TheState.com: S.C. Politics

Lexington County: Out-of-state license tags targeted

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:03 EDT

Lexington County leaders are experimenting with a way to find and tax drivers who keep out-of-state tags to avoid paying county taxes.

The auditor’s office has created a form that requires tag whistleblowers to come forward as witnesses.

But auditor Chris Harmon said enforcing penalties, such as suspending drivers’ licenses, gets tricky because state law is unclear.

“We don’t want to be too aggressive — go out and bully people,” Harmon told County Council on Tuesday.

He faced an impatient council. Several of its nine members pressed Harmon to solve the obstacles and find a way to make motorists who use county roads and services pay taxes.

Spotlight shines on Clyburn tonight

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:16 EDT

DENVER — After a reception at a posh restaurant in downtown Denver — but before his second news conference of the day — U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn gets a moment to order lunch.

“Uh, maybe just a sandwich,” he tells a staffer, not bothering to look at the menu. Then, he disappears down the restaurant’s narrow stairway, his three-man security detail in tow.

The Columbia Democrat winds through the restaurant’s kitchen, causing chefs in white hats to pause, before Clyburn squeezes into management’s small office just in time to pick up the phone for a media teleconference.

Welcome to Clyburn’s hectic life this week during the Democratic National Convention where he’s averaging 14 events a day, 17-hour workdays.

NEW POWER, NEW PROFILE

ACLU asks for independent SC prisons audit

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:43 EDT

The American Civil Liberties Union called Tuesday for the National Institute of Corrections to independently audit the South Carolina Corrections Department.

The request to Gov. Mark Sanford comes after the Legislative Audit Council canceled its plans for a Corrections Department workers survey that agency director Jon Ozmint had criticized in an e-mail and newsletter.

The ACLU's letter requesting the federal review went to Sanford because the Corrections Department is one of his Cabinet agencies. Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor is considering the request, but no decision has been made.

Corrections Department spokesman Josh Gelinas said the ACLU's request isn't out of line with what the prison agency has wanted for months. When the council began working on the audit, Gelinas said the department encouraged it to get independent experts familiar with prison operations and specifically encouraged the council to work with the National Institute of Corrections, a Department of Justice agency that gives state prisons technical assistance.

Graham Boyd, the state ACLU interim executive director, said Tuesday that Ozmint should ask for a review by the institute. Technically, the request would have to come from the agency head, not the governor.

Next S.C. governor? Depends on next president

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:07 EDT

A November win by Barack Obama is shaping up to be as important to S.C. Democrats who want to run for governor as fundraising ability and name recognition.

With no incumbent in the 2010 race and about a dozen Republicans and Democrats eyeing the state’s top office, the election should be heated.

In the governor’s race, S.C. Democrats could bank on fundraising and campaigning help from a President Obama, whose S.C. campaign helped turn out a record 532,000 voters for the state’s January Democratic primary.

That explains why several S.C. Democrats who may run for governor are at this week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver. They are hoping to use the event as a springboard to line up support, to network and to get key Democrats excited about their candidacies.

“All the names I’ve heard are great candidates,” said Carol Fowler, state chairwoman of the Democratic Party. “Any one of them would make the state’s Democrats proud.”

Clinton holdouts hold on

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:03 EDT

DENVER — S.C. Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston is unfazed by the urging of Democratic leaders for party unity. Wednesday, he’ll cast his delegate vote at Denver’s Democratic National Convention for longtime friend Hillary Clinton.

“Party unity? That’s national media crap,” Ford said Monday between bites of bacon and sausage at the S.C. delegation breakfast. “Democrats have always had divisions.”

Bernice Scott, a Clinton supporter and Richland County Councilwoman, shook her head. She plans to cast her vote for Obama, something she said Clinton encouraged supporters to do in a recent conference call.

“I have enough respect for her that if that’s what she wants, that’s what I’m going to do ...” Scott said to Ford. “Democrats are a family, and if the family selects Obama, then I’m getting behind him.”

While the majority of South Carolina’s delegates plan to cast votes Wednesday for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama at Denver’s Pepsi Center, an undercurrent of Clinton loyalty continues to flow.

S.C. staff builds Obama bid

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:32 EDT

S.C. natives Rick Wade and Stacey Brayboy took a chance on long-shot presidential candidate Barack Obama about a year and a half ago.

The Democratic political operatives agreed to work for the U.S. senator from Illinois and helped orchestrate his S.C. primary win.

They mobilized hundreds of Palmetto State volunteers — in barber shops, hair salons and on college campuses — to turn out the vote, building a first-of-its-kind grass-roots organization from the ground up.

Now, the South Carolinians are blazing paths to bright futures on the national scene, working for Obama’s bid to take the White House in other states.

Today, as the Democratic National Convention opens in Denver to officially hand Obama the nomination, you won’t hear from Wade, Brayboy or any of the other South Carolinians working behind the scenes.

S.C. Democrats praise Biden

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:59 EDT

South Carolina Democrats welcomed U.S. Sen. Joe Biden to the presidential ticket, hailing Biden’s experience as a perfect complement to Barack Obama.

“I think Joe Biden is an excellent pick,” Jaime Harrison, an aide to U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, said as he prepared to travel as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention this week in Denver.

“He brings a tremendous amount of foreign policy experience (to the ticket). He is extremely charismatic and engaging. But most importantly, he is tough.”

In 1972, at age 29, Biden was shepherded into the U.S. Senate by South Carolina’s then-junior Democratic Sen. Fritz Hollings, who headed the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee at the time. Biden became Hollings’ Senate deskmate for the next three decades.

Thirty-one years later, in 2003, Biden was asked by the family of South Carolina’s venerable Republican senator, the late Strom Thurmond, to deliver Thurmond’s eulogy.

Diverse group of S.C. delegates head to Denver

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:04 EDT

When Wilber Lee Jeffcoat was a teenage cashier at a Swansea feed store in the 1950s, a white customer once refused to hand money to him, instead insisting on giving it to the white owner.

Moments like those shaped the activist in Jeffcoat. In the 1960s and ’70s, he was involved with local politics, pushing for integration and voting rights.

But Jeffcoat, now 70, never thought he would see what he is about to witness in Denver, starting Monday.

This week, a major party will nominate an African-American to run for president.

“I was hoping that such a day could come, but I never thought it would,” said Jeffcoat, a first vice chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party and one of 62 delegates and alternates to the Democratic National Convention. “I’m just elated by what has happened. I can’t believe I may live to see a black president.”

Exclusive: Polls show the South trusts McCain

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:28 EDT

Even as Barack Obama luxuriates in the glow of publicity from his vice presidential selection, a significant trouble spot has appeared on his horizon.

A poll conducted by Winthrop University and ETV shows likely Southern voters strongly favor Obama’s Republican opponent, John McCain, when it comes to their top concern, the weak U.S. economy.

Asked who would do a better job on the economy, Obama trails McCain by 14 percentage points among likely voters in 11 Southern states, including South Carolina, according to the poll. Working-class white voters in the South prefer McCain on the economy by an even wider margin — 54 percent to 29.5 percent.

The results are striking, given Obama’s focus on the economy and McCain’s public statement that economic matters are not his strong suit. The results also loom as a potential threat to Obama’s hope of picking off a Southern state or two, an accomplishment that almost certainly would put him in the White House.

Why do Southerners favor McCain on the economy?

McCain repaying S.C. for support

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:04 EDT

When his money was gone and things were grim last summer, S.C. supporters stood by U.S. Sen. John McCain, eventually helping propel him to the Republican presidential nomination.

Next week’s Republican National Convention would seem a good time for McCain to repay some favors.

And he is.

When the GOP convention opens on Labor Day in St. Paul, Minn., the perks for S.C. Republicans will be visible — plum party committee assignments and a possible speaking slot for ally U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham — and less obvious, such as sharing a choice convention hotel with McCain’s staff.

“McCain’s a loyal guy. This state was pivotal to him, positively this time,” said Chip Felkel, a Republican Greenville political consultant. “It’s a very important thing for this state in terms of a lot of opportunity.”

Budget rift widens

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:59 EDT

Gov. Mark Sanford’s Wednesday tour around the state to pressure lawmakers to rethink state budget cuts was panned by lawmakers as a gimmick.

Sanford’s swing through Greenville, Charleston and Florence was another episode in the ongoing rift between the popular Republican governor who has made budget discipline one of his biggest priorities and Republican legislative leaders who have chaffed under the governor’s constant criticism about state spending.

Last week’s tour was like many Sanford has taken before. He visited Highway Patrol headquarters and a parole office to highlight how across-the-board budget cuts would hurt basic services.

Different, however, was the swift and pointed response from state lawmakers.

From Sanford:

Winthrop/ETV Poll: Exclusive questions for The State

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:41 EDT

Here are responses to questions asked of likely voters in Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana in a poll exclusive to The State and McClatchy newspapers.

Question was part of larger grouping introduced with: As part of I’m going to read a list of issues, for each issue, I’d like for you to tell me - if you had to choose - whether you think John McCain or Barack Obama would do a better job on that issue.

How about the economy?

	All	Deep South	Peripheral South	Working Class Whites
McCain	49.4	54.4	47.8	54.0
Obama	35.8	32.6	37.1	29.5
neither/do the same [volunteered]	7.1	5.7	7.7	5.9
Not sure [volunteered]	7.1	6.6	7.3	10.2
refused	0.2	0.6	0.1	0.3

A call to action: Lindsey Graham says Russia ‘up to no good’

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:43 EDT

WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday that his visit to Georgia, Ukraine and Poland, at Sen. John McCain’s behest, convinced him the United States and its allies must take tough steps to prevent further Russian military aggression against its smaller neighbors.

Graham, a South Carolina Republican, called on NATO to “stop war-gaming on tables in Brussels” and to begin military exercises in Europe to show its commitment to protecting member nations.

“I found a Russia on the move, a Russia that is trying to intimidate its neighbors who are Democratic in nature,” Graham said. “This conflict is not about a border dispute. It’s about the desire by Russia to send a signal to its democratic neighbors that Russia is a dominant power.”

Poland is a NATO member, and the United States backs Georgia’s effort to join the trans-Atlantic organization.

Graham was joined on the trip by Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent Democrat from Connecticut. The two men, McCain’s closest Senate friends, met with the leaders of Ukraine and Georgia on Wednesday, then conferred with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday before returning to Washington.

Poll: McCain holds big lead in South

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:57 EDT

Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain enjoys a 16-point lead — 51 percent to 35 percent — among Southern voters over rival Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, a new poll by Winthrop University and ETV shows.

And, the further into the South you go, the larger McCain’s lead grows, the poll of likely voters in 11 Southern states shows.

Likely voters in the Deep South — those in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina — preferred McCain by a 25-point margin, 56 percent to 31 percent.

Southern voters said what they want most in a president is honesty, experience and shared values. Southern voters rated McCain ahead of Obama in each of those categories.

McCain’s strongest support comes from white working-class Southerners — who favor him by a 34-point margin — and white evangelicals — who favor the Arizonan by 54 percentage points.

Richland Recreation: Council wants project input

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:24 EDT

The Richland County Recreation Commission trimmed several potential projects from a long wish list to get under budget for a proposed $45 million bond issue.

Now, Richland County Council wants its turn.

At a committee meeting with members of both groups Wednesday, it was obvious council members have different ideas — different from each other and from the recreation commission — about which projects should make the cut.

They need to hurry up and make decisions. A final up-or-down vote on the bond proposal is on the council agenda for Sept. 9. The council members at Wednesday’s meeting plan to get back together with recreation commissioners on Sept. 4 to come up with a final list.

Bernice Scott warned her fellow council members not to bicker so much over who gets the most parks, which could result in hurt feelings and a “no” vote.

It might be lights out this Christmas

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:24 EDT

It will be a dark Christmas in Columbia if the city can’t find $140,800.

City manager Charles Austin says that’s how much it will cost to put up new holiday lights and decorations, which were affected by the recent streetscaping projects that changed the power supply and street configurations.

Austin plans to ask merchants in Five Points and on Main Street about partnering with the city to pay for the new decorations.

“There are other ways to do this besides the city,” he said.

Five Points Association president James D. McCallister said while he doesn’t want to be a Scrooge, he doesn’t see the need for decorations in Five Points.

Latest Winthrop/ETV Poll results

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:41 EDT

Notes on this poll:

The poll was conducted among 1,088 randomly sampled Likely Voters in the South between Aug. 1 and Aug. 17, 2008. Data using all respondents has a margin of error of +/- 2.97 percent. As is true with all survey data, any results that use a subset of the respondents will have a higher margin of error.

For the purposes of this survey, "the South" is defined as: AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA. Data is weighted by state.

States are sub-divided as follows:

Deep South: AL, GA, LA, MS, SC

Lieberman going to Georgia with Graham

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:37 EDT

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman is traveling to the Republic of Georgia this week as talk continues about his being on Republican John McCain's list of vice presidential prospects.

Lieberman is an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats. He said he was leaving Tuesday with Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham to show support for Georgia in the wake of Russia's recent invasion. They will also visit Poland and Ukraine.

Lieberman and Graham are on the Senate Armed Services Panel and they support McCain, the Arizona senator and presumed Republican nominee for president. McCain has criticized Russia's actions.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, a Democratic vice presidential prospect, traveled over the weekend to Georgia to meet with President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Court rules against retiree trust

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:11 EDT

S.C. voters to decide if local governments can invest in public stock to fund benefits

Taxpayers will have to decide how their local governments pay for retiree health insurance after a state Supreme Court decision Monday.

The court ruled that a trust fund set up to help South Carolina cities and towns cover future retiree benefits is unconstitutional because it would invest in publicly traded company stock.

In November, S.C. voters will decide whether to change the state’s 113-year-old constitution to allow the investments. It would be similar to an amendment approved in 1999 that allowed the state-run retirement systems to invest in stock of private companies.

Local governments are limited to options they have had for decades, including government bonds and other super-safe investments, such as certificates of deposit.

Push is on to register ‘missing’ voters in S.C.

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 06:56 EDT

The S.C. Progressive Network is seeking to register up to 1 million eligible voters, more than a quarter of whom are minorities.

The Missing Voter project is a nonpartisan campaign that will spend today at St. John Baptist Church in Columbia training groups to register voters. The campaign is partnering with the NAACP and the S.C. Voter Education Project.

The session will run from 7-9 p.m. The church is at Farrow Road and Beltline Blvd. Call (803) 808-3384.

-- Staff reports