Carolina Politics Online

I have no doubt the Senate will concur.

COLUMBIA — The House voted 109-0 to override Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto on the bill intended to get sprinkler systems in more homes and businesses.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where two-thirds of the body must agree to override the veto.

The Legislature reconvened at noon. So far, the Senate has taken up three bills. The House has spent most of the morning recognizing members who lost re-election campaigns.

Such a sufficient use of the peoples’ time and tax dollars.

Sanford wrote in his veto message that he agreed with the intent of the legislation but saw the incentive as a government subsidy.

“Things get more expensive when someone else is picking up the tab,” Sanford wrote. “If the costs are largely paid by a third party, as they are in this proposal, competitive pricing becomes a secondary concern and, in this regard, taxpayers suffer.”

The legislation was prompted by the Sofa Super Store blaze that killed nine Charleston firefighters.

The Post and Courier

Sanford is right on this.  When a company is doing business with the government they can jack up the price enormously because they know the government is picking up the tab with our money.  That is part of the reason why health care is so damn expensive in this country.

This bill was a knee jerk reaction to what happened in Charleston last year and historically bills that are thrown together like this out of an emotionally charged incidents with little forethought end up having unintended consequences.  Look at how TSA is operated at the airports and all of the flaws that the media has uncovered with airline security.  Look at the Patriot Act!

I made a brief post last night summing up the results of several primaries across the state. There were candidates I was really gunning for who came up short and others I was hoping would fall on their faces who managed to eek it out, but nonetheless, the reformers made gains.

The two most watched races in the Senate both had positive results. Tom Davis managed to knock off RINO Catherine Ceips last night in Senate District 46. With Davis being Sanford’s former Chief of Staff, we know we’ll have someone in there who will support the Governor’s low tax, low spend, pro-growth agenda far more than Ceips did, which was practically never.

The other race was in Senate District 23. Katrina Shealy, the Chairman of the Lexington County Republican Committee came up short by five points, but managed to force Jake Knotts into a run off election. I think Shealy would have won this race by her own right had there not been a third candidate running, but that no longer matters. Knotts received 45% of the vote, which means the majority didn’t want him to return. The run off election will be determined by who has the best ground game.

Randy Scott is out in Senate District 39. He was defeated by former State Senator Mike Rose who is another reform minded conservative. With Scott gone that is one less RINO working against our governor for a better South Carolina.

Jim Ritchie may be seeing his final days in the Senate since Shane Martin also held him to a run off. Martin actually beat Ritchie by almost 18 points last night, but he didn’t make the 50% mark. He ended up with 49.63% of the vote. Doh! Fortunately, since Martin did so well I think the odds are in his favor in the run off.

There was some improvement in the House as well, but the Senate is the one that really needs gutted. I would have preferred to see a few more victories last night. We needed Carl Gullick out of the House and it almost happened. We also needed B.R. Skelton out and his opponent gave him a bit of a scare. Luke Rankin is another worthless glutton in the Senate we could have done without.  Hopefully, the strong efforts by the challengers that came up short will be enough to force these guys to reevaluate what it is they are doing in Columbia. Of course, I am not holding my breath.

Overall, I am happy with the results of the election and I hope to see some better things from the new legislature in 2009.  As for the survivors who should have been voted off the island and didn’t, now is the time to start finding their replacements.  We have two years to prepare them.

The State Elections Web Site is not up to date that well. Some races have already been called in the media, but the state site still shows them unreported. What I know so far is the following:

In Senate District 46 Tom Davis has ousted RINO Catherine Ceips. This is a huge, huge win for all the reformers in this state and it shows that Mark Sanford still holds a lot of clout with his constituents even though the legislature snubs him.

In Senate District 23 Katrina Shealey has managed to push Jake Knotts into a run off election, as I predicted would be the case. This is another good turn of events because Knotts is the sorriest excuse for a Republican probably in South Carolina history.

In Senate District 42 Robert Ford managed to miraculously keep his seat from challenger Dwayne Green and by a 50 point margin. I don’t know how he pulled this one off. Ford must have made a deal with the devil.

In House District 38 Joey Millwood has ousted incumbent RINO Bob Walker by 19 votes! This is another victory for those hoping for government reform.

Scott Talley has won the race for Senate District 12. I commented the other day that all three of these guys were decent so this was a win, win situation and step forward.

In House District 37 Steve Parker has trounced incumbent Ralph Davenport by 25 points!

The State is reporting that Senator Randy Scott has lost to his primary challenger, Mike Rose, but I can’t find any returns on that race yet.

Jim Ritchie will have to face challenger Shane Martin again in a run off election for the 13th Senate District.

B.R. Skelton prevailed over challenger Trey Whitehurst in House District 3.

Bob Leach was defeated by his challenger Bill Wylie in House District 21.

Carl Gullick survived a strong primary challenge tonight from Kyle Boyd, retaining his seat by a mere 183 votes. I was out working at some of the polls today and I have to wonder how many Democrats may have voted in the Republican primary in this district to keep Gullick. After all, he is de facto Democrat in a safe Republican seat. The polls I went to had voters overwhelmingly taking part in the GOP primary which arouses my suspicion.

Kyle and everyone who donated their time and money to his candidacy deserve a huge pat on the back for their efforts in coming so close to bringing some needed change to the 48th District. They definitely had ole Carl on the ropes.

High schools will be required to have defibrillators under a new law that goes into effect this fall, despite Gov. Sanford’s veto of the proposal. The Senate and House overrode the veto Thursday, hours after Sanford vetoed the bill. Sanford said only about one death a year would be expected to occur in a South Carolina high school.

Aiken Standard

This is ridiculous. Once again the state legislature is playing the role of over protective nanny and costing taxpayers a nice chunk of change. When was the last time you heard of someone at a high school going into cardiac arrest? As Sanford pointed out, the average is about one death a year across the state.

This waste was sponsored by 11 House Democrats:

• Michael Anthony - Union
• Jimmy Bales - Eastover
• Bill Clyburn - Aiken
• Kenneth Hodges - Green Pond
• Lonnie Hosey - Barnwell
• Leon Howard - Columbia
• Joseph Jefferson - Pineville
• David Mack - North Charleston
• Dennis Moss - Gaffney
• Robert Williams - Darlington

And the Governor’s veto was overridden by your “fiscally responsible, small government” Republican majority.

“The Velvet Hammer.”

She earned the nickname from the Black Caucus and the Democratic Caucus. Years ago, she told another House speaker — in a tone that caused the House to halt like a tornado had struck –”I will not be disrespected!”

On Tuesday, Moody-Lawrence thanked her peers, and in the next breath, she threw down a gauntlet of challenges. She may have had cancer, but her voice sounded like thunderclaps.

Moody-Lawrence spoke for just a few minutes, yet the place was spellbound. She did not talk of laws she created or defeated. All she talked about is what is right and what is wrong.

“People have put you here because they have confidence in you,” she said. “They thought you had good sense.”

So, she demanded action.

“Improve the human condition,” she told the legislators, using her longtime catch-phrase. “Do it for ordinary people. Every nationality. Rich and poor. Young and old. Black and white. Make life better for that little boy or girl, barefooted today, so they can be contributors to society. Not fodder for prisons.”

The Herald

Fundamentally, I agree with everything Bessie said. I just take difference with her as to the method of how we achieve those goals.

And she’s right about those who have been elected. People put the trust in them to go to Columbia to make the right decisions for the state. So far, most of those who have been elected have failed in their duty. It’s yet another reminder that we have an important primary coming up on Tuesday and have some important changes to make.

Good luck to Bessie Moody-Lawrence and Godspeed.

Contact: Gary Coats
Phone: 864.641.5591
E-mail: gary@steveparker08.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 4th, 2008

Boiling Springs, SC - The Steve Parker Campaign(State House 37) has learned that DHEC has reviewed their documentation, the mailers sent by Ralph Davenport, and the Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC) and is prepared to inform the media that their allegations attacking Steve Parker are false. More information as the various Media outlets break this story.

Media contact at DHEC : Thom Berry

Images of False Allegation Mailers
Conservation Voters of SC Mailer Front
Conservation Voters of SC Mailer Back
Davenport Mailer Front
Davenport Mailer Back

###

Contact: Gary Coats
Phone: 864.641.5591
E-mail: gary@steveparker08.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 3rd, 2008

Boiling Springs, SC - On Monday, June 2nd, a mailer titled “DUMPED” hit mailboxes in House District 37 making accusations that are totally false. The accusations are based on two anonymous calls to DHEC that were proven to have no validity in 1999.

We, the campaign and supporters of Steve Parker, demand Ralph Davenport to publicly denounce this literature, distance himself from the Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC) and disavow their endorsement.

###

It sure sounds like that to me. The Post and Courier today broke a story today about how several of our state legislators are funneling money through state colleges and universities to then have the money transferred to some other cause, generally some kind of charity. Let’s take for example, State Representative David Mack (D-North Charleston).

In Mack’s case, he sent $300,000 to S.C. State in the 2006-07 school year and asked the university to send the money to a Columbia-based nonprofit organization called the Palmetto Center for Advocacy. The center conducts health education programs statewide, especially obesity prevention programs.

Mack sent the group another $400,000 through S.C. State in the 2007-08 school year.

Anastasia Shaw, deputy director for Palmetto Center for Advocacy, said the $700,000 from the state is the only money the group has brought in so far. But, she said, the center is “looking to diversify funding.”

According to the group’s Web site, Mack is employed as its “outreach director.” In a telephone interview, Mack said he now does consulting work for the group and previously was the organization’s interim director. He also said he is paid for all of his work with the center but declined to say how much.

When asked why he chose to send the money through the university instead of going through the state’s competitive grants program, Mack said, “We just chose that way.”

He just “chose that way” because he didn’t actually want to go through the competitive grants process and also take a chance on his request not being granted. Therefore, he cheated. He lied about where the money was going to. He had it sent to S.C. State and then used them as the bag man had them send the money somewhere else. In Mack’s case, he sent the money to a company he is employed by. Umm….. shouldn’t this man be on his way to jail right now?? Hello, SLED? Are you paying attention to this or are you only concerned when a state official snorts coke in the privacy of his own home?

Google defines money laundering as “Conduct or acts designed in whole or in part to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of money.” That sounds pretty close to what’s going on behind the scenes with Mr. Mack.

Mack is not the only one. The Post and Courier uncovered several of our state lawmakers engaging in this fraud and what quite frankly to me should be illegal if it isn’t already.

Another legislator who used S.C. State as a funnel was Sen. John Matthews, D-Bowman. Matthews sent $150,000 in the 2006-07 school year and $200,000 in the 2007-08 school year through the university to the Lower Orangeburg-Upper Dorchester Community Development Corp.

Matthews said the program mostly helps low-income people in the high-poverty region prepare for and land jobs.

According to the group’s Web site, Matthews is a non-voting member of the organization’s board of directors. His wife, Geraldine Matthews, is the board’s vice chairwoman and serves on the board’s personnel, finance and overview and assessment committees.

Matthews said Wednesday that neither he nor his wife are compensated for their work with the organization. He also said that he gave up his role as a voting member of the board when he brought state money to the organization.

Here we have another politician funneling money to an organization that both he and his wife have a vested interest in and are members of. There are a few more.

The university also passed $100,000 to EngenuitySC for the National Hydrogen Association Convention, McKinney said. The university, he said, has no record of specific legislators involved in such transactions.

Kyle Michel, a lobbyist for EngenuitySC, said the money will be used to promote South Carolina, especially the Columbia region, as “a place for hydrogen fuel cell economic development” during the 2009 convention.

Neil McLean, executive director for the group, said the money came from the Legislature but no specific legislator.

Sen. Nikki G. Setzler, D-West Columbia, and Rep. Joan Brady, R-Columbia, are members of EngenuitySC’s board of trustees, he said.

–Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, sent $115,000 in the 2007-08 school year through Winthrop to the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce to expand the Lake Wylie Small Business Center.

–Sen. John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg, sent $100,000 in the 2007-08 school year through Clemson to the Spartanburg Humane Society. Hawkins has no connection to the group other than being the state senator who represents the area, he said. He also said he would have been willing to use the state’s competitive grant program or any other funding mechanism, “but this worked.”

–Frances Marion University has funneled $187,294 to the Mount Pleasant-based Palmetto Project over the last three school years, and nearly $300,000 has been passed through the university over the past five years. John Kispert, vice president for business affairs for the university, said he is unaware of the name of the legislator associated with the money.

–Kispert said the university receives correspondence about the money from Palmetto Project Executive Director Steve Skardon. Skardon said the money has been coming from the Legislature for years, but not from a specific lawmaker. He said the money has been used for the Omega Project.

So in this last example, they don’t even know who they are getting the money from!

Are the people of South Carolina going to stand for this? This needs to have a serious investigation done into every single one of these occurrences and determine if this practice is criminal. Even if it isn’t it is most definitely a breach of ethics and that along should merit removal from office.

The State House voted in a landslide yesterday to agree to the Senate approved version of the illegal immigration bill that Harrell and McConnell worked on together to finally get completed in both chambers. I imagine Sanford will approve the bill and we will soon begin to witness the exodus of these lawbreaking invaders from our state, just as it was seen in Arizona and Oklahoma.

Of course, there were a few objections:

“The trail of probable cause sways toward racial profiling,” said Whipper, whose district includes a large population of immigrants.

Whipper said he is worried that legal Hispanic immigrants, specifically, will face hardships as a result of the legislation.

He also says he does not think legal immigrants were involved enough in the process to have had their voices heard and that they might be unaware of what’s coming down the pike.

Why do legal immigrants need to have more of a voice concerning this legislation? What makes them different than anyone else living in South Carolina?

Whippersnapper’s concern about racial profiling may have some validity to it, but it’s not due to any elements of racism. It’s just a fact that the vast majority of illegal aliens in this country are from south of the border. That’s just the way it is so naturally people are going to suspect Hispanics that don’t speak English as being here illegally. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you know?

The Post and Courier provides a list of what the bill will do. I’m satisfied:

– Authorizes the State Law Enforcement Division to reach a deal with federal agencies for the enforcement of immigration laws.

– Requires people to prove their lawful presence in the U.S. to receive public benefits, although some exceptions apply, such as for emergency medical treatment.

– Adds additional penalties for ID fraud in connection to an illegal immigrant.

– Requires all businesses to check the legal status of workers by using a state driver’s license, a license from another state that has the same eligibility requirements or E-Verify (a free, online database that lets employers check Social Security numbers).

– Mandates fines for employers between $100 and $1,000 for every time they fail to verify the legal status of a worker, charge employers who knowingly hire an illegal immigrant with a felony and suspend right of businesses to operate when they get caught with illegal workers.

– Allows fired citizens to sue their former bosses if they’re replaced by illegal workers.

– Prohibits illegal immigrants from attending state universities or receiving state-funded college scholarships.

– Outlaws “sanctuary cities.”

– Requires judges to check immigration status when setting bail.

– Expands the state grand jury’s jurisdiction to include immigration fraud.

– Creates an illegal immigration hot line through the state Commission for Minority Affairs.

– Creates a felony for harboring and transporting illegal immigrants.

Harrell, who opposes spending the $159 million the tax increase would raise on health care for the poor, railed against “entitlement” programs and raising a generation that would expect state-funded health care.

The State

He’s precisely correct. The welfare state in this country has been a complete disaster. We have a few generations of people now who have been raised since birth to believe that it’s the government’s job to wipe their ass for them. This is not a country of collective rights. We are a nation of individual rights and in order to have the freedom and liberty to enjoy those individual rights you have to be able to provide for yourself and your family. You can’t do it addicted to government programs. You aren’t free when you’re being provided to by the government. You’re living in serfdom and you’re handing the control of your life over to bureaucrats.

And I haven’t even gone into the fact that it’s simply immoral to use the government to force your neighbors to pay your way. What happened to the idea that you get what you work for? Working people have their own bills to pay and their own families to take care of. Taking more of their money to throw away at drug addicts, drunks, and unwed babies mamas and their children makes it harder for the working families who are living responsibly to make ends meat. The supporters of the welfare state know this to be true, but they won’t admit it. Enter Gilda Cobb-Hunter:

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, was on the phone talking national Democratic Party politics when Harrell’s words caught her attention and left her stunned.

“It was so hurtful to a lot of people,” she said. “I could not sit there I was so angry. I’ve never heard him use language like that.”

Democrats accused Harrell of using “code words” and speaking with the “privilege” of white skin.

Cobb-Hunter said she and others had come to accept they would lose the vote, after House GOP leadership worked to keep members from overriding Sanford’s veto. But Harrell’s comments felt like “piling on” to her and other black lawmakers.

Tuesday “was so, so sad and so unnecessary,” she said.

What’s so, so sad and so unnecessary is Ms Cobb-Hunter (or Mrs. Terry, what ever she calls herself) to turn into a race baiting bitch because she can’t professionally and honestly address the issue. She knows darn well what Harrell said is the truth and being confronted with it backed her into a corner. Like most Marxists, when she couldn’t defend her position she started ranting on about racism. Such frequent false accusations of discrimination from so-called “black leaders” has dulled the ears of most Americans. Nobody cares about racial accusations anymore. People like Sharpton and Jackson and many black politicians have cried wolf on it so many times that people just roll their eyes now when they hear it and just ignore it. The sad part about that is in the instance of a real incident nobody believes the victim.

But the Medicaid question is not likely to go away. Expanding Medicaid was a key provision to Senate Democrats, and Senate Minority Leader John Land, D-Clarendon, said he would not vote for a bill without it. The money, he said, goes right back to the state economy through doctors, nurses and other health care providers.

Observers noted the landscape for passing a cigarette tax could change between now and January. Most notably, elections in June and November that will change the members of the General Assembly, who again will be faced with making a decision.

Sen. Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, who helped strike a cigarette tax compromise in the Senate, said that despite hurt feelings, he believed the issue could not be ignored.

“If it’s worth doing, if it’s the right thing. It will get done.”

As long as Sanford is in the governor’s seat we’re safe on this for at least the next two years. Whether or not we’ll be able to stave off the legislative Socialists like Tom Alexander, Rex Reed, John Land, and Gilda Cobb-Hunter will depend on how many of these GOP primaries go on June 10th. If they manage to oust many of the RINOs then South Carolina has a positive future ahead of it.

District 3 Incumbent State Representative B.R. Skelton (R - Six Mile) is in a huff over a mailer sent out to the district by the South Carolinians for Responsible Government hitting him on his record of sponsoring a bill to raise the state gas tax by five cents per gallon. Skelton’s response was as follows:

In a recorded telephone message received at Pickens County households on Tuesday, Skelton said that the statements in the mailers are an “absolute lie” and that South Carolinians for Responsible Government is “a shell group set up to ruin our educational system in South Carolina.”

There are a few things to note at this point. One, SCRG is a group with the ultimate goal of school choice. School choice would greatly improve our education system by allowing parents to choose which school their children will attend, including allowing poor families in the inner cities to take their kids out of those failing schools as well as the dangerous ones and sending them to a school with better performance . School choice will breed competition among schools and provide for an improved standard of education. This is what Representative Skelton says will ruin education? I wonder how much money he is receiving from the teachers union.

The second point to be noted is that the claim in the mailer is truthful. Representative Skelton sponsored House Bill H. 3648 that would have increased the gasoline tax by five cents per gallon. It appears that it is Representative Skelton who is the liar. That is further supported by his subsequent statements to The Independent Mail when he said:

Skelton said, “I may have voted to increase the gas tax, but only a nickel a gallon. That was more than offset by reducing the tax on food sales. In addition, the state will bring in $50 million in additional revenues from the gas tax on out-of-state tourists and truckers.”

So now he admits that he did do exactly what they accused him of. He has a flimsy excuse too. How are people helped by lowering one tax if you’re going to turn around and raise another?

Trey Whitehurst who is Skelton’s primary opponent said that Skelton was also part of a plan to raise the retirement benefits of retired state legislators. According to the Independent Mail, Skelton did not comment on that.

As the June 10 South Carolina primaries draw near, the candidates are scheduled to address the Pickens County Republican Party at Liberty Middle School starting at 6:30 p.m. today.

The League of Women Voters will conduct a forum for candidates for elected office Monday starting at 6 p.m. at the Clemson-Central Library, S.C. 93, Central. Skelton and Whitehurst plan to be present to speak and to answer questions.

So to rehash all of this, Skelton thinks our already ruined public education system is just hunky dory and that attempts to improve the joke we call public education will be what actually ruins it. He sponsored a bill to raise taxes. When called out on it he himself lied about it by claiming the accusation was a lie, but then he later admitted that he did indeed do it. He also refuses to answer a question on his actions to sweeten his own pot after he retires from the legislature, which may end up being this year pending the results of June 10th.

The verdict is clear to me. B.R. Skelton is a RINO scumbag who needs to be given the boot.

Fliers mailed out in the last few days have singled out S.C. House District 81 candidate Tom Young Jr. of Aiken, and he’s not happy about it.

South Carolinians for Responsible Government’s Political Action Committee sent the fliers, in part branding Young as a trial lawyer supported by trial lawyers who want to sue doctors and drive up health costs.
“I was totally blindsided by this attack,” Young said. “I think they singled me out because we’re winning the race.”

The Aiken Standard

I’m not able to substantiate their claim regarding Young. The law firm for where he works says he specializes in “General Practice, Business Litigation, Personal Injury Law, Products Liability, Workers’ Compensation, Insurance Bad Faith, Real Estate Litigation, Residential and Commercial Real Estate Transactions.” It specifically lists medical malpractice for some of the other attorneys in the firm, but not for Young. Working in a law firm that handles medical malpractice suits does not in itself implicate Young in the SCRG’s claim.

If you read Young’s positions on the issues, he sounds like a very good candidate to me. He has stressed the need for limited government and low taxes, an excellent Reagan style view.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — House Speaker Bobby Harrell has sent a bill that would regulate payday lending to a House committee, essentially killing the proposal.

The Senate amended a House bill last week to include the regulations and sent it back to the House in hopes of forcing floor debate.

The Independent Mail

The free market regulators tried to bring this back from the dead, but it sounds like Harrell has effectively killed it for good this time, as it should be.   Payday lending is a  legitimate service and is needed by people when they are in a financial bind.  Sure, there are people who use it inappropriately and get caught up in debt because of it, but people do that with credit cards, loans, and every other kind of borrowing.  Payday lending services are no different.  Sure the interest rates are high, but people know what they are signing up for.  Legislators need to stop demonizing these legitimate services and start promoting self responsibility.

I watched the local Rock Hill news last night in disgust as I listened to Senator Wes Hayes (RINO-Rock Hill) tout his support for expanding Socialism in our state and addicting more of our residents to the public dole. I’m speaking, of course, of the cigarette tax increase that would put more state residents on government assisted health insurance. I was disgusted, yet not surprised.

The York County delegation to Columbia is rather pitiful overall. There are two representatives that I exclude from that criticism. They are State Representative Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land) and State Representative Herb Kirsch (D-Clover). Both of these men have done an impeccable job of responsibly presiding over our state tax dollars. The rest of the county reps need to be “hung from the Liberty Tree” and run out of town.

According to a publication from the Club for Growth, “In 2007, Governor Sanford vetoed 243 budget items for $167 million in savings. The SC House overrode 228 of these vetoes and sent them to the Senate.” When they reached the Senate to be voted on, Senator Wes Hayes voted to uphold not a single one of the Governor’s vetoes. He voted to spend our money on waste. In the House, we faired slightly better. State Representative Carl Gullick (RINO-Lake Wylie) voted to uphold 47 of the vetoes, State Rep. Gary Simrill (R-Rock Hill) was living on the edge with 62 votes and Mulvaney went with 143.

I mentioned that I wasn’t surprised by hearing Hayes’ on the television, but I am perplexed. I have met the York County Republican Committee, including their chairman. They seem like a very principled group of people committed to the small government values of Reagan and Goldwater, the same ideals that allowed the GOP to sweep elections all across the nation in 1994. How then with such a dedicated group are these ghastly legislators getting the support they need to get elected? They are standing in front of what the party is supposed to be standing behind. The Web site of the York GOP states several times that they don’t support any primary candidate. Perhaps they should start.

There is a small movement in the South Carolina Republican Party to try and clean out some of the RINOism around the state. There are about 20 or so primary challenges this year, so conservatives in this state certainly aren’t blind to the problem, but apparently many are still asleep. They had better wake up pretty damn quick. The Republicans in D.C. lost their way and they paid for it in 2006 and are likely to get a second dose this year as well. If South Carolina Republicans think they have a lock on this state they are fooling themselves. The biggest growth of government in this state has occurred over the past few years all under a Republican legislature. The people will turn on them here, just like we did in Washington.

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.

State Rep. Fletcher Smith introduced legislation this morning that would limit school resource officers’ arrest powers to serious offenses, he said.

His bill came in response to an incident earlier this month in which two 13-year-old girls were arrested and spent four nights in the Greenville County juvenile detention center after a shouting match at Lakeview Middle School, he said.

“Serious offenses, gang related, weapons, drugs they could still arrest them,” the Greenville Democrat said. “But with regard to simple matters like those girls had, all other matters would be courtesy summons.”

The Greenville News

As I said in a previous post yesterday, Fletcher Smith exercises common sense, a rare yet important gift in government officials these days. It’s unfortunate that a bill like this has to be introduced, but as I also have pointed out in a previous thread a few days back, we are seeing a complete lack of common sense displayed more frequently in authority figures these days.

Having said that, I don’t know that a law needs to be passed to deal with these situations. In the case of this Lakeview Middle School incident, they should probably just pull the deputy from the school, make him aware of being the moron that he is, and go on with business.

The resource officer in the Lakeview Middle School case, a Greenville County deputy, had said he thought the girls needed to go to jail because they were about to become violent.

Officer Doofy doesn’t know for certain what they were about to become and last I checked it’s not a crime to “about to become” anything. This sounds almost like The Minority Report.

21 State Legislative candidates have put forward a “Contract for Change” to promote a reform minded agenda in Columbia to combat the growing spending and size of government inflicted on South Carolina at the hand of the RINOs running the state legislature. Below is a video taped press conference of the official unveiling. The facts that these candidates point out are very damning to the current crop of legislatures, providing this reform actually gets some media attention. As far as media coverage of this, it’s been crickets chirping.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina House has given key approval to a bill to allow wine to be sold on Sundays at wineries in the state.

The measure exempts from the state’s Sunday closing laws wine that is harvested, processed, fermented, bottled, and sold at the same location. The bill allows Sunday sales only if the local county or city government approves a permit.

The State

Why the hell can’t wine be sold everywhere on Sundays, along with the rest of the alcohol family?  The no wine sales on Sunday is nothing more than a hold over from the old Blue Laws that are still on the books and need to be chucked out the window.  It’s absurd that the state legislature is wasting time debating granting one type of distributor an exception.  Just repeal the whole damn law!

Two years ago, Democrat Eugene Platt barely missed out on winning the James Island/Folly Beach seat in the state House of Representatives, falling short to incumbent Republican Wallace Scarborough by 40 votes.

This year he’s trying for the District 115 seat again, but first has to get by newcomer Anne Peterson Hutto in the June 10 Democratic primary.

“I’m running with more optimism than I did in 2006,” said Platt, 69, who in January began walking door-to-door in the district’s many neighborhoods. “I’ve shown to others as well as to myself that I can win. I’m working harder.”

The Post and Courier

This was an extremely close race last year and showed that Scarborough is vulnerable despite the anti-Republican sentiment that swept across the nation in 2006 and likely contributed to this race being so narrow. With Barack Obama being the presumptive nominee and Democrat possibly being even more motivated to get out and vote this year than in 2006, Scarborough may be cleaning out his office come January.

I’m not entirely enamored with any of these choices, though. Scarborough is a RINO so I could care less if he gets chucked aside. Platt is ok on some things but I don’t care for the radical environmental groups he is shaking hands with. Furthermore, he is an advocate for progressive income taxes which is a huge no in my book. Peterson-Hutto is shady in my book as well. She is a personal injury attorney (barf) and I never trust women with two last names.