Lindsey Graham has never felt better about the Republican party.
The long-serving South Carolina senator, who is enjoying newfound popularity among Republicans after his vigorous defense of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, told Fox & Friends on Monday that the GOP will “kick butt in the Senate” in the election. “I’ve never seen Republicans more united than I do now,” Graham said.
Graham has been leveraging his star power to campaign for candidates in 12 states, stopping in South Dakota and Montana on Monday with Vice President Mike Pence.
Graham: Democrats will do anything to win
Pointing out Graham’s newfound status as a messenger for the GOP, host Brian Kilmeade asked the senator what he wanted to tell voters. Like President Donald Trump has done, Graham urged voters to remember how the Democrats treated Kavanaugh when they go to the polls on Tuesday, saying:
To remind people what happened to Brett Kavanaugh, that the Democrats will do anything to win. They do not accept the fact that President Trump won; talk about the caravan and a growing economy, get our vote out. I’ve never seen Republicans more united than I do now. I think we’re going to kick butt in the Senate and the House is too close to call. The last 30 days has been a nightmare for Trump-state Democrats, between Kavanaugh, the caravan, and a growing economy.
Host Steve Doocy noted Graham’s own remarkable transformation, adding that the senator was “so hacked off about the Kavanaugh thing” that he was encouraged to campaign against his colleagues across the aisle, something that “historically, Lindsey Graham has not done.” Graham agreed, saying:
Yeah. I just said enough is enough. I voted for both of their nominees, Sotomayor and Kagan. And all of these Trump-state Democrats voted against Kavanaugh, they voted against the tax cuts, and it’s pretty clear to me they’re not going to return to the way I do business, so it’s now time to clean house and put people in the Senate that can help President Trump change America, put conservative judges on the Court; cut your taxes and win a war we can’t afford to lose.
Yeah, they brought out a different side of Lindsey Graham and I hope all these candidates that voted against Kavanaugh, hope they lose.
When asked if he was giving up his old role as bi-partisan deal-maker, Graham said that he was going to “fight for my side of the aisle and I’ll cut deals with you after the election,” before concluding with another attack on the left:
What you did, is you basically took the rule of law, turned it upside down, you tried to destroy a good man in Brett Kavanaugh, you want power too much, and I’m fighting back. I didn’t do this to your nominees; now’s the time to change the makeup of the Senate … I think we’re going to have a hell of a night in the Senate and I think the House is going to surprise a lot of people.
Watch below:
Graham: Senators that were against Kavanaugh deserve to lose
On the eve of the midterm elections, Sen. Graham calls for a change to the makeup of the Senate after the Supreme Court nomination fight. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news.
Graham 2.0, GOP 2.0
Graham’s own political transformation over the last two years is a testament to how the GOP has been changed by President Trump. Observers across the political spectrum have marveled — and liberals have lamented — at how Graham, a former RINO who opposed Trump during the 2016 campaign, has become one of his most vocal supporters.
The most radical shift occurred during the Kavanaugh hearings, when the ordinarily mild-mannered senator forcefully denounced the Democrats’ conduct in a fiery speech. Graham’s performance endeared him to the Republican base, who dubbed him “Lindsey Graham 2.0.”
Since then, he hasn’t shied from using tough and even vulgar rhetoric against the radical left. Campaigning in Nevada last month, Graham said, “If you’re the radical left who is trying to destroy the country, you can kiss my *ss.”
Many credit the Kavanaugh hearings with helping to unify the party. The chaotic hearings jolted many Republicans awake to the danger of the radical left, and Graham was no exception.
United Republicans
The evolution of Lindsey Graham 2.0 mirrors a broader transformation within the Republican party, as more conservatives have given up on playing nice with the left and embraced the president’s pugnacious brand of politics instead.
While Trump critics, like retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), still hold out with appeals for moderation, the head-winds of the GOP are clearly blowing in the direction of “America First,” leaving RINOs increasingly isolated in a political no-man’s land.
With former RINOS like Graham hopping on the Trump train, the party has never been more unified and energized, and the senator is right to feel confident. Whatever happens on Tuesday, the GOP is in better shape than it’s been in years.
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