Congressional ethics committees are notorious for being toothless, only really acting when someone gloriously screws up, like former U.S. Rep. Jim Traficant. It’s a sort of mutually-assured destruction pact between the two parties. This is why self-policing doesn’t work. And for some strange reason, the House ethics committee has launched an investigation into six congressmen right as the general election goes into the homestretch — U.S. Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), former U.S. Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) and our very own U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson.

The questioning comes down to spending of per diems during overseas travel. The investigation of Wilson in particular seems very odd. Evidently, the thought is that he overspent on $2 tiny goblets in Afghanistan for families of American troops serving over there. He was receiving $13 a day. [lewisblackvoice] What-the-fuck is that about? [/lewisblackvoice] The House will spend more money in an hour or two just looking into this than the expenditures made on the trip. Below is a picture from the Wilson campaign of one of the goblets, placed next to a Coke can for perspective.

This is insanity.

We get a lot of weird emails over here, and this is the fruit of one of the weirdest, and most entertaining. Behold, the rhyme of the S.C. primary.

“We Got a Primary”
Jim Clyburn robo-callin’ me all day like a stalker ex
Vinny Sheheen sayin’ ain’t no runoff with Jim Rex
Kelly Payne damn changin’ the game for ed
Joe Wilson all “You lie” — oh, no, that’s what Haley said
What, what — it’s the primary down here in S.C.
What, what, got CNN, Chuck Todd, MSNBC
What, what, got Jakie Knotts, two more shots, burning crosses in Santee
What, what, know Wes Wolfe can only vote absentee

Callin’ all you Tea Party yellow coiled snake flag wavers
McMaster clowns got Will Folks doin’ Andre Bauer favors
Got emails, videos, private eyes out takin’ pictures
Bill Connor goin’ all “Too much of this” on Larry Richter
Everybody tweetin’ “Where the party at tomorrow evenin’?”
Bauer got a bus full of young chicks, cross the state line he leavin’
What, what it’s the primary down in Succa-lina
What, what, got national politicos sayin’ “Mmmmmm, nothin’ fine-uh”
What, what, got Gina Smith and her homeboy John O’Connah
What, what, got a primary down in Succa-lina
What, what, got a primary down in Succa-line

This week, with the filing period opening for state candidates starting, candidates are beginning to roll out advertisements on an increasing level. Just now, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson went on TV, and Columbia mayoral candidate Kirkman Finlay III began running a new ad, as well. Wilson is in a tough race with Democratic challenger Rob Miller, a campaign that will likely be one of the most expensive Congressional races in the country. Finlay is in a barnburner of a race as well, facing a large slate of candidates for the open seat.

Wilson:

Finlay:

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 Wilson.

Last fall’s fun and games infused both campaigns with an insane amount of money for a South Carolina race for Congress. Miller now has more money than Democratic Sen. Vince Sheheen, who actually has to run a statewide campaign for governor instead of just one of six districts. Capitalizing on his buzz, Miller has been traveling the country to raise money and making the best of his Internet fundraising.

But other than that, his campaign has largely been a low-key affair. So, it came as an interesting revelation to see the report and fallout from Miller’s appearance at a meeting of the Greater Irmo Democratic Club. From what we’ve been able to gather, the Club invited WIS to the meeting, then there was a brouhaha about who ordered the WIS cameras be kept out.

After a couple days of thinking about this, we consider it Miller’s, or his campaign’s, fault. The woman who spoke for the GIDC, Joanne Hafter, said in a story by WIS, “I just want to set the record straight, neither I or anyone from GIDC made the decision to exclude the media, especially after we invited the media in the first place. It was Rob’s campaign manager who was adamant about not having press coverage.”

We actually met Ms. Hafter years ago, when we went to school with her daughters. Between the person we knew (however briefly) and the person we don’t, we’re siding with the GIDC on this incident. After all, we’ve been alerted to other screw-ups with the media committed by the Miller campaign.

When you’re the underdog in a district that skews against your party, you have to be very careful about what your campaign does, who it courts for support and how you manage your media exposure. Common sense would say that Miller would have known this already. Doesn’t seem like his campaign figured that part out.

Holy hell, the Second District race is going to make a lot of people a lot of money. U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson still has a large lead on challenger Rob Miller, but both have the fundraising stats that are more on par with a statewide race. Both took cash nationwide, but there’s a difference. Wilson used the Internet and direct mail to solicit a lot of his donations. Miller flew around the country to do his. Both spent a great deal of money to bring in more money.

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

The fourth annual Yale Book of Quotations compiled some of the most zeitgeisty of quotes from 2009, and to no one’s surprise around here, the interesting year in Palmetto State politics provided a number of phrases that entered their way into the national consciousness.

1. “Keep your government hands off my Medicare.” Speaker at health care reform town hall meeting in Simpsonville, S.C., commenting on the government-created Medicare program, quoted by The Washington Post on July 28.

4. “You lie!” [U.S. Rep.] Joe Wilson‘s shouted retort to Obama’s address before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9.

9. “The governor is hiking the Appalachian Trail.” Spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford regarding Sanford’s disappearance on June 22.

The wonks at the Cook Political Report have gone to town with a new base polling system, the “partisan voting index.” It takes into account the last five presidential election cycles.

One is that Republicans have absolutely sucked — or shat the bed, or bollixed up the works, whatever your expression — in winning favorable districts. Democrats tend to be crowded together, in that the bluest districts are very blue, while Republicans are spread out. But, there are way more GOP-leaning districts. The disparity between the party in Congress and the district tendency is staggering.

U.S. House, by members
Democrat: 257
Republican: 178

U.S. House, by VPI
Democrat: 191
Republican: 234
Even: 9

That means a lot of Democrats are winning conservative districts. If the GOP wants to take back the House any time soon, it’s going to have to do something about that. It already lost one of the most reliable districts in the country in NY-23, and will almost certainly lose U.S. Rep. Joeseph Cao‘s LA-2, which has a +25 Democratic VPI and went for President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. John Kerry by massive margins.

In South Carolina, the situation is only slightly different.

House districts, by GOP VPI
SC-03: Gresham Barrett (R), R+17
2004: Bush +32, 2008: McCain +29
SC-04: Bob Inglis (R), R+15
2004: Bush +31, 2008: McCain +23
SC-01: Henry Brown (R), R+10
2004: Bush +22, 2008: McCain +14
SC-02: Joe Wilson (R), R+9
2004: Bush +21, 2008: McCain +9
SC-05: John Spratt (D), R+7
2004: Bush +15, 2008: McCain +7
SC-06: Jim Clyburn (D), D+12
2004: Kerry +22, 2008: Obama +29

Some Democrats, like Spratt or U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas (R+20), are so entrenched that it would take the stars aligning for a Republican win. But, having such a large advantage in VPI but at a significant low in actual representation seems to show that the people behind the wheel haven’t been performing at a winning level in elephant land.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson is in a good position to be reelected, according to the latest assessment by Roll Call. The analysis slots SC-02 as “likely Republican,” the next-best thing to a door-slamming “solid Republican” categorization. This comes on the heels of a fundraising blitz by Wilson and his Democratic opponent, Rob Miller, in which Wilson, who was behind at first, finished with $2.7 million raised to Miller’s $1.7 million.

A poll taken just two days after Wilson’s “You lie!” outburst showed the candidates tied, but even some Democrats doubt Miller will be able to keep pace with the Congressman.

It probably hasn’t helped that Miller has taken a low-profile campaign approach and has generally avoided the national spotlight. Wilson has embraced his newfound status as a conservative icon and has even become a fundraising draw for candidates and party causes in other states.

As pointed out in the article, U.S. Sen. John McCain took the district by nine points last year, and there’s a chance Wilson could improve on his eight-point win from last time.

Second District Democratic challenger Rob Miller started off strong during the fundraising scramble following U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson‘s remark, but as has been pointed out, he fell short of Wilson’s total during the third quarter. In all, Miller brought in $1,699,240.03, sent out $104,093.06 and has $1,644,070.84 on hand. The majority of his money came from liberal fundraising aggregators ActBlue and MoveOn.org. As a result, much like Wilson, Miller’s dollars had a nationwide reach, particularly on the coasts. Of interest were the number of engineers, tech workers and the bevy of college professors donating to the cause.

Notable contributions
Bud Ferillo, $1,000
Ferillo & Associates
Don Fowler, $1,000
Former DNC chairman
John Grisham, $2,400
Author
James Smith, $250
State representative
John Land, $350
State senator
Dick Riley, $500
Former governor
Philip Birsh, $250
President, Playbill Inc.
John Hodgman, $500
Actor
Chris Weitz, $4,800
Filmmaker
AmeriPAC: The Fund for a Greater America, $5,000
U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer‘s PAC
Friends of Rosa DeLauro, $1,000
Committee of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro
Keep Nick Rahall in Congress, $2,000
Committee of U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall
Moran for Congress, $1,000
Committee of U.S. Rep. Jim Moran
Secure PAC, $1,000
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson‘s PAC

Notable disbursements
Envision Communications (media/advertising), $4,576.33
Libertas LLC (Web site and new media), $1,500×2
Lucky Media Group (Web site), $4,000
NGP (campaign office suite), $1,650, $450
Benjamin Ray (Web expenses), $4,467.90

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson made bank after the Obama speech brouhaha. The contributions were from around everywhere, though the Houston area, the Northeast, California and Florida figured prominently in the contributions. Regardless, there was a ton of money flowing in. At the time of reporting, Wilson showed a balance of $2,692,063.98 received, $305,909.58 disbursed and $2,598,104.23 on hand. Insanity. Apparently, while the economy is still in the dumpster, there are a number of people willing to give up hard cash to pols.

Notable contributions
Richard Hook, $5,000
President, US1 Flea Market
Sam Jones, $1,000
Owner, Hampton Automotive
Richard Dyer, $250
Dick Dyer & Associates
Don Tomlin, $1,500
Tomlin & Co.
Charles Sellier, $1,000
Writer, Grizzly Adams Productions
Karen Iacovelli, $1,000
Businesswoman
William Golden, $250
Oak Ridge Boys
Bill Lowndes III, $1,000
Tindall Corporation
The Fund for America’s Future, $1,000
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s PAC
Friends of Jeb Hensarling, $2,000×2
Committee of the Fifth District representative from Texas
Ron Lewis for Congress, $4,000
Committee for the Second District representative from Kentucky
Every Republican is Crucial PAC, $5,000
U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor‘s PAC
Chickasaw Nation, $1,000
Native American nation

Notable disbursements
Eric Dell (campaign consulting), $2,000
E2C Consulting (fundraising services), $2,000, $3,332.98
The Richard Norman Company (mail postage and list rental), $29,919.32
The David All Group (Web site advertising), $42,400
Under The Power Lines (Web hosting fee), $650
Active Engagement (Web site advertising), $52,250, $750
Mail Marketing Strategies (postal mailing expense), $2,513.94
Jump! New Media (Web site hosting fee), $650×2, $1,150
Pyrix (Web site management fee), $28,100
The Philips Group (fundraising fee), $8,831.65