Graham Named His Committee ‘Security Through Strength’, Saying, “You can never have peace with radical Islam.”
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham is considering a run for the U.S. presidency in 2016. Graham formed a committee called “Security Through Strength” this week to explore his changes of winning the Republican nomination for president, according to several reports. The longtime politician says he wants to research his chances before making a firm decision.
Those who’ve followed Lindsey Graham’s months-long campaign to ban online gambling in the United States might have wondered about the South Carolina senator’s motives. With a long career in the U.S. Senate and a solid constituency in the state of South Carolina, it might have seemed beneath him to have taken up an issue for donations to his re-election campaign.
Graham’s Ties to Adelson Explained
People interested in online gambling might have wondered why Graham would use pretzel logic to defend Restoration of America’s Wire Act, which the senator cosponsored alongside Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah. From the time the RAWA bill was introduced to both houses of congress, Graham seemed to voice misinformed issues with the current gaming laws in America–right up to last week’s questioning of Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch on the ties between foreign terrorists and online gambling websites.
Now people understand Graham’s position. It hardly seemed worth the trouble for Graham to receive the $13,000 contribution from Sheldon Adelson for his senate reelection campaign. If Graham is planning to run for president, though, it makes a lot of sense to be a major support of a categorical online gambling ban at the federal level of government. That is Adelson’s pet issue, and Adelson contributed more money than any other single American during the 2012 U.S. Presidential campaign.
Looking for a “Pathway Forward”
When asked about his exploratory committee, Senator Graham said, “What I’m looking at is, is there a pathway forward on the ground in Iowa and New Hampshire for a guy like me? I don’t know until I look.”
How the Primary Season Works
The Iowa Caucus is the first stop on the road to the nomination. By tradition, Iowans have the first contest each four-year cycle, which does a great deal to set candidates on their course. The New Hampshire Primary is the second big contest.
While candidates have shown weak in one of these contests, doing badly in both tends to be a political death sentence. Candidacies survive based on political donations and volunteer support. When people get the idea a candidate is not receiving traction with the public, political contributions in terms of money or time tend to dry up. Thus, Lindsey Graham is trying to determine whether he would appeal to the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Why Adelson’s Support Is Key
Having Adelson’s support would be huge. In 2011, Sheldon Adelson and Miriam Oschom (his wife) donated $15 million to Newt Gingrich’s PAC, “Winning Our Future”. Once a nominee was determined, Adelson contributed $30 million to Mitt Romney’s presidential run. Romney has said he won’t run for office in 2016, meaning the field is wide open–and Adelson does not have an official candidate. Sen. Graham might become that man.
Lindsey Graham is not the only potential candidate vying for that money, though. Former New York Governor George Pataki has expressed an interest in running for president. Pataki serves as the co-chairman of Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, which is funded by Sheldon Adelson. The political action committee wants to ban all major forms of online gambling in the United States, so George Pataki has aligned himself with a cause certain to get Adelson’s favor.
About Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham has staked his reputation on foreign policy. Over the years, he has been a friend and supporter of Sen. John McCain of Arizona. For this reason, he’s seen by many as a moderate Republican. But Graham comes from South Carolina, a state well-known for its staunch conservatism.
Graham’s foreign policy experience would serve him well in a world with Vladimir Putin’s Russia causing trouble. Iran, Syria, and North Korea continue to be danger spots, while America has lost some of its reputation in the world simply by allowing the perception we are not as strong as we once were.
During his Sunday appearance on Face The Nation, Lindsey Graham said, “So, I’m very comfortable that I’m in the mainstream of conservatism. I have done very well in a red state. And when it comes to national security and understanding the threats our nation faces, I believe I’m the best qualified of anybody on our side of the aisle to offer an alternative to a failed foreign policy of Barack Obama. My organization is called (“Security Through Strength“). We will never have peace with radical Islam, but we can have security.”
Lindsey Graham on Online Gambling
At the same time, Lindsey Graham’s performance over the online gambling issue raises doubts about his soundness as a leader. While a person can make legitimate points when debating some issues, Graham has not always done so. For instance, 10 months after he helped pin Restoration of America’s Wire Act, Graham continues to argue that New Jersey’s legalized online gambling impinges on South Carolina gaming laws. The most basic information about New Jersey’s online gambling industry will tell you that it uses geolocation software which assures gamblers have to be inside New Jersey to log into one of their regulated gaming sites. This was an issue in the first months of the rollout, and then it was fixed.
Also, Sen. Graham sometimes doesn’t seem to understand the difference between regulated and unregulated. This week, when he questioned Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he asked Lynch whether she believed unregulated online gaming sites were used to fund terrorist activities worldwide. He used this as an argument to get rid of all regulated US online gaming sites. Of course, if Graham were successful in passing the RAWA, it would assure that more unregulated gaming sites would exist, thus helping to create more assistance for terrorists–if one buys Graham’s premise. Observers get the idea Lindsey Graham doesn’t believe in his cause enough to research it.
That would seem to be a huge problem for someone who wants to be the President of the United States. The idea that he will take up causes (without researching them) simply for the sake of collecting donations is frightening. It almost goes without saying, but his becoming president would virtually assure Sheldon Adelson would get the comprehensive iGaming ban that he wants.
