O RLY?

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.

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.

The essence of the effort is that the targeting of certain representatives and certain districts related to votes on the Democratic health care plans. So, the thought was: “OK, it’s a health care emergency, so that’s a code blue. But we’re Republicans, so…code red!” Right.

And that’s while everybody else is having visions of Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. Really — even Politico used “NRCC orders ‘Project Code Red.’” It leaves you thinking that the slogan for the effort will be, “You want them in the House, you need them in the House!”

Of course, it could have been intentional just to get this sort of reaction. The more people who talk about the project, the more people know about it, and the more successful it could be.

According to paper, a staffer from the campaign told the SHJ that another candidate for the GOP nomination for the seat, Solicitor Trey Gowdy, broke ethics laws. Thing is, mentioning such a thing, whether or not it is true, before a ruling has been handed down, is not OK.

State law says that all investigations, inquiries, hearings and documents are confidential until a final resolution is reached. The “willful release” of such information is a misdemeanor, carrying a penalty of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Pretty cut-and-dry, right? But, the Inglis campaign maintains that because it submitted a Federal complaint as well, the state complaint is just a part of it and not a violation. Au contraire, monsieur.

“Since every state violation was included in the federal complaint, there’s nothing we did wrong,” [Inglis spokesman Price] Atkinson said via e-mail.

But that statement in itself is a potential violation, because it acknowledges the state complaint and indirectly reveals its contents. When asked about that possibility, Atkinson said: “The media made the connection, not us. We’ve discussed only the substance of the [Federal] complaint.”

Oh, come on. If you’re going to file an ethics complaint and you intend on talking to the media about it, it might be a good idea to check up on what the laws and regulations are regarding such speech, unless you want it coming back to bite you on the ass. Really — we’re not in a high-level position in a campaign, and even we’ve known for years that you can’t talk about such an investigation.

Honestly, you’d think that Inglis would hire people who are slightly more intelligent about the rules of the game. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t look that way.

Christina Jeffrey, ostensibly the tea party candidate in the SC-04 Republican primary race, seems to be a candidate without a base. Friday morning, she was at a meeting where the state Republican Party and its leadership was getting ripped apart by the assorted teabaggers (we’re just upset we missed Earl Grey and Mr. Oolong).

Basically, she tried to take the podium, demanding to speak. They told her no — it’s become a custom of teabaggers not to let candidates talk — but then she asked the audience, “Don’t y’all want to hear what I have to say?” The gentleman running the event, Harry Kibler, told her that no candidates could speak. She kept demanding, so they gave her two minutes. When she started speaking, the audience started booing and half of them left.

Insanity, all around.

The National Republican Congressional Committee may not have paid attention to the recent party switch, or maybe it’s a mistake that’s not a mistake, but last week a story came out about a direct mail solicitation by the NRCC to get people to help support defeating Griffith in his reelection run.

“We’ve been up on the air all over Alabama’s 5th Congressional District so that voters there know your Democrat in Congress has been falling in line with Nancy Pelosi’s destructive liberal agenda,” reads the solicitation.

The National Republican Congressional Committee issued the letter. While that line might apply to the Griffith elected in 2008, he has since changed sides, switching in December from the Democratic Party to the Republicans. A committee spokesman said the letter was sent because of administrative oversight.

Ha!

Not only that, but Alabama is a state that has an unusual history with unions, compared to other states in the Deep South. Yeah, it’s not as strong as it used to be, but labor still has more pull in industrial areas of the state than most other Southern states. Now, the state AFL-CIO wants its money back.

Speaking at a news conference at the downtown Holiday Inn, Al Henley, secretary-treasurer of the Alabama AFL-CIO, said labor groups felt like they had elected a “pro-working family” congressman in Griffith, but now feel “swindled” by his votes on major legislation.

OK, so let’s look at it — when Howard Dean beat South Carolina’s own Donnie Fowler to head the DNC, he launched something that changed the last two election cycles (that, and President George W. Bush turning off America to the GOP for four years). It was the 50-state strategy. The idea at the time was that Democrats shouldn’t give up any district, any state, and try to be competitive anywhere. We’re on record as saying at the time that this was a damn fool idea.

Really, it was all, “What, Mr. BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA? You think you have the money and ability to recruit to beat Republicans in the South and Midwest? Go back to Vermont and keep your crazy to yourself.” Still couldn’t believe it when, late for a morning grad school class in early 2006, heard Charlie Cook on NPR saying the numbers heavily favored the Democrats. “Sure, Charlie. We’ll believe it when we see it. Have you seen the Dems the past six years? They can’t win dick. Except Jim McGreevey. He had that nailed down.”

Good thing we don’t gamble…that much. The 50-state strategy paid off. Conservative Democrats took districts all across the country. Jim Webb took out that smarmy douchebag George Allen (seriously — we wouldn’t vote for Allen if he bought us a pony and crapped rainbows. His dad was a legendary football coach. Wha’ happen’?). Not that Webb is a saint, but Allen is just so personally distasteful. Back to the story.

President Barack Obama and his team was able to build on that and flip North Carolina, Virginia and Indiana. The fact Obama’s approval rating is hovering around 50 percent and everybody hates Congress is not a surprise. Everybody always hates Congress, and U.S. Sen. John McCain was not a strong candidate the last time. This looks to us like a 50/50 country still. But here’s the rub.

People are retiring right and left. Democrats and Republicans. The retirement of U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh on Monday, a reliable moderate Democrat, is a continuation of a troubling development. It’s also a natural outgrowth of the eternal conflict between politics and policy. What’s good for one is not necessarily good for the other.

For example, we’ve heard from Dems that Dwight Drake could really get things done as governor, considering his extensive contacts in business and years of working the General Assembly. Maybe like an LBJ-as-lobbyist turn. But Drake’s a horrible candidate. He’s got more baggage than a large passenger plane and, though he shows political acumen, sometimes misses the cues that people who have run a few contested races catch on to.

In Congress, a bumper crop of moderate and conservative Democrats keeps the chambers balanced and the battles tough. Horse-trading, all types of dealing and the compromises that come from legislative action where no one has an iron hand has become the way things go. As liberals complain about and conservatives don’t like to admit, shit’s a lot closer than the numbers say. And it’s because of Democrats elected in marginal districts that are willing to work with the GOP.

With this year appearing like a very good year for Republicans, the NRCC, NRSC, RNC, every consultant far and wide and probably even your mother (but not ours) are doing whatever they can to pick up open seats and unseat Dems in marginal seats that won in the past two cycles.

This. is. bad. news.

We don’t blame the campaign types. We love campaign types. In the parlance of a Carolina crowd on gameday, “Go. Fight. Win. Kick ass.” Their job is to win. You don’t win, you no longer have a job, Bubba. Screw policy, alliances, whatever. If the person has the right letter next to their name, let’s win.

Here’s the problem, though. The lefties have cooled down since the big flare-up of 2003-04, and now it’s time for the far right to collectively lose its shit. Tea party this, secession that, and let’s carry firearms on trains, because that’s a great idea. We don’t have patience for extremists, but if it’s one party, OK, we can sit it out. Consider this, though — if a whole gigantic group of moderate and conservative Dems are gone, and all you have are liberals from liberal places, the average mainstream conservative Republican is going to be fucked.

Hardcore liberals to the left, activists in rebellion to the right. Talk about gridlock. And if you think the American public hates Congress now, just wait to see what happens when Code Pink and the John Birchers draw knives on the House floor. Actually, we do want to see that: “Speaker Pelosi! Minority Leader Boehner! It’s time to ENTER THE OCTAGON!” The favorite would be Boehner, but Pelosi’s short, wiry and has a low center of gravity. It would probably be a pick ‘em by match time.

Unless there’s a hostile takeover of the Republican leadership, we’re willing to bet they’re not going to be happy a month or two into 2011. You’ve got members of your own party who will not compromise on anything, and then there are liberal Democrats who think you’re an ignorant theocrat. There’s no win there. And forget about any meaningful legislation. If Congress can manage to pass the budget in 2011 and 2012 without a government shutdown, it’ll be a fucking miracle, if what is expected to happen in November does happen. It’s not like the GOP is solely to blame. Democrats went after moderate Republicans in the Northeast for years. You’d think that there’s a lot of Dems in Congress that wouldn’t mind having a few more Chafees and a few less Scott Browns to deal with. Well, you reap what you sow.

We’d like to think that the fire-breathers at the extremes could examine what’s really important and stop posturing. Believe it or not — and a lot of people don’t — real change happens between the center-left and the center-right. If you want an example, check the super-majorities that LBJ managed to pull off with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

After this election cycle, we’re going to see a whole lot of nothing, a lot of grandstanding and any attempt to fix the problems we have in this country will be delayed for another two years. That’s a pox on both the parties.

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.

JOE WILSON
Republican
Contributions: $401,954.41
Expenditures: $612,042.93
Cash-on-hand: $2,341,915.32
(Debt: $102,359.29)

Significant contributions
David All, $250
The David All Group
Joe Edens, $400, $1,000
Edens & Avant
Whit Ayres, $1,000
Pollster
Don Tomlin, $2,000
Tomlin & Co.
Jake Rasor, $2,000
Restaurant franchisee
Roger Milliken, $4,800
Milliken Corporation
Association of Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchisees, $2,000
Business organization
Chickasaw Nation, $1,000
Native American organization

Significant expenditures
The Bivings Group (Web site enhancement), $3,000
Dustin Olson Consulting (campaign manager fee), $10,000, $5,000, $5,000
E2C Consulting (fundraising), $3,000×2, $2,000
Jump! New Media (Web site development), $9,000, $1,060.25, $11,791.54, $8,066.17
Cocentric Office (mail processing), $18,627, $531.69, $3,750
School Cuts (T-shirts), $2,466.56
Velvetex (flyers, signs), $5,323.25
The Richard Norman Company (direct mail), $65.633.05
Pour House (dinner event), $1,431.40
Jamestown Associates (consulting, video), $28,000
Benjamin Clarke (speech and article prep), $7,500
Farley Enterprises (online fundraising advertising), $16,270.50
Response America (direct mail), $5,877.76
David All Group (online fundraising), $72,775.20, $91,791.84
Carolina First Visa Card (credit card), $15,424.51, $16,339.29
Ayres, McHenry & Associates (polling), $28,800, $1,400
Advantage (polling), $1,600
Washington Intelligence Bureau (direct mail caging), $1,903.83, $2,621.56
The Phillips Group (fundraising), $2,925
Media Ad Ventures (direct mail), $28,985.78
MDI Imaging & Mailing (postage), $4,417.36
Mail Marketing Strategies (direct mail), $3,559.88
Bobby Van’s Steakhouse (meal expense), $1,490.85
WilandDirect (list rental), $3,750
S.C. Republican Party (contribution), $25,000
National Republican Congressional Committee (contribution), $25,000

ROB MILLER
Democrat
Contributions: $224,276.13
Expenditures: $223,156.12
Cash-on-hand: $1,678,333.40

Significant contributions
Irene Foxhall, $1,000
VP, Continental Airlines
Thomas Gibson, $1,000, $400
Actor
Royce West, $500
Texas state senator
Avon Ray Honey Campaign Fund, $500
Campaign committee
College Democrats of New York, $200
Political organization
Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Congress, $2,000
Campaign committee

Significant expenditures
4C Partners (field consulting), $10,000
Adrienne Donato (fundraising), $2,500
Ben Ray (Web expenses), $1,697.95, $1,500×2
Bryant Park Hotel (event expenses), $1,533.61
Cielo (catering), $2,121, $3,998.64
Darrison Barrett & Associates (fundraising), $3,000
Envision Communications (advertising), $15,501.90, $1,524.92
Intercontinental Chicago (event expenses), $1,000, $1,874
Mia Phifer & Associates (fundraising), $1,500
MSHC (web expenses, printing), $550, $877, $3,000, $35,435.62, $100×3
New Partners Consulting (research), $5,000
NGP Software (database), $1,609.75, $500, $5,135
Political Development Group, $3,500×2

Not running:
HENRY BROWN
Republican
Contributions: $65,038.42
Expenditures: $14,365.12
Cash-on-hand: $724,324.18

Significant contributions
Chip Campsen, $1,000
State senator
Ray Cleary, $500
State senator
Butler Derrick, $500
Former U.S. representative
Arthur Ravenel, $250
Former U.S. representative

Significant expenditures
None.

MARK SANFORD
Republican
Contributions: $0
Expenditures: $0
Cash-on-hand: $127,342.25

Significant contributions
None.

Significant expenditures
None.

Active candidates:
TUMPY CAMPBELL
Republican
Contributions: $24,865
Expenditures: $33,001.91
Cash-on-hand: $42,693.50

Significant contributions
Mark Buyck, $1,000
Attorney
Gedney Howe, $500
Attorney

Significant expenditures
20/10 Design (Web site design), $1,800
J.R. Rowell Printing (printing), $1,266.35, $102.13, $1,922.10, $677.25
Littlefield Consulting (consulting), $2,783.63, $2176.99, $1,758.43
Millard Mulé (consulting), $3,000×2, $3,087.66
UPT Strategies (consulting), $2,696.01, $2,008.21, $1,750

ROBERT BURTON
Democrat
Contributions: $2,950
Expenditures: $4,891.83
Cash-on-hand: $3,058.17
(Loan: $5,000)

Significant contributions
None.

Significant expenditures
None.