.
As I sat and watched, I was reminded of those scamming figures of religion who became known for bilking their congregations out of millions, people who are poor by any standard, but were and are convinced to fork over their hard-earned money in the name of God. Sadly, in some respects this comes perilously close to the “Graham-scam” as there are those who see Trump as “God’s choice” and bill him as the second coming. That Senator Graham is feeding into this defiles what was his once-credible stature.
Remember Tammy Faye Baker, tears on those obviously false eyelashes, pleading beside her husband, Jim, who also cried as he was taken to jail on charges of fraud? Theirs is a story worth referencing because of the frightening comparison. It was discovered that Jim Baker had a sexual encounter with a woman named Jessica Hahn. Sex, however, quickly pivoted when it was found that hush money in the amount of $265,000 was paid to Hahn from the PTL (Praise the Lord) fund associated with Baker’s ministries. Are you beginning to get the idea?
And then there was Oral Roberts in the 80s when he climbed his tower saying, “Give me $3 million, or I’m not coming down.” Is this really how you want to be seen, Senator Graham? That you feed into this manner of speaking is despicable.
This isn’t the first time Graham has walked a fine line and even crossed over into the territory of “questionable.” In 2022 the Senate Ethics Committee admonished him for soliciting campaign contributions for Herschel Walker on five separate occasions. That he did this in a Federal Building made it fair game for retribution from the committee.
It was Lindsey Graham who said this: “If we make Donald Trump our nominee, he’ll destroy the Republican Party, and we deserve it.” Yet this is the same man, whose words are as destructive as those of the former President’s “death and destruction” tirade, when he spoke immediately after the indictment became fact. Graham not only advocated “smashing windows” but also “punching a cop.”
And so, Senator, as our one-time sensible and rational congressman, are you now willing to throw yourself on the pyre to serve the man you seem to worship? Has huckstering a group of people for what you hope will be their allegiance really worth it?
Where are your morals and ethics? What would your friend, John McCain think? Where have you gone, Senator Graham?
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
