Several would-be presidential candidates have dropped out from the 2016 race, but none have left the press so glum as the exit of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Though many in media were careful to note that they disagreed with him on many issues, they also admitted they were sad to see the South Carolina lawmaker and his pro-immigration platform go.
“None of the 13 remaining Republican presidential candidates support comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, now that Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has dropped out of the race,” the Huffington Post noted.
The U.K.’s Guardian opined, “In a party that demands increasingly radicalized, anti-establishment candidates, he may simply have been too rational.”
The article went on to praise the senator’s many moderate positions, most especially his support for immigration reform.
Graham may have been a hawk on national security issues, but at least, “he was open to bipartisan solutions to complicated issues such as immigration,” the Charlotte Observer said.
The South Carolina lawmaker was one of eight senators who championed comprehensive a immigration reform bill in 2013. Graham was joined by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., John McCain, R-Ariz., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The “Gang of Eight” bill, as it came to be known, never made it out of the House.
Because of his role in the bill and his constant support for efforts to reform immigration policy, newsrooms throughout the United States say they’ll miss seeing Graham on the campaign trail.
The Times referred to his position on the issue as “pragmatism.”
The Washington Post’s editorial board added that Graham, “was always a long shot for the Republican presidential nomination, but the departure of the South Carolina senator from the race ought to be lamented.”
“It is distressing that a candidate with his record of service, thoughtful views and humanistic approach to politics could never get any traction with the GOP base,” it added.
The Post’s editorial board said the GOP should be worried that GOP front-runner Donald Trump’s brand of populism easily overshadowed Graham’s more “thoughtful” message. Graham “didn’t shirk from staking out positions that put him at odds with the Republican Party extremes that have outsized influence in the primaries,” they wrote.
“That made him the voice of reason about the need for comprehensive immigration reform,” they added. “He was politically courageous in arguing that the United States would have to deploy ground troops in Syria to defeat the Islamic State; he may yet be proved correct.”
It also helped that political reporters found Graham to be a genuinely funny person, as his campaign events – which normally included alcohol – produced many humorous anecdotes and notable one-liners.
USA Today’s editorial board said that it was “too bad” that the South Carolina lawmaker decided to shutter his campaign. “Graham’s the kind of politician Republicans need if they’re going to thrive as the nation becomes more ethnically and racially diverse,” it wrote.
“He refused to back away from a smart immigration plan that combined tough border enforcement with a path to legality for some undocumented immigrants — the sort of plan most of his rivals can’t run away from fast enough,” they added.
The Wall Street Journal, which has in recent weeks sided with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., against Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in matters concerning national security opined, appeared saddened by the loss of Graham’s hawkish voice.
“The great conceit of the moment — shared by President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz — is that Islamic State can be defeated from the air and on the cheap,” the Journal’s editorial board said.
“Mr. Graham’s contribution … was to tell Americans this was an illusion. Long before the fall of Mosul to ISIS, before President Obama withdrew all U.S. troops from Iraq, and before Mr. Obama let the Syrian civil-war become an incubator of global jihad, Mr. Graham warned that U.S. abdication in the Middle East would have dangerous consequences. He has been proven right,” it added.
