 Fellow American – Let me tell you something they don't teach you in Washington. Not a fancy restaurant. Not a supper club. A beer joint, pool hall, and liquor store on Main Street in Central, South Carolina – the Sanitary Cafe. My parents ran it. We lived behind it. I swept the floors, wiped down the tables, and fell asleep listening to the sounds of working people winding down after a long shift at the textile mill.  Neither of my parents finished high school. But they worked as if the sun were always going down, and they believed – truly believed – that their kids would go further than they did. I was the first in my family to go to college. And while I was there, I lost them both. Mom and Dad, died within two years of each other. I came home on weekends to keep the business going and helped raise my little sister, Darline, who was just 13. I didn't have a safety net. I had no choice but to climb. That's the South Carolina way. That's the American way.  After law school, I put on the uniform. I became a U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate – military prosecutor, defense attorney. Even after South Carolinians sent me to the Senate, I kept serving in the Reserves. I've been to Afghanistan. I've been to Iraq. I've stood next to kids from small towns just like Central who signed up because they believe in something bigger than themselves. That's why I fight so hard, because I know exactly what's at stake. The people coming to our family's pool hall after a long week – they weren't asking for much. Safe streets. A fair shot. A chance to build something. Those are the same things Americans want today. And the folks on the other side of the aisle? They're perfectly happy to hand your neighborhood over to open borders, pile new taxes on your paycheck, and tell you to be grateful for it. I won't stand for it. Not for a second. Fellow American, I need you with me right now. We are in a fight for the future of this country, and it is not a time to sit on the sidelines. Would you chip in a few dollars today to keep Team Graham in this battle? I didn't come from money. I came from a bar in South Carolina, a mother who worked hard, and a faith that hard work still means something in America. It still does. But only if we fight for it. Thank you for standing with me. God bless you, and God bless South Carolina.  Lindsey Graham       |
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