The sudden death of South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham over the weekend unsurprisingly has triggered a debate about his legacy as a lawmaker and the impact of his influence on the country and its politics. Also unsurprisingly, that debate has prompted some very strong feelings, particularly considering Graham’s about-face alliance with and enabling of Donald Trump. Below are some highlights from the takes thus far.
At Politico Magazine, Jonathan Martin takes stock of Graham’s power and love of politicking:
In South Carolina, Washington and especially overseas, he wielded enormous influence over federal spending, the courts and national security. No other Republican in the last decade did more to nudge President Donald Trump toward projecting American force while retaining traditional alliances than the orphaned son of rural South Carolina who learned politics in a pool hall.And I’m not sure there was a more deft, pure politician in the Senate in this era than Graham. What other Republican could defy his party on immigration, the environment and much else — yet skate through primaries in South Carolina three times since 2014?
And he explains that Graham’s cynical one-eighty on Trump should have come as no surprise:
