Rangel’s congressional predecessor

With the recent hullaballoo over U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel’s ethical troubles, we were reminded of the person he beat in the Democratic primary for the seat in 1970 — Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Like a lot of people, we lament the passing of an era when if people did things they shouldn’t, they went big and were unapologetic. This is a damn good story. Enjoy. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was... [Read more]

Everybody’s making mistakes

Friday, The State reported that Sen. Vince Sheheen’s gubernatorial campaign made a few erroneous endorsements in a list sent out last week. It’s an easy enough mistake to make, which is why we wonder why campaigns put out lengthy endorsement lists. There always seems to be a cock-up one way or another. In the story, Rep. Anton Gunn, who was included as one of the endorsers, said, “I... [Read more]

The curious case of Benjamin

We’ve found ourselves perplexed over the recent months regarding the interesting political flexing going on by Steve Benjamin’s campaign for mayor of Columbia. The man ran as the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 2002, and counts among his strongest supporters top Midlands Democrats. And yet, it’s not a cut-and-dry situation. Benjamin hired the local political consulting... [Read more]

Sheheen and Barrett the odds-on faves?

Wednesday, the S.C. Chamber of Commerce released its endorsements for the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries. Sen. Vince Sheheen took the nod for the Democrats, which is not very surprising. With the exit of Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod and Columbia lobbyist Dwight Drake from the race, it’s not hard to figure out that Sheheen will best Supt. of Ed. Jim Rex and Sen. Robert... [Read more]

Anti-card check amendment placed on ballot

A bill to give South Carolinians the chance to vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban card check cleared its last hurdle on Wednesday, as the House and Senate both approved H. 3305 with more than a two-thirds majority. Card check is a process that allows easier organizing by unions, and is a departure from the norm of a secret ballot. The amendment is meant to head off the Employee Free Choice... [Read more]

Distracted driving bill moves to Senate

Have you texted while driving? WTF is wrong with you? Talking on a cell phone in the car, taking the wheel while tipsy and getting more baked than a loaf of bread before hitting the roads scares us less than watching someone whip out their phone and start texting in the driver’s seat. H. 4282 was passed by the House on Wednesday by a vote of 98-18, making it a crime to act in such a behavior. Unfortunately,... [Read more]

Wolfe called ‘pinko commie leftycrat’

Oh, this is fun. MoveOn.org, Brave New Films and the Service Employees International Union went live with a Web site to have some fun with Fox News’ “crying man,” Glenn Beck. Turns out, he has it out for us. Oh noes! SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Wolfe called ‘pinko commie leftycrat’", url: "http://www.wolfereports.com/2010/03/11/wolfe-called-pinko-commie-leftycrat/" }); Read More →

Sottile, Bustos gear up for Round Two

In 2008, now-Rep. Mike Sottile ran for the open seat in HD-112, a nice place to live in the Lowcountry. Mt. Pleasant Town Councilman Joe Bustos was the chosen candidate in the Republican primary by the “pro-hit list” forces in South Carolina. Like many of their other candidates selected by that group, Bustos wasn’t very successful, losing 56-44. Sottile went on to win unopposed in... [Read more]

Miller looking like he didn’t learn from first run

You would think that Democratic candidate for SC-02, Rob Miller, would have taken some good lessons from his 2008 campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson. When he announced again, it looked a lot to us like it would be similar to Beaufort architect Jane Frederick’s second run against the late U.S. Rep. Floyd Spence. He’d pull some votes, but wouldn’t significantly challenge... [Read more]

ESPN + Yankees = Horrible bowl in the Bronx

Several months ago, news came out that the Major League Baseball team that has a lifetime contract with Satan, the New York Yankees, reached a deal to play host to a bowl game in the new Yankee Stadium. Already, the Yanks had been brokering deals to bring in regular season games with teams like Notre Dame and Army, in a desperate attempt to get Beano Cook to return their phone calls (they love you... [Read more]

State Democrats searching for excuses

We can’t say this enough: The leadership of the S.C. Democratic Party has woefully failed in its mission to further the party and to get people elected. Actually, we think it was former DNC chairman Don Fowler who said in class one day that the No. 1 job of political parties is to get people elected. Or maybe it was my professor at Alabama. Shit runs together. Anyway, the party couldn’t... [Read more]

VA Gov., AG in trouble for anti-gay rights stance

For every elected official, there’s a learning curve to get by. Bill Clinton lost the Congress before he recovered. George W. Bush was a different kettle of fish because of the five-year free pass given to him by the American public because of 9/11. In Virginia, governors have little room for error, being term-limited to one four-year period. Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell, who campaigned on jobs and... [Read more]

Mayoral candidate has tax problems, too

The biggest story in Columbia right now is the guilty plea and resignation by E.W. Cromartie from the Columbia City Council. Local attorney Matthew Richardson was given authority to handle Cromartie’s open accounts at the former councilman’s law firm, and a significant group of candidates have already lined up for the seat that’s been held by Mr. Cro for 27 years. The issue was thousands... [Read more]

Could black voters make the difference for Dems?

An AP story from Monday presents an interesting idea. A poll was done of 500 black voters in each state of South Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri and Indiana. Two-thirds of those responding said they were closely watching electoral politics this year and between 3/4 and 4/5 of all respondents said they intend to vote this year. The collective sigh you just heard was from Democratic strategists who are... [Read more]

Our RSS feeds are evil

To keep up with everything going on around South Carolina (and Alabama, Alabama football and Alabama softball), we rely on Google Reader. It’s a great tool to use to find out what’s on blogs and in newspapers on a regular basis. But, one thing we’ve complained about al.com’s feed is that it’s all child molestation, murder, fights, electronic bingo and other wretched topics.... [Read more]

More bumpkins?

Earlier on Monday, we say a post the child did on Sen. Vince Sheheen. We didn’t pay it much mind, because we don’t pay the person writing it much mind. But, later on in the day, we were alerted to a certain phrase in the post. That line did ring a bell at the time, but there were more important things to do. Sheheen doesn’t speak with an accent any worse than other well-educated state... [Read more]

Olbermann and Simmons keep at it

It’s almost like an old-school rap feud — you hear something once in a while, and you have to go to niche places to learn about it. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann and ESPN writer/podcaster/”voice of the fan” Bill Simmons do not like each other. At all. And before you say anything — no, no, it has nothing to do with politics. They’re both liberals. It has to do with... [Read more]

Crimson Tide celebrates championship at White House

The Alabama football team went on the annual pilgrimage for national champions to the White House. Like the last time the Crimson Tide went to DC, the team was received by a first-term Democrat. Like we’ve said before, we blame George W. Bush for the recent travails (probation, probation again, losses to LSU and Auburn (2005), loss to Florida (2008). Is it any wonder Texas won its first national... [Read more]

Cromartie out after scandal hits

There’s a lot of celebrating going on in Columbia right now, as City Councilman E.W. Cromartie will be resigning his position in light of a tax evasion scandal that broke on Monday morning. Cromartie, who has been in office since for about as long as we’ve been alive, has appeared to come to the end of his political road. Few people we’ve run into that have had to deal with the City... [Read more]

Nick Hornby is down with DBT

As many people are well aware, Virginia Sen. and former gubernatorial candidate for the Commonwealth, Creigh Deeds, has a special place in his heart for the Drive-By Truckers. And while it’s great to hear that Deeds is such a big fan of groups like the Drive-By Truckers and The Band, having your candidate for governor tweet about how he’s listening to the bands while on the road, as opposed to... [Read more]

Americans for Nikki Haley?

The joke around town after the Americans for Job Security ad against U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett came out was that the organization was really named, “Americans for Nikki Haley.” Guess it’s not so far-fetched. Per the petulant child, Haley consultant Jon Lerner was involved with the advertisement and Gov. Mark Sanford solicited donations to put it on the air. O RLY? That rumbling sound... [Read more]