Town hall meetings for Republicans have been so contentious lately that many GOP members of the House and Senate have refused to hold them for fear they might be tarred and feathered if they show up and refuse to explain why they want to take away affordable health insurance from voters.
So South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham should be commended to meeting with his constituents in Clemson on Saturday, though Graham may be sorry he ever agreed to take the stage.
At one point in the meeting, Graham declared:
“I’m going to try to help our president, Donald Trump, be as successful as possible because, number one, I agree with him mostly and I’d like to get this country moving again.”
That statement was met with loud, sustained booing and cat calling. Keep in mind this is in South Carolina, one of the most consistently conservative states in the country. Trump won the state by 14 points over Clinton last November. But one mention of agreeing with the so-called head of state and the audience was almost ready to toss rotten fruit at Graham.
Later, when asked about Obamacare, which the GOP has vowed to eliminate, Graham said he wants to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA). That line led to shouts and heckling from the crowd.
When you’re a Republican in the Deep South and you cannot manage to get a word out before your constituents are shouting you down and making fun of you, something has fundamentally changed in the three months since the last election. And the fact that new revelations are coming out daily regarding Trump’s connections to Russia is also poisoning the atmosphere for Republicans, even in deep red states.
Looks like Trump may wind up destroying the GOP after all.
Featured Image Via CNN Screengrab
