Part 2: Tim Scott & Lindsey Graham – The Grandstanders
By Lady LiberTea
My Dearest Defenders,
Welcome back dear defenders. Congratulations on making it to Wednesday, halfway there. I hope you were able to take comfort in the promising results coming out of Omaha so far this week. We may not know what lies ahead but as us Star Wars fans know, rebellions are built on hope, sparks quickly can become a flame. Remember always dear reader, we each of us is a spark, and you are important.
Now then, full steam ahead with Part 2 of our deep dive into The Palmetto Problem—otherwise known as the Top 5 Least Wanted representatives in South Carolina. (If you are new here, and would like to read Part 1 first, just click here.) If Part 1 was about the silent enablers, Part 2 is about the loud pretenders. Because sometimes the problem isn’t what’s not said—it’s what’s said instead of doing anything that matters.
Our next two subjects have national name recognition and prime-time airtime, but don’t let the soundbites fool you. For all their talking, they’ve delivered very little for South Carolinians. These men don’t represent you. They represent their own ambitions.
🎩 #3 — Tim Scott: The Polished Bystander
Tim Scott has built a brand around being “the good guy”—measured, polished, and ever-smiling. He’s the kind of politician who loves to talk about unity, faith, and opportunity. But here’s the question: What has he actually done?
Scott’s “opportunity zones” program was touted as a revitalization effort. In reality, it became a tax haven for wealthy developers—many of whom were major GOP donors. In Charleston, Greenville, and Columbia, low-income communities didn’t see investment. They saw gentrification. They saw displacement. They saw their neighborhoods bought up and sold out.
He speaks often about education reform, yet voted against measures to increase teacher pay and reduce student debt burdens. South Carolina’s public schools rank near the bottom nationally in performance and funding. Where is Scott’s leadership? Where is his plan?
Scott also touts his work on police reform. But when it came time to turn talk into law, he folded. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act died in the Senate—with Scott refusing to break ranks with party leadership to get it passed. He claimed to want compromise. What we got was complacency.
Even on economic fairness, Scott can’t seem to pick a side. Earlier this year, he led the charge to roll back Biden-era rules cracking down on junk bank fees—those predatory charges on overdrafts, late payments, and surprise service costs that hit working families the hardest. While he claims to champion financial freedom, his actions make life harder for the very people he says he’s helping.
And then there’s the Minority Business Development Agency. Scott helped secure permanent funding for it in 2021, proudly touting it as a win for Black entrepreneurship and using it in campaign messaging to Black voters. But when the program came under quiet threats of being undermined in GOP budget proposals, Scott said nothing. No defense. No press conference. No fight. Just silence.
And let’s talk about reproductive rights. Scott supports a national abortion ban, despite South Carolina already having one of the most restrictive laws in the country. He has no plan for maternal healthcare, childcare affordability, or family support systems—just empty “pro-life” slogans that end the moment a child is born.
He calls himself a “Christian conservative.” But Christian values, last I checked, include feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and welcoming the stranger. Tim Scott’s voting record? The opposite.
🎭 #2 — Lindsey Graham: The Chameleon
Oh, Lindsey. The man of a thousand faces and zero convictions.
Senator Graham has served South Carolina since 2003. Over the years, he’s reinvented himself more times than a pop star on a farewell tour. Once a “maverick” who criticized Trump, he now clings to the former president like a lifeline, hoping to stay relevant in a party he once pretended to challenge.
In the wake of January 6th, Graham took to the Senate floor and declared, “Enough is enough.” Within 72 hours, he was golfing with Trump. That’s not leadership. That’s opportunism.
On national security, Graham talks a tough game—but has repeatedly backed reckless foreign policy choices that stretched our military thin while ignoring veterans’ needs at home. He’s all for sending troops overseas, but his record on VA funding and mental health services for returning soldiers? Spotty at best.
Let’s not forget Graham’s crusade for a national abortion ban—a proposal so extreme, even many in his own party distanced themselves from it. South Carolina women are already facing barriers to care. Graham wants to make those barriers federal.
He rails against “big government,” yet votes to expand surveillance powers and restrict civil liberties. He warns about “socialist spending,” but had no issue rubber-stamping massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans—leaving working families behind.
When Graham isn’t contradicting himself on Fox News, he’s fundraising off fear. He thrives on chaos, as long as it brings in donations and keeps him in the spotlight. But when it comes to real leadership? Real vision? Real service? Lindsey Graham leaves the room.
🧭 Conclusion: Performers, Not Public Servants
Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham are two sides of the same counterfeit coin—polished on the outside, hollow at the core.
They claim to speak for South Carolina, but their actions tell a different story: they serve their donors, their party bosses, and their own political ambitions. While our schools struggle, our hospitals close, and our families fight to stay afloat, these men deliver speeches instead of solutions.
We need more than moral posturing. We need principled action.
“You shall know them by their fruits.” — Matthew 7:16
Well, we’ve seen the fruit of their labor. And it’s rotten as the Odious Orange in charge.
✊ Call to Action: Force Their Hand. Speak Louder Than the Lobbyists.
Congress is preparing to mark up a budget reconciliation proposal that could gut Medicare and Medicaid funding—programs that millions of South Carolinians rely on for basic healthcare. And let’s be clear: this isn’t a partisan issue. Cuts like these devastate rural hospitals, working families, the elderly, and veterans—regardless of who’s in office.
You must call your representatives—Republican or Democrat—and demand they reject these cuts.
Use the 5 Calls app or pick up the phone directly. Tell them:
🩺 No cuts to Medicare or Medicaid.
🎙️ We will not accept silence.
🗳️ We are watching how you vote—and we will remember.
Make them speak for you. Make them fight for you. Remind them who they work for.
Next up this Friday: we reveal the #1 Palmetto Problem—the crown jewel of chaos herself.
She’s got more costumes than convictions, more tweets than town halls, and enough drama to rival a Real Housewife reunion, and now has her greedy little eyes set on the Governor’s Mansion of our fair state.
Yes—we’re talking about Nancy Mace.
From her antics as Bathroom Batman to her best impression of Hilly from The Help (you know—the one who bakes up trouble while playing the victim), Mace has turned political theater into a full-time job. But behind the headlines and hair flips is a voting record—and it’s time we looked at what she’s actually done for South Carolina.
Spoiler: not much.
So buckle up, Defenders. Friday’s serving hot tea and hard truth.
Until Our Next Bold Move,
- Lady LiberTea
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Because South Carolina deserves better. And so do you.
Truth with bite. Tea with backbone.
— Lady LiberTea