The S.C. Republican Party state operations account was pretty active over the last four months, as the party went to pay off its mortgage. It’s a little strange to see a state party drop half a million in an off year, but if you’ve got the cash, spend it.

SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY
State operations account
Contributions: $408,821.90
Expenditures: $500,609.62
Cash-on-hand: $73,011.94

Significant contributions
S.C. Coastal Conservation League, $400
Non-profit
BMW Manufacturing, $5,000
Auto company
Joe Edens, $15,000
Real estate executive
Roger Milliken, $12,121.30, $50,000, $20,000, $90,000
President of Milliken & Co.
Harry Cato, $5,000
State representative
Dan Cooper, $5,000
State representative
James Harrison/House District 75 Campaign Fund, $5,000
Campaign committee
Robert Royall, $5,000
Former Commerce secretary
Progress Energy, $5,000
Energy company
Jim Dyke, $5,000
Consultant
Joe Wilson for Congress Committee, $25,000
Campaign committee
James Edwards, $1,000
Former governor

Significant expenditures
Gadsden & Greene Strategies (direct mail), $440, $520
Under the Power Lines (media services), $2,000×2, $200
New Level Strategies (media services), $3,750×3
Northbound Design (Web design), $2,899, $2,396
Direct Mail Systems (direct mail), $2,688, $1,694.09
Richard Quinn & Associates (poll), $12,250
FLS Connect (fundraising), $2,169.05

President Abe Lincoln has got his $5-bill hat worn to the side because he’s laid back, like the state parties’ financial operations, at least dealing with the Federal accounts, in November. There was a little fundraising, usual payments, a little action to stay active, but nothing that screamed out anything interesting. Except, that is, a poll paid for by the Democrats. That looked interesting.

S.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Contributions: $90,565.14
Expenditures: $78,397.16
Cash-on-hand: $54,371.22

Contributions of note
Marguerite Willis, $500
Attorney, Nexsen Pruet
Lawrence Chewning Jr., $500
Oral surgeon, Chewning & McDonald
Stephen Wukela, $1,000
Attorney, Wukela Law Firm
Ronald Maxwell, $1,000
Attorney, Maxwell Law Firm
Sun City Hilton Head Democratic Club, $1,000
Local party
Joe Erwin, $1,000
Former S.C. Democratic Party chairman
Charles Patrick, $1,000
Attorney; Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brick
General Electric PAC, $2,500
Corporate PAC
AREVA, COGEMA, Framatome ANP PAC, $1,500
Nuclear energy PAC
IBEW-COPE, $2,500
Electrical workers’ PAC

Expenditures of note
Schedule B
Brilliant Corners (research consultant), $30,000

Schedule H4
American Airlines (airfare), $207.70
ResultsMail (email marketing), $625

S.C. REPUBLICAN PARTY
Contributions: $46,329
Expenditures: $38,843
Cash-on-hand: $39,936.30

Contributions of note
Mary Davis, $500
Retired
First Command PAC, $5,000
Financial services PAC
Shirley Knox, $1,000
Homemaker

Expenditures of note
Schedule B
On The Mark (printing), $9,470.90
Under The Power Lines (Web services), $2,000
Homeyer Strategy Group (fundraising consulting), $2,500
Fisherman’s Wharf Sheraton (lodging), $1,013.72
US Airways (airfare), $674.80

Schedule H4
New Level Strategies (communications consulting), $3,750
Northbound Design (Web design), $2,899

Thursday, the ad-hoc impeachment committee went over the allegations provided by the State Ethics Commission. There was a lot of back-and-forth between the legislators and Gov. Mark Sanford’s high-priced attorneys. Then it came. The big move. The committee dismissed 28 of the charges.

Yep, there were 37 counts of wrong-doing, and now only nine survive.

But the House impeachment panel took just 31 minutes Thursday to decide 28 of those charges did not meet the “serious” crimes or misconduct standard the state Constitution requires for impeachment.

The committee said Tuesday it likely would ignore half of nine other ethics charges relating to Sanford’s use of state-owned aircraft for personal or political travel.

Lawmakers still could impeach Sanford for serious misconduct because he left the state without informing other officials where he was and misled his staff.

Sanford also still faces the possibility of up to $74,000 in fines from those 37 charges when an S.C. State Ethics Commission panel debates his case in January.

Really, this is simply more good news for Democrats. The longer the GOP is saddled with dealing with the Sanford mess, the worse for the party.

Going into November, the S.C. Democratic Party raised more money spent less money and had more cash on hand in its federal account than its counterpart at the S.C. Republican Party, but didn’t do much with it. The Republicans, on the other hand, were pretty active on the Internet, printing, polling and fundraising.

S.C. REPUBLICAN PARTY
Contributions: $34,484.51
Expenditures: $62,340.61
Cash on Hand: $32,450.34

Contributions of note
None.

Expenditures of note
Schedule B
Drea Byars (fundraising consulting), $2,600
FLS Connect LLC (fundraising), $2,169.05
On The Mark (printing), $1,798.20
Under The Power Lines (Web services), $2,000, $6,000
Direct Mail Systems (direct mail), $1,694.09, $2,688

Schedule H4
Gadsden & Greene Strategies (letterhead and envelopes), $520
New Level Strategies LLC (media services), $3,750
Northbound Design (Web design), $2,396
Richard Quinn & Associates (survey research), $12,250
Under The Power Lines (media services), $200

S.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Contributions: $60,370.30
Expenditures: $46,566.17
Cash on Hand: $42,203.24

Contributions of note
New Jersey Democratic State Committee, $25,000

Expenditures of note
None.

What’s the matter with Spartanburg County? It’s always something with those guys. This week, The Herald-Journal revisited the resolution that was passed by the county Republican Party executive committee this summer, as campaigns are gearing up for the 2010 run. To speak to the executive committee (and the rule will likely begin to move to precinct organizations, if not already), the candidate has to sign a statement saying he or she supports the S.C. Republican Party platform and the U.S. Constitution.

We can see it now. Candidate X looks at the thing and exclaims, “No illegal search and seizure? No forced quartering of soldiers? This thing is bullshit.”

Really, though, the issue is more the SCGOP platform. If a candidate has disagreements, those must be explained. Former county chairman Rick Beltram, not above his own strange actions, said the new rule “smacks of Nazism.” Hyperbole aside, it looks to us as one more bomb thrown into the internal state Republican battle.

In the movie “Reds,” John Reed’s wife, played by Diane Keaton, finally gets fed up with his shenanigans, lecturing him about the idiocy of fighting to see “which part of the left of the left is the real Communist Party in America.” This is more like fighting over which part of the right of the right is the real Republican Party in South Carolina.

The precinct this all came from is West View B, which is represented by former House candidate Ken Roach on the executive committee. He said that “the idea was borne out of a desire to bring more transparency to campaigns, to go beyond the ’slick mail pieces’ that inform many voters.” Well, Roach would know. In his primary campaign against Rep. Mike Forrester last year, he had a few “slick mail pieces” attacking his opponent done on his behalf by groups like South Carolinians for Responsible Government.

Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis, laid out exactly what’s going down.

“If you’re using it and it’s a fair tool, where you say, ‘Look, if you disagree, we’re not going to prevent you from speaking, we’re not going to summarily execute you, we just want to know the areas where you disagree,’ then that’s fine,” Gowdy said. “… But there are two things that turn people off: People who are running as something they are not for political expediency, and … the moral vanity that causes someone to think they can pick who the ‘real Republicans’ or ‘real Christians’ or ‘real Americans’ are.”

Gowdy said a litmus test designed to weed out people who score 99 out of 100 on a test resulted in “cannibalism.”

Numbers from the October monthly federal fund disclosures revel that the S.C. Republican Party holds a money lead on its Democratic counterparts by more than two-to-one. The SCGOP also raised more money than the S.C. Democratic Party over the period, though the Democrats spent more.

S.C. REPUBLICAN PARTY
Contributions: $37,075.03
Expenditures: $40,347.96
Cash on Hand: $60,306.44

Notable contributions
Tobin Cassels, $2,500
President, Southeastern Freight Lines
William Tobin Cassels, $2,500
CEO, Southeastern Freight Lines
Nelson Mullins, $1,000
Law firm
SCANA Corporation Federal PAC, $5,000
Energy PAC

Notable disbursements
Direct Mail Service (direct mail), $2,871.56, $454
Homeyer Strategy Group (fundraising consulting), $2,500
Richard Quinn & Associates (survey research), $3,250
Under the Power Lines (Web services), $2,000, $415
Jump! Media Services (Web services), $370
Grand Hyatt Washington (lodging), $1,306.34, $867.96
Sam Holland Photography (photography, Silver Elephant), $2,186.50

S.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Contributions: $26,171.34
Expenditures: $49,722.75
Cash on Hand: $28,399.11

Notable contributions
Walt McLeod, $50
State representative
Jay Cox, $1,000
President, Tuomey Healthcare Systems
DNC, $5,000 (transfer)
National committee
Unitemized Contributions/Dollars for Democrats, $24,249

Notable expenditures
ResultsMail (email marketing) $522.30

The S.C. Republican Party reported $164,799.66 in the bank for the third quarter in its state operating account, bringing in $201,587.70, the majority of it a transfer from the Republican Building Trust Corporation. Over the three months, the party also shelled out $58,215.69. There weren’t any notable disbursements.

Notable contributions
Republican Building Trust Corporation, $142,674.90
Scana Services, $10,000
Energy company
Advance America, $12,500
Payday lending company
S.C. Senate Republican Caucus, $25,000
Legislative caucus

While we’re at it, the state party also sported $63,579.37 in its federal account in September — raising $42,492.06 and spending $38,701.54.

Notable contributions
Bill Best, $5,000
Businessman
Nancy Giguere, $5,000
Homemaker
Bill Hewitt, $5,000
Businessman

The S.C. Republican Party is working on taking a new direction on Internet involvement, starting with the video below featuring a number of people, including RNC National Committeeman Glenn McCall of York County. It looks to be a part of the continual work of reestablishing the party’s brand, something that nationally was talked about following the November ‘08 elections.

It’s a well-done spot, and something that the Democrats should have been doing already, if they wanted to capitalize on last year’s success. It’s not like one party has a corner on Web effectiveness, but the state GOP seems to be putting the state Dems to shame on this one.

It just doesn’t end with this guy. Gov. Mark Sanford will be called upon to resign by S.C. Republican Party chair Karen Floyd today, per CNN. As usual, it will go nationwide, and as usual, Sanford will mount some bullshit defense like his ridiculous 2,800-plus-word statement that went live late Wednesday.

According to the story:

Floyd is expected to make the request on on a conference call Thursday afternoon with members of the state GOP executive committee. The call is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

The South Carolina Republican Party convened a similar conference call in July, which resulted in a vote to censure Sanford for “repeated failures to act in accordance” with the party’s core principles and beliefs — but the party did not ask for Sanford to step down. At the time, Floyd issued a statement saying, “Now is the time for healing for our great state.”

Yes, Sanford toadies Reps. Nikki Haley and Joey Millwood aren’t asking for him to leave, but when Floyd is knocking on the door, it’s a pretty good idea for the Governor to swallow his extensive pride and take off.

The federal disclosure reports for the state parties went up on Monday, and, dammit, there’s not too much interesting there.

S.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Federal account (July)
Contributions: $83,969.74
Expenditures: $63,887.45
Cash on Hand: $20,081.79

Notable contributions
None.

Notable expenditures
None.

S.C. REPUBLICAN PARTY
Federal account (July)
Contributions: $43,820.26
Expenditures: $18,659.36
Cash on Hand: $25,160.90

Notable contributions
None.

Notable expenditures
Schedule B
2009.06.25 | Gadsden & Greene Strategies [Atlanta] (letterhead), $749

Schedule H4
2009.06.12 | U.S. Airways [Winston-Salem, N.C.] (air fare), $541
2009.06.12 | Convention Center Gaylord National [Oxon Hill, Md.] (lodging), $368.04