Politics

Update: Gun Rights Debate, Big Gov at Worst

The Horry County Public Safety Committee debate tonight on restricting weapons discharges in the unincorporated areas of the county was an example of government at its worst. Two days after a proposed ordinance to restrict gun use was circulated throughout the county, the whole debate became a non-issue.

Sparked by complaints from homeowners of weapons being discharged in fairly populated sub-divisions in the unincorporated areas, such as Carolina Forest, several council members requested the issue to be debated by council. The concept was to look for ways to possibly address sub-division residents’ concerns without affecting the more rural western areas of the county.

Rather than a full council discussion, such as a Committee of the Whole meeting, the issue was put on the agenda of the Public Safety Committee. County attorney Arrigo Carotti reportedly took it upon himself to craft the ordinance for discussion purposes.

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Bennett into 7th Congressional District Race?

Word is making its way around Horry County that former Coastal Carolina University head football coach David Bennett is seriously considering a run for the new 7th Congressional District seat.

Bennett’s entry into the race could be a game changer in many ways for the already crowded field. A native of Cheraw, Bennett would have instant name recognition throughout the 7th district with strong personal ties in both the western part of the district as well as Horry and Georgetown counties in the east. Any political consultant will tell you that name recognition is the number one factor in a race that has numerous candidates.

Bennett has strong ties with all levels of Horry County voters. He also will probably benefit from a considerable sympathy vote due to the way he was ousted as CCU coach at the end of last season. Bennett’s ouster is considered a betrayal by the CCU leadership after 11 loyal and successful years at the Chanticleers helm.

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Prosser Addresses Energy Needs

The unseasonably warm winter in the Pee Dee and Grand Strand makes the wait for summer seem that much shorter. But with gas prices spiking, summer could mean less trips to the beach and fewer vacations for many American families.

As director of South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism for eight years, I closely monitored the impact of gas prices on visitor spending. Even when families are able to take their cherished summer beach vacation, the bite that higher gas prices takes from their wallets curtails spending on restaurants, attractions and souvenirs, and often shortens their trip.

In addition to the direct impact on tourism, higher gas prices also ripple through the economy increasing the costs for businesses, including our critical distribution centers in the area. These higher costs are passed through to cash-strapped consumers in the form of higher prices.

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South Carolina, High Risk for Government Corruption

A nationwide analysis of state governments released over the weekend ranked South Carolina 45th out of the 50 states for potential for government corruption. This, of course, only enforces what those of us who cover government on a regular basis already know.

Citing government secrecy, little accountability for legislators and the executive branch, weak ethics enforcement and little disclosure of legislators’ finances, the state received an F in nine out of the 14 categories studied and a D- in a 10th category.

The only areas where South Carolina received adequate grades were procurement, redistricting, lobbying disclosure and internal auditing.

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Observations on the Bike Rally Vote

After the generally dysfunctional debate on bike rally vendor permits by Horry County Council Tuesday night, one veteran Horry County political observer commented to me that they believed the decision to again take on the bike rally issue, at the county level, was made in the “card room at the Dunes Club.”

I believe this comment is quite astute. It can be reasonably argued that the “Take Back May” movement, which resulted in the City of Myrtle Beach movement to end the May bike rallies was hatched at the Dunes Club. A small group of movers and shakers in the city saw the chance to take advantage of the public (above 38th Avenue North) unrest with the rallies, to advance personal agendas.

Tom Rice, then a private citizen, was the point spokesman for the “Take Back May” movement as the group lobbied both the Myrtle Beach and Horry County councils to essentially end the rallies. The effort was generally regarded successful at the city level, but a failure at the county level.

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Arrogance and Confusion, but a Victory for Bike Vendors

In what can only be called an arrogant abuse of parliamentary procedure, Horry County Council chairman Tom Rice called a five minute break, in the midst of debating an ordinance on the floor, because voting on amendments to the ordinance didn’t go his way.

This blatant lack of respect for the elected body he serves and abuse of power as chairman came during council’s regular meeting Tuesday night, but did not produce the result Rice hoped for.

The ordinance, of course, was about reducing the number of permit days for vendor and special event permits from the current seven days to five days. The ordinance, if passed as originally written, would have directly affected the Harley Davidson bike rally and the local small businesses that depend on it for revenue.

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Foxworth, Thompson Announce Candidacies

The local political scene is heating up with filing for state and local candidates opening at noon Friday.

Two incumbent Horry County politicians held campaign kick-off events recently to start the Spring primary election season.

Incumbent District Three Horry County Council member Marion Foxworth welcomed approximately 150 friends and supporters to an event at Victoria’s Country Cooking Saturday evening. The event was hosted by Robert Shelley and Victoria’s owner John Johnson.

Foxworth, a Democrat, had an interesting cross-party mix at his event including fellow Republican council members Harold Worley, Jody Prince and Carl Schwartzkopf and former council member Mark Lazarus.

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Chad Prosser Signs Contract and Pledge

Yesterday Chad Prosser, candidate for the Republican nomination in South Carolina’s new 7th Congressional District, signed the ‘Contract from America’ and the ‘Obamacare Repeal Pledge.’ These pledges bind the signer to fighting for limited government, economic freedom and the repeal of Obamacare.

The ‘Contract from America’ is a document that was generated by conservative grassroots activists across the nation and designed to bind candidates for office to upholding limited government and economic freedom. The ‘Obamacare Repeal Pledge’ binds signers to endorse and vote for all measures in the next Congress leading to the defunding, deauthorization, and repeal of Obamacare. The Repeal Pledge is a project of both Independent Women’s Voice and American Majority Action.

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Smearing the Courts, Dismantling Justice

A S.C. Hotline, Grand Strand Daily Exclusive

By Paul Gable

It came to my attention recently that Stephanie Weissenstein, attorney for John Rakowsky, sent to the Court copies of two articles from Grand Strand Daily along with a letter dated January 9, 2012. While I appreciate Ms. Weissenstein making the court aware of the articles, I do question the logic stated in her letter.

In the letter, Weissenstein refers to the articles as “this slanderous campaign in effort to intimidate and harass my client and me, while also smearing the Courts.”

First of all, surely Weissenstein understands that the articles would fall under laws of libel, not slander, if she could ignore or negate the first amendment and prove malice aforethought. Second, her claims of intimidation, harassment and smearing fall apart when the facts included in the articles are considered.

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Flow Control Divides Horry County Pols

Internecine warfare among politicians over the issue of waste stream flow control is the current dominant issue of political discussion in Horry County.

The most recent round of the verbal battle over flow control began at last Tuesday night’s county council meeting when council voted 11-0 to support a resolution that urged state lawmakers to drop legislation that would allow free market capitalism in the waste industry and, instead, allow flow control, which is really monopoly government control, of the garbage generated in the county and the state.

A new round of flow control discussions took place at yesterday’s Committee of the Whole meeting of Horry County Council and will again be a subject of discussion when council holds a joint meeting with the Horry County delegation of state legislators Friday.

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