U.S. Sen. Graham censured by Charleston County GOP

CHARLESTON -- Republicans in Charleston County censured their own U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, saying he puts bipartisanship before the party on issues like climate change.

"U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in the name of bipartisanship continues to weaken the Republican brand and tarnish the ideals of freedom, rule of law and fiscal conservatism," according to a resolution passed Monday.

Graham has often reached across the aisle on various issues. The resolution notes Graham supported the bank bailout and "has shown a condescending attitude toward his constituents" opposing his stance on amnesty for illegal aliens.

"There have been a lot of things over the years that people have been dissatisfied with the senator for doing but I think the cap-and-trade issue is the straw that broke the camel's back," said Lin Bennett, the county GOP chairwoman.

"We have a state platform that if you want to run as a Republican in our state, part of that platform includes ideals and goals we would like to see and one of them is smaller and less government intrusion into people's lives," she said.

Cap-and-trade, a system to put a price on heat-trapping pollution and allow companies to buy and sell permits to meet emission targets, would "blow that out of the water," she said.

An energy industry group, the American Energy Alliance, has been running ads in South Carolina criticizing Graham, saying cap-and-trade will cost jobs.

Graham has a 90 percent conservative voting record and "is working to find a pathway forward" to couple energy independence with environmental protection, said his spokesman Kevin Bishop.

Last week, Graham joined Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to say they would work with the White House to reach a climate bill that could pass the chamber.

Bishop said, like President Reagan, Graham believes elected officials must work together to solve difficult problems.

"Working to solve problems and being conservative are not mutually exclusive," he said. "You can do both, and that's what people in South Carolina elected him to do."

Graham won 69 percent of the vote in Charleston County during last year's GOP primary.

Bennett expects a similar censure resolution to be introduced at the state party convention next spring.

Two years ago, the executive committee in Greenville County censured Graham for his stance on immigration and other "liberal" positions.