Going after Graham might be a bad idea

Apparently Lindsey Graham has gone too far this time.

Last week, the Charleston County Republicans voted to censure South Carolina's senior senator for various offenses. On Monday, the Berkeley County GOP delayed a vote on their own official reprimand.

This is getting crazy. Next thing you know, they'll want a recall because he said "hi" to a Democrat in the Capitol hallway.

The latest example of Graham's apparent turncoat activities is an op-ed piece he wrote with Sen. John Kerry. The two senators were pushing a bipartisan energy bill they say would lower the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Funny, just a few years ago, reducing our dependence on foreign oil is exactly what most people wanted to do. Now it "tarnishes the Republican brand"?

With friends like these

Someone once said you could judge a man by his enemies. Well, right now a group called the American Energy Alliance is spending $300,000 to bash Graham on South Carolina television.

If you follow the paper trail, you find that the energy alliance is the "grass-roots" arm of a think tank funded by Big Oil. You know, the people who gouged motorists last year while raking in record profits.

Of course they don't want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Maybe those TV spots sparked these reprimands, because the attacks on Graham by his own troops don't make a bit of sense. Look at what the Charleston County GOP cited in its censure:

• Graham voted for the $700 million Troubled Asset Relief Program ... just like Henry Brown, Gresham Barrett, Bob Inglis and -- yes -- Joe Wilson.

• He supported immigration reform ... just like President George W. Bush, and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

• He was rude to people at a town hall meeting ... well, there you go. Sounds like he fit in perfectly.

Bad math

Any good politician can do math. They will tell you that 30 percent of the people are always going to vote for the Republican and 30 percent are always going to vote for the Democrat -- whether it makes any sense or not.

Elections are about those 40 percent in the middle.

Democrats took the middle in '06 and '08 because the Republicans drifted too far right. Do you think it's a coincidence the new Republican governors of Virginia and New Jersey campaigned as moderates, and politely declined Sarah Palin's participation in their campaigns? No, it's not.

So now the idea is to go further? Republicans need to be careful. To get to the right of Graham -- voted 15th most conservative senator by the National Journal -- they are going to alienate many of those people in the vast middle. Then things could end up like that congressional race in New York.

You know the one, where the Republican candidate did not pass some litmus test, so they ran a third-party guy who didn't even live in the district. They split the vote and the Democrat won.

Maybe the Republicans here need to think about what, exactly, is tarnishing the Republican brand.

Reach Brian Hicks at 937-5561 or bhicks@postandcourier.com. Read more columns by Brian Hicks here.