Carolina Politics Online

Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley has cast herself as the one candidate who would reject federal stimulus money and corporate bailouts.

But Haley, a state representative from Lexington, cast a vote last year to accept a disputed $700 million in federal money.

Haley said she cast the vote before it was clear that the state could reject the money - new stimulus legal wrinkles emerged almost daily last spring.

The State

The porkulus bill is pretty much an issue of the past at this point, but my thoughts on it are this.  If the money would have never been spent at all had we not taken it, then it should have been refused.  It was a complete waste of money by the Federal government and its had next to no effect whatsoever in helping the economy recover.  All it has done is add to our incredibly high debt.  However, if the money would have just been reallocated to another state, which was the case, then we should have accepted it.  If it’s going to be spent anyway it may as well be spent here.  Ultimately, the state legislature forced Sanford to accept the money, so that is that.

Is Haley trying to have it both ways?  I guess that’s up to you to decide.

Despite the vote, Haley said she has been consistently against the federal money. After the vote, Haley said she spoke with the offices of Sanford and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint who assured her the state could reject the money. Haley later voted against final passage of the stimulus-boosted state budget.

“Everybody knows I was against it,” she said. “I’m the only one that can consistently say that.”

Another $8.4 billion down the crapper.  The legacy of Mr. Jim Rex who wants to be our next governor.

H/T South Carolinians for Responsible Government

The 2009-10 Failing Schools List (raw data from the State Department of Education here):

Aiken County Public School District

* A L Corbett Middle School (6 years failing to met AYP standards)
* Aiken Middle School (6 years)
* Aiken Performing Arts Charter (2 years)
* Clearwater Elementary School (2 years)
* Cyril B Busbee Elementary School (6 years)
* East Aiken Elementary School (2 years)
* Jackson Middle School (5 Years)
* Jefferson Elementary School (2 years)
* Langley Bath Clearwater Middle School (6 years)
* Leavelle Mccampbell Middle School (4 Years)
* Lloyd/Kennedy Charter (6 years)
* Paul Knox Middle School (2 years)
* Redcliffe Elementary School (2 years)
* Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary School (6 years)
* Schofield Middle School (6 years)

Allendale Public Schools (info)

* Allendale Elementary School (6 years)
* Allendale-Fairfax Middle School (6 years)
* Fairfax Elementary School (5 Years)

Anderson School District Four

* Pendleton Elementary School (3 Years)

Anderson School District Five (info)

* Homeland Park Elementary School (2 years)
* Nevitt Forest Elementary School (2 years)
* Southwood Middle School (4 Years)

Bamberg County School District Two

* Denmark-Olar Elementary School (6 years)
* Denmark-Olar Middle School (6 years)

Barnwell School District 19 (info)

* Macedonia Elementary School (6 years)

Barnwell School District 29

* Kelly Edwards Elementary School (3 Years)

Barnwell School District 45

* Barnwell Primary (3 Years)

Beaufort County School District (info)

* Beaufort Elementary School (2 years)
* Broad River Elementary School (2 years)
* James J Davis Elementary School (3 Years)
* Joseph S Shanklin Elementary School (3 Years)
* St Helena Elementary School (2 years)
* Whale Branch Elementary School (6 years)
* Whale Branch Middle School (6 years)

Berkeley County School District (info)

* Berkeley Intermediate (6 years)
* Boulder Bluff Elementary School (4 Years)
* College Park Elementary School (6 years)
* Cross Elementary School (2 years)
* Cross High School (2 years)
* Devon Forest Elementary School (6 years)
* Henry E Bonner Elementary School (6 years)
* J K Gourdin Elementary School (2 years)
* Sedgefield Intermediate (4 Years)
* St Stephen Middle School (6 years)
* Whitesville Elementary School (6 years)

Charleston County School District (info)

* Alice Birney Middle School (6 years)
* Baptist Hill High School (6 years)
* Burke High School (6 years)
* Charleston Progressive (2 years)
* Chicora Elementary School (2 years)
* Edith L Frierson Elementary School (2 years)
* Edmund A Burns Elementary School (5 Years)
* Greg Mathis Charter High School (2 years)
* Haut Gap Middle School (6 years)
* James Simons Elementary School (3 Years)
* Jane Edwards Elementary School (3 Years)
* Ladson Elementary School (2 years)
* Mary Ford Elementary School (3 Years)
* Memminger Elementary School (2 years)
* Midland Park Elementary School (6 years)
* Military Magnet Academy (4 Years)
* Mitchell Elementary School (6 years)
* Morningside Middle School (6 years)
* North Charleston Elementary School (6 years)
* North Charleston High School (6 years)
* R B Stall High School (5 Years)
* St James-Santee Elementary School (3 Years)
* St Johns High School (2 years)
* Susan G. Boykin Academy (4 Years)
* W B Goodwin Elementary School (5 Years)

Cherokee County School District (info)

* Blacksburg Elementary School (5 Years)
* Limestone/Central Elementary School (3 Years)
* Luther Vaughan Elementary School (4 Years)
* Mary Bramlett Elementary School (5 Years)
* Chester Park Elementary School Fine Arts (2 years)
* Chester Park Elementary School Literacy/Tec (3 Years)
* Chester Park Elementary School Of Inquiry (4 Years)
* Great Falls Elementary School (6 years)
* Lewisville Elementary School (3 Years)

Chesterfield County School District (info)

* Jefferson Elementary School (5 Years)
* Pageland Elementary School (6 years)

Clarendon School District One

* Scotts Branch Middle School (6 years)
* St Paul Elementary School (2 years)

Clarendon School District Two

* Manning Elementary School (6 years)
* Manning Primary (2 years)

Clarendon School District Three

* Walker-Gamble Elementary School (2 years)

Colleton County School District (info)

* Bells Elementary School (6 years)
* Colleton Middle School (6 years)
* Cottageville Elementary School (3 Years)
* Forest Circle Middle School (6 years)
* Forest Hills Elementary School (3 Years)
* Hendersonville Elementary School (3 Years)
* Northside Elementary School (5 Years)
* Ruffin Middle School (3 Years)

Darlington County School District (info)

* Brockington Elementary School (4 Years)
* Brunson-Dargan Elementary School (6 years)
* Darlington Middle School (6 years)
* Rosenwald Elementary School/Middle School (2 years)
* Spaulding Elementary School (6 years)
* Spaulding Middle School (6 years)
* St Johns Elementary School (4 Years)
* Washington St Elementary School (2 years)
* West Hartsville Elementary School (6 years)

Dillon School District One

* Lake View Elementary School (2 years)

Dillon School District Two (info)

* Gordon Elementary School (5 Years)
* Dillon 02 J V Martin Jr High School (6 years)

Dorchester School District Two (info)

* Knightsville Elementary School (3 Years)
* Summerville Elementary School (3 Years)
* William M Reeves Elementary School (2 years)

Dorchester School District Four (info)

* Clay Hill Middle School (3 Years)
* St. George Middle School (6 years)
* Williams Memorial Elementary School (6 years)

Edgefield County School District (info)

* Douglas Elementary School (3 Years)
* Johnston Elementary School (2 years)
* Merriwether Elementary School (2 years)

Florence School District One

* Briggs Elementary School (2 years)
* Greenwood Elementary School (4 Years)
* Henry Timrod Elementary School (2 years)
* Moore Intermediate (6 years)
* North Vista Elementary School (5 Years)
* Savannah Grove Elementary School (5 Years)
* Theodore Lester Elementary School (2 years)
* Wallace Gregg Elementary School (4 Years)

Florence School District Two

* Hannah-Pamplico Elementary School/Middle School (6 years)

Florence County School District Three

* J Paul Truluck Middle School (6 years)
* Lake City Elementary School (6 years)
* Main Street Elementary School (5 Years)
* Ronald E Mcnair Middle School (6 years)

Florence County School District Four

* Brockington Elementary School (5 Years)
* Johnson Middle School (2 years)
* Timmonsville High School (2 years)

Florence School District Five

* Johnsonville Elementary School (2 years)

Georgetown School District (info)

* Andrews Elementary School (6 years)
* Carvers Bay High School (2 years)
* Carvers Bay Middle School (6 years)
* Mcdonald Road Elementary School (2 years)
* Rosemary Middle School (5 Years)

Greenville County School District (info)

* Alexander Elementary School (4 Years)
* Armstrong Elementary School (4 Years)
* Berea Elementary School (4 Years)
* Cherrydale Elementary School (2 years)
* East North St Academy (6 years)
* Grove Elementary School (5 Years)
* Hollis Academy (6 years)
* Lakeview Middle School (6 years)
* Monaview Elementary School (6 years)
* Sue Cleveland Elementary School (3 Years)
* Tanglewood Middle School (6 years)
* Thomas E Kerns Elementary School (3 Years)
* Welcome Elementary School (2 years)

Greenwood School District Fifty

* Hodges Elementary School (2 years)
* Lakeview Elementary School (2 years)
* Woodfields Elementary School (2 years)

Hampton School District One

* Fennell Elementary School (2 years)
* Hampton Elementary School (3 Years)
* Varnville Primary (3 Years)

Hampton County School District Two (info)

* Estill Elementary School (4 Years)
* Estill Middle School (6 years)

Horry County School District (info)

* Daisy Elementary School (6 years)
* Loris Elementary School (2 years)
* Loris Middle School (6 years)
* Pee Dee Elementary School (3 Years)
* South Conway Elementary School (5 Years)
* Waccamaw Elementary School (2 years)
* Whittemore Park Middle School (6 years)

Jasper County School District (info)

* Hardeeville Elementary School (6 years)
* Ridgeland Elementary School (6 years)
* Ridgeland Middle School (6 years)

Kershaw County Schools (info)

* Jackson Elementary School (3 Years)
* Midway Elementary School (3 Years)
* Pine Tree Hill Elementary School (4 Years)

Lancaster County School District

* Brooklyn Springs Elementary School (4 Years)
* Buford Elementary School (2 years)
* Clinton Elementary School (3 Years)
* Kershaw Elementary School (5 Years)

Lee County School District (info)

* Bishopville Primary (3 Years)
* Dennis Intermediate (6 years)
* Lower Lee Elementary School (6 years)
* Mary L. Dinkins Charter (3 Years)
* West Lee Elementary School (4 Years)

Lexington County School District One (info)

* Pelion Elementary School (6 years)
* Saxe Gotha Elementary School (5 Years)

Lexington County School District Two (info)

* Congaree Elementary School (4 Years)
* George I Pair Elementary School (3 Years)
* Herbert A Wood Elementary School (5 Years)
* R Earle Davis Elementary School (3 Years)

Lexington County School District Three (info)

* Batesburg-Leesville Elementary School (6 years)

Lexington-Richland School District Five (info)

* Harbison West Elementary School (4 Years)
* Leaphart Elementary School (2 years)
* Nursery Road Elementary School (3 Years)

Marion School District One (info)

* Johnakin Middle School (6 years)
* Marion High School (6 years)
* Marion Intermediate (5 Years)

Marion School District Two (info)

* Mccormick Elementary School (2 years)

Marion School District Seven (info)

* Creek Bridge High School (2 years)

Marlboro County School District (info)

* Bennettsville Elementary School (6 years)
* Bennettsville Middle School (6 years)
* Blenheim Elementary School/Middle School (6 years)
* Clio Elementary School/Middle School (5 Years)
* Mccoll Elementary School/Middle School (6 years)
* Wallace Elementary School/Middle (6 years)

McCormick County School District

* McCormick Elementary School (2 years)
* McCormick Middle School (6 years)

Newberry County School District (info)

* Boundary St Elementary School (3 Years)
* Newberry Elementary School (3 Years)

School District of Oconee County (info)

* James M Brown Elementary School (2 years)

Orangeburg School District Three (info)

* Elloree Elementary School (5 Years)
* Holly Hill Elementary School (6 years)
* Holly Hill-Roberts Middle School (6 years)
* Vance-Providence Elementary School (3 Years)

Orangeburg Consolidated School District Four (info)

* Carver Edisto Middle School (6 years)
* Edisto Elementary School (6 years)
* Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Elementary School (6 years)
* Lockett Elementary School (5 Years)

Orangeburg School District Five (info)

* Brookdale Elementary School (2 years)
* Rivelon Elementary School (3 Years)
* Robert E Howard Middle School (6 years)
* Whittaker Elementary School (2 years)

School District of Pickens County (info)

* Mckissick Elementary School (3 Years)

Richland County School District One (info)

* Burton Pack Elementary School (3 Years)
* Carver-Lyon Elementary School (3 Years)
* Hyatt Park Elementary School (5 Years)
* J P Thomas Elementary School (6 years)
* Watkins-Nance Elementary School (2 years)

Saluda County Schools

* Saluda Elementary School (3 Years)

Spartanburg School District One

* O P Earle Elementary School (3 Years)

Spartanburg County School District Four

* Woodruff Middle School (2 years)

Spartanburg County School District Six

* Jesse S Bobo Elementary School (2 years)

Spartanburg School District Seven (info)

* Cleveland Elementary School (4 Years)
* Park Hills Elementary School (5 Years)
* Whitlock Jr High School (2 years)

Sumter School District Two (info)

* Cherryvale Elementary School (3 Years)
* Mayewood Middle School (4 Years)
* Pocalla Springs Elementary School (4 Years)
* R E Davis Elementary School (2 years)
* Shaw Heights Elementary School (2 years)

Sumter School District Seventeen

* Alice Drive Elementary School (3 Years)
* Crosswell Drive Elementary School (3 Years)
* Lemira Elementary School (5 years)
* Wilder Elementary School (2 years)
* Willow Drive Elementary School (4 Years)

Union County School District (info)

* Buffalo Elementary School (2 years)
* Foster Park Elementary School (2 years)
* Jonesville Elementary School (3 Years)
* Monarch Elementary School (3 Years)

Williamsburg County School District (info)

* Cades-Hebron Elementary School (3 Years)
* Hemingway High School (4 Years)
* Kingstree Elementary School (6 years)
* Kingstree High School (6 years)
* Kingstree Jr High School (6 years)
* Youth Academy Charter (5 Years)

York County School District One

* Hunter Street Elementary School (5 Years)

York County School District Three

* Childrens Attention Charter (2 years)
* Independence Elementary School (3 Years)
* Northside Elementary School Ni
* Sunset Park Elementary School (4 Years)

State Representative Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land) was one of ten elite politicians featured in TIME Magazine’s “10 More Scott Browns” list.  TIME featured five Republican candidates vying for the U.S. Senate and five for the U.S. House, indicating their opinion that Mulvaney could be a significant threat to Congressman John Spratt this year.

Just days after President Obama boasts of spending freezes to quell the public uprising over his administration’s breakneck spending spree, he insults the entire nation by introducing a record $3.8 trillion fiscal budget with a projected record breaking $1.56 trillion deficit.  To add insult to injury, our own Congressman here in the Fifth District, John Spratt, sends out a press release that may as well have “I’m With Stupid” written at the top accompanied by an arrow pointing to us.  He must believe we are to write this tripe and he may very well be correct considering a recent polling of his reelection bid shows that 46% of this district still thinks he should be reelected.

Let’s take his piece by piece.

“Our economy began backsliding into recession in December 2007, one full year before President Obama took office. Within weeks after President Obama was inaugurated, his Administration and Congress approved a large recovery bill to get the economy moving.

A recovery bill that was an epic fail and may have made things incredibly worse by some estimates.

“The Recovery Act added to a deficit already swollen by recession and the Bush Administration’s budgets and bail-outs. But according to the Congressional Budget Office, in the second half of 2009, the Recovery Act raised real GDP by 1.3% to 3.5%.

Tell that to all the people who continue to lose their jobs, particularly those in Chester County where unemployment is in excess of 20%.  Also, there is no way I am letting the hypocrisy in that first sentence slide by.  Spratt’s right, it was the Bush administration’s bailout, but Spratt voted for the damn thing!

In the last quarter of 2008, the economy shrank by 5.4% and 741,000 workers lost their jobs in January 2009 alone. In the last quarter of 2009, the economy grew by 5.7%, and job losses averaged 69,000 a month.

Job losses in December rose to 85,000 and unemployment held steady at 10%.

“The Obama Administration has realized from the start that it will be impossible to bring the deficit down unless the economy is up. The budget the President is sending Congress today puts a priority on those objectives. It keeps one eye on the economy and the other on the deficit.

He must have a lazy eye because each year that deficit gets larger, breaking the previous Guinness world record.

“We have brought the economy back from the brink, but too many Americans are still feeling the recession and not the recovery, and no one can be satisfied when unemployment nationwide averages 10% and in many places is worse.

Back from the brink?  Really?  When the hell did that happen and why are companies still laying off thousands?

“The President’s budget keeps an eye on the bottom-line. The deficit is cut by half, from $1.556 trillion in 2010 (10.6% 0f GDP) to $727 billion (4.2% of GDP) in 2013.

Ah yes, he trotted out the ole “we’re going to cut the deficit in half” bull shit, the deficit he and Obama raised through the roof and then they say when it falls back down to $727 billion, which is still incredibly higher than any of Bush’s record deficits, Spratt tries to hoodwink us into thinking he’s doing us a favor. Well, please don’t.  Just leave.

The budget continues to bring the deficit down, until it reaches 3.9% of GDP in 2014. The President also proposes a bipartisan fiscal commission to develop proposals to bring the deficit down further.

The commission is only needed because elected officials like John Spratt are too damn incompetent and cowardly to do the job they were elected to do.

“At the same time, the President’s budget funds additional initiatives to spur job creation – such as tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers. And the emphasis is on Main Street rather than Wall Street. The budget freezes non-security discretionary spending overall, but singles out priorities like education for funding increases well above a freeze.

“A three-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending and a bipartisan fiscal commission are concrete commitments on the President’s part to bringing down the deficit, even if additional steps will be needed.

Please, the spending freeze is a joke and I cannot believe the hubris behind this.  We’re supposed to believe that the Congress is acting responsibly, despite hiking up the budget deficit to another record high, because they are freezing discretionary spending at a “paltry” $447 billion a year, after they just hiked it up 24% over the past ten months.  Why don’t you just kick me in the balls?

“We proved in the 1990s that it is possible to reduce deficits responsibly, but it cannot happen without concerted effort. Later this week, the House of Representatives will take a step in the right direction by voting to reinstate a statutory Pay-As-You-Go system modeled on the rules that helped turn record deficits into record surpluses in the 1990s.

Well, not exactly.  The calculation of the so-called Clinton “surplus”, which never existed, ignored intergovernmental holdings, in other words, money the government owes the government, IOUs for Social Security, etc.

“On both the budget and the economy, there are hard choices ahead of us, but the budget sent up by the President today marks one more step toward moving the economy up while bringing the deficit down.”

You’re right about one thing, Bubba, there are hard choices ahead and you sure as hell aren’t willing to make them.

John Spratt is the chairman of the House Budget Committee so if this passes you all know where the buck stops.

There are a slew of candidates running to replace Congressman Gresham Barrett (R) in South Carolina’s Third Congressional District.  As you probably know, Banker Bailout Barrett is trying to become our next governor (fat chance of that) and his R+17 district virtually guarantees that a Republican will succeed him next year.  Of the six candidates running I had the pleasure of interviewing State Representative Jeff Duncan of State House District 15.

Duncan is the father of three boys and has been married to his wife, whom he met in high school, for 21 years.  He got elected to the State House in 2002, but don’t blame him for the 40% increase in state spending and all the pork and waste racked up by our legislative assembly during that time.  Duncan was one of the good guys, consistently opposing the largesse of our trough feeding state legislative leadership.  Yes, Bobby Harrell and Glenn McConnell, I am talking about you, amongst others.  Duncan has received multiple high marks from the South Carolina Club for Growth, a taxpayer hero award from Governor Mark Sanford, and commendations from the South Carolina Policy Council.  In fact, it is this invariable commitment to small government policies that Duncan feels is what makes him the best candidate to receive his party’s nomination and go on to be an effective representative in Washington D.C.

South Carolina has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.  I asked Duncan specifically about what could be done in Congress to improve our state’s economy.  He supports overhauling the tax code and regulatory environment.  Banking regulations, he says, have frozen access to capital for many businesses preventing expansion and an increase in jobs.  He also advocates slashing the Corporate Income Tax, which is the second highest in the world, and getting back into the business of nuclear power.

I also asked him about health care costs because that’s been a huge issue lately across the country.  One criticism I’ve heard from some of my more conservative friends is that they hold some blame on the Republicans for this health care disaster we’ve been seeing in Washington.  They say the rising cost of health care and insurance has been a complaint from many Americans for years and during all that time the GOP held the majority in Congress they could have addressed that issue, but they didn’t.  Now we have the Democrats on the verge of destroying the entire system.

Duncan says that Congress could take advantage of the interstate commerce clause in the Constitution and use it to bring down state boundaries in health insurance to allow companies to sell across state lines.  Competition will drive down the price.  He is also a supporter of some type of tort reform.  Furthermore, Duncan says that individuals who purchase health insurance outside their company should be allowed a dollar for dollar Federal tax deduction to help pay for it.  Additionally, associations in an industry should be able to pool together to purchase insurance at a lower cost.  He cited the National Association of Realtors, for example.

I also hit Duncan up about the Boeing deal that just happened a few months ago.  Boeing ultimately decided on South Carolina over Washington State to locate their plant that will assemble their new 787 jetliner.  This decision was based on the state’s cheaper labor costs and also targeted tax breaks for the company.  There has been criticism by some groups over these tax breaks, referring to them as corporate welfare.  Duncan, who voted in favor of the deal, said that while it probably isn’t good policy, to not go along with it would put the state in a non-competitive spot due to other states engaging in the practice.

Some additional information.  Jeff Duncan would support a Constitutional amendment imposing term limits on all Federal elected officials and he also is of the opinion that we do not have enough small business owners in D.C. who understand economics and what it takes to run a business in America.  Small businesses make up 75% of all American industry.

The primary is June 8th of this year.  Aside from Duncan, State Representative Rex Rice, State Senator Shane Massey, businessman Richard Cash of Anderson, Easley attorney Neil Collins, and Dr. Mike Vasovski of Aiken are also vying for the nomination to run in the November general election.

This is Haley’s opening statement from the January 28th Republican gubernatorial primary debate in Charleston.

A new poll released by Public Policy Polling shows Congressman John Spratt with a seven point lead over Republican challenger State Senator Mick Mulvaney.  Spratt leads Mulvaney 46% to 39%.  Despite Spratt in the lead this poll shows a vulnerability present as any time an incumbent is under 50% it’s cause for some concern.  Spratt was reelected in 2008 with 62% of the vote so he has experienced a significant drop off in support over the past year.

Columbia attorney Gregory Brown has entered the Democratic primary for South Carolina’s Sixth Congressional District, challenging Congressman Jim Clyburn.  I don’t know what this guy’s chances are of defeating Clyburn, but I wish him all the luck.  Jim Clyburn has been an epic fail of a representative.  Higher debts, larger government, and a worsening of the “Corridor of Shame” has been Clyburn’s legacy for nearly 20 years now.  The only reason he got elected to Congress in the first place was because the Supreme Court forced the state to carve out a district just for him.  He’s never received any serious opposition.

The Senate reached a compromise Thursday on a controversial Voter ID bill that phases in over two years new requirements for a picture ID in order for a person to vote in South Carolina.

The bill also establishes a new 15-day early voting period prior to elections, maintains walk-in absentee voting for 30 days prior to an election and retains mail-in absentee voting beginning at 45 days before an election.

The photo identification requirement takes effect Jan. 2, 2012, and the State Election Commission must begin issuing voter registration cards with photo ID by July, 1, 2011, pending state funding being made available for the cards.

The system carries an educational, public outreach component, so that currently-registered voters for whom obtaining a photo identification may pose a difficulty, could be assisted.

The compromise proposal must be cleared by U.S. Justice Department and still must go back to the S.C. House for its consideration and passage.

“This is another example of the Senate at its finest hour,” said Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, Senate president pro-tempore.

The State

This is the Senate’s finest hour?  I’m all for requiring ID to vote, but let’s not embellish too much here.  Then again, considering the state of our state, he’s probably serious.  They’ve actually done something right for once.

This has been such a controversial issue in South Carolina between and the Republicans and the Democrats and there is really no logical reason why.  Voting is one of the most important rights we have in this country and the integrity of that process needs to be protected.  I need to show my ID to get on an airplane, enter a Federal building, drive a car, open a bank account and the list goes on and on.  It only makes sense you should have to prove your identity at the ballot box.  It’s one of the surest ways to prevent fraud in our electoral system.

York County Councilman Paul Lindemann (R) just can’t stay out of the news.  He’s now a party of yet a third lawsuit that is brewing by a former employee of his now defunct investment company.  After all this time, the York County Republican Party is finally unofficially officially asking Lindemann to resign.  Took long enough.  Between this new lawsuit, this other lawsuit, and the recently finished lawsuit, among his rap list of other improprieties, he shouldn’t even need to be asked to step down, but I suppose expecting Lindemann to take responsibility and do the right thing would require a bit of integrity.  I doubt there is an ounce of that drifting anywhere within the depths of his ego.

Lindemann is not alone in the current suit.  His cohort Greg Rogers has also been named.  We wrote about Rogers last year, opposing his run for the State House when he entered the race to replace Carl Gullick in House District 48.  He eventually withdrew his candidacy once current State Rep Ralph Norman decided to enter the race, however Rogers has not completely exited the political realm.  He is an appointed member of the York County Economic Development Board.

The county GOP’s request for Lindemann to step down were unsurprisingly rebuffed.

Lindemann blames the economy for being unable to pay back investors on the Tega Cay property. He also said that he is now considering either running for reelection to the York County Council or for the S.C. House District 45 seat in November.

He will not resign from his current office, he added.

“You can tell the Republican party that the press I’ve gotten in the last few weeks have more than bolstered my decision to run again,” Lindemann said. “I’ve had more e-mails, more phone calls, and more pledges for money towards my next election, and I’m not going to listen to any party anywhere that is going to call for my resignation on the basis of the economy.”

The Herald

In usual form, Paul blames everyone but himself.

Whether or not he eventually succumbs to the pressure remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure.  There is already one Richard Daly in this country and Chicago can keep him.  Perhaps his York County protege should relocate.

Maybe.  David Waldman of The Daily Kos makes the case that the fate of the Democrats’ lack of health care reform bill is in the hands of my very own Congressman, John Spratt.  In a nut shell, as chairman of the House Rules Committee, Spratt can put together a package of changes, attach them to H.R. 3200, the original bill that made it out of committee in early fall, then present it to the House Rules Committee and pave the way for reconciliation.  Waldman has spelled it out in a bit more detail, but that is the general idea.

It’s an interesting proposal, one that could put Spratt in an unusual pickle.  Does he support the President’s ill fated agenda and ram this through as suggested above?  After all, according to rumor, Spratt wanted permission from Queen Pelosi to vote against the health care bill in the House and he was denied.  He’s proven to not have the testicular fortitude to stand up to the power brokers and listen to the people he actually works for, me and the other residents of the Fifth Congressional District.  A move on reconciliation would almost ensure Spratt’s defeat in November, but then I wouldn’t put it past him to do so and then decide to retire from the House after all.  Then Pelosi is happy, Obama is happy, and Spratt escapes all consequences back home.

I have my doubts, however, that after the Massachusetts Senate race the votes exist to pass this through both chambers even with a simple bare majority.  At least right now.  Frankly, I don’t know why Kos would even want them to do this.  This is nothing close to what Obama and the Democrats promised the people.  The left was promised a public option, which this bill lacks.  Furthermore, they are always railing against the profits of insurance companies.  It’s one of their biggest beefs with privatized health care, yet this health care bill is a giant corporate give away to those very same interests.

Keep an eye on John Spratt.  It’s the quiet, sneaky ones you need to pay attention to.

Paul Thurmond, son of the late Senator Strom Thurmond, a very controversial figure in American history, but beloved politician of South Carolinians, has decided to throw his hat into the ring to get the Republican nomination to replace the retiring Congressman Henry Brown.

Paul Thurmond is only 34 years old, but his father died in 2003 at age 100, which means Strom was incredibly old when he fathered his son.

Thurmond joins an ever crowding primary which includes Katherine Jenerette, Carroll “Tumpy” Campbell III, and Isle of Palms of Councilman Ryan Buckhannon.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R) is taking some flack this weekend over some comments he made at a town hall meeting in Fountain Inn in which he compared welfare recipients to the feeding of stray animals.  Harsh words?  Yeah, perhaps.  True?  Absolutely.  Bauer is correct and while his words may be ugly they’re appropriately descriptive of the ugly truth a lot of Americans don’t want to hear.

“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply.

“They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is, you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better,” Bauer said.

In South Carolina, 58 percent of students participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program.

Bauer’s remarks came during a speech in which he said government should take away assistance if those receiving help didn’t pass drug tests or attend parent-teacher conferences or PTA meetings if their children were receiving free and reduced-price lunches.

Charlotte Observer

I’ll bet if you did a poll across South Carolina of what people thought of the point Bauer was making you’d find a majority in agreement with him.  The only people horrified by his analogy are the wusses in the not so mainstream media and of course, the Democrats are whining about it because they know Bauer’s right too, but the stray animals are their constituency.  I’m not opposed to some kind of limited government safety net for people who fall on hard times, but the use of our welfare system, not just in South Carolina, but all across the country is way beyond that threshold.  When 58% of South Carolina school children are getting free lunch it’s time to tighten up the qualifications.  This is a state that has absolutely gutted our state budget the last two years due to the Bush/Obama recession and it is unconscionable that we have cut back on needed resources in our prison system and other legitimate state government duties while perpetuating a welfare state of parents who aren’t fulfilling their obligation of providing for their families.  That responsibility shouldn’t be on my back or anyone else’s who have lead responsible lives.  As long as you continue the hand out, there is no motivation for self dependence.

Bauer didn’t make a mistake by saying this.  His mistake is capitulating to those criticizing him by admitting some guilt in what he said.  He’s not guilty of anything other than telling the truth and instead he should have told the media that he stands firmly by his comments.  By even giving a half apology it makes him look guilty and he loses respect.

Susan Smith wants a new trial because she said her rights were violated.  I want to know why Susan Smith isn’t pushing up daisies somewhere already?  Don’t remember Susan Smith?  Oh, I bet you do.  She was the crazy bitch 15 years ago who locked her two children in her car then drowned them by rolling it into the lake.  And she says her rights were violated.  Only in America.

If there was any true justice in this country, Susan Smith would be strapped into a car herself and rolled into the nearest lake where she could rot for all eternity.

This is the status quo that Jim Rex and most of your state legislators want to preserve.

In 2009, SAT scores dropped for the third year in a row, as did the number of students passing the Exit Exam and the Advanced Placement tests. South Carolina was ranked 50th in high school “promoting power” by the Southern Regional Education Board. That study indicates that half of South Carolina’s public high schools are now categorized as “dropout factories,” where graduation rates remain below 50 percent. A third report estimated that the on-time graduation rate is just 40 percent at the public high schools serving South Carolina’s lowest income communities.

The Beaufort Tribune

According to South Carolinians for Responsible Government, the source of the above piece, the public schools in South Carolina spent an average of $12,258 per student.  That’s almost twice as much money as many European countries who are blowing us away in education.  Still think education in this state is underfunded?

Public Policy Polling has a poll out asking readers which Congressional race they should poll next.  Please go to their Web site and vote for SC-5 (John Spratt)

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2010/01/pick-house-district.html

A local Rock Hill woman is the next person in a long line of disgruntled associates of Mr. Lindemann to file a lawsuit against him.  According to Ms Diane O’Brien, York County Councilman and State House 45 candidate Paul Lindemann (R-Fort Mill) has swindled her out of $10,000 she gave him towards an investment for a home in Tega Cay.  The home has ended up on the Sheriff’s sales docket for unpaid property taxes in excess of $17,000.

The pages of Councilman Lindemann’s life are almost like a Cracker Jacks box.  Every time you open a new one you find a cheap surprise inside.  Of course, when you really think about it, Lindermann would fit right in with the culture of Columbia.  He’s already gotten the crooked and corrupt part of politics down pat.

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.

“Get Out of Our House” or GOOOH (pronounced Go) is a movement started up by Texas business Tim Cox which aims to replace every member of Congress with a true citizen legislature.  The group’s goal is to get 500,000 people to sign up and answer a candidate questionnaire.  Based on these questionnaires people in each Congressional district will vote multiple times and gradually whittle down the pool until they ultimately select a nominee to run for Congress in each district.  When the nominees are picked, the group is requesting that each member who signed up donate $100 to the GOOOH campaign that can be used to help elect the selected members.  Here is a more detailed explanation from the GOOOH Web site:

Members will have until some time in March to declare their candidacy by completing the six Candidate Selection Session registration steps. Once the deadline has been reached, all candidates will follow the process summarized below, with one person in each of the 435 congressional districts ultimately bubbling to the top of the system as their district’s nominee.

1. Candidates will be randomly assigned into pools of 10 participants within their congressional district. There will be as many pools as are needed in each district.

2. Pools will meet simultaneously at predetermined locations across the country on consecutive Saturday mornings. Sessions start at 9 AM and will last approximately 5 hours.

3. Each pool of participants will select two candidates to advance to the next round, via the GOOOH Selection Session process outlined in the book.

4. Advancing candidates will be randomly assigned into a new pool within their district. Steps 2 and 3 will repeat until there are only ten candidates remaining in each district.

5. If there are 1,250 participants, there will be four rounds. The actual number will be determined based upon the number of participants in each district. There will be a maximum of eight rounds, though four to six are more likely.

6. Before the final round, we are considering having the 4,350 finalists participate in a weekend retreat to ensure they fully understand how the final selection round will work and to ensure they are committed to representing their district if selected. Details will be determined as the time nears.

7. The final ten candidates in each of the districts will select a single nominee to represent their district.

8. The 435 nominees will be placed on the November ballot, in their respective districts, to compete against the Republican and Democratic politicians.

9. The campaign for each of the candidates will be orchestrated by the system, which will provide all necessary funding.

I give them props for coming up with a pretty clever system to do this.  I’ve been hoping for years to have a third party break through in the Federal Government.  I’d consider filling out one of these questionnaires myself, but I actually like the Republican candidate that is running against my Congressman this year so I don’t intend on supporting a third party in this year’s House race as I normally have in the past.

Here is the information regarding the meeting in Charlotte tomorrow evening, courtesy of the Charlotte Observer:

The group GOOOH will hold a rally and mock selection event at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Palmer Building, 2601 E. Seventh St.

To register, Google “GOOOH Charlotte.” Registration is free but space is limited.

For information, go to www.goooh.com or contact Don Rosenberg at donrosenberg@gmail.com or 704-910-6498.