Carolina Politics Online

We have a primary election here in South Carolina on Tuesday with some important choices to make.  We’ll be choosing party nominees for the next gubernatorial race and we’ll be getting at least two new Congressmen this year since Henry Brown (R-SC01) is retiring and Gresham Barrett (R-SC03) is making a failed run for governor.  We may be seeing a bigger turnover than that however.  Bob Inglis (R-SC04) isn’t exactly in the greatest reelection shape and some speculate that he could be forced into a run off by one of his primary challengers.  Add that to a strong challenge by State Senator Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land) to Congressman John Spratt (D-SC05) in November and we could potentially be replacing over half of our state’s Congressional delegation come January.

Now I obviously can’t vote in all of these races, but I’m happy to offer my thoughts on many of them and point out who I would vote for if I could.  I make these decisions based on who I think is the best candidate to protect our liberties and freedoms from the tyranny of the powers that be.  And so here we go.

York County Council District 1

I don’t typically weigh in on local races because I don’t have the time to analyze the hundreds of races going on in every county and municipality in the Carolinas, but I am going to weigh in one and that is because it is pretty close to my backyard.  If you live in York County, or more specifically Fort Mill or Tega Cay, then right now you are being represented on the York County Council by one corrupt SOB.  His name is Paul Lindemann.  That shouldn’t be a new name for you.  We talk about him all the time.  Despite the publicity of his malfeasance, he is running for reelection.  If you vote for Paul Lindemann you deserve to be flogged, tasered in your groin, and then buried in the sand up to your neck right near a mound of fire ants with honey drizzled over your head.  Is that descriptive enough?  This man is the living characiture of the stereotypical corrupt politician.  Now you may think that Paul is crazy for running again.  How could he possibly get reelected?  Well he’s got three challengers so his ability to survive in a four way race should not be underestimated.  There are plenty of lambs out there who will go to their slaughter on Tuesday to try and install this man for another two years.  Don’t let that happen.  Give your vote to someone with integrity, honesty, and decency.  That someone is Mr. Kyle Boyd.

I have met Kyle Boyd.  He is the headmaster at Walnut Grove Christian School and the father of three children.  He identifies himself as a fiscal conservative and pledges to be a leader on tax reform and government transparency.  We will not be reading stories in The Herald of Kyle Boyd getting DUIs or being a party to a domestic violence dispute, or bouncing $10,000 checks to Winthrop University, or not paying contractors for the work they do on his house.  We will not be reading those stories about Kyle Boyd the way we have read them about Paul Lindemann.  This is an opportunity to put an overall good guy into our county government so please don’t screw it up this time.  Vote for Kyle on Tuesday.  It’s really that easy.

South Carolina Congressional District 1

This is the seat currently held by Republican Congressman Henry Brown.  Thankfully, he is retiring this year so we will no longer have to worry about him stealing our tax dollars and redistributing it to his district.  This has become a huge contest.  There are nine Republicans, two Democrats, and four third party candidates running for this seat.  On the Republican side there are many good candidates to pick from and if I lived in that district I would have a difficult time making a decision.  However, kind of like Highlander, in the end there can be only one.  So that being the case, I would again, like in 2008, go with Katherine Jenerette.  She is an accomplished woman and mother.  She has bravely served this country in our armed forces and I think she has the right ideas to take us forward.  Her agenda on lower taxation, lower government spending, and controlled immigration is a positive plan for the nation.  I think she would be a responsible representative for the people of the Grand Strand.

On the Democratic ballot I like Col. Robert Burton.  He recently retired from military service after spending 32 years in the United States Air Force.  Burton has a strong focus on lowering South Carolina’s unemployment rate, one of the highest in the nation, by championing a lower Federal tax rate on small businesses and actively seeking opportunities to bring technology and energy jobs to the state.  He also realizes the need to stick it out in Afghanistan.  It’s been a long and tiring war on our soldiers and there was plenty of mismanagement of the war by our previous administration, but Burton is correct.  We just can’t cut our losses and leave like some in our Congress would like to see.  Burton is a common sense man with common sense ideas.

South Carolina Congressional District 3

This is the far western district of the state bordering Georgia and currently held by Republican Congressman Gresham Barrett.  As I stated before, he is not seeking reelection and instead decided to lose in the gubernatorial race this year.  He voted for the bank bailout, so I’m not too upset about his current political misfortune.  There are six Republicans running to succeed him and the one I like is State Representative Jeff Duncan.  Duncan has a proven record of fiscal responsibility in our state government.  In fact, he is one of the few that can actually make  that claim.  He has received an “A” rating from the South Carolina Club for Growth whose opinions I take very seriously because they don’t just hand out good grades to anyone.  Duncan’s views on reigning in government spending and excessive taxation is precisely the shot in the arm our nation needs.  He is the guy we need to send to D.C.   We do not want to send State Representative Rex Rice.  He not only supported raising the cigarette tax to expand the nanny welfare state in South Carolina, he was a co-sponsor.  Duncan good.  Rice bad.

South Carolina Congressional District 4

I think this goes without saying.  Bob Inglis is in some pretty deep shit and may very well be the next incumbent to get booted in his party primary.  Inglis is facing the hostility of a very conservative electorate in his district who are not all that pleased with the direction the Republican Party has been going in.  He has also taken some heat for voting to reprimand Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC02) for his infamous “You lie!” outburst to President Obama during this year’s State of the Union address as well as voting against “the Surge” in Iraq in 2007.  Furthermore, the man has hit my boiling point over his insistence on us needing to implement a carbon tax over the fraudulent man made global warming scam.  In my opinion, there is no need to stop the national political bloodletting here in South Carolina.  Give Inglis the boot.

My recommendation is Spartanburg attorney Trey Gowdy.  Gowdy is strong advocate of job creation by lessening Federal restrictions on businesses that make it difficult for them to thrive.  Of course, he is mortified by the irresponsible spending going on in D.C. otherwise I wouldn’t recommend him.  He is also a staunch supporter of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the Constitution meaning he is very much opposed to the recent Federal grab of our health care system and their unconstitutional insurance mandate.

South Carolina State Superintendent

This is a race that doesn’t get talked about much but really should.  Public education in this state has a poor reputation and we haven’t seen much improvement.  We just keep getting more of the same and Jim Rex has been no different.  I like Gary Burgess for this seat.  He’s big on school choice and eliminating programs that have not shown any merit.  The main reason we spend so much money on education in this country but do not get the bang for our buck is because the vast majority of the money goes to bureaucracy.  Burgess wants school spending accounted for.  But the real idea that sold me on Burgess is his philosophy on school choice, that the tax dollars should follow the student.  My God, how many times have I written about that very same idea on this Web site?  Make the school districts compete for the students.  With the students comes the money.  It is a winning formula and mark my word if Gary Burgess could accomplish that he would be the most successful state superintendent in this country.

South Carolina Governor

And finally we get down to the big one.  I have a candidate for both the Republican and Democrat parties.  On the Republican side I have been an ardent supporter of State Representative Nikki Haley and despite the calamity that has surrounded her over the past two weeks, I am sticking with Nikki Haley.  Accusations are not proof of guilt.  It was different with Mark Sanford because there was proof of his indiscretions and he came right out and admitted it.  Maybe Nikki Haley has been unfaithful.  I don’t know, but what I do know is that there isn’t a single shred of proof out there to support these accusations.  If there was we’d have seen it by now.  We are innocent until proven guilty in this country.  I believe that of all four Republican candidates Nikki Haley has the best ideas to take our state forward.  She has a record of fighting for transparency in government and against wasteful spending.  Prior to the recession our state budget increased an average of 11% per year for four years and that was with Republicans in control.  You know, the party that claims to be for small government?  Haley has fought against that kind of government growth and I think she can be a real powerhouse in the governor’s mansion.  She has my vote.

On the Democratic ticket I think State Senator Robert Ford is an outstanding choice.  Senator Ford took a brave stand last year going public with his support for school choice so that the parents of the poorer children in this state can get those kids out of these failing schools and get them a better education.  Ford took a lot of flack from his party and fellow legislators over that stance because his party has been in bed with the teachers union for decades and have been preserving the failing status quo in public education in order to keep the donations coming in.  Ford recognized the problem in education and chose to speak out.  I also support Ford because of his push to bring back video poker to South Carolina.  According to Ford’s estimate it could bring in a billion dollars in revenue for the state and create several thousand jobs, but it’s not just that.  I am a grown man and if I want to go to a bar and gamble some of my money on a video poker machine, who in the hell is the State of South Carolina to tell me that I am not allowed to do that?  This is an issue of liberty and I said at the beginning of this post that was the primary goal I was looking for in these candidates.  Robert Ford fits the bill.

So that’s what I’ve got for Tuesday.  Man am I tired after all of that.  Vote wisely and good luck to all of the candidates.

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The long fought battle over the cigarette tax has finally come to a close.  The party of “small” government voted handily in both chambers to raise South Carolina’s cigarette tax fifty cents a pack come July.  The tax will raise over $120 million and will allegedly go to health care for the poor.

As I’ve said before, we don’t need Democrats in South Carolina because we have Republicans that do just as well at ass raping the public which makes me question why this state continues to elect them rather than seek an alternative.  While the state has slashed $2 billion in spending over the past two years because of lost tax revenue due to the recession the last thing they should be doing is sponsoring more government spending and expanding the welfare nanny state.  Cigarettes are largely consumed by blue collar and less affluent members of the public so the Republicans just slapped a nice big tax increase on the poor and middle class.

Pretty much all the Democrats voted for this as well in both the House and Senate, but I put the blame squarely on the Republicans because they hold a healthy majority and they are the ones that go around at election time and lie to their constituents about supporting limited government and limited taxation.  Here are the Republicans in the House who voted for the tax increase.  The Senate roll call is not yet available, but I will post that when it comes out.  Note that among the Republicans who voted for the tax increase is State Representative Rex Rice who wants you to vote for him to be the next Congressman for the Third Congressional District.

• Nathan Ballantine – Irmo
• Bruce Bannister – Greenville
• Kenny Bingham – Cayce
• Joan Brady – Columbia
• Richard Chalk – Beaufort
• Alan Clemmons – Myrtle Beach
• Derham Cole – Spartanburg
• Kris Crawford – Florence
• Joe Daning – Goose Creek
• Greg Delleney – Chester
• Shannon Erickson – Beaufort
• Mike Forrester – Spartanburg
• Marion Frye – Leesville
• Bobby Harrell – Charleston
• James Harrison – Columbia
• George Hearn – Conway
• Bill Herbkersman – Bluffton
• David Hiott – Pickens
• Jenny Horne – Summerville
• Chip Huggins – Columbia
• Keith Kelly – Woodruff
• Chip Limehouse – Charleston
• Lanny Littlejohn – Pacolet
• Deborah Long – Indian Land
• Jay Lucas – Hartsville
• James Merrill – Charleston
• Steve Moss – Blacksburg
• Phil Owens – Easley
• Gene Pinson – Greenwood
• Rex Rice – Easley
• B.R. Skelton – Six Mile
• Donald Smith – North Augusta
• Murrell Smith – Sumter
• Roland Smith – Warrenville
• Mike Sottile – Isle of Palms
• Kit Spires – Pelion
• David Umphlett – Moncks Corner
• Bill Whitmire – Walhalla
• Mark Willis – Fountain Inn
• Bill Wylie – Simpsonville
• Annette Young – Summerville
• Tom Young – Aiken

And the results, surprise, surprise, are absolutely pitiful, though somewhat better than years past.

In the State Senate, 13 members achieved a grade of a C- or better.  That’s one more than the 12 from the 2008 session. I guess some improvement is better than none.  In the State House 24 members achieved a passing grade, including gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley who received an A grade.

These grades are calculated based on specific key votes in the state legislature that promote responsible economic growth throughout the State of South Carolina.  Certain votes are weighed more than others based on their impact.  All of the 13 Senate and 24 House members who scored a C- or better were Republicans.  I have them listed below:

Senate

• Lee Bright (R-Roebuck) A+
• Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson) A+
• Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land) A+
• Greg Ryberg (R-Aiken) A+
• Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) A
• Mike Rose (R-Summerville) B+
• Phil Shoopman (R-Greer) B+
• Shane Martin (R-Spartanburg) C+
• Ray Cleary (R-Murrells Inlet) C-

House

• Eric Bedingfield (R-Mauldin) A
• Joey Milwood (R-Landrum) A
• Rex Rice (R-Easley) A
• Jeff Duncan (R-Clinton) A
• Nikki Haley (R-Lexington) A
• Tommy Stringer (R-Landrum) A
• Tim Scott (R-North Charleston) A-
• Nathan Ballentine (R-Irmo) A-
• Wendy Nanney (R-Greenville) A-
• Thad Viers (R-Myrtle Beach) A-
• Ted Pitts (R-Lexington) B+
• Michael Thompson (R-Anderson) B
• Dan Hamilton (R-Taylors) B
• Garry Smith (R-Simpsonville) B
• Tom Young (R-Aiken) C+
• Chip Huggins (R-Columbia) C+
• Jim Stewart (R-Aiken) C
• Mark Willis (R-Fountain Inn) C
• Mac Toole (R-West Columbia) C
• Kris Crawford (R-Florence) C
• Deborah Long (R-Indian Land) C-
• Murrell Smith (R-Sumter) C-

Let’s take a look at the leadership of the general assembly, shall we?

• House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R) – A big fat F!
• Speaker Pro Tempore Harry Cato (R) – A big fat F!
• House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham (R) – A big fat F!
• Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell (R) – A big fat F!
• Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler (R) – A big fat F!

Well, it’s really no wonder why South Carolina’s economy is one of the worst in the nation when our state’s leadership is steering us right over a cliff, is it?  South Carolina may be a reliably Republican state, but if I were a member of the state Republican leadership be it in the general assembly or the state party, I’d take a warning from what is happening in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts right now.  In one of the most Democrat states in the nation, a Republican is on course to win the U.S. Senate seat that was just vacated by the death of Massachusetts icon Democrat Ted Kennedy.  This is a state with only 15% of its state legislature comprised of Republicans and the last time that state elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate was in 1972 and he was incredibly liberal for a Republican.  My point is that the folks up there are sick and tired of the corruption and incompetence of the Democrat Party that dominates their state and has for decades.  Don’t think the same thing can’t and won’t happen here with the GOP in South Carolina if they don’t start delivering what the people of this state are expecting from them.

As for the 37 members of the Republican caucus above who are at least partially working to improve the economic prowess of our state in these difficult times, they need to go a step further.  Their efforts are fruitless if they allow our state government to continue to be ran by the likes of the self-serving Bobby Harrell and Glenn McConnell.  These two and the other noted above need to be voted out of the leadership.  They are ineffective and not willing to do what is necessary to move this state forward.

A poll released by Inside Advantage shows the current match up for this year’s gubernatorial elections in South Carolina.  The numbers weren’t too surprising, but there was one ranking that stood out.  Gresham Barrett is tanking.  As I predicted a year ago, his Wall Street bailout vote was political suicide.

If the Republican gubernatorial primary were held today, the results would be as follows: Henry McMaster and Andre Bauer would tie with 22%, Nikki Haley would follow with 13%, Barrett is fourth with 9%, and Larry Grooms brings up the anchor with 6%.  28% are undecided at this point in time.

On the Democrat side of the aisle, Jim Rex leads with 21% followed by Dwight Drake with 15%.  Vincent Sheheen comes in third with 8% and Robert Ford and Mullins McLeod trail each with 6%.  The undecideds are much higher among Democrats, 44%.

No general election match up was done yet to see how who would fair against who.

S.C. Rep. Michael D. Thompson of Anderson announced today that he does not plan to run for U.S. Congressman Gresham Barrett’s seat.

Thompson, a 34-year-old Republican, is in his fifth term as state representative. He did not say today whether he plans to run for re-election to the state post. He said he is focusing on finishing his current term and will make that decision in the spring.

For now, he is supporting Rex Rice, a state representative whom he has served several years with in Columbia. Thompson said he plans to help Rice in his Congressional bid in any way he can in Anderson County.

Independent Mail

There are two positions Rice holds that should be a big plus in your mind.  One, he opposes ObamaCare.  Enough said on that.  Two, he supports H.R. 25, more commonly known as the Fair Tax.  The Fair Tax would replace the income tax and put in its place a national sales tax.

Gary Coates at The Conservativist posted a list of all 22 members of the South Carolina State House who signed a “No New Tax Pledge” in 2008, yet voted for the cigarette tax increase earlier this month.  And Republicans wonder why everyone thinks their party is full of shit.

Here are the 22 liars:

Gee, look who’s on the list! Our buddy Rex Rice who wants to be the next Congressman from the Third District. The same Rex Rice who expects us to believe we can trust him to be a reformer in Washington D.C., yet can’t hold himself to a simple promise he made. The same Rex Rice that a commentator named “Jim” said I don’t know what I’m talking about. Now isn’t that uncanny.

I made the drive out to Greenville yesterday evening to attend the anti-tax, anti-spending tea party at Bi-Lo Center that was put together by the Upstate Young Republicans. While they were the organizers of the event, this was far from being a Republican pow-wow. I saw people there of all ages and political stripes, and yes, even racial minorities (the leftist extremists reading this are hyperventilating now) holding up a festive collection of signs and flags across a sea of people that the Greenville News estimated to be about 3,000.  I would concur with that number.  On the other side of the arena, another gathering took place of people demanding that Governor Sanford accept the stimulus money and “save” our schools.  They numbered a paltry 200.

Speakers consisted of several state representatives:  Tommy Stringer (R-Landrum), Rex Rice (Easley), and Eric Bendingfield (R-Mauldin) as well Greenville County Councilman Joe Dill who encouraged the audience to show up at the next county council meeting and voice their opposition to a resolution being voted on by the council to demand Governor Sanford accept the stimulus money.

Governor Mark Sanford and Senator Jim DeMint were the highlights of the event, but not every speaker was welcomed.  Congressman Gresham Barrett, who voted for the $700 billion bailout, for some reason got the idea that people would want to hear him speak.  He was booed nonstop during his entire speech.  His spokesman told the Greenville News that the boos came from “a vocal minority of the crowd.” I guess B.J. didn’t attend the same rally I did because the minority were the people that didn’t hoot and hollar and turn their backs on Barrett when he got up on stage.  But hey, I recorded it, so judge for yourself.

600 AM radio’s Dr. Tony Beam also gave a rousing speech to the crowd and State Rep. Tommy Stringer reminded the Republicans in the crowd to make sure they hold their party accountable too as they started this mess.

I have various pictures and videos below you can watch:

State Representative Rex Rice (R-Easley) has officially announced his candidacy for Gresham Barrett’s House seat, as expected.  Among the issue he claims to support, he opposes any and all future Federal tax payer bailouts and stimulus packages, an end to wasteful spending, and advocates elimination of the Federal income tax to be replaced by a national consumption tax.

He talks a good game, that’s for sure, but I have to question his sincerity due to his record in the South Carolina State House.  As I have pointed out in the past, Rice was a co-sponsor and fervent supporter of increasing the state cigarette tax in order to expand the government welfare state.  He also advocated raising the gas tax a nickel when prices were through the roof.  Furthermore, he has voted to override almost all of the governor’s budget vetoes.

Don’t listen to what they say, watch what they do.  How can he claim to be against wasteful spending when he hasn’t supported Governor Sanford in reigning it in?  How can he claim to be opposed to larger government when he has advocated increasing it’s size right here in our own state?  I don’t see Rice being a reformer in D.C.

Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-S.C.) will announce Wednesday morning he is running for governor, South Carolina sources told The Hill late Tuesday.

The Hill

An expected announcement.  I had my hopes on Barrett to begin with but his careless lack of judgment on the Wall Street bail out really disappointed me.  How will he able to convince South Carolinians that he can be a fiscal steward of our tax dollars when he was complicit in giving hundreds of billions of our tax dollars to failed Wall Street CEOs, unsuccessful speculators, and political cronies?  I’m not saying he can’t win me back, but he’s got his work cut out for him.  I don’t generally condemn someone for one mistake here and there, but that was no small error.  That mistake was the equivalent of like ten.  And the fact that he was “shocked” and “surprised” when it turned out that the money wasn’t going to what Congress was originally told it would be for?  Well, hello McFly!  Anybody home??

The speculation of who would run to replace him in Congress also caught my eye.

Three members of the South Carolina state House are expected to vie to replace Barrett in Congress in next year’s Republican primary. State Rep. Michael Thompson represents Anderson County, the district’s most populous. State Rep. Rex Rice represents parts of Greenville and Pickens Counties, also in the northern part of the district. And state Rep. Jeff Duncan represents a district closer to Columbia around Clinton and Newberry.

Rex Rice?  Is there a punch line somewhere hidden in there?  Would this be the same Rex Rice that suggested raising the gas tax a nickel when gas prices were $4 a gallon?  Would it be the same Rex Rice that cosponsored a bill last year raising taxes to expand the welfare nanny state?  What we do not need in Congress is another fiscal abomination and breeder of a large authoritarian government like Rex Rice.

The state House has approved increasing the cigarette tax and maintained a Senate plan to use the money to provide health care for low-income restidents.

The Senate approved the 50-cent per-pack increase earlier this month, estimated to bring in $159 million in additional taxes. The only change made in the House was setting aside $1 million for agriculture.

The Herald-Journal

This is House Bill 3567. I just want to point out that the legislators that sponsored this bill to expand socialism in South Carolina are RINOs Bill Cotty, Carl Gullick, and Rex Rice along with Democrat Paul Agnew.  Cotty is retiring so we’ll be rid of him after this year and Gullick has a primary challenger in Kyle Boyd, who I hope will be successful.

A House lawmaker has proposed raising the state’s gas tax by a nickle a gallon, in exchange for eliminating the sales tax on cars.  The proposal was offered by Rep. Rex Rice during debate on a bill to use some car sales tax revenue to pay for road improvements.

The House Ways and Means committee adjourned without voting on the proposal. They will take it up again later today.

The State

What another brilliant idea coming from our RINO majority in the State House.  After all, it’s not like gas isn’t expensive enough already.  Let’s tack on some more to the charge.