SCHotline

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Republican-led South Carolina legislature was in the final throes of a bitter session last month when word of criminal charges against a high-ranking state official swept through both chambers.

A federal grand jury had just handed up an indictment against Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, scion of one of the state’s leading political families, for allegedly distributing cocaine. Mr. Ravenel, who had recently defeated a Democratic incumbent who held the office for 36 years, was the statewide chairman for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign, in what has historically been a decisive early primary state.

The indictment is just one of the political headaches across the South that are making Republicans look more vulnerable than they have in years to losing ground in the region’s legislatures and statehouses. Though there isn’t any sign of them losing their dominance in the region, the once-formidable “Solid South” coalitions they forged in the 1980s and 1990s to end a century of Democratic dominion have given way to messy schisms and infighting. Today, they look a lot like the bitterly divided Democrats of three decades ago.

Most of those divisions stem from internal rivalries that have developed as the party consolidated power in the region, where they control half of the legislative chambers. Some of the tensions can be ascribed to dueling priorities between legislatures and governors. Others have been caused or exacerbated by personal scandals like the one involving Mr. Ravenel, who has pleaded not guilty to the cocaine charges, but hasn’t made any public statement about them.

Last week, Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana admitted what he called a “serious sin” in his past after his name surfaced on the list of callers to a Washington, D.C., madam. Mr. Vitter, the Southern campaign chairman for Mr. Giuliani, couldn’t be reached for comment. Mr. Giuliani called the situation a personal matter and said Mr. Vitter would continue to represent his campaign.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue recently vetoed a property-tax rebate and much of the budget crafted by Republican House and Senate leaders, and killed pet projects in House leaders’ districts. House leaders said the vetoes seemed personally motivated. The Republican governor has said there should be no lasting hard feelings. “You can get from point A to B and disagree on what roads to take, but we all want to get to the same place,” said Bert Brantley, Mr. Perdue’s spokesman.

In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour has clashed with his fellow Republican lieutenant governor and party legislators over a push to swap an increase in the cigarette tax for a cut in the state’s comparatively high sales tax on food. Gov. Barbour opposed the idea out of concern about changing the tax structure as the state continued to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

There have been indictments and scandals involving Democrats in the South in recent years, too — the former speaker of the North Carolina House was sentenced last week on bribery charges. But the series of missteps involving Republicans has coincided with other signs of trouble for the party after two decades of increasing influence in the region, and could create opportunities for Democrats.

Last year, Democrats picked up a total of 25 seats in Southern legislative races, their first net gain since 1982, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Kentucky, a recent poll of 693 registered voters by InsiderAdvantage, showed half of independent voters and nearly a third of women voters were undecided about the governor’s race, an ominous sign for Republican incumbent Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who got a big boost from independents the first time around.

Mr. Fletcher fended off two Republican challengers in a May primary in which the dominant issue was his indictment in an investigation into whether he improperly rewarded supporters with state jobs. The indictment was dropped last year in a deal with prosecutors. “The governor acknowledged that some mistakes were made in his administration, but it didn’t rise to the level of criminal activity,” said Marty Ryall, Mr. Fletcher’s campaign manager.

Despite their control of nearly every elected statewide position and huge majorities in both houses of the legislature, South Carolina Republicans have been unable to deliver on significant campaign promises, including a program that would give state residents vouchers to help pay for private schools.

In May, a split among Republican blocs allowed a coalition of Democrats and some Republicans to engineer the selection of a Democrat for a rare opening on the state Supreme Court. The party’s once-tight control of state spending has weakened. The state’s current $6 billion budget now includes a $9 million grant fund for pet projects, such as festivals celebrating pork and catfish in various legislative districts. Last month, Senate leaders, angered by what they saw as an attempt to blame them for a budgetary logjam, crashed a news conference held by Gov. Mark Sanford and House leaders in a bid to tell their side of the story.

The squabbling has been made worse by scandals involving alleged personal misconduct. Last month’s indictment in U.S. District Court in Columbia of the 44-year-old Mr. Ravenel, a colorful Charleston developer known as T-Rav by friends on his MySpace page, followed by days a no-contest plea by a Republican state representative to charges of making threats against his estranged wife’s boyfriend.

Last year the state’s Republican former agriculture commissioner was sentenced to federal prison on extortion charges related to a cockfighting ring. The state’s 38-year-old lieutenant governor, Andre Bauer, another rising Republican star who was close to Mr. Ravenel, was pulled over twice for speeding, but wasn’t ticketed even though he was clocked on one occasion last year at 101 miles an hour.

The legislature just appropriated $90,000 a year so Mr. Bauer could have a driver and security detail. Mr. Bauer’s chief of staff said the lieutenant governor regrets the speeding incidents, but that they weren’t related to his getting a driver and security detail.

The day after Mr. Ravenel’s indictment, state Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson issued a public scolding, warning members of his party that personal misconduct and legislative double-dealing were a threat to the party. He reiterated his plea in an op-ed article published July 3 in The (Columbia) State newspaper, saying he was getting constant calls and emails indicating an unprecedented “sustained unhappiness” with Republicans. Unless officeholders straightened up, he said, “grass-roots activists will not just revolt with their votes, they’ll revolt with their apathy — and that would cripple this country.”

South Carolina House Majority Leader James H. Merrill says his Charleston constituents frequently ask why he can’t get Republicans “to act like Republicans.”

“You’re going to end up alienating voters,” Rep. Merrill said. “You saw a little bit of it in Washington. That’s why every 20 years, the pendulum swings the other way.”

Mr. Giuliani, who already faces skepticism from Christian conservatives because he has been married three times and because of his moderate stance on abortion and gay rights, expressed shock at the Ravenel charges and named a new state chairman for his campaign. However, Mr. Ravenel’s father, former U.S. Rep. Arthur Ravenel Jr., remains a regional campaign chairman and one of Mr. Giuliani’s most visible supporters in the state.

Democrats already have seized on the elder Mr. Ravenel’s longstanding support of flying the Confederate flag at the South Carolina state capitol, and on references he made in 2000 to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Mr. Ravenel referred to the NAACP as the “National Association for Retarded People.” Mr. Ravenel said yesterday he wasn’t sorry about his remarks but didn’t mean to give offense to the retarded. He has previously said that he mistakenly transposed the name of the civil- rights organization with an advocacy group for the mentally disabled with which he worked in the past.

The elder Mr. Ravenel has another son with Down syndrome. Elliott Bundy, a spokesman for Mr. Giuliani, declined this week to comment on demands by Democrats that Mr. Giuliani condemn Mr. Ravenel’s previous remarks.

According to his attorney, the younger Mr. Ravenel has embarked on a 30-day treatment program at an Arizona facility. Gov. Sanford has suspended him temporarily; under South Carolina law, he would automatically lose his office if convicted.

The Republican turmoil has raised some Democratic hopes that parts of the South may no longer be as lockstep in support of the Republican Party. But Donald L. Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the husband of Carol Khare Fowler, South Carolina’s Democratic Party chairwoman, cautions that Republican fatigue doesn’t yet necessarily portend broad Democratic comebacks, particularly in South Carolina.

He says it would require a major demographic shift, such as an influx of people from other parts of the country, and a major economic change, such as a depression, to change the landscape.

“At least where we are now, Democrats don’t have the wherewithal to take advantage of the split in the Republican Party,” Mr. Fowler said.

The Aiken Standard is to be commended for recently publishing two front page articles about illegal aliens in our midst. The level of interest in illegal immigration and illegal aliens among the politically engaged in Aiken is a story that has been either missed or ignored by the CSRA’s mainstream media.

A vast majority of all the questions posed to Aiken County Sheriff Mike Hunt after he finished his comments to the Aiken Republican Club on January 15 had to do with illegal aliens and illegal immigration. The first question asked of U.S. Senator Jim DeMint after he finished his comments to the Aiken Republican Club on February 19 was, “What are your views on illegal immigration?” Another attendee asked him different questions on the same subject.

While some people would argue that we should be compassionate to illegal aliens, I refer to a February 16, 2007 report by the Editors of The Family Security Foundation, Inc., which estimates that illegal aliens murder 2,158 Americans every year, killing more Americans than the Iraq war.(1) Where was compassion when these American citizens were slain?

According to an April 2006 Report for Congress — Immigration Law Sanctions and Enforcement in Selected Foreign Countries — “Japan and Switzerland are effective in enforcing immigration laws because illegal immigration is viewed as harmful.”(2) The American people sense that illegal aliens are harming us, but since firm numbers are hard to come by, we simply do not understand the toll that they are taking, especially on education, health care and law enforcement.

We would be well served to know the comprehensive costs of illegal aliens on the state of South Carolina. In the letter I drafted for selected State Representatives and Senators last year, I cited a number of statistics, including these:

· A July 26, 2005 report from the Pew Hispanic Center

o stated that South Carolina was one of six states with the highest rate of increase in Hispanic populations of any states in the U.S. between 1990 and 2000 (211% increase) and

o estimated that the “undocumented population” in South Carolina numbered between 20,000 and 35,000.(3)

· A March 24, 2006 PowerPoint presentation by William H. Frey of The University of Michigan and the Brookings Institution showed that South Carolina had the third “Fastest Hispanic Growth” between 2000-2004.(4)

Sheriff Hunt and Jon Ozmint, who serves as head of the S.C. Department of Corrections, have both told me that the illegal alien issue must be solved on the federal level. Starletta Hairston, a former Beaufort County Council member who pushed to enact a county policy there to deny licenses to businesses that employ illegal aliens, said, “When the federal government drops the ball on enforcing immigration laws, it’s up to the local governments to protect the taxpayers.”(5) Because Aiken County issues no business licenses, one or more alternative methods of enforcement must be used if the County wishes to follow Beaufort County’s lead.

I interpret the level of interest in illegal aliens among Aiken’s politically engaged to mean that they want for the federal government to take definitive action to stop the invasion. Note: the invasion must be stopped, not disregarded, reduced or renamed. We live in a representative constitutional republic and it is time for our federal elected officials to stand steadfastly for our national sovereignty and the Constitution that they took an oath to preserve, protect and defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic.(6) Actions must be taken at all levels: federal, state and local.

Sincerely,

Vicki L. Simons

(803) 652-0923

1. http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/02/more_americans_killed_by_illeg.php

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/homeland.php?id=737771

2. http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/lawlibrimmreport5506.pdf

3. http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/50.pdf

4. http://www.frey-demographer.org/freyimmig.ppt

5. http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200703/POL20070301a.html

6. http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/symbols/oaths.html

South Carolina Senior Senator turned 52 on July 9 and we missed it here at SCHotline.com. We want to extend a belated Happy Birthday to Senator Graham.

Of course the Graham campaign is continuing their tradition of raising money for the Sen. Birthday. You may check it out by clicking here.

by Jeffrey Sewell

Today, America finds herself in a bit of conundrum. Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty are feuding over immigration. Lady Liberty, an immigrant herself, continues to stress that America is an immigrant nation and a melting pot of various peoples. Uncle Sam’s blood pressure rises for many wish to give amnesty to those that break laws.

They go back and forth. Lady Liberty quotes the poem which graces her pedestal, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Uncle Sam counters with the Constitution firmly in his hands. He proclaims, Article I, Section 8 states that “Congress shall have power…to establish a uniform rule of naturalization” and Article IV, Section IV states “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion…”

Uncle Sam, gripping the Constitution even tighter, bemoans that the federal government is failing to uphold its Constitutional duties. Local law enforcement is handcuffed for it cannot serve and protect properly. Gangs of illegal immigrants such as MS-13 bring unwanted crime and drugs to streets across America. Their presence is widespread and yet when they commit a crime, we do not deport them, instead we allow them to spread and fester. As a result, our nation is worried and weakened and we have no idea how many illegal aliens reside within our borders.

Uncle Sam continues, dusting off Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia, and then quotes our Third President, who wrote, “Suppose twenty millions [sic] of republican Americans thrown all of a sudden into France, what would be the condition of that kingdom? If it would be more turbulent, less happy, less strong, we may believe that the addition of half a million of foreigners to our present numbers would produce a similar effect here.”

Lady Liberty interjects that we are immigrants ourselves and our ancestors came here longing for opportunity and who are we to turn away people looking to work hard. She pulls out a newspaper clipping. It congratulates 325 immigrants, who are serving within the U. S. Armed Forces in Iraq for being made American citizens on July 4^th, in Iraq.

They soon find common ground. America is an immigrant nation with laws that must be obeyed. We must continue to welcome immigrants, who come here looking for opportunity and wanting to contribute to our melting pot. And it should be easier for those who choose to come here legally to serve America in uniform to become citizens. However, we must first secure our borders, demand enforcement current federal laws. Enforcing the laws means documentation, detention and deportation of those immigrants, who commit violent crimes and traffic drugs, as they should be deported automatically, while preventing those who wish to disturb the peace and commit crimes from entering our nation in the first place.

This debate is nothing new. It is one which our founding fathers labored over as they drafted the Constitution. The same concerns are present today as they were two hundred thirty years ago. They were feared open borders and gave the federal government the responsibility to protect states from invasion. However, the federal government has failed in their responsibility to protect the borders and the American people and once again we the people are in need of a functional immigration system.

Mr. Sewell is the principal consultant of Sewell Consultancy, a political consulting firm in Lexington County. He is also co-owner of www.SCHotline.com

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Dear Friends,

We’ve got a lot of good news to report, so let’s get right to it!

First of all, Governor Romney’s momentum shows no sign of slowing down, as a National Journal poll of Senators, Congressmen and political professionals put Governor Romney in first place, tied with Rudy Giuliani, as the most likely candidate to win the GOP nomination!  You can read about the poll by clicking here.

This isn’t the first time that Governor Romney’s impressive grassroots support and fundraising has raised eyebrows – over the last few weeks, Scott Reed, Bob Dole’s ’96 campaign manager, said “I really think Romney is the front-runner” and Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza named Governor Romney the leading contender for the nomination.

Please join the team and keep Governor Romney’s momentum up in South Carolina by signing up for TEAM MITT!

Next in the news, Governor Romney’s fundraising totals for the 2^nd Quarter were released last week.  It was a fantastic effort that resulted in a total of $43.9 million dollars for this year, including the Governor’s personal financial commitment to the campaign.  That’s more than any other GOP contender!  One number stood out to me even more than the dollar totals:  80,000 different people made the decision to invest their hard earned money in Governor Romney’s vision of conservative change.  To each of you who made that commitment, thank you very much!

Finally, I have some very exciting news to report!  Ann Romney, Governor Romney’s wife of 38 years, will be launching her first-ever bus tour right here in South Carolina!  She will be making stops all across the state next week, so be sure to keep an eye out for her in Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, Hilton Head and everywhere in-between.

Ann Romney is also the star of a new radio ad called “Ann on Family” where she talks about her devotion to her family and what it was like raising five sons.  You can listen to the spot by clicking here.

If you’d like to read more about Mrs. Romney’s amazing story, including how she met Mitt Romney, her struggles with Multiple Sclerosis, and life on the campaign trail, please click here

That’s it for this week – please remember to sign up for TEAM MITT and spread the word about Governor Romney’s message of conservative change across South Carolina!

Sincerely,

Terry Sullivan

South Carolina Campaign Manager

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One of our readers sent us this email piece and thought it was in very poor taste to use a church and a minister like this?

I don’t know if it is or not? The questions is does John West attend this church and is this his pastor? Although I will give you this is tacky but I am not sure if it crosses the line? What do you all think?

To: The Palmetto Scoop

cc: SC Hotline,Wesley Donehue (TTS),Rod (RJ) Shealy Jr. (Shealy Political Relations),Terry Sullivan (TTS),Rod Shealy Sr. (SCPR)

Palmetto Scoop,

Thanks, but no thanks. While your emails are mildly entertaining, the attacks on other Republicans (any Republican who does not support John McCain) have grown tiresome.

Please take me off your list.

If you’re going to operate a pro-McCain site, why not just write positive stuff about McCain and skip the illogical, irrational rants against Rudy, Romney, Thompson… and especially DeMint! (Damn, we actually have ONE conservative Senator and Richard Quinn and Associates wants to tear him down because he supports one of of McCain’s opponents???)

Come on, guys!

Again, please take me off your list until you decide you can offer a more construtive style of discourse.

—–Original Message—–
From: tpsreport@palmettoscoop.com
To: admin@schotline.com
Sent: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 11:36 am

The trail left by Rudy Giuliani’s South Carolina leadership choices is  littered with controversy and bad decisions. Bernie Kerik, the man he  chose to lead the New York City police department for two years - who has  been connected to everything from organized crime to violating immigration  law to using police property for personal gain to sexual harassment, and  who plead guilty to a pair of ethics charges - was a good indicator of  what
was to be expected in the Palmetto State.    http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2007/07/09/rudy-picks-another-winner/    - The Palmetto Scoop    _______________    This message is NOT spam and was sent to you so you can keep up to date on  important happenings around South Carolina and pertaining to the South  Carolina presidential primaries.  If you no longer wish to receive these  emails, just reply to this message with “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.

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AIKEN, S.C. (AP, WLTX) — Clearwater Senator Tommy Moore says he has resigned the seat he’s held since 1981.

Sources close to SCHotline.com report that the Senator will take an advisory position with a VA based organization related to payday loans making close to or exceeding 1 million dollars.

[UPDATE]

FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATOR TOMMY MOORE JOINS NATIONAL PAYDAY LENDING TRADE ASSOCIATION

FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATOR TOMMY MOORE JOINS NATIONAL PAYDAY LENDING TRADE ASSOCIATION
Moore to Serve as CFSA’s Executive Vice President


Alexandria, VA — The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) today announced Tommy Moore as the organization’s new Executive Vice President.  Moore, who resigned his South Carolina State Senate seat on Saturday, was the Democratic Party’s 2006 Nominee for Governor of South Carolina.  Before being elected to the Senate in 1981, Moore served briefly in the South Carolina State House. He is a respected and successful businessman and has a long track record of public service in the Palmetto State. 

Moore, a graduate of the University of South Carolina, served on the Executive Committee of the National Conference of State Legislators and the state legislation committee of the Council of State Governments.

“Tommy is a nationally known state legislator who is well respected by his peers on both sides of the aisle,” said Darrin Andersen, CFSA President. “For more than a quarter of a century, Tommy has worked tirelessly on behalf of his constituents and is recognized as a leading advocate for consumer protections,” Andersen added.

“At this point in my career, I saw an exciting opportunity to take on a new challenge that builds on my long history of supporting and protecting consumers,” said Moore. “CFSA shares those goals and I’ve been impressed with the great strides they have taken to educate consumers about responsible use of the service.”

“Payday advance customers appreciate this service, however, payday lending remains misunderstood by those unfamiliar with its benefits to working families. I look forward to dispelling misperceptions about the service and furthering CFSA’s efforts to promote responsible regulation. Compromise and bipartisanship have been the cornerstones of my career in pubic service and will be instrumental in helping the payday advance industry navigate its legislative challenges,” said Moore.
Moore and his family currently reside in Aiken County, S.C. and will be relocating to the Washington, D.C. area.

Contact: Steven Schlein or Lyndsey Medsker 202-296-0263

About the Community Financial Services Association of America
The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) is the only national organization dedicated solely to promoting responsible regulation of the payday advance industry and consumer protections through CFSA’s Best Practices. As such, we are committed to working with policymakers, consumer advocates and CFSA member companies to ensure that the payday advance is a safe and viable credit option for consumers. Visit www.cfsa.net for more information.

What happened to this picture of Thomas Ravenel at The State image library? Instead we see the following below no less than a half dozen times in as many days, never mind the implication of potential social injustice for those less fortunate than another. Did not The State endorse Ravenel?

[Update] My wife just reminded me (after rereading the article on the front page of The State today) that Thomas has a most incredible apitite (Not something a habitual user of cocaine has, that is an appetite). We enjoyed evenings out with TRav and other friends and anyone will tell you his favorite restaurant would be Wild Wings or any place that had chicken wings on the menu, not French Restaurants. Their attempt [The State] to make him a millionaire playboy as to the boy next door we knew is not only ridiculous but a lie and why can I say that, cause I know.

~Jeffrey Sewell

Read the full story: S.C. waits to see how defendants Ravenel and Miller will fare in justice system

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