Politics

Harwell Exits 7th District Race

By Paul Gable
Grand Strand Daily has learned that Myrtle Beach business woman Debbie Harwell will announce later this afternoon that she is withdrawing as a candidate for the new 7th Congressional District seat.

Harwell, considered to be one of the strongest candidates in the field due to name recognition, organization and contacts throughout the new district, is withdrawing due to family medical issues.

Her husband, former S.C. Supreme Court Judge David Harwell (79), was hospitalized in December for several serious medical conditions.

“It is with great regret that I must remove my name from consideration as a candidate in the 7th Congressional District race,” said Harwell in a statement.

Continue Reading →

Viers Arrest Terminates Candidacy

S.C. Rep Thad Viers, an early announced candidate for the 7th Congressional District seat, is pulling out of the race due to his arrest on first degree harassment charges of an ex=girlfriend today. He also announced he would not seek re-election to his current office due to the incident.

Viers turned himself in to Myrtle Beach police this afternoon. The question is how did Myrtle Beach become the agency of record? Viers does not live in Myrtle Beach, the ex-girlfriend reportedly lives in Charleston and the harassment took place via cell phone and internet.

According to reports, the ex-girlfriend told police she had broken off her relationship with Viers last June and had repeatedly asked Viers to stop harassing her.

Continue Reading →

Santorum, Romney in Iowa Dead Heat

In the closest voting in Iowa Caucus history, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum finished in a virtual dead heat last night. Romney polled 30,015 votes to Santorum’s 30,007, or 25 percent of the vote each.

Ron Paul took third place with 21 percent of the vote. Newt Gingrich limped out of Iowa in fourth place with 13 percent after leading the polls just two weeks ago.

Rick Perry polled just 10 percent for a fifth place finish and may be on the way out of the race for the nomination. Perry told his supporters he was returning to Texas to “reassess” his campaign rather than moving directly to South Carolina as had been planned.

Michelle Bachmann polled five percent of the vote and Jon Huntsman polled just under one percent.

Continue Reading →

Kelly Payne on the Ground in Iowa

South Carolina high school teacher and political activist Kelly Payne donated part of her Christmas vacation to work in Iowa as a volunteer for the Michelle Bachmann campaign.

“I was excited they felt comfortable enough with me to ask me to help,” said Payne. “I pitched in and did whatever was needed.”

A social studies teacher at Dutch Fork High School, Payne also teaches a government and civics elective class that has drawn statewide attention. She created IT Kids, turning her classroom into one of the top political forums in the state with many legislators and top officeholders, across the political spectrum, giving her students an up close and personal view of state government.

“I will be bringing my experiences in Iowa back to the classroom so my students can share in the experience of grassroots politics,” said Payne.

Continue Reading →

Illuminating the Light Bulb Ban

Maybe you’ve heard that the federal government has outlawed the incandescent light bulb effective Jan.1, 2012. Well, that’s not quite correct. Here’s what’s really happening: A planned phase-out of today’s general service 40W, 60W, 75W, and 100W incandescent bulbs.

The funding to enforce these standards has been blocked in the giant 1,200-page omnibus-spending bill that was recently signed into law by president Obama. This is the result of uninformed propaganda set forth by talk radio pundits and the new ‘I hate government’ movement.

But don’t plan that the old bulb will be manufactured any time soon. The DOE rules go into effect in 2012 and lighting companies have already phased out the manufacturing capabilities of their inefficient light bulbs.

The law was passed in 2007 as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) a sweeping, 300-plus-page energy bill passed by the 110th Congress—effectively bans the 100-watt incandescent bulb. In addition new efficiency standards were established for appliances, residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Light bulb efficiency was only one part of the law.

Continue Reading →

7th Congressional Race up to 15 Candidates

Two more candidates announced they were entering the race for the new S.C. 7th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Gloria Tinubu, from Atlanta, Ga., announced she will run on the Democratic side. She is a native of Plantersville.

According to a member profile of the Georgia House of Representatives , Tinubu earned a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics and a PhD. in Applied Economics from Clemson University. She chaired the Economics Department at Spelman College and served 18 months as President of Barber-Scotia College, a historically black college in Concord, N.C.

In the late 1990’s, Tinubu served on the Atlanta city council and twice ran for mayor of Atlanta. She is listed as the current District 60 member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing parts of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties.

Continue Reading →

Romney Draws Crowd in Myrtle Beach

A surprising crowd of approximately 500 people came to see Mitt Romney and Gov. Nikki Haley at the Horry-Georgetown Technical College campus in Myrtle Beach Saturday.

On the weekend before Christmas and with only one day advance notice, the enthusiastic turnout may demonstrate a turn in Romney’s support in South Carolina. He has been trailing Newt Gingrich by double digit polls recently conducted in the state.

Some in the crowd, however, were just drawn by the opportunity to see a presidential candidate. At least six attendees told this reporter they were relatively solid in their support for Gingrich and one couple supporting Obama came to see Romney.

Continue Reading →

The Masquerader, He’ll Lie and Doesn’t Care

One month before the Republican presidential candidates will be in Myrtle Beach for an important debate, Newt Gingrich has opened a double digit lead over his closest challenger Mitt Romney in South Carolina voter polls.

In a recent NBC News/Wall St. Journal poll, Gingrich holds a 40 percent to 23 percent lead over Romney while a recent Reuters poll had Gingrich leading 28 percent to 18 percent. Yet, even with Gingrich leading, the same polls show Romney as the man most capable of defeating President Obama in November.

Gingrich is a conundrum for Republican voters. Often hailed as a visionary by supporters, Gingrich seems to leave a trail of broken dreams wherever he goes.

Continue Reading →

SCGOP to host 7th District Debate

Republican candidates for the new S.C. 7th Congressional District will have an early chance to attract voters when the SCGOP presents a candidates debate Sunday January 15, 2012 at 7 p.m. The location of the debate is still to be decided,

The 7th District debate will be part of the SCGOP Experience Weekend & Presidential Debate January 14-16, 2012 in Myrtle Beach. The First in the South Presidential Debate will be held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Monday January 16, 2012 at 8 p.m.

Continue Reading →

SCGOP Website Confuses Public

Several calls to this reporter questioned the SCGOP website
regarding purchasing tickets to the Presidential Primary Debate weekend coming
January 14-16, 2012.

After choosing the purchase of one
(1) $500 package, which includes access to all events plus two (2) tickets to
the debate and two nights stay at a local hotel, and clicking through to the
payment page, information for one (1) attendee is asked for after the payment
information.

Callers questioned whether this
meant only one attendee would be admitted to the debate.

Continue Reading →
1 … 113 114 115 116