PoliTick-Tock

Graham hails Palin selection

While U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said he only knew his close friend John McCain's new running mate "by reputation,'' he said Gov. Sarah Palin's chief strength is reinforcing McCain's own message of change.

Graham, who is frequently by McCain's side at campaign stops, would only say that he and McCain "had talked'' about the decision, declining to specify his role in the decision.

"I think she's exactly what our ticket wanted,'' Graham said in a telephone interview Friday from his office in Greenville. "She's taken on the good-old-boy system in Alaska and, frankly, won.''

Calling Palin a maverick in the same vein as McCain, Graham noted that her ethics battles in her home state had taken her against members of her own party. In Alaska, she established herself as a popular tax-cutter, all while raising five children.

"With McCain as President, things will change in Washington, not based on a speech, but based on people who have brought about change,'' Graham said.

When asked how Palin, with relatively little political experience outside Alaska, will fare in debates against three-decade Senate veteran Joe Biden, Graham said she would hold her own.

"She's got a good record of reform,'' Graham said. "Joe Biden is a good friend, but he's the third most-liberal person in Washington.''

If something should happen to 72-year-old McCain in office, Graham said, Palin is ready.

"I have a lot of confidence in her. I would be proud to call her my President,'' Graham said. "She's tough as nails, and she's a doer, not a talker.''

Graham said he spoke to McCain and Palin a few hours after their appearance together in Ohio, and that he was proud of McCain for choosing the Republican Party's first female vice-presidential nominee.
He was unsure, he said, whether Palin had ever visited South Carolina.

S.C. Senator to speak at GOP Convention

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will speak on the last night of the Republican National Convention next week, organizers announced.

Graham will speak Sept. 4, the same night as nominee John McCain -- Graham's staunch ally in the Senate. The schedule is still being finalized, but Graham now appears to be the only South Carolinia politician on the program.

Ice cream with Lindsey

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham plans to spend a few bucks out of his nearly $5 million campaign war chest on an ice cream cone for you.

On Sunday, June 8, he'll make two campaign stops on the Grand Strand, just two days before the Republican Primary.

At 2 p.m., you can find him at Planet Hollywood, 2915 Hollywood Drive, Myrtle Beach.

At 4 p.m., he'll be at Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort, 14276 Ocean Highway, Pawleys Island.

Graham adds quarter-million to campaign chest

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham raised another $230,601 for his re-election bid in April and May, according to figures released Thursday by his campaign.

He spent $488,296, but his campaign still had $4.5 million left for the June 10 primary and the general election. Campaign manager Scott Farmer touted the contributions as growing momentum and strong support for Graham's ``common-sense conservative record.''

Thursday was the filing deadline for the last official report before the primary, though it normally takes several days before reports are available electronically. If a candidate receives a contribution of $1,000 or more between Friday and the weekend before the primary, a special report must be filed within 48 hours.

Graham's primary challenger, dentist and former Republican Party official Buddy Witherspoon of Columbia, could not be reached late Thursday. As of March 31, the last deadline, he had raised $350,000, including a $220,000 loan to himself, and had $258,000 of it left.

Neither of the Democratic candidates could be reached Friday, either. At the end of March, attorney Michael Cone of Mt. Pleasant had $109 going forward, while North Myrtle Beach engineer and pilot Bob Conley had $42.

Graham: endorsements and offers of help

Amid two new endorsements from conservative groups, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is sending a representative to Georgetown to meet with constituents.

In his bid for re-election, Graham received endorsements from two key conservative groups this week: the National Rifle Association, which gave his pro-gun voting record an 'A,' and the South Carolina Citizens for Life, which hailed his "long-standing opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and lethal research that destroys a living human embryo."

This Wednesday, Graham is sending a representative from his office to Georgetown to meet with constituents who are having problems dealing with various governmental agencies.

The representative will be at the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments, 1230 Highmarket St., from 10 to 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Anyone planning to come is encouraged to make an appointment ahead of time with Graham's Florence office, (843) 669-1505.

Fed up with the feds?

Anyone who needs help dealing with a federal agency is invited to meet with a representative of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's office Wednesday.

To make an appointment, call Graham's Florence office at (843) 669-1505.

WHEN | 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

WHERE| Myrtle Beach City Hall, second floor conference room, 937 Broadway, Myrtle Beach.

McBride to skip GOP primary, seek petition candidacy

CONWAY | In his bid to unseat a well-financed sitting senator, the former mayor of Myrtle Beach plans to skip the June Republican primary in hopes he can gather enough signatures to be on the general-election ballot in November.

"The time has come to do something different in this state, different in this country," said Mark McBride. "We have a two-party system that's fighting back and forth, and nothing's getting done."

Filing for the party primaries ends Sunday. Incumbent Lindsey Graham's only challenger to file in the primary thus far is Buddy Witherspoon, a dentist and former Republican party official from Columbia. Attorney Michael Cone of Mount Pleasant has filed as a Democrat.

Now, McBride will attempt to gather signatures of 10,000 registered votes by July 15 to have his name put on the November general election ballot. He said he has 100 volunteers lined up to help, and will campaign in all 46 counties in the state.

Graham lists local supporters

As part of his re-election campaign, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham released a list of his more than 1,000 statewide supporters this week, which includes numerous locals.

From Horry County: Mary Ellen Artioli, Georgia Bellamy, Rashida Bellamy, Betty S. Bonsignor, John E. Bonsignor, Angela Brinegar, Robert Cavanaugh, Susan Chapman, Deanna Cochran, Lloyd Coppedge, Nona Renee Fonda, Buddy Freeman, Russell Fry, Jonathan Hardee, Deborah B. Harwell, Marilyn Hatley, Thomas Herron, Aimee Jstice, Neil Justice, Jerry Karpinski, Joanne Karpinski, Barbara Leonard, Larry Lines, Chuck Ottwell, Fred Parsons, Tom Pascucci, Joyce Phillips, Alice Pickering, David Prince, Ed Prince, Joe Ruisi, Valerie Schoen, Julie Shannon, Hilda Shelley, Cleo Steele, Richard Steele, Beverly Talbert, Nancy Terrell, Keith Van Winkle, Randal Wallace and Allison Wolf. 

From Georgetown County: Walter Berner, Ramond Bradley, Ron Charlton, Kathy Cunningham, Raymond Husband, Danny Jernigan, Jim Jerow, Joyce Jerow, Roland Lambert, Eloyce Little, Dorothy MacDonnell, Thomas MacDonnell, David Maring, Gil McCall, John Napier, Ed Norris, Jerry Oakley, Glen O'Connell, Bill Otis, Frances Owens, Payton Parsons, William Thompson and Linda Young.

Graham also touts the support of nearly all of the state's Republican establishment, including Gov. Mark Sanford, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell, 1st District U.S. Rep. Henry Brown and state Attorney General Henry McMaster. President Bush's endorsement has also featured prominently in Graham's campaign.

The list did not go unnoticed by at least one of his primary opponents, Buddy Witherspoon of Columbia. The former Republican National Committee representative's campaign shot back a reply:

"I wish the South Carolinians listed on Senator Lindsey Graham's steering committee were the people actually 'steering' him," Witherspoon said in an emailed news release. "Unfortunately, Sen. Graham is being steered by Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and a lot of other 'liberal Washington insiders', and his steering committee is just 'window dressing.' "

Both Graham and Witherspoon filed with the state Republican Party this week.

Filings for office

Filings with the Horry and Georgetown political parties began on Sunday and will continue through the end of March. Although most of the filings have been incumbents at this early stage, there have been a few challengers and surprises. We'll continue to post new filings on Politick-tock and on C2 of the print edition until the filing period closes. The following is a list of people who had filed as of 4:00 p.m.

Lindsey Graham launches first radio ad

If you're a talk-radio fan, you probably already know: U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham launched the first radio ad of his campaign this week.

The 60-second ad entitled "Conservative Voices" recounts praise for Graham from various conservative groups, such as Citizens Against Government Waste and the Family Research Council, as well as an endorsement by President Bush.

"Senator Graham, I'm proud to call you friend," Bush says in the ad.

Among Graham's Republican challengers in the June 10 primary are former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride and Columbia dentist Buddy Witherspoon, a longtime Republican Party official who spoke to the Horry County chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps on Friday night. Michael Cone, a lawyer from Mt. Pleasant, has announced a challenge to Graham as a Democrat.

The Graham re-election campaign announced that it had nearly $5 million on hand by the end of last year.