OPINION:
“If it weren’t for double standards,” conservative syndicated talk-radio host Chris Plante often says, “the left would have no standards at all.”
The latest example of the political left’s double standards was on display this week when liberals and self-styled progressives took to social media to criticize the appointment of Darline Graham Nordone as interim replacement for her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, who died Saturday.
Until about 10 days ago, many of the same leftists who ridiculed the appointment of Ms. Nordone to the six-month gig could not be convinced that a Democrat with enough baggage to fill the overhead bins of an airliner was unsuitable to represent Maine for a full six-year Senate term.
Mr. Graham, who won nomination for a fifth Senate term just over a month ago, died of an aortic dissection at 71. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, tapped Ms. Nordone to serve until a new senator is elected in November and seated in January.
She was sworn in Tuesday, and the Republican nominee will be chosen in a special primary election on Aug. 11.
Since 2019, Ms. Nordone has served as commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, an agency that provides vocational rehabilitation, independent living training and other services to blind and visually impaired residents of the Palmetto State, The Post and Courier reported. “She was also recently elected the incoming president of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind … with her term as president-elect beginning in January.”
Ms. Nordone, 62, was a key player in all of her older brother’s Senate campaigns dating back to 2002. Now she will be the first woman to represent South Carolina in Congress’ upper chamber.
Yet the comment pages at the bottom of online news reports about the appointment were rife with personal insults, complaints about a lack of experience, nepotism and/or being a “rubber stamp,” and, not surprisingly, blaming President Trump.
Ms. Nordone’s seven years at the helm of a state agency are apparently insufficient qualifications for some leftists. As far as I know, they never raised an eyebrow — much less an issue — with the qualifications of any interim senators appointed to fill out the terms of Democratic senators who died (Massachusetts and California) or left for higher office (Delaware) over more than 15 years.
When Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, died of brain cancer in August 2009 at age 77, then-Gov. Deval Patrick chose Paul G. Kirk as his interim replacement, a former special assistant to Kennedy and former Democratic National Committee chairman. Mr. Kirk served in that role until Feb. 4, 2010.
When six-term Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Delaware Democrat, was elected vice president in November 2008, then-Gov. Ruth Minner handed the Senate seat to Biden adviser Edward “Ted” Kaufman, who served as interim senator for 22 months, from January 2009 to November 2010.
Perhaps most egregiously, however, when Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, died at 90 on Sept. 29, 2023, fellow Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom replaced her with Laphonza Butler, a union organizer, lesbian activist and longtime ally of then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Ms. Butler was not even a California resident when Mr. Newsom picked her, having moved to Maryland in 2021. The governor had promised to tap a Black woman for the vacancy; she is perhaps best remembered for grandstanding during her 14-month stint in office (specifically, reading from banned books on the Senate floor).
As for Ms. Nordone, with respect to voting on public policy issues and legislation, her Senate tenure will actually be substantially shorter than six calendar months.
Then, for the two months after that, and before the next Senate convenes in January with a new senator from South Carolina, Ms. Nordone’s duties will largely consist of wrapping up constituent caseloads and closing down the office.
“It is such an honor,” Ms. Nordone said Monday, as many of the late senator’s staffers and campaign advisers stood alongside her at the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina. “And now, I will be there for him.”
“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words,” she said. “But I’m going to do this. I’ve got it.”
Yes, she does, and the intolerant left needs to get over it.
• Peter Parisi is a former editor for The Washington Times.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.