Allison mail fracas: Your S.C. scandal du jour
We’ve been hearing about this for a while, and it still doesn’t make any sense. Somebody in Columbia has been sending letters out to people in Rep. Rita Allison‘s district alleging sexual indiscretions between her and Gov. Mark Sanford. The indiscretions were supposed to be in exchange for a state job. As of right now, there isn’t a suspect.
There is, however, a lawsuit.
Allison, Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell and S.C. Republican Party chair Karen Floyd got together Thursday in Lyman to announce and file a defamation suit against the unknown mailer.
“A lot of people told me I should just ignore this and let it go away, but I thought if it were possible for me to make a difference that I should take a stand,” Allison said in a statement. “This has been an incredibly hurtful situation for me and my family, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my years in public service. If we can find out who did this and prevent others from going through the same thing, it will salvage some good from this situation.”
Harrell added, “Making these false charges against someone is cowardly, and cheapens the political process. These types of attacks are one of the reasons why good people hesitate to get into politics. I am proud to stand with my good friend Rita against these unwarranted attacks. Rita and I came into the legislature at the same time and during that time I have seen how she is a dedicated public servant and a devoted wife, mother and grandmother.”
The state party is getting ready for upcoming issues, establishing a legal defense fund to protect other GOP officials from similar attacks.
Why someone has this intense axe to grind with Allison, and why they seem to be based in Columbia, is beyond our reckoning. It boggles the mind. And what happened recently that makes it seem like our state has cornered the market on crazy? Sure things have always been a little off in the Palmetto State, but in the past few months we seem to have been on meltdown alert.
