Lindsey may have turned on illegal immigration.
After campaigning for a fellow Republican in Charlotte on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham had tough words for the would-be pipe bomber, the Saudi crown prince and for Democrats who opposed Brett Kavanaugh.
The senator from South Carolina was asked whether President Donald Trump should tone down his rhetoric during a Friday night rally in Charlotte after a spate of pipe bombs was sent to at least 10 Trump critics.
“I think all of us will probably re-evaluate what we say,” Graham told reporters. “But you’ve got to put blame where blame lies. …I just hope people will kind of watch what we say. But it’s OK to have a spirited debate. It’s OK to raise your voice for democracy. But the only way you resolve these political fights is at the ballot box.”
Graham was in Charlotte to headline a noon fundraiser for Republican Mark Harris, running in the 9th Congressional District against Democrat Dan McCready. The event was closed but Graham spoke to reporters later.
He made it clear that he hasn’t gotten over last month’s confirmation hearings on Kavanaugh, whom Trump nominated to the Supreme Court. A livid and emotional Graham blasted Kavanaugh’s Democratic critics during the hearings.
“Kavanauagh wasn’t about policy,” Graham said. “That was the low point of my time in the Senate…. That was going too far, wanting to win too bad. . . . You can tell I’m still angry. I’ve known Brett Kavanaugh for 20 years . . .
“What I saw was an effort to hold the seat open, go past the election, by using basically every dirty trick in the book. . . . The bottom line is they tried to completely destroy this guy. And that’s not acceptable in my book.”
Democrats have said they took accusations of sexual abuse by Kavanaugh seriously, and also questioned his temperament for the high court.
Asked if Kavanaugh was a turning point for Republicans this election, Graham alluded to the caravan of Latin American refugees trying to make their way to the U.S. border.
“Let’s put it this way,” he said. “Between the caravan and Kavanaugh, if you’re not motivated to vote as a Republican you’re probably legally dead.”