When is a party no longer a party?

It would seem that South Carolina politics is no longer a party for Sen. Lindsey Graham. Monday night the executive committee of the Greenville Republican Party approved a “resolution of rebuke” for Graham and his “liberal” votes in the U.S. Senate.

The straw that seems to have broke the camel’s back is Graham’s support for Elana Kagan as President Barack Obama’s nominee for a seat on the United States Supreme Court.

Party officials said that in addition to holding “liberal” values that are contrary to the constitution of the United States, Kagan has no experience as a judge, which, they say, should eliminate her from consideration as an official of the highest court in the nation.

The Greenville Republicans also voiced concerns about Graham’s support of the federal TARP bailout program and giving citizenship to immigrants already in the country illegally.

The Greenville Republicans also accused Graham of being dismissive of the more conservative factions of the Republican Party.

The resolution also promises to make it known that Graham will no longer be welcome at county party events.

Graham’s office says that the Senator’s door is always open to anyone who wants to discuss the issues.

Graham’s supporters say that the Senator is basically reaching across the aisle to find common ground with the majority party (the Democrats) and find compromises and solutions instead of being stalled in a stalemate.

They note that national publications report that 90 percent of Sen. Graham votes are with the conservative side of issues. They say that Graham respects those whose views are different than his, but will continue to vote his conscious.

Which brings us back to our original question — when is a political party no longer a political party?

After all, isn’t a political party supposed to be a group of people who share common beliefs?

Of course, it is naive to believe that on every issue there are just two very black and white sides. Obviously there is gray area in between the two extremes. Generally, the national party that can appeal to the larger portion of that gray area is going to be the party in power in Washington.

Democrats used to be proud of their diversity.

Humorist Will Rogers used to quip, “I don’t belong to an organized political party. I’m a Democrat.”

But over the years, the national party has taken a strong leaning toward the more liberal side of the aisle. This leaning has led to the conservative South leaving its Democratic roots and joining the Republican Party.

One common joke was that the new Republicans of the 1980s looked an lot like the old Democrats of the 1970s.

As being a Republican became more and more popular, the party’s umbrella stretched to accept a wider range of beliefs. But that stretching of beliefs, many say, was the downfall of the Republican Party. Suddenly the party of values and purpose was lacking both.

The acronym “RINO” became popular among party circles — meaning “Republican In Name Only.” Many politicians seemed to be latching onto the Republican Party because it was the popular thing to do, not because of the values the party’s name supposedly represented.

But where do you draw the line? Monday night’s action by the Greenville County Republicans would seem to indicate that Sen. Graham could indeed be the measuring stick for what is accepted as Republican Party values.

Graham’s supporters note that Graham is simply trying to be effective by compromising with the majority party in order to keep Republican influence in the government.

Graham’s critics note that the 90 percent conservative voting the Senator is credited with is misleading, as that includes all issues on equal grounds. They point out that Graham has been siding with liberal factions on far too many key issues.

So how do you feel? Should the South Carolina Republican Party join its Greenville Chapter in rebuking Sen. Graham? Or is the Republican Party’s umbrella wide enough to include Graham’s concessions to the majority party?

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