Carolina Politics Online

Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) approval rating is taking a pounding in his home state as a result of his strong support for a bipartisan immigration reform bill, a new poll showed Friday.

Graham’s approval rating has sunk to 31 percent and he has a 40 percent disapproval rating, according to a poll released Friday by Atlanta-based InsiderAdvantage. The new poll points to Graham’s support for the Senate immigration bill, which includes a path to citizenship, as a likely reason for his apparent unpopularity.

The Hill

I am convinced at this point that Lindsey Graham has become a complete buffoon. How can he ignore numbers like this? Reliably “red” or not, Graham might very well cost the GOP a South Carolina Senate seat next year. Someone better step up and primary this guy.

As talk heats up about the City of Raleigh’s efforts to buy the 306 acre Dorothea Dix property from the state to convert to a Raleigh version of Central Park, at least one state legislator says he endorses the idea.

In media statements released through the City of Raleigh and other supporters of the Dix Park plan, state Senator Neal Hunt (R-Wake County) has publicly stated that he is in support of the park plan.

“I am proud to support the efforts to preserve the remaining acres on the Dix campus for a destination park and gardens, something that everyone can enjoy for years and years to come,” said Senator Hunt in a statement.

Raleigh Chronicle

South Carolina residents might feel a little richer with the state ranked No. 10 in personal income growth in the first quarter of the year.

Personal income grew 2.1 percent, on par with neighboring states. North Carolina’s income increased by 2.2 percent and Georgia’s by 2.1 percent from January through March.

South Carolina’s “growth was relatively strong in the first quarter,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wachovia’s Economics Group.

The Greenville News

This is what you get when you have a Governor that understands the fruits of a low tax region.

Speakers at a Saturday rally to “stop illegal immigration” called on the 100 people gathered to call, e-mail and confront officials in person to end support for a national immigration reform measure.

Asheville Citizen-Times

Pressure needs to be kept up on Senator Burr to oppose this bill. Amazingly, he is still on the fence. If he supports this amnesty bill, he will not be representing the people of North Carolina.

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said his nonprofit anti-poverty center’s activities have been “completely legal” and he does not plan to go beyond the legal requirements to disclose its donors.

Charlotte Observer

John Edwards is as phony as a $3 bill. The fact that this guy even has as much following as he does in this race just shows how much of the population is plain stupid.

Beleaguered and disbarred former District Attorney Mike Nifong, who prosecuted the Duke University lacrosse rape case, could wind up in jail if a motion is granted asking that criminal charges be filed against him, FOX News has learned.

Fox News

He should face jail time. What the man did was criminal. Period.

Gov. Mark Sanford moved quickly today to designate a close ally as interim state treasurer, appointing Columbia attorney Ken Wingate.

Thomas Ravenel was suspended Tuesday by Sanford hours after he and another man were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of possession of cocaine for distribution.

The Greenville News

What an idiot Ravenel is. You get into a cushy elected position at the State government level where you have unlimited potential to go even further and you blow it over drugs.

Ravenel was also Rudy Giuliani’s South Carolina Presidential Campaign Manager. He has been replaced with former State GOP Chairman, Barry Wynn.

Republican Catherine Ceips’ title in the Statehouse will be “senator from Beaufort” following her win in Tuesday’s special election, in which she beat her two opponents by wide margins, winning 78 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.

The Beaufort Gazette

This was as expected, though I never thought she’d get 78 percent. That’s very impressive. Hopefully she will adhere strictly to the limited government principles of the Republican Party and not undermine our governor like so many others. Good luck to her and congrats!

Congratulations to Curt Walton, chosen Monday to be the next city manager for the Carolinas’ largest city. Mr. Walton was one of three assistant city managers who were finalists to replace longtime manager Pam Syfert, who retires June 30.

Charlotte Observer

Not the guy I was pulling for, but he is qualified nonetheless. Let’s see what he can do.

“We ought to all be embarrassed to go back home without a budget,” said Rep. Doug Jennings, D-Marlboro, “all over a petty game. We have dropped the ball — the House, the Senate, Democrats, Republicans. When rich and poor, black and white look us in the eye and ask why, what are you gonna say to them?”

Another hot issue is income tax cuts. A House measure would cut the income tax for the wealthiest South Carolinians.

“We can’t allow income tax cuts from the top down,” protested freshman Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Bamberg. “Here is where we have to make our stand. We have to be the party of injured workers.”

The State

Sellers comment is rather intriguing to me. The top income tax rate in South Carolina is 7% and everybody who makes at least $12,000 a year pays that rate. That would be the vast majority of people in this state, would it not? He considers 12k the top down? This guy needs a reality check. 7% is too high for a state income tax. Period.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said Tuesday he’ll run for a seventh term this fall.

No other mayor has served more than four of the two-year terms.

“I still have the energy, I have the enthusiasm, I have the experience and I want to see things finished that we started,” he said in an interview on the front porch of his Myers Park home.

Charlotte Observer

Find out about the candidates:

Catherine Ceips - R

Greg Graziani - L

Terry Thomas - D

Duke University has reached a settlement with each of the three former lacrosse players and their families. The university made the announcement this afternoon.

According to a press release issued by Duke, the terms of the settlement will not be disclosed.

Charlotte Observer

This better be to the tune of several million a piece. It’ll take a few million just to cover the legal bills, not to mention the money these guys should get for the way almost two dozen professors signed a public letter slandering them

If you’re in Mecklenburg County you can find out here.

City of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County

The Charlotte City Council on Monday night plans to begin privately debating who to hire as the next city manager, a powerful position being vacated by Pam Syfert, who retires June 30.

Charlotte Observer

The article gives a brief biography of the three remaining candidates. Knowing nothing about the three of them and going strictly by what I am reading, I would prefer Mr. Parker. While the other two have rallied up public tax dollars to pay for, in my opinion, wasted projects, Mr. Parker was looking for ways to save the city money.

State Rep. Thad Viers is unlikely to face punishment or censure in the General Assembly after being convicted of making threatening telephone calls to a romantic rival.

However, others — including Gov. Mark Sanford — said more punishment is warranted. Sanford said Friday that if Viers worked for his administration, he’d be fired.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said Friday “the court’s decision stands as punishment for (Viers’) actions.”

Sanford does not agree.

“If it had been one of our appointees, to the many boards or commissions we appoint, we’d take him off, and that would be immediate,” Sanford said in an interview.

The State

I’m a little torn on this. Part of me says this is a personal matter that should be handled in that fashion. On the hand, he is an elected official and that makes your private life public. It also makes you wonder how much politics is involved here. If Viers were a Democrat would Harrell throw him under the bus?

Probably the best decision is for the voters in Viers’ district to handle this when he is up for re-election.

RALEIGH — A state bar disciplinary panel found that Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong broke 27 professional rules of conduct during his handling of the Duke lacrosse rape case.

It took less than an hour and a half for a three-member panel to find that Nifong knowingly made statements to the media that would bring condemnation to the accused players. The panel also found he made many false statements of material fact when he insisted over the course of several months that he had provided defense attorneys all the DNA evidence available to him.

News & Observer

Disbarment isn’t enough for Nifong. In addition to that he needs to be put behind bars and sued by the families of those three young men for every last penny he has. He ruined these boys’ lives for his own selfish political gain.

Mumford and McCrory emphasized that the issue is about more than light rail. They said the half-cent sales tax would also impact bus service because more than 60 percent of the nearly $70 million annually in tax revenue goes to buses. CATS estimates that people made 19.2 million trips on its buses in fiscal year 2006, up from 13.5 million in 2000.Charlotte Observer

A half cent sales tax doesn’t really disturb me, but I am of the belief that public transportation should be paid the portion of the public that use it. It don’t think it should be mass funded by everyone across the board. Let the bus riders pay their own way.

A widely disputed N.C. permit to pipe Catawba water to water-poor Concord and Kannapolis prompted South Carolina’s action. The state says it wasn’t consulted on the decision, which transfers water from one river basin to another.

Charlotte Observer

Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani lead the races for the 2008 S.C. Democratic and Republican primaries, according to a new poll from Winthrop University and ETV.

Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, has an almost 10-percentage-point lead over her closest Democratic competitor, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. However, former New York Mayor Giuliani is in a much closer fight among Republicans.

The State

I am really surprised by how well both Clinton and Giuliani are doing in such a conservative state. I think with Fred Thompson entering the race now, though, Giuliani’s support will erode.