I generally have two approaches to cartoons about the recently departed. Either I draw a caricature of the person next to a quotation of theirs, or I depict the person ready to step into the celestial/infernal elevator (the reader may decide which). For the late Senator Lindsey Graham, I went with the latter.
If I had chosen the former approach, which Lindsey Graham quotation should I have used?
Graham, widely spread rumors of his being gay notwithstanding, was not friendly on LGBTQ issues, which are my cartooning bailiwick. He supported Don't Ask Don't Tell, voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), voted in favor of a bill amendment prohibiting same-sex couples in the District of Columbia from adopting and against another extending immigration protections to binational same-sex couples, and was a co-sponsor of the Republican bill to amend the Constitution to define marriage to exclude same-sex couples.
I did not find any pithy, succinct opinions of his on LGBTQ+ issues that I could quote in a cartoon, however. So how about his thoughts on other issues?
“Well, Donald Trump’s plan on immigration is stupid. I find him offensive. His solution is just constitutionally flawed. It’s not practical. I don’t think there’s ten votes in the United States Senate for this plan. I promise you no Democrat’s going to vote for this, I certainly wouldn’t vote for it. You’re not going to get 11 million people out of this country. That’s just not practical, that’s going to kill the Republican Party. It’s self-deportation on steroids.” —August, 2015
“You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell. He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represents the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for. … He’s the ISIL man of the year.” —December, 2015
“If Trump is the standard bearer, it’s not about 2016, it’s about losing the heart and soul of the conservative movement. I’m not going to stand behind a guy that gets David Duke’s support. What is it about Trump’s campaign that David Duke likes? I don’t think he is a reliable conservative Republican. So it’s no longer about winning the election for me, it’s trying to salvage a party that I love and conservatism as I know it.” —March 2016
“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed......and we will deserve it.” —May 2016 tweet
““I…cannot in good conscience support Donald Trump because I do not believe he is a reliable Republican conservative nor has he displayed the judgment and temperament to serve as Commander in Chief. I think Donald Trump is going to places where very few people have gone and I’m not going with him.” —on CNN, May 2026
“The Senate should not confirm a new Supreme Court Justice until we have a new president … You can use my words against me.” — Lindsey Graham, February, 2016, nearly a year before Inauguration Day
“As the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’m very committed to ensuring that the nominee gets a challenging, fair, and respectful hearing. We move forward on this nomination knowing that the President has picked a highly qualified individual who will serve our nation well on the highest court in the land.” — September 26, 2020, after Donald Trump named Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court five weeks before another presidential election
"Trump and I, we've had a hell of a journey. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough." —after the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol
Perhaps I should have quoted someone else's thoughts about Senator Graham. Donald Narcissus Trump, perhaps?
"He had one bad moment in the January 6 thing when he stood up — 'alright, now I've had it, that's it, I can't do it anymore' -- then he called me about 40 minutes later and said, 'Did I really said that? I can't believe it.' And he took it back." —July 13, 2026
Or better yet, Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone:
“Lindsey Graham is dead. I will always remember my first and only encounter with him when he looked the grieving mother of a dead police officer in the face and barked that he wasn’t going to listen to her blame Trump for January 6th. When I showed him my body cam footage from that day he turned away and looked at his phone. Rest in Piss you fucking worthless scumbag. If there is a hell I hope you're in it.”
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