My Dumb State: Senator Darline Graham (T-SC) Engages in Southern Tribalism During Jack Smith's Testimony Before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Oct 3, 2026 04:31 PM EDT, Sat

The Jack Smith testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee was a whole bunch of nothing. The senators followed along party lines.

What struck me the most is that the Trumpian senators have J6 amnesia. To refresh those who don’t remember January 6, 2021 when Trump instructed his cult members to lay siege to the Capitol, I’ve embedded a collection of YouTube videos recorded news media below the blog.

Below is my page covering the documents from the 2020 election interference and insurrectio.

This wasn’t an Emmy‑winning Scarlett O’Hara debut, but Darline sure acted like she was stepping onto the veranda for the first time. The charm, the outrage, the practiced indignation — it all felt like a debut performance in televised Senate business.

We have met the enemy and he is us. – Pogo

September 29, 2026. ICYMI: Senator Darline Graham Grills Former Special Counsel Jack Smith at Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing - Senator Darline Graham

Senator Darline Graham Interrogating Jack Smith

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Darline Graham (T-South Carolina) today questioned former Special Counsel Jack Smith at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Senator Darline Graham grilled Jack Smith for weaponizing the legal system and leading the politically motivated Arctic Frost investigation, where he subpoenaed private phone records of sitting members of Congress.

GRAHAM: “The legal term for your behavior would be obstruction of justice. But in South Carolina we just call it a lie. This was undeniably a fishing expedition by you and your team to intimidate the president’s allies in Congress.” https://youtu.be/V5eBVtV1Dek?si=NvqbBj9Suk7i4ema&t=276

GRAHAM: “You should be ashamed of yourself. It’s also a damn shame that you weaponized our legal system to do this. To go after a political opponent and his allies, including Lindsey. What a disgrace to our justice system and the Constitution that you would stoop this low. Shame on you.” https://youtu.be/V5eBVtV1Dek?si=sQN3v9As_VV-dlIt&t=425

GRAHAM: “Do you really believe that Lindsey was going to destroy evidence that was not even in his possession?”

FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH: “No, I believe your brother was a patriotic public servant. He was not a target of our investigation…”

GRAHAM: “Then why does the gag order say that disclosure of the subpoena would result in destruction of or tampering with evidence?”

FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH: “Because disclosure of that subpoena could result in Donald Trump attempting to intimidate witnesses as he had before and after. We had an ample basis.”

GRAHAM: “The evidence in question belonged to Lindsey and was in the possession of Verizon. It makes absolutely no sense that anyone would be able to destroy the evidence that you were seeking.” https://youtu.be/V5eBVtV1Dek?si=Zy5uIaRIJP1glop_&t=339

Down here, we’ve got a saying: if you see hoofprints, you don’t go looking for zebras. You look for the horse that’s been running through your garden for years. And Lord knows, Trump’s been trampling institutions like they were tomato plants.

Folks around here know better than to pretend January 6 was just a misunderstanding. We watched the same footage as everybody else. We saw the attempt to overturn an election. We saw the intimidation. We saw the pressure campaigns. You can’t sweet‑tea your way out of that.

In the South, we’ve got a long memory. When someone goes after law firms, universities, newspapers, comedians, and the FBI — all because they didn’t kiss the ring — we don’t call that ‘weaponization.’ We call that throwing a fit and breaking the furniture.

My granddaddy used to say, ‘If a man fires every person who tells him the truth, don’t be surprised when he starts hiring folks who only nod.’ That’s what Patel’s purge was — clearing out anyone who dared investigate the boss.

We’ve all met that one person who thinks every rule is optional if it inconveniences them. Turning the Justice Department into a personal law firm isn’t ‘defending yourself.’ It’s using the courthouse like it’s your cousin’s garage.

Bless her heart, Darline’s acting like Jack Smith woke up one morning and decided to subpoena Lindsey for sport. But down here, we know better: you don’t get an investigation without a reason, and you sure don’t get a gag order unless somebody’s been tampering with the pie before it cools.

Down here, we know politics has always had sharp elbows. But we also remember when folks could fight all morning and still sit down to hash out a deal by supper. What we’re seeing now isn’t disagreement — it’s tribalism. And tribalism doesn’t just divide us; it convinces us that the other side isn’t wrong, but wicked. Pogo had it right: the enemy isn’t out there somewhere. The enemy is what we’ve let ourselves become.

LIVE: Jack Smith appears before Senate Judiciary Committee (4:07:16)

Associated Press

Streamed live on Sep 29, 2026 #jacksmith

Watch live as former U.S. special counsel Jack Smith appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing on his “abuse of authority, targeting of Republicans and related matters.

I’m including the full AP video for completeness, but y’all don’t need to sit through it. Nothing substantive happened. It was a waste divided neatly along party lines — the kind of tribal performance that’s become all too familiar.

Jack Smith SHUTS DOWN Darline Graham After Attack FLOPS

Darline’s segment was exactly what tribal politics looks like: a lot of heat, no light. She wasn’t there to learn anything — she was there to perform for her side. Down here, we know the difference between a disagreement and a feud. This was a feud.

Sep 29, 2026 Jack Smith had no problems with Sen. Darline Graham’s weaksauce questions at a Senate hearing.

‘Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlyn Clark fan?’ Sen. Schmitt chuckles following tense hearing

Sep 29, 2026 Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel who brought 2 federal indictments against President Donald Trump, was testifying to the Judiciary Committee

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January 6, 2021 Insurrection

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