After Graham was eulogized Tuesday in the nation's capital as an indefatigable dealmaker by the president, vice president and others, mourners in Columbia recalled the son of pool hall owners who “was born with a plastic fork in his mouth,” as former Rep. Trey Gowdy put it.
Graham seemed to know every small-town mayor and police chief and the location of every Chick-fil-A across South Carolina. He made sure Republicans had money to run in legislative and local elections across the state.
“Lindsey Graham understood the hopes and dreams and needs of his state and delivered every time,” said Republican Gov, Henry McMaster, who ended his remarks by telling Graham he loved him.
Wednesday's funeral was at First Baptist, the giant downtown church where his predecessor Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond was honored 23 years ago.
One of Graham's many friends in Congress, Gowdy described how Graham rose to power through humor, genuine caring for all people and a relentless work ethic. He joked the governor should change the name of the state capital of Columbia to honor Graham, even though his friend wouldn't want it.
“It wasn't the trapping of office he cared about. It was the work,” Gowdy said.
Graham's body was first brought to the South Carolina Statehouse, where he started his political career in 1993. It paused in front of about a dozen law enforcement officers and four military jets flew over. A horse-drawn caisson then carried his casket to the church, where his family followed military pallbearers carrying it inside. A 130-member choir sang hymns.
Hundreds of movers in South Carolina politics gathered. Both nominees for governor — Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson and Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson — came, along with longtime Republican politicians like former House Speaker and Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins and U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, who served 10 years before leaving in 2011.
