Lindsey Graham hits the panic button

| 12:01 pm EDT July 29, 2020
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

When you’re a high-profile incumbent and you’re in a close race against your up and coming opponent at this point on the calendar, it means you’re in trouble. Your opponent still has the opportunity to establish himself with voters and become more popular, while you’re already at your ceiling.

That’s the situation Lindsey Graham now finds himself in against Democratic candidate Jaime Harrison. Various polls suggest that the race is either statistically tied or Graham has a single digit lead. Accordingly, Graham is panicking. But instead of doing something smart, he’s taking a play out of his idiot pal Donald Trump’s racist playbook.

Lindsey Graham has begun running online ads that portray Jaime Harrison, who is Black, as having much darker skin than he actually does. This plays on the worst kind of racist trope, and is something you’d expect to see out of the 1950s, not the 21st Century.

Not only is this racist and dishonest and offensive on Lindsey Graham’s part, it’s also panicky. When you try a risky stunt like this, there’s always the possibility that it could backfire on you. Graham is apparently so afraid of losing, he’s already resorting to the kind of desperation moves that often don’t work out. You can donate to Jaime Harrison’s campaign here.