Sep 12 2009
Politico: What’s the Matter with South Carolina?
What’s the matter with South Carolina? That’s the question asked by Politico columnist Alexander Burns. Indeed, South Carolina has been a focal point of hot bed politics and political scandal recently, but as former State Republican Chairman Katon Dawson points out, it’s really nothing new.
Dawson agreed, citing the state’s long and tempestuous political history as a mark of pride: “South Carolina’s been yelling from the top of our lungs on national politics since this nation was formed and entered the union.”
Consider the attention, sometimes unwanted, that we’ve received over the past year. You could write a whole book on Mark Sanford. The Governor went from being the favorite son of conservatives and economic libertarians to rumored presidential candidate only to then fall from grace as his scandalous extra-marital affair became headline news around the nation. Sanford’s status rose quickly when he was the only governor to fight the wasteful stimulus package thrust on us by the Federal government. He received endless and thunderous applause at the Greenville Tea Party earlier this year, yet in a flash all of that respect and fame soured to notoriety and disappointment as details of his Argentine “soul mate” Maria Chapur pierced the airwaves.
Look at conservative rising star Senator Jim DeMint who has made it his career to call out waste and corruption in Washington D.C. and be the general in the battle against the unconstitutional overreaching grip of the Federal government. DeMint took flak earlier this year when referring to health care as Obama’s “Waterloo”, but was he necessarily wrong?
On the flip side is Republican Congressman Bob Inglis who hasn’t wavered in ruffling the feathers of the conservative base of his Congressional district. He has taken an onslaught of criticism for his changing opinion towards accepting the fraudulent theory of man made climate change. Even more recently he riled the far right at a town hall meeting when he told them to turn off Glenn Beck. Inglis has earned himself several primary challengers in next year’s election.
Let’s also not forget former State Treasurer Tom Ravenel who was sent up the river for the distribution of cocaine. Then of course, Joe Wilson has become the most well known Congressman in America over the past couple of days for his outburst during Obama’s Congressional address accusing the President of lying.
Is this bad for South Carolina? Are we embarrassing or are we emboldened? We did fire the first shot in the Civil War, after all. I guess the impression of our state is in the eye of the beholder. We certainly aren’t perfect, but we definitely could be worse. We aren’t in a full fledged melt down like California. We aren’t chasing every business and hard working American out of the state like New York. Our own scandals really aren’t any less comparative than those of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.
Personally, it gives me a lot to write about and opine on. I’d probably be pretty bored with writing if I lived in Vermont.




