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 recruit and run a decent candidate against U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in his most vulnerable election year, and is having serious problems filling out the roster on down-ballot races with legitimate candidates. The leadership, seemingly not having a problem with this consistent level of epic suck, is pointing fingers elsewhere.

Democratic chair Carol Fowler blames in part, the economy.

“I think a lot of it is just being pragmatic,” said Fowler. “Fundraising is terrible for candidates this year. Fundraising is always much worse for Democrats than it is for Republicans. There’s just not as much money out there as there has been.”

Intense eye-rolling to commence. Democrats across the country usually have less money than GOP candidates. That’s not an excuse. Nor is the economy a good enough explanation. In a state that gives the Republicans roughly only a 10-point advantage, the GOP has no problem fielding multiple candidates for statewide races. This isn’t a 80/20 or 70/30 state. It’s close to 55/45. That suggests more of a problem within the party than it does external factors.

And as long as the SCDP fails to address the problems within its own operation, the more elections will be decided in the Republican primary in June.

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 considering that November may not end up as bad as anticipated.

In South Carolina, like the South in general, politics are racially-charged. You can run whatever naive line of thinking you want, but in the states of the old Confederacy, the Democratic party is very black and the Republican Party is very white. That’s just the way it is. Hence, unprecedented black turnout in North Carolina and Virginia in 2008 helped President Barack Obama win those states — something a Democrat hasn’t done in decades.

The last time Dems did anything worthwhile around here, 12 years ago, a well-coordinated and motivated black electorate got to the polls and made it a good year for the donkeys in the Palmetto State. We’re still thinking it will be a big year for Republicans, in this state and nationally, but if there is any truth to this poll, the races in the general election could be a lot better than anticipated.

We were the first to report that consultant and former House Majority Leader Rick Quinn was going into District 69 and running for the Republican nomination to replace resigning Rep. Ted Pitts, though some others in South Carolina political inner circles thought it wasn’t a done deal.

Until it was.

But, oh, how times have changed. With the recent personal embarrassment befalling incumbent Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, Quinn could be changing tacks. Rumors going around the streets, booze halls and back rooms in Columbia suggest that he’s considering abandoning his return to the House and instead mounting a campaign to unseat Eckstrom. The motivation, as we were told by sources close to the situation, is that he wants a seat on the state Budget and Control Board.

With a little more than three months left until the June primary, if a decision is going to be made, it will likely be soon.

The leaking of emails from Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom to superintendent of education candidate Kelly Payne appears to have raised more questions than have been addressed at the outset of this latest dust-up of politics and affairs of the heart in South Carolina. There is definitely way more to this story than has come out. Behold, skullduggery.

Though Payne issued a statement saying that the emails were leaked by rivals of her campaign, we’re not sure that’s accurate. What struck us is that none of her emails have made their way to the public. What was sent out was only Eckstrom’s, which would lend some credence to the theory that it was somebody trying to get over on him, not her. Who would go so far as to want to do so? Is it a personal or political beef? Or both?

As well, who could have obtained access to his email? You would think it would be someone close to him, with access to his computer — probably at the office. A lot of people save their email username and password on their computers, not thinking of what would happen if the machine fell into the wrong hands. We think this idea is more plausible than some organized hacking operation, or allegations that the Mick Zais campaign went all cloak-and-dagger.

Here’s the thing about the Zais allegation: it doesn’t make sense, period. Consider that it’s a down-ballot race. Granted politics in South Carolina is a contact sport, with no quarter given, but this seems a little beyond the pale. Then consider that Zais is of a similar ideological thinking as Eckstrom and Payne. If something was up, it would be another signal of the decline of the Sanford-organized “reform movement.”

What exactly did Eckstrom mean by writing, “I’ve said my piece so will now quit bugging you. Don’t want you to think of me as just another bothersome Andre-type.” Who exactly was the Lieutenant Governor bothersome with, and how does Eckstrom know about it? Are they kicking back and trading war stories? Comparing notes?

Also, what the fuck is this about? “One word of caution: PLEASE be careful not to let FaceBook crowd out your precious kids, your faith, and you career. It too can be addictive if you choose not to guard against its control of your life.”

Then, finally, Eckstrom said he and his wife had been separated for two years. To the best of our knowledge, you only need a separation of one year to get a divorce in South Carolina. If he and his wife were trying to reconcile, why has he been pursuing a relationship with Payne? And if not, what’s the hold-up?

Stop the insanity. It broke wide today, but it’s been assumed for a while that Rep. Tim Scott, in just his first year in the House, is jumping into the race to replace U.S. Rep. Henry Brown in the First District. Yesterday, Scott’s consultants at Starboard Communications sent out an invitation to meet the candidate in Conway this evening.

We consider it funny that even before a proper announcement, people were already being invited “to meet Republican Congressional candidate Tim Scott.” Wait, really? The AP, which sent a story across the wire around lunch time, apparently didn’t know, either. Leaving the lieutenant governor’s race, he was second in money with over $170,000 on hand.

Here’s something to ponder — five months out from the primary, there are seven Republican candidates and three Democratic candidates. Trading the coast for DC must be a really attractive option these days.

Here we go, boys and girls. Most of you reading this have known two adjutant generals in South Carolina in their lifetime — T. Eston Marchant, and Stan Spears. Today, Spears called his time in the office to an end, saying he will not run for reelection.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the South Carolina National Guard and see the organization elevated to one of the finest in the country,” he wrote in a letter announcing that he would not seek another four-year term.

During Spears’ tenure, the Guard’s 218th Combat Brigade Team deployed to Afghanistan for a year-long tour. And, he led an effort to bring F-35 fighter jets to McEntire Joint National Guard Base.

Considering Maj. Gen. Robert Livingston’s massive cash advantage, we think he’s the odds-on favorite over “Mr. AK-47″ Dean Allen. But if past history proves true in the future, whoever wins this race is likely to have nearly a couple decades in office, without strong opposition.

The retirement of U.S. Rep. Henry Brown has thrown a wrench into the plans of many Lowcountry politicians. The latest involves Rep. Tim Scott, currently a candidate in a three-way race for lieutenant governor. Granted, the SC-01 race already has legacy candidates like Tumpy Campbell and Paul Thurmond, but it winning would give the victor much more authority than one would ever have in the No. 2 spot in state government. No doubt, that’s why rumors are flying hot and heavy that Scott will go over to the SC-01 run next week.

“I think, ultimately, Representative [Henry] Brown’s retirement announcement caught us all off guard a little bit,” he said. “My first response was there was not much to think about. Then folks … started calling me and asking me to consider it.”

Scott, R-North Charleston, said as he has campaigned for lieutenant governor, he has talked about the economy, government transparency and the need to win back America one state at a time.

“People said, ‘Why aren’t you running for Congress if that’s your agenda?’ ” he said.

Considering the consultants he’s hired and the monied interests that have backed him in the LG run, it’s not surprising that Scott would take a serious look at SC-01. If he does make a go, however, he’ll have to aggressively step up his fundraising efforts considering he’ll be taking on two scions of South Carolina’s most famous political families.

Former Anderson School District 4 superintendent Gary Burgess is trying to rehab his image while putting together a run for the Republican nomination for state superintendent of education. You may remember him from his trial last year on morals charges in Anderson County. The police account of what happened was very Larry Craig.

To recap: cops are staking out a park known to be a spot where men who would like to get down with random men in a public place would meet up and have some fun. So, the police say Burgess was there, rubbing his leg in a way known to be a signal that he was ready to go. A policeman who was there to entice would-be cottagers said Burgess exposed parts of his bits and pieces, the two talked at a table and when the deal was about to be sealed, the officer, with assistance from a few others, arrested Burgess.

At the trial, Burgess said that he regularly would go to the park to relax, and was there eating a Happy Meal. He explained that he scratched his leg because of a skin disorder and talked to the cop, showing him a leg injury, but ending the conversation when it started going into uncharted territory. Either way, he got off — erm, that is, the jury returned a not-guilty verdict.

Burgess has a fairly decent line of experience, but this allegation coupled with the issues surrounding allegations of intimidation of a school nurse would be hard for anybody to get past, regardless of the fact of getting into a primary race that already has three candidates.

The only-in-South-Carolina-named Ashley Cooper entered the race for lieutenant governor, becoming the first Democrat to run for the office this year. He said that he’s campaigning because the state needs new direction. Granted. Anybody who’s lived through the Sanford years knows that there need to be a few changes.

Here’s the thing, though. What can you really do as lieutenant governor beside administer the Office on Aging? Run for something else, obviously. If he can pull off an upset by beating whoever comes out of the Republican primary, it will give Democrats a little more in the cupboard, which is very empty. We just wish he had the Twitter handle of another Ashley Cooper, this one a girl from Seattle — @ashleykicksass.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson’s son, Alan, evidently does not have his father’s drawing power when it comes to fundraising. Fresh off Republican primary opponent Leighton Lord having more than $200,000 in the bank, and Robert Bulchoz showing more than $137,000, Wilson is in a poor position. A very poor position. At this point, the clock has to start as to whether he goes the distance to the primary, or drops out and endorses one of the other men in the race.

ALAN WILSON
Contributions: $29,644.41
Expenditures: $27,876.45
Cash-on-hand: $45,127.92

Significant contributions
Art Guerry, $50
Former Lexington County auditor
Curt Loftis, $500
Former director, Office on Aging

Significant expenditures
Richard Quinn & Associates (consulting, advertising), $4,500×2, $1,246.33, $2,419.96, $12,350