During the recent South Carolina Senate runoff debate Senator Darlene Graham responded to a question about the importance of Taiwan and South Korea to American national interests by saying that she does not know much about foreign policy, is not a professional politician, but supports the military. For any senatorial candidate other than the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, this would have been an immediately disqualifying answer to a fairly basic foreign policy question. She did not help herself when she went on a Fox News show with Sean Hannity and doubled down on her response by asserting that her ignorance of the issues is a virtue showing that she is not a career politician.
But why does her response matter? It matters because
Darlene Graham is not running for South Carolina’s chief dog catcher. She is running to be a member of the United States Senate, once considered to be the most deliberative legislative body in the world. (I think we can all agree those days are gone.) Our Founding Fathers designed the bicameral legislature to be divided by short term representatives of the people, The House of Representatives, and longer-term representatives of the states, the Senate, that would deal with issues of national importance. The members of the Senate were envisioned to be of a higher qualification than the Representatives. Their focus would be on matters that transcended the parochial interests of individual Congressional districts. Let’s not forget that senators were not popularly elected until passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913. The Founders held the senate in such high regard and the wisdom of the average voter in such low regard that they did not trust the people to select officials that would carry such weighty responsibilities.
Senator Darlene Graham has her current seat because Donald Trump requested South Carolina Governor McMasters appoint her knowing she would be a loyal Republican vote for his agenda. Unfortunately, her ignorance of world affairs is a serious liability, not only for her campaign, but also for the state she wishes to represent. Despite what Donald Trump would have you believe, we live in a world of nations that are as intertwined as the threads of a rope. The world economy is not a collection of individual countries coming together at a farmer’s market to sell their wares. Those wares are produced from components that may originate in two dozen different countries. Very few products can claim sole national ownership of raw materials, production, sales, marketing, and delivery to global customers. The inflationary pressures and manufacturing job losses felt from the Trump tariff policies demonstrate the folly of trying to “bring it all home.” The increase in energy costs due to the Iran War should teach us that what happens halfway around the world impacts us at the checkout counter, both in price and product selection. Just ask a farmer if the tariffs and Iran War are someone else’s problem.
Knowledge of foreign affairs is not a luxury for members of the Senate. House members can do their jobs focusing on the interests of the respective districts, but even they would be better served being informed global citizens. That is not an option for senators. The same goes for each of us as citizens who vote for those offices. Thinking that America First is the same as America Only is a gross error in judgment. To put America first is to fully appreciate the complex global political, economic, public health, and societal networks that impact our daily life. The COVID pandemic originated in China but killed over 1 million Americans. The current food-borne illnesses racing through hospitals across the country came from produce originating in Mexico. The costs of automobiles will almost certainly see significant price increases if the ongoing trade war with our nearest neighbor, Canada, is not resolved in short order. The solo mission that we know as the Iran War could have been different if the Trump Administration had shown just an ounce of respect for our traditional global allies.
If the United States is to prosper in the decades to come, our leaders must come to the table with an informed mind about the world we live in and the role we can and should play in it. That doesn’t happen if we, the voters, elect Presidents and senators who think our biggest concern is whether a transgender female plays in a girl’s basketball game. Our future demands more.
Brad Gutierrez, Ph.D. is a retired U.S. Air Force combat pilot, professor of Political Science, military diplomat, and senior public policy civil servant.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Why Darlene Graham’s flub matters
