Senator Lindsey Graham Passes Away
On Saturday, July 11, Lindsey Graham, the longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, died unexpectedly at 71 years old due to an aortic dissection shortly after he returned from Ukraine.
Glenn Beck reacted to the news with dismay. He wasn’t a supporter of Graham, nor was his sadness purely about death itself. What troubled him was the fact that many, even some conservatives, were celebrating Graham’s passing.
“I’ve had my disagreements with Lindsey Graham over the years—whether it was about war, surveillance policies, or various deals,” Glenn remarked. “I always felt he let down those who elected him.”
He continued, “We wanted South Carolina to vote him out, but that should be handled at the voting booth. We settle issues with ballots, not violence.”
Currently, a lot of Americans seem to confuse loss with death, Glenn pointed out.
“Lindsey Graham didn’t just lose; he died. These two concepts are not interchangeable. Celebrating a death as if it were some political win? That’s just grotesque,” he lamented.
“We shouldn’t reduce a person’s life to whether we agree with them politically. It’s just disgraceful. Disgraceful to his family, to him, and, frankly, to ourselves,” he added.
While Graham’s legacy is multifaceted, Glenn highlighted the impactful moments that filled his life.
Graham came from a humble background and was the first in his family to attend college. Tragically, he lost both parents by his early twenties.
At 22, after entering public life, he made a habit of driving home from Columbia University almost every weekend to check on his sister, Darling.
“When he joined the Air Force, he did something remarkable—he legally adopted her. Why? There was no glory in that. He wanted to ensure that if he died in service, his benefits would go to her,” Glenn said with emotion.
Remarkably, in 2009, Graham was the only Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee who voted for the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. He followed this the next year by supporting Justice Elena Kagan as well.
Glenn praised Graham for realizing that Senate confirmation was the only safeguard against corrupt appointments, saying, “This was never intended to be a second election.” Graham understood his responsibilities, even when it cost him politically.
Glenn’s favorite moment involving Graham took place during the 2018 Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, where he fiercely criticized Senate Democrats, branding the whole affair a smear campaign that derailed Kavanaugh’s life. He described it as “the most unethical fraud” he had seen in politics.
“This illustrates how we account for people. It’s not about heroics or villainy; it’s a ledger. There are good and bad on both sides. If you’re aiming for a better page, consider your own life,” Glenn reflected.
In closing, he gave a heartfelt salute to Graham: “Thirty years of service in the United States military. An older brother, a guardian, a father figure for a 13-year-old girl who had no one else. Lindsey Graham, we honor you. Thank you for your dedication to your state and your country.”
