Darline Graham Breaks With Her Late Brother On Another Key Issue

Lindsey Graham spent years defending the filibuster like it was the last load-bearing wall in the Capitol. Darline Graham looked at that wall Monday night and said knock it down. That's not a subtle break with her brother's legacy, that's a full renovation, done live on a debate stage in a primary where every word gets replayed for a year.

Here's the thing though: she's not wrong that the old argument has gotten stale. Republicans have watched Democrats threaten to nuke the filibuster every time they're one seat away from doing it themselves, then act shocked when anyone on the right suggests getting there first. If the SAVE America Act is worth passing, and Graham clearly believes it is, then betting your agenda on Senate Democrats staying disciplined for six more years is not a strategy. It's a hope.

But there's a reason her brother held the line even when it cost him. The filibuster isn't just an obstacle when you're in the minority, it's insurance for when you are. Blow it up to pass one bill and there's nothing stopping the next Democratic majority from using the same hole in the wall to pass whatever they want, faster and with less negotiating than ever. That's the trade nobody likes to say out loud in a primary debate.

Graham may be right that the current setup is unsustainable. She should still be honest with voters that "abolish it before they do" is not a principle, it's a race to the bottom, and once you're in that race there's no getting back out.