Ramesh, you are forcing me to admit that I was being snarky about Hillyer’s piece.
I am sure that there are worse Republican senators. There always are. Graham has been good on the war, and that counts for a lot. But the whole point of my comment, and perhaps the original piece, was that on the criteria that Hillyer cited, Graham’s record bears a stunning resemblance to John McCain’s. Those particular criteria include:
works well with liberals;
gets along especially well with Hillary;
has been known to praise liberal views and actions while reserving special venom for conservatives;
is pro-immigration regardless of legality;
is fond of La Raza and has called those who disagree with their views “bigots”;
took a large role in that bipartisan triumph; the Gang of 14;
postured about torture at Gitmo;
lacks a conservative vision.
In fact, if someone read you that list, I bet most conservatives would think of McCain (for whom I am voting without reservation, because in politics half a loaf really is better than none, and strategic thinking about 2012 will leave us defenseless against the worst of what Obama wants to do) well before Graham. Graham is only a disappointment because, way back, he kind of seemed to be sorta conservatively inclined.