The “Lesser Evils” I Will Not Vote For

Here's a reflection by Chuck Baldwin with which we heartily agree.  We were lectured by some in 2012 that Mitt Romney was the "lesser of two evils."  I wonder how many of those who disagreed with our refusal to support the 2012 GOP presidential nominee voted for Lindsey Graham in 2008.  That race pitted Bob Conley, running as a Democrat who has never in his life voted for a Democrat and is as conservative as Pat Buchanan, against the treasonous Graham.  We were told by some they would not vote for a "Democrat," so they voted for evil when they could have replaced him with a true, small government, Constitution-loving, freedom promoting conservative.  Conley would not have provided the key committee votes clearing the way for the appointments of Kagan and Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.  So how has your commitment to party over principle worked out for you?

 By Chuck Baldwin

After then-Congressman Joe Scarborough convinced me to endorse the neocon Bob Dole for President back in 1996, I vowed to myself that I would  never vote for “the lesser of two evils” again. I haven’t; and I won’t.

Almost anytime one hears someone talking about voting for the lesser of two evils, it always means voting for a Republican instead of a third party or independent candidate. The argument is always the same: he or she (the third party candidate) cannot win. Therefore, voting for someone you presume cannot win is “wasting” your vote. I used to believe that, too, but no more.

One could even make the argument that voting for an unprincipled neocon Republican is actually voting for the greater evil, not the lesser. It seems we lose far more liberties under Republican administrations than under Democrat ones. That does not mean that Democrat presidents care more for the Constitution and limited government than Republican presidents. It simply means when Republicans occupy the White House, rank and file conservatives and freedomists go fast asleep. I mean deep sleep. I mean extended hibernation. The two administrations of G.W. Bush are prime examples.

In terms of foreign policy and the burgeoning police state at home, there is no distinguishable difference between Bush and Barack Obama. None! Except for the fact that with a Democrat in office, conservatives, Christians, and freedomists are much more alert and quick to oppose the administration’s draconian policies, whereas, with a Republican in office, those same people sit back and totally ignore identical policies. Yes, sometimes voting for a Democrat might be voting for the lesser of two evils.

I personally witnessed an election in which a vote for the Republican was not just a vote for the lesser of two evils; it was a vote for a politically evil candidate over a politically righteous candidate. I use the words “evil” and “righteous,” not in the true spiritual sense, of course, but in the overall political result of the two candidate’s positions on the issues.

I’m talking about the US Senate race in South Carolina in 2008. The Republican candidate was the pro-war, pro-police state, pro-big government, anti-Constitution incumbent Lindsey Graham. Lindsey Graham is the personification of everything that is wrong with Washington, D.C. Mind you, Graham is a US Senator from South Carolina. There are probably more evangelical Christians, more Christian schools, and more Christian influence per capita and per square mile in South Carolina than in any State in the country. Bar none! And Lindsey Graham is the best that South Carolina can send to Washington, D.C.? Egad!

In 2008, I was running for POTUS as the Constitution Party candidate. I spent some quality time in South Carolina during that campaign. I had previously spent time in the Palmetto State campaigning for Congressman Ron Paul. What I’m saying is I spent quite a bit of time in South Carolina that year.

While I was in South Carolina, I was introduced to the US Senate Democrat candidate Bob Conley. I spent much time getting to know Bob. I could not find one issue over which he and I disagreed. Bob was as straight as a gun barrel politically speaking. He was an awesome candidate. So, while I was in South Carolina, I was happy to publicly endorse Bob for that US Senate seat. In that race, a vote for the Republican candidate was to vote for the only “evil” candidate in the race. Yet, conservatives and Christians by the tens of thousands cast their vote for Graham simply because he was a Republican. You see, voting for the “lesser of two evils” does not apply to anything except voting for a Republican.

Read more at Chuck Baldwin Live >>

Lindsey Graham Supports Tax Cheat for Treasury Secretary

Get used to it South Carolina; Lindsey Graham (RINO-Seneca) just can't say no to big black men.

He just voted to confirm an admitted tax cheat to serve as the nation's chief financial officer and oversee the printing of money and the collection of taxes. On the big issues where Senator DeMint will be voting as a principled, South Carolina conservative, Lindsey Graham will be canceling out that vote and voting with the Senators from Massachusetts. Even liberals like Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) voted against Timothy Geithner. Not Graham! He was with Obama and the socialist agenda.

Here at Sunlit Uplands we urged you to dump the quisling and nominate Buddy Whitherspoon. We then had the chance to elect a Democrat, Bob Conley, who is as conservative as Senator DeMint and would be voting with him in representing South Carolina views. Instead, you sent this not-so-closeted liberal back to be a critical vote as Barack Obama imposes the most destructive agenda America has ever seen.

At what point will you demand that he stop? Will there be any issue on which he will go too far? What will it take for you to support a recall? We were criticized for referring to this embarrassment as Massachusetts' third Senator. How many times will he vote with Ted Kennedy before you feel betrayed and realize he does not represent you?

Senator Graham's Words Come Back To Haunt Him: Conley Endorsed by ALIPAC

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, one of the leading national grassroots organizations fighting against Amnesty and for more immigration enforcement, has endorsed South Carolina's Bob Conley for US Senate and intends to launch TV and Radio commercials that highlight Senator Lindsey Graham's offensive comments made in a speech to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

"Lindsey Graham has been the Republican with the worst stance on immigration issues in the US Senate," said William Gheen. "Any American who is concerned about illegal immigration should vote against Graham and be offended by his comments. Our TV and radio commercials will allow South Carolinians to hear the speech Graham would rather conceal from them."

In March of 2007, Senator Lindsey Graham made a speech before the National Council of 'La Raza' (English Translation: The Race), where he was receiving an award for his support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform AMNESTY for illegal aliens. In his speech, he called Americans who opposed his legislation "Bigots" and announced that American citizens had no right to govern immigration laws as mandated to their elected representatives in Congress by the US Constitution. Lindsey Graham also praises his leader on immigration issues... Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).

The TV and radio ads ALIPAC intends to launch next week will contain the following quotes from Senator Graham, while encouraging voters to visit www.alipac.us to review the entire clip.

"An American is an idea. No group owns being an American. Nobody owns this.... I don't do this much but I want to thank Ted Kennedy (laughter)... We are not going to run people down, we are not going to scapegoat people, we are going to tell the bigots to shut up..."

Bob Conley is being endorsed by ALIPAC because he has promised to oppose Amnesty in any form for illegal aliens and to support more immigration enforcement and border security. Senator Graham has received a deplorable grade of 'D' at betterimmigration.com

"We have a case in South Carolina, where Bob Conley better represents the over 80% of voters who prefer enforcement over amnesty," said Gheen. "Lindsey Graham supports Amnesty over enforcement of our existing immigration laws and his own words are about to come back to haunt him."

ALIPAC is a multi-ethnic national organization, founded on 9/11/2004, with over 25,000 supporters representing all 50 states. The organization appears regularly on FOX, CNN, MSNBC, and CBC and is supported by many LEGAL immigrants who favor the reversal of illegal immigration in America through the humane and non racist enforcement of our existing immigration laws. For more information, please visit www.alipac.us

Lindsey Graham's ENTIRE sellout speech to La Raza follows:

Bob Conley to Debate Grahamnesty on Saturday

Bob Conley, who is "charging hard and closing in" on victory in his U.S. Senate race, will be debating John McCain's "personal valet and bag boy" on Saturday at 8 P.M. on C-Span. Bob Conley offers South Carolina the opportunity to have two representatives in the United States Senate, rather than subsidizing the third Senator from Massachusetts.

Bob is committed to:

• Outlaw lobbying in Washington by banking and finance firms
• Stop market-distorting bailouts
• Put strict leverage limits on all financial institutions
• Revise “mark to market” accounting rules
• Limit the size of financial firms so they can never be “too big to fail”
• Reinstate the separation of banking, insurance and brokerage
• Mandate transparency among banks to remove trust barriers
• Roll back government policies that encourage mortgages for those who can’t afford them
• Prohibit congressional earmarks, wasteful spending, and no-bid contracts
• Correct massive trade imbalances

Here he joins Jerry Hughes on ARN's Straight Talk to discuss his campaign, his conservatism, and his concerns about the future of South Carolina. Bob is a movement conservative who will work with Senator Jim DeMint, rather than canceling out his vote.

Please check out Bob Conley's website and help this good man become South Carolina's next United States Senator.

Conley Charges Sen. Graham With Setting The Stage For Crisis

Democratic challenger Bob Conley, running for South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat, is strongly opposed to the kind of meddling in financial markets that is supported by Lindsey Graham and which is responsible for today’s economic crisis.

“The current economic crisis is a direct consequence of the flawed legislation Lindsey Graham voted for while serving in the House of Representatives,” said Conley. “Lindsey Graham has hurt South Carolina and the Nation beyond measure.”

Graham voted in 1999 for the euphemistically-named Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 which repealed the common-sense restrictions on the financial sector imposed by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933.

This repeal of Glass-Steagall set up the current crisis by allowing Wall Street firms to integrate banking, insurance and brokerage services under the same roof, with virtually no regulatory oversight.

“Lifting Glass-Steagall restrictions launched a new era of irrational risk-taking, led to dangerous financial practices, and allowed the perilous consolidation of the financial sector into too few hands,” said Conley. “This centralization of financial power now threatens to destabilize our economy and further sink our once vibrant Middle Class into a hole from which they may never climb out.”

Lindsey Graham’s vote in 1999 had the following impact on South Carolina and the Nation:

· Feverish speculation caused the so-called “dot.com” crash that wiped out $5 trillion in market value of technology companies from March 2000 to October 2002. At the time, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan called this “irrational exuberance”.

· Lax regulatory oversight set up, accelerated and perpetuated sub-prime mortgage loans and their bundling into prime investments that promised high returns – an unsustainable proposition by any common-sense measure.

· The results: $29 billion to bail out Bear Stearns; $85 billion for 80 percent of AIG to nationalize it; $150 billion in a stimulus package to flood the nation with cash; $250 billion to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and now $700 billion to save the national economy from the excesses of Wall Street. All this with no guarantee of success!

After helping to lead our Nation into a financial crisis of such devastating magnitude, Lindsey Graham no longer can claim to have the knowledge, insight and hands-on experience to continue representing South Carolinians in the U.S. Senate.

In financial terms, it is time for the voters of South Carolina to withdraw Lindsey Graham from the U.S. Senate and deposit Bob Conley as their sound investment in the future.

Bob Conley or Lindsey Graham?

Send Goober Grahamnesty Packing

It becomes clearer by the day that John McCain did his candidacy a great favor by "crossing the aisle" to the conservatives of his party and selecting a running mate with whom the base is not only comfortable, but enthusiastically embraces.

Consider what the outcome might have been had he heeded the advice of South Carolina's Lindsey Graham and chosen the pro-abortion liberal, Senator Joe Lieberman. Graham, never one to concern himself with the views of those fool enough to vote for him, wanted McCain to shake up the political landscape by choosing a man who has earned an "F" from the National Rifle Association and "zeroes" from the National Right to Life Committee, the Christian Coalition and the American Conservative Union. Take away Lieberman's hawkish votes on Iraq and any legislation benefiting Israel, and Al Gore's running mate is more liberal than half of his Democrat colleagues and all Republicans. He earns from the ADA a score of 80, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) award him an 86, and the American Civil Liberties Union an 83.

South Carolina's Republican Senator would turn his back on the Republican Party, as he has turned his back on his own electorate, to support a liberal, pro-choice, anti-Second Amendment, Democrat for the VP nominee of the Republican Party. Such a decision would likely have resulted in a floor fight and a walk-out on the part of many conservative Republicans. It would have left the base dispirited and in quest of third party candidates, and millions of Republicans would have stayed home on election day.

After outspending his Republican Primary opponent by 9 to 1, one-third of South Carolina Republicans voted against their incumbent Senator. On primary night Graham was not chastened; he rather took the victory as encouragement for even more defiance of South Carolina views and values. This is a man we need to unload now before he does even more damage and becomes more entrenched.

Fortunately, Senator McCain ignored the advice of his "Mini Me" and chose a running mate that inspires Republicans and independents. But South Carolina should think long and hard before renewing Graham's contract. We can hope that McCain might relieve the state of this embarrassment and give Grahamnesty a federal appointment; but we "bigots" who actually believe that US sovereignty, borders and laws should be respected, should not pass up the opportunity to send a message to all RINO's.

We have in Bob Conley someone who will defend the US border, support US-first trade policies and end the outsourcing of US industry and jobs. Conley supports the Fair Tax, will restore sound, honest money, and halt the fall of the dollar. Conley will oppose predatory lending practices, end the Wall Street bailouts, and put a lid on massive expenditures at home and abroad. Most importantly, he is committed to the strict interpretation of the Constitution - the rights of states and individuals, and will work to restore the federal government to its proper role and size.

Goober Grahmnesty, if in nothing else, has been straight about where he stands. It is time South Carolina sent him packing.

The New Democrat

From The New American
By Jim Capo

According to Bob Conley, the Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina, “The New Democrat is the Old Democrat.” And that Democrat is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and fiscally conservative.

Bob Conley actively supported Pat Buchanan's presidential bid on the Reform Party ticket in 2000. More recently, he supported Republican Congressman Ron Paul's presidential bid. He is now running for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina- as a Democrat.

Though he is still largely ignored by the establishment media, Bob Conley has already won the Democratic primary and his name will appear on the ballot in November as the Democratic nominee. His primary victory should be added to those of John McCain's and Barack Obama's on the list of improbable but notable outcomes thus far in 2008. On a shoestring budget, and with only a few months under his belt in his new party, Bob Conley won his primary race against Michael Cone, a Charleston lawyer, by 1,049 votes out of 147,287 cast.

The commercial pilot, professional engineer, and flight instructor is now up against Lindsey Graham, the Republican incumbent, who in the current Congress (to date) has scored a mediocre 56 percent in The New American's "Freedom Index," a congressional scorecard that rates all members of the House and Senate based on their adherence to the Constitution. Conley often refers to Senator Graham as "McCain's Mini Me" and "Grahamnesty" (a moniker coined by Rush Limbaugh). Graham was one of the key Republican senators who tried (unsuccessfully) to push through the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform (read: amnesty) bill last year.

If a Democrat running to the right of the Republican seems a bit odd, it should be kept in mind that the Republican Party has been moving to the left. In fact, many Republicans are "neoconservatives" who promote a corporate-socialist-internationalist agenda under the banner of Republican conservatism. Neoconservatism has become so prevalent within the Republican Party that some conservatives have left the party in disgust. For example, former GOP Congressman Bob Barr migrated to the Libertarian Party and is now the Libertarians' presidential nominee. Pastor Chuck Baldwin is running for president under the Constitution Party banner. And Bob Conley, the engineer-pilot-pragmatist, with a signature flattop haircut, thinks he has a better idea: run and actually win as a Democrat. Since his plan has worked so far, we caught up with "FlatTop Bob" to flat out ask him, "What's up?"

The New American: With your conservative views, why are you running as a Democrat and how were you able to win the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina?
Bob Conley: I had a simple opening message for voters, "I'm the Democrat your grandfather voted for." The "Blue Dog" is the wave of the future. The New Democrat is the Old Democrat. You can campaign and win as a Democrat on a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, traditional values, fiscally conservative platform. The 2006 elections proved this. Jeffersonian ideals can still win in the party that Jefferson founded. Outside of a few elitist, urbanite white folks, the message of Ted Kennedy doesn't play in South Carolina - even among rank-and-file Democrats.

TNA: You have described yourself as a "Jeffersonian Democrat." How do you define that term?
Conley: A Jeffersonian Democrat believes in small government; he believes that the government that governs least governs best. Like Thomas Jefferson, I believe that government power must be limited and that those entrusted with exercising that power must be held in check. As Jefferson put it, we must not put confidence in man, but "bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."

TNA: You have also called yourself a "Larry McDonald Democrat." What's a Larry McDonald Democrat?
Conley: A champion of the Constitution. Larry McDonald, a member of Congress from Georgia, was a modern Jeffersonian Democrat. He served in the U.S. House from 1975 until 1983, when he disappeared on Korean Airline Flight 007. Dr. McDonald was a traditional Southern Democrat, and was the most conservative member of that body. In fact, he was chairman of the John Birch Society.

TNA: You mentioned earlier that a Democrat who's pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, pro-traditional values, and fiscally conservative can win. What are a couple of the other issues you are campaigning on?
Conley: The U.S. has suicidal immigration problems that must be fixed; amnesty is not a solution, and will only exacerbate the problem; the importation of foreign nationals to take Americans' jobs and drive down wages must stop. I'm running against the occupation of (not war in) Iraq. We need to end the occupation now.

TNA: How fast is "now"?
Conley: As rapidly as is consistent with the safety of the troops. Complete redeployment may take three, six, or nine months, but must begin now. I would be surprised if the process takes more than a year.

I also support our veterans. Compare our treatment of our honorable veterans to how we treat dishonorable bankers on Wall Street with subsidies and bailouts. Corporate welfare has to end. I'm a reemergence of the traditional Democrat: think William Jennings Bryan.

TNA: What role do you see the Federal Reserve Board playing in our growing economic debacle?
Conley: The Fed is a banking cartel that should be abolished. It is a major part of the problem. It will never be part of the solution. I support constitutional money - including Lincoln's Greenbacks. We have to free ourselves from the Fed's debt-based money. As noted Austrian economist Murray Rothbard said in response to what should happen to the Fed, "It should just go away!"

TNA: You also support the FairTax. Why is that?
Conley: Three points: First, it will do away with the IRS and move towards repeal of the 16th [income tax] Amendment. Second, the special breaks for the corporate lobbyists will go away. And third, South Carolina has lost so many textile jobs to Communist China, it will help level the playing field on international trade. That is, it will allow our domestic manufacturers to compete under the so-called "free trade" agreements. It will counter the tax penalties Duncan Hunter talked about in his presidential campaign. Hunter used a football analogy to describe the 17-percent subsidy Communist China gives their exporters while at the same time penalizing our producers 17 percent. Team U.S.A. is down 34-0 on the scoreboard at the start of the game - and this doesn't even take into account the Chi-Coms' devaluation of their own currency.

TNA: How do you reconcile your Jeffersonian principles with the fact that the FairTax is supposed to be revenue neutral - that is, the federal government would collect as much money under the FairTax as it does now?
Conley: We did not get to where we are today in one step. The FairTax eliminates, among other things, the income tax and payroll taxes. This is a step in the right direction. Once that is accomplished, the next step to reduce the size of the federal government is by cutting spending-then paying off the national debt, then reducing the tax rate.

TNA: Getting back to your upset primary victory, how were you able to pull it off without mega bucks for advertising?
Conley: Our victory was just a lot of hard work along with lots of dedicated volunteers. Everywhere we went we handed out a lot of business-card-sized pass-along cards to build name recognition. We went where the votes were, and where I could connect with enough voters to win. Our goal was half plus one; we received half plus a little more than five hundred! I do believe God helps those who make the effort.

TNA: What is your strategy for beating Lindsey Graham on November 4?
Conley: We need more name recognition, and that will take at least a little bit of money, by no means parity with Graham, but between 10 and 20 percent. Remember, Tom Coburn was outspent 11:1 in his 2004 primary race for U.S. Senate in Oklahoma, but through a grass-roots effort he won the primary and went on to win the Senate seat in November. And through our own grass-roots effort here in South Carolina we will win this Senate seat. Certainly, we think there will be an increased turnout for Obama in South Carolina. Graham has been declared the worst Republican senator, and is widely despised; we need to take 10 percent of his base, and believe we can take at least 25 percent.

TNA: Do you see a Ron Paul-type candidate on the horizon in the Democratic Party?
Conley: I am that candidate.

Interview of Bob Conley by Jim Capo

Money Bomb to Retire Lindsey Graham-nesty

This November we not only have the opportunity to remove a senator who has been whittling away at liberties, but we now have someone who will champion the ways of the Constitution.

His name is Bob Conley.

Even if you don't live in South Carolina, you can help take down Lindsey Graham and elect someone who will be a champion for liberty. This Monday, September 1st, a local Campaign for Libery Meet-Up group is calling for a Money Bomb for Bob Conley. You can donate at Bob Conley's website: aimhighwithbob.com.

Here is a statement from a founding member of the Meet-Up group, Vicki Simmons:

Lower Your Gas Prices: Bob Conley sees solutions to reduce your gas prices through the use of alternative energy and conservation. To end our dependence on foreign oil, we need to change our energy policy. Bob will fight for this change by: encouraging more energy production at home, promoting the development of alternative energy sources, wider use of proven alternative energy solutions, and encouraging the use of energy-saving technologies. We’ll regain energy independence and create good jobs in the process!

Iraq: Bob Conley believes it is time to end the occupation, and support our troops by bringing them home!

Jobs & Immigration: Bob supports secure borders and wants South Carolinians to have first choice of jobs in South Carolina.

Jobs & Trade: Bob Conley says no to trade agreements that send our good, well-paying jobs to foreign lands. The U.S. needs to withdraw from trade agreements that have cost us 3.5 million of our good manufacturing jobs since 2001!

Bob will promote and restore America First trade policies. We need to follow the Constitution – Congress is to regulate trade with foreign nations. We must end most favored nation status for Communist China. Bob is our fighter to change trade policies, correct our massive trade imbalance, and keep our good jobs here at home.

Economy: We must implement fiscal policies to end deficit spending. Bob Conley believes we must change our monetary policy, restore sound, honest money, and halt the fall of the dollar. We must stop predatory lending practices, end the Wall Street bailouts, and put a lid on massive expenditures abroad.

Military: Overseas deployments of occupation are breaking our military. Deployments in recent years have left 80% of our National Guard units without the necessary equipment for training – and the missions they should be prepared to serve here at home. Our National Guard needs to be rebuilt.

Veterans: Bob Conley believes veterans need to be given adequate care, not shuffled around in a Veterans’ Administration that should be overhauled. Bob will work to pass a new GI Bill for our veterans who have fought in the twenty-first century.

Constitution and the Bill of Rights: Bob Conley will fight to repeal the Big Brother legislation passed by rubber-stamp Republican Congresses. We cannot afford to give up essential liberties under the false pretense of security. Measures that infringe on our individual liberties protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights must be repealed! We must restore the Constitution and respect the principles on which our Republic was founded.

Bob Conley is the freedom candidate.

The Right Democrat

South Carolina Senate candidate Bob Conley is more conservative than his GOP foe.

From The American Conservative
By Jack Hunter

On June 11, “The Morning Buzz” radio show on WTMA 1250 AM in Charleston, South Carolina was bombarded with phone calls from listeners railing against Sen. Lindsey Graham, who the day before had secured the GOP nomination. Not a single pro-Graham call came in during the four-hour program. “I’m a Republican … but I’m voting Democrat this November,” one caller vowed. “Grahamnesty has got to go!”

Despite this post-primary radio outrage, observers see few hurdles on the horizon for the incumbent senator. But “Grahamnesty”—so called because of his support of the 2007 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act—finds himself confronting a challenge from an unexpected quarter this November.

A June 12 headline in Charleston’s Post & Courier read, “Dems seem to back conservative” in reference to Democratic primary winner Bob Conley, who barely secured his party’s nomination. (The final tally after a recount revealed that Conley won by only 986 votes out of the 144,460 cast.) “We’ve nominated a Republican in a Democratic primary,” said Conley’s challenger, Michael Cone. And indeed, the story revealed that Conley held a number of conservative positions, had only recently left the Republican Party, and even voted for Ron Paul in South Carolina’s presidential primary. But while Cone fumed, former Democratic National Chairman Don Fowler accepted Conley. “That’s the Democratic Party. We welcome anybody,” he said.

Fowler’s open-armed invitation could be comforting, as “Flattop Bob,” as Conley is often called, is as conservative as his Johnny Unitas-style haircut suggests. In private conversation, he uses the terms “populist,” “traditionalist,” and even “paleoconservative” favorably and frequently, and refers to Washington, D.C. as the “District of Criminals.” Over a pile of BBQ and collard greens (his choice), Bob explained his wardrobe woes: “First my advisers took my suit, then my long sleeves. It just doesn’t feel right for me to wear a short-sleeve dress shirt, Jack.” For the Catholic Conley, wearing his Sunday best is the norm: he tries to attend Mass every day. “The worst part is sometimes we have to be mean to him and tell him he simply doesn’t have time to go,” explains campaign manager Dan Castell, noting how impractical Conley’s church schedule is in the midst of a Senate run.

The Democratic establishment long ago wrote off this contest. Lindsey Graham is a well-funded incumbent in a deep red state. A weak field allowed the virtually unknown Conley, an engineer and commercial pilot, to take the nomination. Now Graham, much to his surprise, must compete with a Democrat who stands well to his right.

On immigration, the issue that so animated the WTMA audience, Conley’s position resembles legislation recently passed in the Republican-dominated South Carolina statehouse, including measures that impose stiff penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens. But he rejects accusations that his stance mirrors the Republican position: “If President Bush and John McCain and Lindsey Graham all want to give amnesty, want to import more foreign nationals to take our jobs, I don’t see how I’m holding the position they do.”

When discussing job losses and trade deficits, Conley never mentions “China” without adding “communist” first. Lou Dobbs would smile.

Such populism could put Graham, an avid cheerleader for free trade, at a serious disadvantage in a state where Sen. Fritz Hollings spent nearly four decades championing economic nationalism. John Edwards ran strong in upstate South Carolina—he defeated Obama and Clinton in Oconee County with 45 percent of the vote and had strong second-place showings in half a dozen of the surrounding counties. That Oconee is Edwards’s birthplace was undoubtedly a factor in his success, but so were campaign speeches promising more jobs and fairer trade. Employment is a pressing issue here: last month, Hollings told Myrtle Beach’s Sun News, “We’ve lost 94,500 manufacturing jobs, a net loss counting the jobs we got, in the last 7 years, since little boy George [W. Bush] has been in office.” The majority of those losses were suffered in the upstate.

Campaigning in the Democratic primary, Conley performed strongly in the same areas that favored Edwards. His victories were close in each upstate county, but these wins proved decisive. Economic populism resonates with local Republicans as well. Conley says that “from York to Anderson counties, they’ve still got Duncan Hunter signs up,” referring to the congressman who was arguably the most protectionist candidate in this year’s GOP presidential primary. The alleged benefits of the managed, corporate trade deals touted by Graham are a hard sell in these counties, and the senator’s constant absence from the state gives many voters the perception that he simply doesn’t care about them.

Castell is forthright about the Conley campaign’s themes: “We’re populists, we’re going straight to the people of SC, that’s all we care about. … We’ll ask, ‘You seen Lindsey? Is he still out running around with McCain? It looks like we’re running for a vacant seat.’”

Conley is at least as socially conservative as Graham, whose pro-life and anti-gay-marriage positions are popular in South Carolina. And many cultural conservatives distrust the sitting senator. Graham’s challenger in the Republican primary, Buddy Witherspoon, defeated him in Greenville, one of the most conservative counties in the state.

Conley doesn’t shrink from comparisons to Patrick Buchanan’s populism—he often makes them himself—though he is more likely to be recognized as a “Ron Paul Democrat.” He shares many of the Texas congressman’s positions, and his support for Paul in the primary has been well publicized. “If you take a look at the folks on Capitol Hill who have really taken leadership positions,” says Conley, “and you also take a look at the entire field of fellows who were running for president, there is no one on Capitol Hill who has been a stronger voice against Iraq policy, even prior to the invasion, than Ron Paul.” Like Paul, Conley keeps a copy of the Constitution on his person. It’s not much use to him, however, as he has most of the text memorized.

Conley fully embraces the antiwar themes of the Paul campaign. He believes the U.S. needs to “redeploy our troops home as quickly as is practical and consistent with their safety.” He also promises to repeal the PATRIOT Act and views the current war-induced hysteria as a danger to civil liberties.

Graham’s “the surge is working” rhetoric plays well in South Carolina, which has more veterans and active-duty military personnel per capita than any other state. The senator regularly touts his military credentials as a colonel in the Air Force Reserve: election mailers featured him dressed in fatigues, flying over the desert in helicopters, and literally drawing lines in the sands of Iraq. Graham, like McCain and Bush, promotes the narrative that supporting the troops means supporting the wars they fight, a view South Carolina majorities have repeatedly affirmed at the ballot box.

But Graham’s assumptions about a pro-war consensus may no longer be accurate. In neighboring North Carolina, antiwar Republicans Walter Jones and B.J. Lawson defied the conventional wisdom and enjoyed substantial victories in their congressional primary contests. Jones’s district is one of the most military-heavy regions in the country, including three Marine bases, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and roughly 60,000 veterans. Jones beat his Republican primary challenger, who attempted to paint the congressman as weak on military issues, with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

Whether or not Jones and Lawson represent a significant trend among Republicans, Conley points to a definite pattern in his own party, where Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, Congressman Heath Shuler of North Carolina, Congressman Tim Mahoney of Florida, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, and Congressmen Brad Ellsworth and Joe Donnelly of Indiana have all recently enjoyed victories against incumbent Republicans. Often with less money and name recognition, these self-described Blue Dog Democrats won by campaigning on relatively conservative, antiwar, and populist themes.

Conley constantly puts his own campaign into a larger political and historical context, whether Blue Dog, Southern Democrat, or Old Right. He rattles off long forgotten politicians, elections, and legislation with ease. “Bob’s the smartest guy I know,” says adviser Brian Frank. “He’s a walking encyclopedia and he’s absolutely obsessed with dead people.” Frank also reports that Conley only listens to classical music.

Granted, Graham enjoys significant advantages over Conley in experience, organization, and fundraising—the senator reportedly has around $4.5 million on hand. And in a state where voters are accustomed to Thurmonds, Hollingses, and Ravenels holding the reins of government, the immense benefit of a famous surname is not lost on the unknown challenger. While his friends and admirers love to point out that, as Frank puts it, “Bob is just a regular guy who wants to help his country,” Conley’s success will depend on whether enough regular folks, with the means and the desire, rally to his campaign.

His opponent suffers none of these constraints and could afford largely to ignore the primary. At WTMA in Charleston, Graham ran radio ads touting his many trips to Iraq, but was the only candidate among those running for a variety of state offices to decline an interview with our station. He has also avoided facing the public about his support for amnesty after getting booed at the few Republican gatherings he’s attended. Unlike McCain, Graham won’t challenge his opponent to town hall discussions.

He doesn’t think he needs to. In Graham and Jim DeMint’s last senatorial races, both won with roughly 54 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent garnered by their Democratic challengers. But most Republicans this year aren’t enthusiastic about their party or their presidential candidate, and Senator Graham is one of the most unpopular Republicans in the country after President Bush. Moreover, with black South Carolinians excited about Barack Obama, they could create a scenario in which 30 percent of the state’s population supports Conley de facto by voting a straight Democratic ticket. In Georgia, Virginia, and a host of other Southern states, the DNC could try to recruit unregistered black voters; SC has an estimated 200,000.

When asked about Conley’s conservatism by a television reporter for WRAL, Graham’s response was indicative of the dynamics of the contest: “from what I can tell, he doesn’t represent moderation. I represent a brand of conservatism that you will feel comfortable with.” Is Graham painting himself as a moderate in an election where his constituents already have serious reservations about his conservative credentials? Not even Graham’s supporters are entirely “comfortable” with him these days, something the senator seems to realize since he won’t even talk to them.

If lightning strikes twice and the unorthodox candidate few predicted to win the Democratic primary prevails in the general election, Conley will have pulled off one of the greatest electoral upsets in recent memory. This is unquestionably Graham’s race to lose. But in a political environment where most voters agree that Graham’s record is embarrassing, even if Bob Conley goes down in defeat, an unexpected attack from the right by a Blue Dog Democrat might be enough to make this red-state Republican senator blush.
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Jack Hunter, also known as the “Southern Avenger,” is a personality for WTMA 1250 AM talk radio and a columnist for the Charleston City Paper in Charleston, South Carolina. Bob Conley’s website is www.bobconleyforsenate.com.