Carolina Politics Online

COLUMBIA - Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham will have at least one primary challenger. Buddy Witherspoon, a Columbia dentist and former Republican National Committee member, has paid the more than $10,000 fee to get in the contest.

Witherspoon has already run ads critical of the Republican senator and put up campaign signs.

Witherspoon’s campaign manager Dan Herren says the campaign has about $30,000 for the June 10 primary.

Graham’s campaign has been running ads featuring President George W. Bush and conservative groups. Graham campaign manager Scott Farmer says the senator has nearly $5 million to run for re-election.

The Herald-Journal

Freeze! Or I’ll run your ass down!

ATLANTIC BEACH — The disputed mayor of this tiny beach town was indicted today, accused of bribing two voters with a total of $30 on Election Day, prosecutors said.

Mayor Irene Armstrong, 44, was indicted on two counts of misconduct in office and three counts of bribery at elections. Armstrong also bribed a voter with $20 to choose her brother, who was running for town council, prosecutor Greg Hembree said.

The Greenville News

All of this for just two lousy votes? And all for a piddly elected office in a town of 300 people? What a moron! My God lady, if you’re going to risk going to prison by bribing people for votes at least make it worthwhile. Run for the U.S. Senate or something. Run for Governor. Go all out and seek a glorious throne of real power!

Atlantic Beach town manager Marcia L. Conner also was indicted today on two counts of misconduct in office and also violating an employer’s obligation.

Conner, 50, was suspected of taking employee contributions for the police officer’s retirement fund and transferring it to the town’s general account, according to the indictment. She also was accused of transferring money from drug seizure and municipal court accounts into the town’s general fund.

I guess there was more than one pea in that pod. Learn something from this, folks. Pay attention to whom you’re handing over the reigns.

The chairwoman of Lexington County’s Republican Party said Wednesday she will oppose one of the S.C. Senate’s toughest members, Jake Knotts, in the June GOP primary.

The tone of the challenge by Katrina Shealy was set immediately when the candidates traded pointed criticism.

Shealy, 53, said Knotts is not a loyal Republican and votes against GOP principles. He is the legislator her backers most want out of the General Assembly.

She said Knotts has supported Democrats in gubernatorial primaries over Republicans he does not like.

“You shouldn’t run someone you want in the primary then when you lose you switch to the other team,” the longtime political activist said.

The State

Knotts is one of those faux Republicans who have stood in the way of a reform agenda time and time again.  The Republicans need to clean these people out of their ranks or they will eventually befall the same fate in South Carolina that the national party did in D.C. in 2006.

“She’s one of the governor’s candidates,” Knotts said. “I’m not up here to represent the governor. I represent my people. I don’t fold.”

You’re not representing the people, Jake.  That’s the problem.

Daniel Johnson says he’s not a “natural-born politician,” but he is committed to public service and honest, efficient government.

A conservative Democrat who believes in a balanced federal budget and wants to end wasteful spending by Washington politicians, Johnson hopes to get his chance to make a difference.

He’s running for the U.S. Congress, a seat currently held by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-Cherryville. A Democrat, Johnson will face Steve Ivester of Cleveland County in the May 6 primary.

News@Norman

I would love to see Johnson pull this off. I can’t stand McHenry and would like for nothing more than to see him bounced out of Washington. Johnson sounds like he’d be a no nonsense guy in D.C. and he’s right; I think people are tired of all of the bullshit in the Beltway. And don’t forget, he’s a real American hero:

In 1988. Ensign Johnson’s ship, the U.S.S. Blue Ridge, was being pulled from port by a tugboat in Pusan, South Korea, when he spotted one of his men in trouble.

Seaman Steven Wright was working the large cables that connected the tugboat to the ship and had become entangled. The tug began pulling Wright toward the ship’s side, something that would have ripped him apart.

Seven other personnel were on the scene, but only Johnson jumped to the seaman’s aid. As he worked to free the cable from Wright’s leg, his own legs got caught. Both men survived, but Johnson lost one finger and both legs below the knee.

This district tilts so heavily Republican, though. It’s going to be quite an uphill battle. Come on 10th District, do the right thing! Give this guy a chance.

You can donate to Johnson’s campaign here.

Speaking to what he called a “rowdy” crowd in Charlotte on Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged to end the war in Iraq and fight special interests, even as he acknowledged that “we’re not going to be able to solve all these problems quickly.”

Obama’s appearance at Grady Cole Center followed a speech Wednesday morning in Fayetteville marking the fifth anniversary of the war.

Charlotte Observer

Bill Clinton to visit city on Friday

It’s official! He’s outta there!

Thomas Wright has been expelled from the N.C. General Assembly for what legislators called a pattern of improper and unethical conduct.

By a vote of 109 to 5, House members today resolved to remove Wright amid allegations that he defrauded political donors and businesses of nearly $340,000. The General Assembly last expelled a sitting legislator in 1880.

Immediately after the vote, Wright was ordered escorted from the floor.

Even after the expulsion, Wright remained defiant, telling reporters he remains the elected representative of District 18, even though the resolution approved today declared that seat vacant. Wright said that he would let voters decide his fate in May.

The Wilmington Star

Wright is still on the ballot for the May Primary so technically he could still be voted back in office if his constituents are truly that stupid and I’ve learned never to underestimate the stupidity of the voting populace.

The House clearly made the correct decision on this and it’s another step forward for weeding out the corruption in Raleigh, but apparently four members of the House aside from Wright himself felt that embezzling a few hundred thousand in tax dollars was no big deal. The four “No” votes on expulsion were:

• Earl Jones (D-Guilford)
• Mary McAllister (D-Cumberland)
• Earline Parmon (D-Forsyth)
• Larry Womble (D-Forsyth)

Why am I not surprised to see McAllister on that list?

RALEIGH – If elected governor, Bob Orr says he would dump the state’s major job-creation programs, seek constitutional changes to bolster his authority and threaten to sue the United States over immigration.

The policy plans churned out by Orr’s campaign may be the most sweeping, and are certainly the most detailed, among the candidates for the state’s top job.

Asheville Citizen-Times

That’s a great agenda to get the ball rolling. Raleigh has to end the practice of handing out millions in corporate welfare acting as bribes to keep workers in the state. If North Carolina has a business friendly climate the free market will bring industry here. Regarding illegal immigration, I’m not sure if the state can actually sue the Feds or not over this, but I say give it a shot. The more pressure put on Washington over this issue the quicker they will be forced to act.