On Saturday, July 11, longtime Republican U.S. Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham died at the age of 71. He passed away suddenly from an aortic dissection shortly after returning from a trip to Ukraine.
When he saw the news, Glenn Beck was troubled — but not because he’s a fan of Graham’s or even because death is a sad reality. He was disturbed because once again many people, including conservatives, were celebrating the tragic news.
“I haven’t agreed with Lindsey Graham in a very long time — not on the wars, not on the surveillance state, not on a dozen deals. I thought he sold out the people that elected and sent him there,” Glenn admits.
“I wanted South Carolina to retire him, but at the ballot box. … We settle things with paper and not with blood,” he emphasizes.
Right now, many Americans on both sides of the political aisle have blurred the line between loss and death.
“Lindsey Graham didn’t lose; he died — and those are not the same thing. … Stop celebrating death, America, as if it’s a political victory. It’s grotesque,” Glenn says.
“I am not going to reduce an entire man’s life to whether or not we agreed. What a dishonor. What a dishonor — not to his family or to him, to yourself,” he continues.
While Graham’s legacy is complicated, it’s full of admirable moments, Glenn argues.
Graham came from humble beginnings, was the first person in his family to attend college, and lost both his parents to tragic deaths when he was in his early 20s.
At the age of 22, Graham, the new “man of his family,” drove home nearly every weekend from Columbia University to check on his little sister, Darline.
“And when he joined the Air Force, he did something incredible. He legally adopted his sister. Why? There’s no fame in that. … He adopted her so that if he died in the military, his benefits would go to her,” Glenn adds through tears.
In 2009, Graham was the only Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote in favor of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation. A year later, he did the same for Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
Glenn says Graham was “right” to vote in favor of these liberal judges he personally disagreed with and praises him for being the only one who understood that a Senate confirmation is an “anti-corruption device” designed to prevent a president from “appointing his relatives or his cronies or his flatterers.”
“It was never meant to be a second election. Lindsey Graham understood this, … and he did what he felt was required of him, and it cost him politically,” Glenn explains.
But his favorite Graham moment happened in 2018 during Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Graham passionately ripped into Senate Democrats, calling the process “the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics” for what he saw as a smear campaign to destroy Kavanaugh’s life and delay the seat until after the midterms.
“This is what a human being looks like when you write him down. It’s not a hero or a villain. It’s a ledger. There’s ink on both sides of the page,” Glenn says, “and if you think your page is going to come out any cleaner, I’d encourage you to go back and look at those pages of your life.”
He then gives Graham the honor he’s owed.
“Three decades in the uniform of the United States. Brother, guardian, father, in fact, to a 13-year-old girl who had nobody else. Lindsey Graham, I salute you. Thank you for your service to your state, to your service for your country.”
To hear more of Glenn’s commentary, watch the video above.
Want more from Glenn Beck?
To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Lindsey graham
