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.
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 leaders that are South Carolina natives, but whatever. Witness:
That wording was used in something else he wrote — the ultimately failed blueprint to turn the General Assembly into Gov. Mark Sanford’s rubber stamp.
Guess everybody not from the Lowcountry’s landed class is a bumpkin these days.
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.
That rumbling sound you heard emanating from Columbia on Friday was a collective expression of, “Pfft. No shit.” Nobody except for a reporter for The State would think that an ad like that would be regarding anything else beside the race for governor.
Unless Supt. of Ed. Jim Rex has an election leprechaun running around with a pot o’ gold and votes, it looks like Sen. Vince Sheheen can now be called the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor. Shortly after noon on Friday, attorney and lobbyist extraordinaire Dwight Drake ended his campaign.
I got into this race because I believed that South Carolina’s families deserved much more than they were getting from their Governor. We are facing the toughest times in a generation, and we can only take that on with dedicated, experienced leadership that is focused on putting our people back to work and building a better future for our kids. I have ambitious ideas for getting our state back on track, and I have the knowledge and experience to put those ideas into action.
But a statewide campaign for office is not just about these things. It also requires resources – campaign dollars to run in a competitive primary and in a competitive general election.
This comes on the heels of former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mullins McLeod dropping out of the race and endorsing Sheheen. As of now, Drake has not announced an endorsement, but anybody paying attention to the race knows the Democratic race has been decided.
We don’t know if it ran statewide, but this morning there was an interesting ad running on Fox News in Columbia. While we were generally ignoring the television — background noise is a necessity for the Information Generation — suddenly the talk on the flickering screen commanded our attention.
It was an advertisement for U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, one of the “big three” candidates for governor. It was responding to a statewide ad buy by the rather secretive “independent” group, Americans for Job Security. The ad talks about Barrett’s conservative leadership in the House, among other things.
Here’s the kicker, though — the ad was paid for by Barrett’s Congressional campaign. Or, that is, funds from that campaign account. Seems a little strange, but the AJS toady that was interviewed by the press said their ad was about his time in Congress, not his gubernatorial campaign, so hitting back with money from the Congressional account makes some sense.
It appears Lt. Gov. André Bauer has used funds from unknown sources and from his lieutenant governor campaign account to promote his bid for governor. If that is the case, it would be a violation of S.C. campaign ethics laws. At the very least, reporters should inquire about the funding source of Bauer’s recent television advertisement and his use of re-election campaign resources to benefit his gubernatorial campaign.
On Feb. 20, Bauer sent out an email to his supporters asking them to contribute to his race for the Republican nomination for governor. The email contained the logo for his gubernatorial campaign and contained a link to the campaign Web site. The only problem is, the email contained the disclosure that it was paid for by “The Committee to Re-Elect Andre Bauer.” That suggests that the email was paid for with money from the lieutenant governor account, which is forbidden by state law.
Specifically, the law in the S.C. Code of Laws is Section 8-13-1350. In part, it reads, “A contribution solicited for or received on behalf of the candidate is considered solicited or received for the candidacy for which the individual is then a candidate if the funds or contributions are solicited or received before the general election for which the candidate is a nominee or is unopposed.”
In plain English, it simply means that money raised for one office cannot be used to further a campaign of the same individual for a different office. Normally, candidates receive permission from contributors and then transfer funds from one committee to another, which is legal.
You may have already seen Bauer’s first advertisement of his gubernatorial effort. Again, it appears that his campaign is playing fast-and-loose with the rules again. An announcer says it was paid for by “Citizens for Andre Bauer.” Yet, according to the State Ethics Commission, no committee of that name is registered with the state. Bauer’s Web site lists “Andre Bauer for Governor” as the committee of record.
Again, it raises the question as to whether Bauer is using money from one committee to benefit another, or whether his campaign is just that incompetent, not keeping up with what the campaign committee is actually named.
The treasurer for “Citizens for Andre Bauer” that was listed on forms submitted for the advertisement to Columbia’s WIS-TV is Hank Page. Interestingly, Page is a state employee who works in the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. While state law is forgiving of what public employees do in their off-hours, if anything involving the campaign happened during work hours that would be a violation of the law, as well.
According to Section 8-13-1346, “A person may not use or authorize the use of public funds, property, or time to influence the outcome of an election.” The only exceptions are ones that are relevant to conducting public business, such as creating informational newsletters, other informational products, setting up public meetings and responding to inquiries from the media concerning a ballot measure.
For more than 10 years, Bauer’s consultant of record has been one of the more colorful figures in S.C. politics, Irmo’s Rod Shealy. For this campaign, Bauer’s been splitting his money between well-known Virginia consultant Chris LaCivita and Columbia lobbyist Larry Marchant’s Black Label Strategy. However, it has been reported that Shealy is still very involved in Bauer’s latest gambit.
While he also publishes community newspapers, Shealy’s claim to fame in this state is what can only be called his circumspect campaign tactics. Perhaps the most well-known of his antics happened in 1990, when he offered to pay an unemployed black fisherman to run for Congress from Charleston as a Republican. By entering a black candidate in the primary, Shealy is alleged to have hoped to scare white voters to the polls in the hopes of helping his sister in her GOP primary bid to become lieutenant governor. The activity spurred a state investigation that led to a fine by the State Ethics Commission. In an interview with Harper’s magazine in October 2007, Shealy called it, “a campaign violation for failing to disclose a candidate I dreamed up.”
But that’s not all.
In 2007, a robo-call with racist overtones was launched in the special election runoff between Randy Bates and Rep. Shannon Erickson for House District 124. Rumors among Beaufort County political insiders implicated Shealy in the move. His son, R.J., was managing Bates’ campaign and denied the campaign was involved.
When Sen. Tom Davis was making his run in 2008, he became engaged in a primary battle against then-Sen. Catherine Ceips, who hired Shealy as her consultant. Over the years, Davis had a house in Beaufort that had rooms for rent, at times to reporters from the Beaufort Gazette. During the period of leaving his position as Gov. Mark Sanford’s chief-of-staff and announcing his campaign, he began renovating the residence with the intention of making it his own.
Reportedly, Bates, who was Ceips’ chief of staff, showed up with a translator to the house and encountered a supposed illegal alien named Josias Mirales Ayala. This came on the heels of Davis’ wife securing contractors with the express intent that everyone working on the house would be legal, documented workers. The man who owned the company painting the house said he never employed anyone by that name.
Bauer knew of Shealy’s reputation when he hired him for his run for state representative in the ‘90s, and kept him on for his special election race for state senate and the 2002 and 2006 lieutenant governor’s races. Needless to say, those decisions cast some light on Bauer’s evaluation of whom he wants close to him and what he is willing to get into for his campaigns.
Starting in summer of 2009 and continuing into this year, South Carolinians have been inundated with more than they would like to know about the personal life and personal shortcomings of the Governor. In addition to everything else resulting from his behavior, the State Ethics Commission launched an investigation into Sanford’s misappropriation of state funds and campaign donations. An exhaustive initial investigation revealed 37 potential ethics violations.
During the discussion of whether the Governor should be impeached, censured or resign, more than a few people expressed concern about Bauer assuming the state’s highest office. Most South Carolinians already know the famous incidents – the plane crash, speeding at over 100 miles-per-hour and the like. But, it also involved his campaign practices.
It wouldn’t make much sense to replace one man with personal behavioral and professional ethics problems with another one.
Today, Lowcountry attorney Mullins McLeod abandoned his race for governor and endorsed the campaign of his rival, Sen. Vince Sheheen. They, and prominent Democratic activists and a few elected officials — Sens. Joel Lourie and Brad Hutto, and Reps. Laurie Slade Funderburk and Anton Gunn — gathered at S.C. Democratic Party headquarters for the event. Sheheen’s father, Fred Sheheen, was also in attendence.
In a statement announcing his intentions, McLeod said, “For the sake of our state and our party’s chances in November, I will not allow those seeking change to endure a divisive primary battle between candidates fighting for the same thing. There’s simply too much at risk. A Bauer, McMaster, Barrett or Haley in the Governor’s office would do what we have seen done in the past- they would forget about the everyday folks in South Carolina and concentrate on the status quo. We cannot let this happen.”
He continued, “Today, I am ending my candidacy for Governor and I will not seek any elected office in 2010. Instead, I will continue to fight for those families and I will continue to fight for change by endorsing and campaigning for Vincent Sheheen.”
The pair received a standing ovation after McLeod’s comments, as he put on a Sheheen lapel sticker when he stepped away from the podium.
Sheheen appeared gracious in taking the endorsement from one his his chief rivals, saying, “Both Mullins and I believe that it’s time for new ideas and a new generation of leadership in the governor’s office. We share a vision for a South Carolina with strong public schools, well-paying jobs, and a government that works for the people. I’m grateful to have Mullins on our team as we work to restore hope in South Carolina and make our state a place we can be proud of again.”
Whether or not Supt. of Ed. Jim Rex or Sen. Robert Ford would like to admit it, the race is essentially between Sheheen and attorney Dwight Drake. Drake congratulated McLeod on his efforts, then said in a statement, “The choice in this election is now even more clear. While my other opponents have spent time ignoring the state’s mounting fiscal problems and our rising unemployment, I have a proven record of getting things done and creating jobs.”
McLeod leaves the race with the second-most cash-on-hand. He said that his campaign is still deciding what will be done with the money still in his account. And though anything could happen between now and the primary, the smart money is on Sheheen to become the Democratic nominee.
If you thought Tuesday’s press conference with Sens. Vince Sheheen and Joel Lourie regarding payday lending wasn’t about the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, you are gullible for sure. Maybe we can sell you these South Carolina tickets to the 2010 SEC Championship Game. Real cheap, we promise.
Everyone with two brain cells to rub together saw it for what it was — a shot at nomination competitor Dwight Drake, who has been a payday lending lobbyist in the General Assembly. And he takes his job seriously. Rep. Bakari Sellers, who has endorsed Drake, expressed to us that he didn’t know we were watching when Drake and Sellers had a rather heated discussion about a payday lending bill last year. There’s a reason the man is living well.
However, Drake’s name never came up. It was like he didn’t exist. As quoted in The Herald, Sheheen said, “Many in this industry have abused South Carolina citizens who can afford it the very least, stripped the hard-earned dollars from working South Carolinians by setting a serial lending trap, and avoided even the most minor regulations attempting to rein in their addictive and unconscionable practices.” That’s in reference to a perceived loophole, because no matter how many loans someone may have, when they take out the first one when the database goes into effect — a regulation to limit loans to one person — that loan will be considered the first one on the record.
In last week’s Free Times, Sheheen took a shot at Drake, saying, “I think this is a real question about the soul of the Democratic Party and who we will select as our nominee and whether or not we can stand up for working South Carolinians and [those] who have been preyed upon by this industry. And I think it would be very hard for us to do that with their lobbyist as our nominee.”
Drake wasn’t going to sit back and get nailed. When questioned about Sheheen’s comments, he told FT, “The primary thing I would say is: If you don’t have a payday, you don’t have to worry about payday lending. And we’ve got 266,000 people without a payday. I’m focused on doing all I can to bring jobs to this state so those 266,000 people can have a payday. Period.”
It’s getting interesting out there, kids. This might be the time to tune in and pay attention.
Rep. Nikki Haley has made her time in the House by bullshitting her constituents, who apparently haven’t been paying close enough attention or been getting involved enough to call her on her hypocrisy. Of course, her buds (Will Folks, the S.C. Policy Council, [because his boss heads SCPC] Adam Fogle, the S.C. Club for Growth, &c.) won’t do anything to show what a shit campaign she’s running for governor.
If Haley had decided to bide her time in the House, she probably wouldn’t be caught in so many traps. But, she creates them for herself and then steps into them and acts like nobody will pay attention. That’s too bad, because the House leadership is done with her crap. When you get called out in public by the leadership of your own party, that could be a clue that you don’t know what they hell you’re doing.
Tuesday, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Dan Cooper, decided he had enough and called a spade a spade.
For months I have held my tongue while Rep. Nikki Haley traveled the state touting her “opposition” to taking federal stimulus dollars, but after reading her Feb. 12 guest column in this paper I felt compelled to set the record straight. Here are the facts:
While the majority of state legislators opposed President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan on principle, we realized that if South Carolina did not accept the federal funds then the hard-earned tax dollars of the families we represent would be spent in other places, like New Jersey and California. In other words, we would be paying the price and getting nothing in return.
Rep. Haley knew that. This legislation was thoroughly discussed, and the issues were very clear. On March 9, Rep. Haley joined 107 other legislators voting for an amendment to the budget bill to accept the stimulus money. The very next day, she voted for the budget bill that included the stimulus money. On the third and final reading of the bill, it passed overwhelmingly with a voice vote.
It was only two weeks after she announced her candidacy for governor that Nikki Haley changed her tune on the stimulus. She then began to publicly question everyone else who had joined her on multiple occasions in voting to accept these federal funds. And despite all of her double talk, the truth is Nikki Haley’s rhetoric just doesn’t match her record.
Haley has taken steps in recent years to get in tight with the Sanford cabal. Now that organization is falling apart, she’s up the creek. It should be a lesson to others who sell out for for out-of-state dollars and perceived influence. Put your constituents and your district first — not political pals.
The troika of leading Republican gubernatorial candidates all showed more than $1 million on hand as of the last disclosures, and the third-place member of the group, Lt. Gov. André Bauer, is going all the way live with some television ads this weekend. He’ll be the first candidate in the race to purchase TV time.
According to an AP story, the ads will be “message-oriented,” whatever that means. Usually, a candidate leads off with a bio ad that has gauzy pictures of the candidate with their spouse and children. Bauer, being single with no children, can’t pull that stereotype, so it seems like he’s going directly to the second level of ads — ostensibly positive and mapping out policy goals.
We’re willing to bet it’ll deal with his absurd comments about starving stray cats and poor children who have bad parents. When the entire nation reads your comments and exclaims, “What the fuck,” you probably said something very stupid. So, he had two choices — own up and admit you said something foolish, or take it to the bank. He took it to the bank. The story mentions how Bauer said in a recent debate that he promised he wouldn’t be “politically correct.”
Somebody ring a bell, because we just got a loaded phrase, code words to the voters. We grew up around people who, at times, would say that they weren’t going to be “politically correct.” It had nothing to do with a Bill Maher-like (whether liberal or conservative) irreverence. It usually had to deal with race. Now, we think that’s not what it’s about with Bauer. What we do think is the other part attached to uttering the phrase, which is, “I’m mavericky and can act like a total douchebag without compassion for others because that’s what pansy liberals do.”
And that’s a fact, Jack.
