Latest / BOB DOLE : 1995 Clinton's Comeback / Politically Speaking with Randal Wallace : Lindsey Graham Visits Greenwood and Endorsement 1995 and 1996

Transcript

Politically Speaking with Randal Wallace : Lindsey Graham Visits Greenwood and Endorsement 1995 and 1996 · BOB DOLE : 1995 Clinton's Comeback

• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: In a new feature for our show that we plan to unveil at the end of the Bob Packwood special series is Politically Speaking with Randall Wallace, which is the name of the column that I wrote for the Lander College newspaper in 1995 and 1996.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Two of the stories that we were planning on doing had to do with Lindsey Graham.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: One was one of the first stories I ever wrote covering his visit to Greenwood.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the other was his the endorsement we made after his first year and a half in office from Politically Speaking.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sadly, Lindsey Graham passed away on July 11th.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought we would read those stories as a feature in the special broadcast today.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: As our first look at Politically Speaking with Randall Wallace.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Congressman Lindsey Graham speaks to Greenwood and a Lander crowd by Randall Wallace, staff writer for the Lander College newspaper of the Forum.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: On February 4th, Congressman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina's 3rd District, including Lander University, visited Greenwood.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Graham held a Meet Your Congressman Town meeting.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: While there, he listed what he felt were the accomplishments of the new Congress and answered a few questions on some of the issues from the people who were present.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: There were a few local officials in attendance to greet the Congressman, including Mayor of Greenwood, Floyd Nicholson, Chairman of the Greenwood County Council, Patrick Moody, and Ware Scholes Mayor, George Rush, along with several city council members from Greenwood and 96.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: One of the issues that the Congressman discussed in depth was the changes proposed for student loans.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: The Congressman stated that he was a big supporter of student loan programs.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: He called them, quote, the best investment we can make in America, unquote.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: He stated that defaults on loans have become a major problem.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: The Congressman said that there were certain programs he wanted to see increased, which included the Work Study Program and a Reshape Telegrant program.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: He pointed out that, quote, we have to do more with less than we have to prioritize.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a supporter of continuing student aid.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not a supporter of giving money and never asking it to be repaid.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Our whole program needs to be revamped.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: He felt that Congress was coming up with a new structure.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Graham said the idea that if Lander University receives direct student loan money and it defaults, rates get above a certain level, nobody at Lander is going to get any money.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: The best way you can police anything is to reward good behavior and punish bad, or our system does not do the right thing.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Which our system does not do right now.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Rand discussed the state budget cut currently proposed by the state.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: That is why we need to block Ramp money down to the state level and cut out the bureaucratic maze to have more money to spend on education and less to spend on bureaucracy.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: He feels the Department of Education must be dismantled and pointed out that 62 cents out of every dollar that is spent to watch sent to Washington disappears before it gets back to the state.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Graham pointed out what he felt was a major accomplishment of the new Congress.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Records show that the new Congress had worked 115 hours in session in January compared with an average of 28 hours in the past 12 years.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: During the same month, the number of committee meetings had increased from 25.4 to 155 times.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Also, on the average number of bills passed by Congress in January over the past 12 years had been 1.6, and the new Congress had passed 14.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: The legislation which Graham was proudest of includes making the laws passed by Congress apply to them, as well as the rest of the country.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Another was congressional committee chair term limits of six years.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: A third was the elimination of one-third of the committee staff and the abolishment of four standing committees, which results in savings of$35 million.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: They also cut$300,000 for the congressional observance of National Pizza Week and National Asparagus Day.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: And they passed a balanced budget amendment.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And on Ronald Reagan's 84th birthday, they passed the line item veto, something the former president had long tendered.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Graham also discussed several items that the new Congress hopes to address, which includes a streamlined death penalty appeals process, welfare reform, a flat tax proposal, and he answered questions on student loans and the minimum wage increase.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Graham came out against the minimum wage increase, calling it bad politics and bad economics.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: He felt it was a bad idea and pointed out that when the minimum wage was raised last time, unemployment went up 20% among African American teenagers.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: He said raising the minimum wage would eliminate the entry-level job that so many Americans use as a bridge out of the welfare cycle, and it would hurt the opportunities for teenagers to work part-time and in summers.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: When the meeting ended, the Congressman was nice enough to talk to me about how to roll, about his role in Washington would benefit Lander University.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: He felt that secondary education was vital to the future of our country.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: He said, quote, we need to take the student loan programs and tighten them up so we can get the defaulters out of the system, unquote.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Congressman Graham told us that he is on the Congressional Education Committee and that, quote, having Lindsey Graham on the Education Committee was the best thing that can happen to Lambard, unquote.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Congressman added that if students had concerns to drop by his Greenwood office and let him know personally.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: The Congressman ended his visit by thanking everyone for electing him during what he called his historic time.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that he thanked the good Lord for this opportunity to serve.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: He also invited people to keep in touch with him about any concerns at his office here in Greenwood.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Lindsay Graham.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: From April of 1996, endorses Lindsey Graham for re-election.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: One for Lindsey Graham, one for Bob Doe, and one for Strom Thurman.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Politically speaking, with Randall Wallace, Republican change brings results.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: The Congress has been one of historic change.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Change that was unprecedented and a long time coming.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: After 40 years of Democratic rule, the House of Representatives changed hands to the Republicans, and the Senate did as well.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Under the experienced, guiding hand of Bob Dole in the Senate and the vision of Newt Gingrich in the House, the two chambers created major changes in 1995.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: One major change also occurred in the 3rd Congressional District of South Carolina.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Butler Derrick stepped down and was replaced by a Republican named Lindsey Graham.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is the first time a Republican has held the 3rd District in a long, long time.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was surely a change for the better.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Lindsey Graham and the other House freshmen ran as a group on a set of promises called the Contract with America.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: In the year and a half that Lindsey Graham has been in office, he has been able to make a rare claim for a politician.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Promises made, promises kept.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Congressman Graham and his other House members passed the line item veto, cut congressional staffs, restricted lobbyists, banned gifts, made Congress subject to the same laws that govern everybody else's workplace, reformed unfunded mandates, legal reform to discourage frivolous lawsuits, increased the Social Security earnings limit, eliminated 60 programs, and saved a combined$50 billion during 1995 and so far in 1996.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: They also achieved the telecommunications reform, which was a huge job creation bill.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Most importantly, they passed a balanced budget for the first time in a generation.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: After leaving the House, this legislation was fine-tuned masterfully by Senate leader leaders like Bob Dole and Pete Dominici.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Indeed, the real problem of fundamental change has come from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Bill Clinton vetoed Medicare reform, welfare reform, and a balanced budget, regardless of the fact that he had promised to do all of the above in the 1992 election.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: No matter how hard our leaders work and live up to the promises they have made, real change will not begin until a new occupant arrives at the White House.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Lindsey Graham ran on a group of promises and he has lived up to his part of the bargain.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: He deserves re-election in November.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Congressman Graham, Duke Gingrich, and Bob Dole have many goals in 1996 and beyond.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: They want to get a balanced budget signed and real welfare reform signed and a tax relief for the American family.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: They hope to pass a real crime bill, and they are also seeking to pass two-thirds passage requirement in order for Congress to raise the taxes of the American people.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: With the political guts of House freshmen like Lindsey Graham, leadership like Newt Gingrich and Dick Army in the House, the leaders like Bob Dole in the Senate, then these reforms should come to the Oval Office for passage.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: This would be leaving only one obstacle to accomplishing the goals of fundamental change, Bill Clinton.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: It appears we are one election away from making true change in the way Washington does business.