I started as a SC State Senate page when I was 19 years old. I’ve spent the last 11 years around the statehouse in some for or fashion, and in that time, I’ve never seen a conference circus like I saw this week. A grandstanding special interest diva in a short skirt and expensive high heals, campaign cameras and lapel stickers were the scene. 200 “concerned” South Carolinians hooted and hollered as at least one speaker showed the most disrespect I’ve ever seen in the Senate. For all purposes, it was a circus, a press rally put on by a special interest group to have good commercial footage.
And then there’s the SC Policy Council. They attack Boeing for taking tax dollars while thriving as a 501(c)3. They are forbid from lobbying, yet that’s all they do. They demand transparency while disclosing neither their donors nor their expenditures.
I’m a big boy. I get it. I do this for a living. But what’s frustrating is that when the President Pro Tempore of the Senate asks each visitor to help him create a true transparency change, five brave soles show up. SC Policy Council President Ashley Landess refuses to show while sending two low level staffers with a Flip Cam. State Senator Larry Martin showed up early to talk to visitors and while he expected a full room, he found anything but.
The SC Policy Council says they don’t lobby for specific legislation. They are careful to include a disclaimer on each email stating, “nothing in the foregoing should be construed as an attempt to aid or hinder passage of any legislation.” They show up with a room full of people when a piece of legislation is in front of the committee, but fail to show up when a real rule change is being drafted. This isn’t about the issue. It’s about politics…plain and simple. Now that’s transparency.
I speak for the SC Senate Republican Caucus on a daily basis. Today I speak for myself. President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell has already told you that he isn’t letting Representative Haley’s bill pass the Senate because he believes its unconstitutional. He will however create a rule change that demands as close to 100% voting transparency as he can get.
So what are you looking for? Are you a conservative looking for transparency or are you just looking at attending a party and yelling at your elected officials.
Last week Senator McConnell clearly stated, “please come and help me create this rule.” I know government frustrates you. I know you feel put out and angry. Hell, I’m pissed off too. That’s why I challenge you to stand up and take Senator McConnell’s offer.
Vincent Sheheen isn’t a scary fellow. And that makes him scary. He isn’t the most liberal legislator in Columbia and truthfully, he’s an incredibly nice guy. Smart as hell and the ladies say he’s hot too. Yeah, I’m telling you…you better get scared. Just read what the editorial boards are already saying about him.
While we concentrate on ripping each other apart in the primary, as we typically do, we better all start thinking about November. I don’t think a Governor Sheheen would thrust ulta-liberal policies on our state for one good reason – a young Democrat who shocks the nation with a win in South Carolina will be looking at the Presidency. That guy can’t be stupid enough to go to the far left. He also can’t be trusted not to if his political ambitions are the only thing keeping him from doing so.
He won’t hold down spending like a Republican Governor. He probably won’t try to restructure our antiquated system of government or demand spending caps. But that’s not the real scary part. This Governor will have veto power over our next redistricting plans. That’s what should freak you out.
I spent last weekend in the most boring redistricting conference you could ever imagine and I left convinced that there is absolutely nothing more important than putting a Republican back in the Governor’s mansion. Chances are that we are going to get a seventh congressional district. With extreme growth on the coast and a rapid exodus from rural areas, our Senate and House districts will be altered a great deal. Will our next Congressman be a Democrat or a Republican? Will those changes in the legislature swing conservative or liberal?
This is huge deal that will affect South Carolina for a long time to come. We must not have a Democrat in the Governor’s Office. As we enter the last month of the gubernatorial campaign, the relatively quiet campaigns will ultimately become very nasty. As activists, I hope you’ll remember that there is a general election and the Democrats will have a candidate who is scary because he isn’t so scary. Bloody our candidate up a little, but don’t beat him or her into a pulp.
Call the Democrat candidate at his campaign office and ask him what his position is.
The number is 843-379-3680.
Rob Miller wanted to be a member of Congress two years ago, but has refused to give his position on the health bill when asked by reporters on multiple occasions recently. (The Island Packet, The Hill Newspaper)
Nancy Pelosi and her gang of liberals have vowed to pass the health care takeover as early as this weekend.
This is one of the biggest bills ever to come through the halls of Congress and voters have a right to know Miller’s position.
Rob Miller’s campaign has been heavily financed by extreme groups like MoveOn.org. Rob Miller is on record taking a radical position supporting taxpayer funding of abortions in any health bill. (The Palmetto Scoop).
All signs point to Miller siding with a government takeover of health care, but he’s afraid to tell voters his real position.
Call Democrat Rob Miller and demand that he give voters an answer, is it yes or no to a government takeover of health care?
Sitting in the Charlotte airport, heading to Tampa, Florida to meet a candidate I’m now working with. It’s pretty early and I’ve tried to write a few memos but all I can think about is the lousy performance by our South Carolina Gamecocks yesterday. In all my years of being a hardcore Gamecock, I’ve never seen our team play such a half-assed game. Even during our 21 game losing streak, our team at least tried. Yesterday was just sorry, earning the Gamecocks a well deserved #FAIL.
I just reread Will Folk’s Power 100 list, which was posted a few days ago. It’s always the most popular SC political post of the year because every one and their mother rushes to the site to see what they were ranked. You can tell that Will puts a lot of effort into the list, and love or hate the guy, you can’t doubt his ability to get a crap ton of web hits. Obviously the most glaring absence from Will’s list is Will himself and seeing that he has never been one to shy away from being cocky, I’m always surprised that he leaves himself off. I agree with about 15% of what Will writes, but there’s little doubt of his influence on the palmetto state political scene and he should be on the list. Probably ranked around #88 (I’m ranked 87. It’s a joke. I know…I’m not very funny at all).
Will made some random comment on WIS a few months back where he said something like “I drive the conversation in South Carolina.” You might think that Will’s line was just another example of his cockiness, and well…it was. But it was also a good bit true. I can tell you from working on the Senate floor that in any given day, at least 10 South Carolina State Senators have fitsnews.com on their monitors. Everyone reads him.
We’ve designed and developed a lot of sites. Some of them were pretty complicated, but one of my favorites was the absolute simplest – www.scsenategop.com.
When developing a site, you should keep attractive design in mind, but its not the most important. I see a lot of beautiful sites out there, but their functionality is completely useless. They remind me of nothing more than pretty mail pieces.
You probably know by now that I serve as the Political Director and Communications Director for the SC Senate Republican Caucus. A couple months ago I relaunched the Senate Caucus website and I’ve been tweaking it every few days.
I love this site because of its simplicity. During session, our 27 Senators are pumping out a lot of content in every form – written, video, audio, and image based content. We also tweet from committee meetings and the Senate floor and last year we launched a successful weekly web chat called Senate Time. Not to mention a ton of news stories every day.
It’s going to be a busy Monday. A string of conference calls and a press conference with Congressman Wilson to discuss South Carolina’s historic unemployment rate and Washington’s irresponsible spending. And still…no one has found District 45. What’s up with that?
Washington Democrats and their liberal allies want to divert attention away from the questions being raised about the massive government takeover of health care. In fact, they have made me their Number One target — already raising more than a million dollars to attack me.
