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Jaime Harrison blasts Lindsey Graham for calling segregation era 'good ol' days', says 'it's 2020, not 1920'

The veteran's Senate election challenger tweeted attacking the former after he uttered the words in the confirmation hearing of Amy Coney Barrett

Jaime Harrison, who has thrown Senator Lindsey Graham a solid challenge in the run-up to the Senate election next month, has recently slammed the latter for calling the period of segregation in American history as “good ol days” during the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Harrison, a former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, blasted Graham saying “it’s 2020, not 1920”. 

Graham, who has faced heavy criticism over his U-turn on the issue of appointing a Supreme Court judge in an election year, asked Barrett: “Do you think Brown v. Board of Education is a super-precedent? As in, you're not aware of any effort to go back to the good ol' days of segregation by a legislative body, is that correct?”

Harrison, an individual of color, was quick to pick the quip and slammed the 65-year-old chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a tweet, saying: “Lindsey Graham just called segregation "the good old days." The good old days for who, Senator? It’s 2020, not 1920. Act like it.”

It was only recently that the 44-year-old Harrison, who has raised a record-smashing $57 million as funds in the third quarter, confronted Graham during their Senate election debate saying how much weight did the latter’s words carry, in the context of the latter backing Trump nominating a successor to the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away last month.

It was a sarcastic comment: Graham

Speaking with reporters in Capitol Hill’s corridor later, Graham defended his words saying he only made a sarcastic remark. “If anybody was listening to who I am and what I said you know that it was with deep sarcasm that I suggested some legislative body would want to yearn for the “good ol’ days of segregation’,” the veteran who is serving as a senator since 2003, said. 

Graham has been talking about so-called ‘super precedents’ with Barrett, 48 -- court cases where there is no question that they will provide the basis for decisions that will be made in future. The Brown v. Board Education is of such case from 1954 that scrapped racial segregation in public schools. 

“The point that I'm trying to make is there is nobody in America in the legislative arena, wanting to take us back to that dark period in American history. And for my opponent to suggest that says far more about him than me,” Graham said, adding: “And in terms of that statement ... it blows my mind that any rational person can believe that about me.”

Graham also spoke specifically about his opponent, saying: “There are plenty of differences between my opponent and myself, manufacturing the scenario that Lindsey Graham wants to go back to the days of segregation is not worthy of the times in which we live, is not worthy of an assault on me. We have plenty of differences with Mr. Harrison.” He reiterated that his statement that sparked controversy was something that was uttered with “dripping sarcasm”.

Two polls in late September showed Graham either tied with Harrison or leading by just one point. However, New Morning Consult Political Intelligence tracking, which was conducted between October 2 and 11, found the veteran senator leading by six percentage points (48-42), which was a notable improvement from the earlier outcomes.