In a biting column for the Washington Post, conservative writer Kathleen Parker needled Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for his continual "flip-flopping" about in order to stay in the good graces of former president Donald Trump.
Admitting that she has a relationship with Graham herself -- she hails from South Carolina and Graham hired her son -- Parker wondered what happened to the Lindsey she used to know.
Noting that Graham is now harping on impeaching Joe Biden over the chaos in Afghanistan, she wrote, "This week, Lindsey wants to impeach President Biden for "dereliction of duty at the highest level," she then teased, "Is that you, Lindsey? The same man who staunchly defended Donald Trump through two deserved impeachments now wants to impeach a Democratic president. If bad or misinformed decisions in war times were impeachable offenses, we'd have to add a secretary of impeachment to the Cabinet."
According to the columnist, Graham's "bromance" with Trump means his last name need not be used anymore because, "He's changed his positions so often he's become the Madonna of politics, the Prince of contradiction, the Oprah of apostasy."
"It gives me no pleasure to note Lindsey's fall from gravitas. He represents my state. He once employed my son. I've praised him for courageously saying what no one else would," she wrote. "Then Trump became president of the United States, and the real Lindsey Graham was never seen again. Suddenly, he was Trump's puppy (my puppy loves golf-cart rides, too). One day, Lindsey's seated at the kid's debate table saying Trump is an 'idiot' on foreign policy, and to 'make America great again' we should 'tell Donald Trump to go to hell.'"
"The next thing you know, Lindsey and Trump are bromancing," she added.
At issue, she pointed out is that Graham's career was in eclipse after the loss of his good friend, the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and he pledged his allegiance to Trump to maintain a seat at the table.
Calling Graham a "circus poodle" performing for Trump, she explained, "The quest for relevance is the holy grail in the nation's capital. Every four to eight years, this small town gets a transfusion. New arrivals take up residence in the best neighborhoods. Restaurants and bars, like movie sets, fill up with recently arrived actors lobbying for starring roles. Power breakfasts resume at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown with fresh faces diving into truffle eggs and extra-crispy bacon."
Graham, she added, just won reelection in 2020 and needn't go through the contortions -- such as calling for Biden to be impeached in order to please Trump -- but he can't help himself.
"It's obvious to attentive observers that Lindsey has loved being a highly respected and recognized U.S. senator. But without McCain or Trump hogging headlines, Lindsey's relevance may have dwindled," she explained before sticking it to Graham once again by writing, "I don't doubt his passion or his sincerity about what's happened in Afghanistan — we all feel it. But one of Washington's creeds is: You don't get invited to the party to become relevant. You're invited because you are relevant."
You can read the whole piece here.
