The State‘s new Buzz blog (I’m trying to remember whether this is the paper’s first serious attempt at a state and national political blog since I got laid off, but perhaps such reflections are ignoble of me) brought my attention to the above clip. Their account (like I’m gonna retype if it I don’t have to) of it:
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott passed twice on saying whether he would endorse his fellow S.C. senator, Republican Lindsey Graham, in an interview on CNN’s Crossfire Wednesday.
When CNN’s Van Jones asked Scott whether he would support Graham, Scott said, “You know, as you three have heard recently, I am up for re — up for reelection myself. I’m going to make sure that Tim Scott gets out…I’m going to allow for all the other folks on the ballot to represent themselves very well, and I’m going to continue to work hard for my re-election.”
“No endorsement for Lindsey Graham tonight?” Jones asked again.
Scott replied, “I’m certainly going to work really hard for Tim Scott re-election — gotta win first.”…
I sort of doubt that Sen. Graham’s going to be sitting up nights trying to think of favors he can do for Sen. Scott in the foreseeable future.
I was particularly struck by the way he stopped himself from saying “re-election,” then went ahead and said it anyway. The question seems to have had him pretty flustered…
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We wouldn’t want him to be a partisan hack, would we? If he thinks there’s a better candidate out there, he handled the question appropriately.
If he thinks there’s a better candidate out there, wouldn’t you prefer that he say so? You usually want people to name names.
And partisanship is neither here nor there in this case. The choice is between Graham and four GOP challengers. I don’t think anyone was expecting him to endorse… um… is there a Democrat planning to run? I’m drawing a blank…
Though unelected, Tim Scott will have a Senate incumbent’s advantage.
His opponent (likely to be a black lawyer, not Alvin Greene) will expose more Democratich strategy for SC than its renomination of Sheheen. Will the black lawyer who opposes Scott also be female? How long will she actually have resided in SC? Why will her campaign donations come largely from (about 75-85% out-of-state? — Because George Soros does not live in S.C. Sheheen should oppose Scott for Senate. Alas, he cannot mount a Senate campaign without more of a track record of accomplishments both in and out of state government.
Joe Biden already plans a trip to SC to campaign for Scott’s opponent and churn up minority turnout (à la the Alvin Greene affair) for Vincent again. And there will attempts to assassinate Tim Scott’s personality, too. Dirty tricks meister Harpootlian, no doubt, has honed his dirty ‘FITS News’ attacks by now.
This is where it will really get interesting. If Dr. Benjamin Carter campaigns for Scott, the tea party will not sit out the election as was largely the case in 2012. Hmmm! — Harpootlian and his D.C. puppet masters suddenly have a lot more to think about in 2014, don’t they. I have not even mentioned the declining popularity of the expensive giveaway called Obamacare.
Now, Nikki Haley has joined Scott in refraining from endorsing their senior senator, although she says obliging things.
Maybe they’re waiting for Lindsey to endorse them first. That’s what the senior leader of his state’s party should do, right?
Based on recent polling, he needs them more than they need him.