Recent Posts

Chad Connelly Censured

The embattled former state chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, Chad Connelly took another big political hit to his checkered career Monday night. The Greenville County Republican Party formally censured him for his egregious conduct at the Republican state convention earlier this year.

Greenville County, with a population of 450,000 is the largest county in the state. It is also by far the most Republican, and the most conservative, county in the state. Meeting in executive session, the county GOP took the unprecedented step of formally censuring Mr. Connelly. The vote to impose the censure garnered the support of a whopping 89% of the executive committee members present and voting.

The motion to Censure Chad Connelly was duly made and seconded in the last meeting of the county executive committee. However, it was pointed out, under the rules, the motion for censure could not be voted on at the same meeting when it was introduced. Rather than wait two months to consider the censure motion, twenty-three members of the executive committee signed a letter to County Chairman Betty Poe calling for a special meeting to vote on the censure motion. That special meeting was held Monday night.

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Coast RTA vs. Horry County Budget Fight

It never takes much to stir up a political controversy in Horry County, but the one that has erupted in the last couple of days between Coast RTA and Horry County Council, over budgets, is ridiculous beyond belief.

Like any good political battle, egos are up and there are charges and counter-charges and more misinformation than real information in the air. But, the victor in these types of controversies is usually the one who controls the purse strings and that’s not good news for Coast RTA.

The genesis of this foolishness rests with the Horry County advisory referendum of 2010 in which 62.5 percent of voters said they would support giving tax dollars from the county’s general fund to Coast RTA to help fund its operations.

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Horry County Strip Club Law Workshop

Horry County Council will hold a workshop on its proposed new strip club law Tuesday June 25, 2013 in council chambers beginning at 4 p.m.

The meat of the agenda is advertised as an explanation of pending federal litigation and proposed Horry County ordinances.

The federal litigation is the stimulus for changing the current county ordinances governing strip clubs, which are woefully inadequate and expected to be struck down with the current litigation.

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Rand Paul in 2016

While the 2016 election is another three and one-half years away, pundits are serving up verbal lap dances of every candidate under the sun on both sides of the aisle. But, Sen. Rand Paul is the one man that stands out from the crowd.

Sen. Paul is dead-on when he says this government needs a remediation. Sen. Paul is dead on when he says that for 100 years, power has been moving toward the executive branch.

He is dead on with his aggressive, unapologetic counterattacks against both Democrats and Republicans who are willing to sacrifice liberty for theoretical safety.

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Mark Lazarus Hits a Grand Slam

With just a few appearances as Horry County Council chairman under his belt, Mark Lazarus hit a grand slam home run at Tuesday night’s regular meeting of council.

After many years of despairing over poor to non-existent leadership on Horry County Council, Lazarus has quickly stepped into the void, in my opinion.

He runs a good meeting and the other 11 council members seem comfortable with him at the helm. That’s certainly not a statement that could have been made very often, if at all, over the last several decades.

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A Funny Thing Happened to Flow Control Insurance

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum to the Horry County Solid Waste Authority Tuesday night. It ran into a problem while trying to foist its solid waste stream flow control insurance plan on Horry County Council.

Expectations are the S.C. General Assembly will finally pass legislation outlawing flow control statewide next year. Since it was Horry County Council, at the direction of the SWA four years ago, that established the only flow control monopoly in the state, the SWA was blindsided when council did not roll over for it at Tuesday’s regular meeting.

The SWA is now running around the county attempting to sign most haulers and all trash generating communities to five year contracts. If the customers agree to bring all their trash to the SWA landfill during that period, the SWA will give a $2 per ton reduction on its tipping fee if certain minimum recycling percentages are met.

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Ethics Reform – Not So Fast

Another Ethics Reform Failure

There is no ethics reform this year for South Carolina politicians because the S.C. Senate wasn’t interested in changing the way the ethics of its members is monitored.

Last summer, Gov. Nikki Haley ran around the state, accompanied by Attorney General Alan Wilson, trumpeting the need to tighten ethics laws in the state and overhaul the way in which ethics oversight is accomplished.

That no bill was passed in the General Assembly this year says everything that needs to be said about the way in which the state is governed.

The 1895 Constitution, which governs the state, places all real power in the General Assembly. If it doesn’t want to act, no force on earth can make it.

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James Louis Petigru, Nullification and Hypocrisy

“South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.” James Louis Petigru.

The quintessential statement by James Louis Petigru, after South Carolina voted for secession in December 1860, is just as true today in a state that never seems to learn the lessons of history.

After the close of the recent legislative session saw a nullification bill on the Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare if you wish) pass the House and nearly receive second reading in the Senate, South Carolina’s state legislators were virtually dancing in the aisles in celebration.

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Horry County Slows New Strip Club Law

Momentum for a new strip club ordinance being considered by Horry County Council is slowing as some council members are realizing there are better ways to spend tax dollars than defending bad laws in court.

This is not to say that Horry does not need a new ordinance governing the licensing and operations of strip clubs. It does. The current ordinance is expected to be struck down as unconstitutional in federal court as part of a lawsuit the county currently finds itself having to defend.

But, the realization that replacing one bad ordinance with another will only bring ever spiraling attorney’s fees is beginning to dawn on some council members.

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Myrtle Beach International Airport

Chicken Strips, Clam Chowder and MBIA Master Plan

A new airport master plan update is being proposed for Myrtle Beach International Airport. Horry County council’s Administration Committee will hear about it Friday at the MBIA conference room.

Will it be time for a new chicken strips and clam chowder agreement?

It is fair to say that anyone who does not know the details of the last chicken strips and clam chowder agreement should not be discussing a new airport master plan. This includes our current airport department staff.

The last airport master plan update for MBIA was completed just five years ago. Among other things, it restricted the airport to one runway and provided for an expansion of the existing passenger terminal on the east side of the runway.

Instead of expanding the existing terminal for $40 – $50 million, Horry County Council allowed itself to be persuaded into approving a $120 million terminal “enhancement” project, which really meant a new passenger terminal with some refurbishment and new uses for the old terminal.

That wasn’t too hard, it wasn’t their money council was spending.

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