Following is another of occasional profiles of members of Congress who are former prosecutors.
The authoritative Politics in America describes Rep. Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC) as, “a plain-talking nothing-fancy kind of guy . . . with a youthful appearance and ‘aw shucks’ manner.”
But behind that pleasant country boy is a 45-year-old former military prosecutor who holds three academic degrees and served as a local government attorney and state legislator before coming to Congress. Once there, he came close to ousting a powerful House speaker and was one of the 13 House managers in the impeachment trial of President Clinton. He has one of the sharpest minds in Congress and aims to succeed Senator Strom Thurmond when Thurmond retires.
One of the beliefs Lindsey brings from his career as an Air Force circuit trial counsel is the need for stiff sentences for violent crimes. “I’ve seen first-hand that stronger sentences really are a deterrent to crime and we should not back off efforts to make criminals serve their entire sentence, particularly those with a violent history,” he said.
“It also helps the healing process of the victims, their family, their friends and the community when they know that the perpetrator of a violent crime is behind bars and is going to stay there for a long time.”
His prosecutor background also played a role in his selection as one of the Clinton impeachment trial managers by then Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde.
In the 107th Congress, Graham is a member of the Judiciary; Armed Services; and Education and Workforce Committees. Regarded as one of the rock-solid conservatives, he has not hesitated to tangle with the leadership or to criticize colleagues for not being conservative enough.
A few months into his second House term in 1997, he led a group of disgruntled conservatives in an attempt to oust then Speaker Newt Gingrich because they considered Gingrich over-willing to compromise with the Democrats. Although the coup attempt failed, it was a strong factor in Gingrich’s resignation 18 months later. Graham also challenged another powerful fellow Republican, Rep. Bud Shuster, then chairman of the Transportation Committee. After Shuster rammed through a record $218 billion bill for increased spending for highways and bridges, he declared that Shuster, “has made a sham of the balanced budget agreement and we should all be ashamed.”
Despite these brushes with powerful House Republicans, Graham has maintained good relations with the House leadership and his GOP colleagues and is highly regarded by both. In an interview with the Washington Post, he said he learned early in life about the art of diplomacy and “spin control” when as a youth he worked in his father’s combination restaurant, bar and pool hall, where he fielded calls from anxious wives looking for their husbands.
The road to Congress and political success has not been an easy one for Lindsey Graham. At the age of 20, he became the legal guardian of his teenage sister after his parents died. In spite of his predicament, he managed to attend the University of South Carolina, where he attained degrees in psychology, public administration and law. After receiving his law degree in 1981, Graham worked for two years in the legal office of Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC, and then served as an Air Force prosecutor in Europe from 1984 to 1988. Returning to South Carolina, he served as an assistant county attorney in Oconee County and city attorney for Central, SC. As a member of the Air National Guard, he was called to active duty during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1992 he won a seat in the state House of Representatives.
Two years later, Graham saw an opportunity for advancement when 10-term Democratic Rep. Butler Derrick of the state’s 3rd Congressional District, decided to retire. The timing was perfect. The district, encompassing the northwest corner of South Carolina, was in the process of moving from overwhelmingly Democratic to “new Republican.” Lindsey won, becoming the first Republican to represent the district since Reconstruction. He has been re-elected ever since, by increasing margins.
From 1989 until his election to Congress, he served as base staff judge advocate at the McEntire Air National Guard base at Eastover, South Carolina, and maintains his military status as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Forces Reserves.
Representative Graham is a supporter of term limits, declaring that they would “change the motivation” of representatives for the better. He promised when first elected to Congress that he would not serve more than 12 years in the House.
If he succeeds in being elected to the Senate next year, he will have kept his promise with a little more than four years to spare.
Sources for this article include Politics in America and the Washington Post.
