Lindsey Graham hits the panic button
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.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report