Many across the political world, and in Washington D.C., are remembering Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) who passed away suddenly over the weekend.
Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, a fellow Senate Republican who served from 2003 to 2009, reflected on Graham and his legacy. Graham, 71, died Saturday evening after a tear in his aorta, according to a statement from his office Sunday.
That includes a group in the Senate that worked towards bipartisan compromise, something lacking in today's political climate.
"John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham, they were the 'three amigos.' Two have been in heaven for a while, and I'm saying Lindsey will meet them at Heaven's gate, and they'll be wondering why he came so soon because he had so much more work to do," Coleman told WCCO's Adam and Jordana following Graham's sudden death.
He says the three worked together, always looking for a bipartisan path forward, with McCain and Graham working with the Democratic Lieberman.
"They traveled the world together," Coleman remembers. "They were champions for a strong America, understanding that America has a place in the world, and it's not to be the world's cop, not to be the policeman."
Coleman says sadly, the kind of partnership that the three had seems impossible these days in politics. He adds the sudden death of Graham is just as impossible sounding.
"Just unfathomable, really. He was traveling to go to Ukraine, you take a 12-hour train ride," Coleman said. "I mean, he was just, he had strength, energy, he traveled. He had just come back from Turkey before on his way to Ukraine. So unfathomable. There was so much more that he had to do."
As the Senate convened Monday, Graham's desk was draped in black cloth and held a vase of white roses, as is customary when a senator dies in office. In his opening remarks, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “it's difficult to count the ways in which Lindsey's friendship made this job richer and its burdens lighter.”
Graham "was as loyal as they come and a trusted adviser,” Thune said.
