Senator Lindsey Graham was an astute advocate of traditional moral values: his defense of the rights of the unborn, marriage (properly understood), and religious liberty endeared him to people across faith lines.
He was not a man to compromise his principles. He strongly disagreed with the position of President Trump on the Dobbs decision, saying that this elementary life issue should not be a matter for states to decide. As he put it, “the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child—not geography.”
Graham voted for the Defense of Marriage Act when he was a member of the House in 1996; it defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman. When the Respect for Marriage Act was up for a vote—it was written to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act—he voted against it. His support for a proposed constitutional amendment securing marriage as the exclusive union of a man and a woman showed how strongly he believed in the traditional understanding of marriage.
Unlike some education reformers, Graham was an advocate for school choice initiatives that included funding for parochial schools; he co-sponsored the Educational Choice for Children Act that covered Catholic schools.
When New York State Democrats sought to force Chick-fil-A, an evangelical-run company, to open its restaurants on Sundays along the New York State Thruway, the South Carolina senator pushed back, threatening to withhold federal funds from any state or city that demands that Chick-fil-A to open on Sundays.
When Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a Catholic conservative, was unjustly trashed by Democrats—spurious accusations designed to destroy his character were floated with abandon—Graham proved to be his most ferocious defender. He pleaded with the American people to “see through this charade.” They did, and Kavanaugh was confirmed.
In 2019, I wrote to Senator Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging him to reject the Trump nomination of Michael Bogren for a federal district judge appointment. He had testified that there is no difference between Catholic farm owners who refuse to rent their property for the purpose of a gay wedding and the Ku Klux Klan’s right to discriminate against blacks. When he was asked to clarify his remarks, he stuck to his guns, holding that the teachings of Christianity on marriage are morally equivalent to the Klan’s racist ideology. Bogren was defeated.
In 2024, I wrote to Graham again, this time asking him to pursue the notorious FBI spying program that was launched against innocent Catholics. This Biden administration policy was one of the most egregious violations of religious liberty ever conducted by the federal government in the history of the United States. Graham was on the side of Catholics.
The people of South Carolina will eventually choose his replacement. One thing is for sure—Senator Lindsey Graham’s legacy as a champion of traditional moral values is uncontested.
