Politics

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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Tax Credits for School Choice, Dividends for All

More than 15,000 low-income students attend private schools in South Carolina. Their parents scrimp and save. They make sacrifices. They’ve put their children’s education at the top of the family’s financial priority list.

Those parents also pay taxes. More than $8.5 million this year in state income taxes alone.

Much larger than their contribution to the government coffers is the sum they save other taxpayers. If those 15,000 students enrolled in public schools and were funded at the rate of the existing public school students, it would cost state taxpayers more than $72 million. Taxpayers below the $35,000 income class would not pick up that slack; it would be borne by those with deeper pockets.

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Hate Has An Evil Face

hate has an evil face

a putrid taste
it reeks of weakness
and is such a waste
of human potential
even the sound of the word
has such a harsh tone to it

hate is a cancer on
the face of mankind
it creates havoc
destroying everything
in it’s way
yes, hate has a very evil face.

— by Faith Elizabeth Brigham

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Loftis and the High Cost of Political Courage

What happens when a newly elected South Carolina official tries to bring openness and accountability to the management of the state’s retirement system investment commission?

He finds himself in the news after “documents” are leaked, to the Associated Press, in which a possible “pay to play” scheme is mentioned and a SLED investigation is requested by the SC Attorney General’s office.

Looking at it another way, S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis finds himself in a political knife fight for trying to buck South Carolina’s “good ol’ boy” system.

Loftis has been a critic of the management of the state’s pension fund for much of his 13 months as treasurer. On January 31, 2012, Loftis outlined problems associated with the pension fund during testimony to the Senate Finance Retirement Committee.

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SC 7th CD candidates meet and greet

LITCHFIELD, SC – The nine Republican candidates running for the new 7th Congressional seat in South Carolina took part in a meet and greet with voters Thursday in Georgetown County.

The event took about three hours because of the amount of candidates. Each campaign set up a table in the lobby of the Tara Theater at Litchfield Beach Resort.

During that time the candidates took questions from voters. Then in a more formal portion of the event, each candidate took to the stage for ten minutes.

First up was former SC Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer. Bauer called the campaign a job interview and said that he hopes to be the voice of the 7th district in Washington.

Bauer said he will make tough decisions to create jobs and cut waste in Congress.

Retired businessman and Surfside resident Dick Withington spoke next. He brought props on to the stage including a sword to illustrate his military experience and a whip to show his displeasure with what some congressmen are doing.

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Chad Prosser Announces for Congress in SC-7

Former Sanford Cabinet Member and Horry County Council Chairman Looks to Change Washington

Chad Prosser announced today that he will seek the Republican nomination for South Carolina’s new 7th Congressional District. Prosser is a proven leader, job creator and conservative reformer who is tired of what is coming out of Washington.

Prosser served as the director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism under Governor Mark Sanford. Serving under the most fiscally conservative governor in a generation, Prosser brought accountability and efficiency to the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Prosser followed Governor Sanford’s no-nonsense approach to fiscal conservatism and public accountability, reforming the agency and discarding notions in favor of sweeping changes. Prosser’s reforms saved taxpayer dollars and increased tourism, helping small businesses and creating private sector jobs.

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Gingrich Rebounds in South Carolina

If Newt Gingrich should go on to claim the Republican presidential nomination, he will fondly remember Myrtle Beach as the place his success began.

Coming into the Myrtle Beach presidential debate last Monday, Gingrich had suffered two significant defeats at the hands of Iowa and New Hampshire voters and learned that opponent Rich Santorum received the endorsement of a group of 170 social conservative evangelical leaders.

However, Gingrich parlayed two strong debate performances and a week’s worth of sound bites into a convincing victory from South Carolina conservatives Saturday, defeating closest rival Mitt Romney by a 40 percent to 28 percent margin. Santorum came in third at 17 percent with Ron Paul claiming 13 percent.

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Gingrich Character Again Under Attack

The final debate before the First in the South Republican Presidential Primary last night provided plenty of fireworks as the four remaining candidates, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, tried to separate themselves from the others in the minds of voters. However, it was the issue of Gingrich’s character that provided the most fireworks and leaves the most questions.

The exit of Rick Perry yesterday morning makes these candidates the final four of the contest. You could tell the tension level was higher and the candidates showed a clear willingness to mix it up on stage trying to elevate themselves in the eyes of the voters. There was an attitude that the man who scored the most verbal jabs last night was demonstrating his readiness and ability to take on Barack Obama in the fall. It was difficult to determine who landed the most verbal punches, but it was Gingrich who was on the receiving end of the heaviest blows.

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Perry Out, And Then There Were Four

South Carolina has been tough on marginal Republican presidential candidates. Jon Huntsman left the race before Monday’s debate in Myrtle Beach and Rick Perry has reportedly told supporters he will leave the race today.

There are reports, unconfirmed, that there is behind the scenes maneuvering to reduce the number of social conservative candidates to one so that branch of the party can coalesce around one candidate in a stop Romney attempt.

That’s a shame because I rather liked Perry’s debate one-liners Monday and was looking forward to more from the CNN debate in Charleston tonight.

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