For his willingness to cooperate with his Democratic Senate colleagues and help pass an infrastructure bill that will provide $4.6 for highways in his home state, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has been censured by the Aiken County Republican Party, proving that many in the GOP are opposed to compromise and reaching across the aisle even when it benefits them and their constituents.
According to the Aiken Standard:
“The local party this week accused the powerful South Carolina Republican of playing both sides of the political aisle to his advantage, consciously violating Republican principles, backing bills ‘that target our freedoms,’ and, ultimately, wandering too far to the left.”
The $1.1 trillion dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill passed the Senate this week by a final vote of 69-30, with 19 Republicans cross the aisle to give their consent to the legislation, which will provide billions in funding for states and also be a boon to employment across the country.
After the bill passed, Graham issued a statement saying it was good for the Palmetto State:
“It provides much-needed help for our roads, bridges, ports, and expands broadband internet access. I have always been supportive of infrastructure investment and wish we had passed this years ago. This bill provides American infrastructure with a much-needed face-lift.”
But Republicans in Aiken County dubbed the bill a mistake, and claimed that it “degrades the rights of existing American businesses.” Their censure also included this about Graham:
“(His vote) shows a purposeful neglect to act within the fiscal conservative agenda that the Republicans elected him to diligently uphold.”
Interestingly, former President Donald Trump was also opposed to the bipartisan infrastructure bill, issuing a statement after it passed that read:
“Nobody will ever understand why Mitch McConnell allowed this non-infrastructure bill to be passed. He has given up all of his leverage for the big whopper of a bill that will follow. I have quietly said for years that Mitch McConnell is the most overrated man in politics—now I don’t have to be quiet anymore. He is working so hard to give Biden a victory, now they’ll go for the big one, including the biggest tax increases in the history of our Country.”
Sounds like sour grapes from Trump, who repeatedly talked about it being “infrastructure week” during his failed single term in office, but never actually got around to doing so with legislation or a package of suggestions for Congress, even though the GOP had control of both houses of Congress for Trump’s first two years in office.