Suzanimal
05-31-2015, 10:14 PM
Sen. Lindsey Graham will formally announce his candidacy for president in his hometown of Central, S.C., on Monday, entering the race with the strongest foreign policy resume of any candidate.
Republican strategists give him little chance of winning, but say he could play the role of kingmaker in South Carolina, a crucial early primary state that — with the exception of 2012 — historically picks the Republican nominee.
Graham’s bid is designed to push the muscular foreign policy approach that he and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), his close ally, have advocated for years.
“That’s a tried-and-true, time-tested method of getting your pet issue into the conversation. If Lindsey were from Kansas, I don’t think many people would care, but because he’s from South Carolina, and that will alter the dominoes in the early primary, people have to pay attention to him,” said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist.
He is running as an antagonist to fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who criticizes hawks in his own party for the rise of ISIS and wants to shut down the National Security Agency’s bulk telephone data collection program.
Graham has called for 10,000 American “boots on the ground” to stop the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, demanded that Iran renounce terrorism as part of any final nuclear deal, and pronounced himself “glad” that the NSA is collecting phone records.
“It contrasts two longstanding trends that have been with the Republican Party a hundred years. The Republican Party has always been a leader on national security, foreign policy and defense. On the other hand, there’s always been a libertarian streak to it, and even at one point an isolationist streak,” said former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, who was chairman of the 9/11 Commission.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Paul’s rival, could wind up as the biggest beneficiary of Graham’s candidacy. His national security and immigration positions mirror Graham’s and he is focusing his resources on South Carolina, viewing it as a springboard to Florida, a pivotal winner-take-all primary state.
Graham jumps into the contest at a time when GOP voters are increasingly concerned about national security and the growing strength of Iran and ISIS.
Seventy-seven percent of Republican voters rank foreign affairs as important to their presidential vote, a significantly higher proportion than among independents, according to a recent Gallup poll.
“We can’t be shutting down the NSA. We can’t be making up these phony stories about the government spying on Americans. You can’t be blaming the United States for ISIS,” said Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), the former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. “Rand Paul is the main guy I’m talking about.”
King said Graham would bolster more hawkish candidates such as Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/243511-grahams-entry-into-race-could-help-rubio-hurt-paul
Republican strategists give him little chance of winning, but say he could play the role of kingmaker in South Carolina, a crucial early primary state that — with the exception of 2012 — historically picks the Republican nominee.
Graham’s bid is designed to push the muscular foreign policy approach that he and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), his close ally, have advocated for years.
“That’s a tried-and-true, time-tested method of getting your pet issue into the conversation. If Lindsey were from Kansas, I don’t think many people would care, but because he’s from South Carolina, and that will alter the dominoes in the early primary, people have to pay attention to him,” said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist.
He is running as an antagonist to fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who criticizes hawks in his own party for the rise of ISIS and wants to shut down the National Security Agency’s bulk telephone data collection program.
Graham has called for 10,000 American “boots on the ground” to stop the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, demanded that Iran renounce terrorism as part of any final nuclear deal, and pronounced himself “glad” that the NSA is collecting phone records.
“It contrasts two longstanding trends that have been with the Republican Party a hundred years. The Republican Party has always been a leader on national security, foreign policy and defense. On the other hand, there’s always been a libertarian streak to it, and even at one point an isolationist streak,” said former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, who was chairman of the 9/11 Commission.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Paul’s rival, could wind up as the biggest beneficiary of Graham’s candidacy. His national security and immigration positions mirror Graham’s and he is focusing his resources on South Carolina, viewing it as a springboard to Florida, a pivotal winner-take-all primary state.
Graham jumps into the contest at a time when GOP voters are increasingly concerned about national security and the growing strength of Iran and ISIS.
Seventy-seven percent of Republican voters rank foreign affairs as important to their presidential vote, a significantly higher proportion than among independents, according to a recent Gallup poll.
“We can’t be shutting down the NSA. We can’t be making up these phony stories about the government spying on Americans. You can’t be blaming the United States for ISIS,” said Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), the former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. “Rand Paul is the main guy I’m talking about.”
King said Graham would bolster more hawkish candidates such as Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/243511-grahams-entry-into-race-could-help-rubio-hurt-paul