As if detaching Jim Webb from the Republican Party was not bad enough, it is increasingly looking as if part of the catastrophic GWB legacy is going to be splintering the GOP lock on the South.

Bob Conley, a Democratic newcomer to South Carolina politics, will take on Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in November after a recount Monday gave Conley a narrow victory over a primary opponent. Conley, a North Myrtle Beach engineer, said he is a former Republican who became a Democrat out of frustration with trade and immigration policies and the Iraq invasion. He contends conservative positions on social policies are not owned solely by Republicans and opposes abortion rights and gay marriage.

US Senate primary recount: Conley to face Graham AP June 16 2008

The despicable Lindsay Graham won re-nomination for the Republicans over a far better, but woefully under funded man, Buddy Witherspoon

who challenged Graham's support of a failed measure aimed at reforming illegal immigration laws

Naturally, arrogance rules the day in the Graham camp, as they move to become as mainstream Democrat as possible:

The single-term incumbent signaled he wasn't concerned about Conley making immigration a campaign issue in the fall. Graham "will aggressively seek the support of Republicans, independents and Democrats… said Scott Farmer, Graham's campaign manager

The Democratic grip on Southern Senate seats was broken in the ”70s and ”80s as voters realized their representatives had been co-opted by the Washington Establishment and were quietly betraying their interests. Those Senators thought their constituents would never notice, or did not care about issues.

They were wrong.

Now, it seems, the Stupid Party is letting it happen again.

And the issue this time is immigration.