Lindsey Graham was Right!

A bit of background, before you adjust your set.

I've always wished I could remember exactly when I made one of my best political observations, but I can only do so in somewhat general terms. It came around 20 years ago when the Republican Party was headed in the direction we're at now, and it was becoming "one voice" entrenched. It was a time after Ronald Reagan had popularized the "11th Commandment" for his party, "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican," and the maxim had started to seriously take hold, which eventually led to being the Party of Personality and to Trump and to the GOP turning into the MAGOP and where anyone who disagreed with leadership was slammed as a Republican in Name Only and got primaried out of the party.

And at this time, 20 years ago or so (give or take a few years), Sen. Lindsey Graham was willing to very occasionally speak out against the absolute worst instincts of his party. He was even being appreciated by a wide range of Democrats. And I remember sitting at my desk, talking on the phone with a friend who started praising Graham and how he was one of the most even-handed Republicans and really admired him. And though I can't recall exactly when this was, I do very clearly remember saying, "Not me. I don't like him."

My friend was extremely surprised, and asked why. And I explained that I thought Lindsey Graham was contradictory to Republican policies only on a few issues that -- in the wider world -- were incredibly easy issues to support for sane, rational people. And yes, it was good that he was going against his party, which I knew took a certain amount of fortitude, it wasn't a case of him being noble for taking high-moral stances but rather that if he didn't take those positions, he would have been cold and cruel and heartless. And while I absolutely appreciated it, there's a limit to how many bonus points any person gets for not being cold and cruel and heartless. Especially since, except for these very rare bouts of basic human decency, he was regularly siding with the thoughtless and mean-spirited direction of the Republican Party. I thought that Lindsey Graham was blessed by being seen in comparison to who the close-minded, one voice GOP was becoming. And so, it wasn't that he was a Good Guy, but that (to me) he was less awful than the others. (I'm reminded of Alan Jay Lerner, who co-wrote My Fair Lady and Camelot, saying that when trying to fix problems with a musical, there's often a false belief that you've made the show better, when all you've really done is just "make it less bad.") It was convenient for Lindsey Graham to be decent on a few issues that demanded decency, which put a false sheen on the rest of his actions, and covered up his real instincts which were to support the descent of the party. I just didn't trust him, at all.

As the years passed, I always remembered the conversation (if not the date of it...), and saw it richly confirmed, as Graham became one of the more craven, spineless, full-throated defenders of Trump and his MAGA and fascist agenda. There was Lindsey Graham saying that when he became chairman of the Judiciary Committee he would never rush through a Supreme Court nomination at the end of a term, "and you can hold me to that" and "you have the video of me saying this" to play -- until he did exactly what he would never do and could be held to. And there was Lindsey Graham saying it was impossible to not like Joe Biden, who was as decent a person as there was, and if you didn't like him there was something wrong with you -- until he turned on President Biden and began shredding him. And there was Lindsey Graham almost literally weeping in red-faced fury at how badly Democrats were treating Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh -- who had had a woman testify under oath that he had raped her. And there was Lindsey Graham seemingly turning his soul over to Trump -- even after Trump publicly humiliated him by giving out his phone number on live national television. And angrily having the vapors at Democrats who he insisted were destroying the country. And making phone calls to illegally help his party overturn election results in Georgia and on and on and on and on. All that and more was who Lindsey Graham not only was, but had been for decades. He just hid it well, but only for a while.

But I come not to bury Lindsey Graham, but to praise him.

Because it was Lindsey Graham who, on May 3, 2016, when he was running for the Republican nomination to be president, wrote on social media about his leading opponent --  “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it”.

Now, sure, after saying that so publicly and bluntly, Lindsey Graham very soon lost his spine and became arguably the greatest religious Trump acolyte and weeping defender of All Things Trump. But in fairness, that was Lindsey Graham. However, for one brief shining moment, Lindsey Graham got it absolutely right.

It just took 10 years for his words to come true. And for his party to finally realize it. And man, did it ever come true on November 3, 2026.

To be clear, this isn't to say that the MAGOP has ceased to exist. It hasn't. The devout base is still there for its god Trump, Trump still has two more years for his term in office, and the party still has most of its many elected officials terrified of defying their lord and master. But on Election Day for the Mid-Terms, the MAGOP hold on the Senate and hold on Congress and hold on the majority of governorships and hold on Red statehouses was destroyed. And the MAGOP party was put in total disarray.

And they deserve it.

And they deserve it because, as I wrote in my article here last October, no one in the MAGOP can say "I didn't vote for this," because they did. Because Trump not only told them, but told everyone in the country exactly what he was going to do. Over and over. And kept doing it over and over and over. And his party kept enabling him and voting for him. And now, the MAGOP lost every statewide election in Red Texas, lost all four races for Supreme Court Justices in Red Texas, lost the statehouse in Red Texas, and lost the race for U.S. Senate in Red Texas...and in Red Kanas and Red South Carolina, and Red Iowa, and Red Ohio, and (it seems likely with 97% of the vote counted) Red Mississippi. And had at least 43 Red seats flip Democratic in the House of Representatives, where now -- after holding a three-seat majority -- MAGOPs will serve in a House that is estimated to be 259-176 in favor of Democrats. It was a generational crushing, Blue Tsunami rebuke of the MAGOP.

And the MAGOP lost its hold because it lost major constituencies. Hispanic voters fled from the party in droves. Young voters fled from the party in droves. Independents fled from voting for the party in droves. Men moved 18 points away from the party. In fact, the only group that stayed with the party is non-college educated voters -- and they moved 14 points away from the party!

The MAGOP still exists. It's still dangerous, like a cornered bear is dangerous. But the MAGOP that existed on November 2, 2026, was demolished the next day in massive debacle. And is now trying to figure out what went wrong and how to regroup. The problem for them is that the MAGOP is not known for self-reflection. Nor for taking responsibility about doing anything wrong. And so, at the moment, party officials are suggesting that they lost because the "SAVE America" (sic) Act didn't pass -- a bill which would have made it more difficult for many millions of Americans to vote. And are blaming Americans for being deceived by Democrats and voting against corruption, Trump's war in Iran, high gas prices, affordability, and violent immigration policies. And Trump named one of the architects of all that to be his Chief of Staff. And in 2028, MAGOPs running for office with having to defend it all -- all of which they enabled -- or risk losing support of their base.

So, yes, Lindsey Graham was right.

 “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it”.