SC’s U.S. Senate Candidates Offer Stark Contrasts

By Robert Kittle

Published: October 2, 2008

South Carolina voters have a clear choice when they go to the polls next month to elect a U.S. senator. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is running for reelection to the seat he won for the first time in 2002, after Strom Thurmond’s retirement. He’s being challenged by Democrat Bob Conley, a pilot and engineer.

When it comes to the issues that South Carolina voters say are the most important to them, the two men are on opposite sides.

Jobs and the economy

South Carolina’s unemployment rate is now at a 15-year high. One U.S. senator alone may not be able to do a lot to create jobs and improve a state’s economy, but both men say a senator can help.

Graham says he wants to lower business taxes. “We have the second-highest business tax in the entire world. So if you want to keep a company in South Carolina and keep them from going to China and India, we have to have a tax code that rewards investment and entrepreneurship,“ he says. He also wants to create a voucher so that anyone who loses his job to globalization can go to a technical school and learn a new skill.

Conley says he would like to undo the trade deals that he says caused so many American jobs to be sent overseas. “I think when we take and reevaluate those trade deals and we withdraw from them, we’re going to bring back not only these jobs, but we’re going to bring back our independence, to the United States and to South Carolina,“ he says.

Gas prices
They both want more domestic production of energy, but have different approaches. Conley says, “I think the first and foremost thing we need to do is open up the shale oil out there in the Rockies. That’s where we can bring to market the quickest and increase our domestic supply and thereby bring down prices.“

But Graham says, “My goal is to allow off-shore drilling with state consent, all down the east coast. And under my plan, South Carolina would get 40 percent of the revenue.“

Health care

In South Carolina, 16.2 percent of people don’t have health insurance, which is higher than the national average of 15.3 percent. Graham says the poor have Medicaid, those over 65 have Medicare, so it’s the middle that’s getting squeezed.

“There’s a lot of ways to reform health care to make it more affordable,“ he says. “Tax credits. A $5,000 tax credit for every American to take money that would’ve gone to the government, go out to the private sector and buy a policy for your family or your business. We can allow companies to expand the network from which they can purchase health care. The more people buying health care, the cheaper it is for every individual.“

Conley would have a completely different approach when it comes to health care. “We have a huge influx of folks who shouldn’t even be here, the illegal aliens. They’re going out and using medical services, which is driving the cost up for everybody. You take a look at the scores of hospitals that have closed in California. If we don’t do something about the porous southern border, and if we don’t do something about the tens of millions of illegal aliens who are here, that problem is going to continue to skyrocket,“ he says.

War and national security
Conley says our border with Mexico should also be the main focus of our national security efforts. He thinks the U.S. should withdraw troops from Iraq and all of its military stationed overseas.

“It’s been more than five years since we heard ‘Mission Accomplished’. How much longer are we going to put American lives at risk for this occupation? How many more trillions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are we going to spend? It’s not a national security issue. Period. Our porous southern border is a serious national security issue,“ he says.

Graham disagrees completely.

“Iraq is becoming more stable by the day and we’re winning in Iraq. Iraq’s been a nightmare for al Qaeda. They were rejected by fellow Muslims. The biggest success of all out of Iraq is that Muslims rejected al Qaeda, joined with us and took the fight to al Qaeda, and they don’t want to be dominated by Iran. Now, you’ve got a democratic nation emerging that will be a buffer to Iran, that rejected al Qaeda. That makes us safer,“ he says.