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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: i-node who wrote (647480)	3/10/2012 1:56:30 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571001

The economy is improving, Obama is where the buck stops. End of story.

To: i-node who wrote (647480)	3/10/2012 2:19:50 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1571001

When will you all start demanding better leaders? Will series of scandals hurt South Carolina GOP? By ADAM BEAM The State An agriculture commissioner indicted for cockfighting. A state treasurer indicted for cocaine use. A married governor caught lying about an international affair. A lieutenant governor spending campaign contributions on iPads. A state House member indicted on tax-evasion charges. Another state House member arrested on harassment charges. What do all of those politicians have in common? They are all SC Republicans. South Carolina is a solidly Republican state, as any casual review of past statewide election results will tell you. But, with so many of its elected leaders stumbling so publicly, is the Republican Party vulnerable? Some of the recent scandals in S.C. state politics Republicans 2004: Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Sharpe is indicted for his role in a cockfighting ring. Subsequently, Sharpe is removed by Gov. Mark Sanford. 2007: State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel is indicted for possessing and intending to distribute cocaine. Ravenel resigns. 2009: Gov. Mark Sanford admits having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. He narrowly avoids impeachment but pays fines and costs of more than $140,000 for ethics violations. 2010: State Rep. Kris Crawford of Florence is indicted for failing to file tax returns. After a mistrial, he continues to serve. 2011: Lt. Gov. Ken Ard of Pamplico pays $60,000 in fines and costs for ethics violations. Subsequently, the state Grand Jury begins an investigation into whether Ard broke state law 2012: State Rep. Thad Viers of Horry is arrested for harassment. Subsequently, Viers, who continues to serve, announced he will abandon a bid for Congress and not seek re-election. Democrats 2011: State Rep. Harold Mitchell of Spartanburg is indicted for felony tax-evasion charges. Mitchell was suspended from office in January. South Carolina Democrats certainly hope so. “We’ll be painting them with that corruption brush. It doesn’t take much effort to do it,” Dick Harpootlian, chairman of the SC Democratic Party, said Thursday, pointing to the fall elections. “These folks are not an organized political party, they are an organized crime syndicate.” None of the nine SC constitutional officers elected statewide – all Republicans – is up for re-election in November. But every seat in the state Senate and House, both controlled by Republicans, is on the ballot. And SC Democrats hope to paint the Republicans as scandal-ridden. But Scott Huffmon, a Winthrop University political science professor who has done extensive polling in South Carolina, says convincing SC voters that there is something wrong with the GOP will not be easy to do. On election days, the turnout by SC Republicans always is at least 10 points higher than that of SC Democrats, Huffmon said. “That’s a big gap, even for these history of scandals.” But the scandals could lower turnout among Republican voters who “are sick of politics.” That could give Democrats a better chance to win in some – not all – races. “Even if Democrats get turnout equal to Republicans, they will have to somehow sway all those independents (who lean Republican),” Huffmon said. “That’s an uphill climb. A serious one.” Chad Connelly, chairman of the SC Republican Party, insists the GOP won’t be hurt by scandal, in part, because “we try hard not to uphold a person as the party.” “We hold up the principles and values of the party,” Connelly said. “(Scandals) make people look at folks and say, ‘Now they are just like me. They are fallen and they make mistakes, too.’ ” State Sen. John Courson, R-Richland, said Thursday the scandals have shaken voters’ confidence in the “governance of the Palmetto State.” But he said that loss of confidence does not threaten the Republican Party, only scandalized officeholders. He predicted good results for Republicans in November, adding he expects the GOP presidential nominee to increase Republican turnout statewide. But if Lt. Gov. Ken Ard – the Florence Republican who is the focus of a state Grand Jury investigation into ethics violations – is indicted, as widely expected, that will give Democrats ammunition, said state Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington. “It’s an issue the people of South Carolina are going to have to take notice of and pay attention to,” he said. thestate.com