Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Both approved easily and are expected to pass in the Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved two key measures on its docket in a Tuesday afternoon session, moving them both to a full senate vote. The first item was S.308, which would allow persons with a Concealed Weapons Permit to possess a firearm in establishments that sell alcohol, specifically bars and restaurants. See the full bill here. It passed 15-7. Sen. Shane Massey (R - Edgefield), one of the sponsors of the bill, said the biggest stumbling block was the gray area between what is considered a bar and what is considered a restaurant. Establishments such as Applebee's or Wild Wing Cafe were not cut and dry as either bars or restaurants. "The bill needs to have language that makes it clear to everyone," Massey said during the …
Monday, January 14, 2013
Measure gets out of committee by 19-1 margin.
While 2012 was chock full of electoral intrigue in South Carolina, _the longest-running story was undoubtedly the controversy that led to hundreds of candidates being thrown off of ballots_. Lawsuits were filed throughout the year, from just after the Supreme Court’s ruling in May up to just weeks before Election Day in November_. Many of the candidates initially thrown off eventually made it back on to ballots via petition, but not after expending significant time and money. It’s believed that only two of the petition candidates ended up victorious. The controversy was another blow to South Carolina’s national reputation as a place where in politics “anything goes.” The magazine The Nation named the ballot mess one of the most …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Hotly contested state house and senate races could boost turnout.
The conventional wisdom in politics is the top of the ticket is what drives people to the polls. The campaign of Barack Obama in 2008 is a case in point, when millions of new voters joined the electorate to elect the 44th President. Except 2012 has not been a year where conventional wisdom has held form in South Carolina. Just ask Mitt Romney, who is the first Republican nominee for president since 1976 not to have won the Palmetto State in the primaries. That was just the beginning. The state Supreme Court ruling in the summer that saw hundreds of candidates removed from ballots actually may have served as a catalyst in igniting the attention of voters who might not necessarily have been interested in state politics. Harry Kibler’s …
Monday, October 1, 2012
The long journey to elected office has a few thinking of victory, but virtually all are hoping the effort will result in a change from business as usual.
Regardless of what happens Nov. 6, it seems certain that South Carolina political pundits will look at 2012 as exceptional. From the end of South Carolina's "We Pick Presidents" to the state Supreme Court deciding who should and shouldn't be on ballots to multiple lawsuits between parties and candidates themselves, this election season has been filled with turmoil. Ultimately, hundreds of candidates were tossed from ballots. Many incumbents who appeared to face a tough primary battle cruised to primary victories. But the challengers weren't done. A concerted effort by Operation Lost Vote — a group formed by political activists and led by Spartanburg Tea Party organizer Karen Martin — ultimately gathered 300,000 signatures across the state…
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Choice of Shealy over Knotts is a rare example of party showing preference.
Though they may have a preference, political parties typically do not endorse one member of their own party over another member. But on Saturday, the South Carolina Republican Party Executive Committee took the unusual step of endorsing a petition candidate, Katrina Shealy, over Jake Knotts, a long-time Republican, for Senate seat 23. To be sure, Shealy would have preferred to be on the ballot as a Republican and Knotts has been oft-criticized for being a RINO (Republican in Name Only). But the endorsement had little to do with adherence to Republican doctrine. What caused the SCGOP to act at this stage is not clear--the candidates had been certified and are set to be on the November ballot. But Knotts' ability to make headlines in …
Friday, July 27, 2012
A May S.C. Supreme Court decision to uphold S.C. election law caused hundreds of non-incumbents to be purged from the ballot as voters seek to give incumbents the boot.
The Nov. 6 ballot could prove confusing to some South Carolina voters. Considering that political experts have called this election year "unprecedented" and "unusual" that might not come as a surprise. Even though neither Mitt Romney nor Barack Obama is expected to set foot in the Palmetto State to campaign, the ballot confusion could have significant ramifications for voters. The most heated election battles in South Carolina are in the primary, where gerrymandered districts decide which nominee to send to the general election against little or no competition. But this year, many incumbents dodged the primary challenge when hundreds of non-incumbent candidates were purged from the ballot. Even some non-incumbents who won the primary could…
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Comments came on personal Twitter feed.
UPDATED 4:50 p.m. Thursday Multiple media outlets are reporting that South Carolina GOP Chair Chad Connelly has called for the ouster of Phil Bailey. The Twitter account of Bailey is reported to have been closed and Bailey ackowledged his comments were a mistake at a caucus lunch today with his colleagues. ---------------------- Phil Bailey, the political director of the S.C. Senate Democratic Caucus, came under fire Wednesday night after calling Gov. Nikki Haley as the "Sikh Jesus" on his personal Twitter account. Haley is a practicing Methodist whose parents were born in India. Sikh is one of the dominant religions in India. The comments came in response to what Bailey thought was the governor's involvement at the hearing to determine …
Monday, April 30, 2012
Lexington suit that suddenly threatens the races of dozens of state and local candidates across South Carolina goes before the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.
What started out as a lawsuit that could impact the races of a handful of Lexington County candidates running for state and local-level offices is now rippling throughout the entire state. At stake? Dozens of candidates (at least 83 so far) could see their names pulled from the June 12 party primary ballots on account that they failed to submit legally mandated financial disclosure forms within the required timeframe. This report from SCNOW lists many of the candidates who, so far, could see their names pulled from ballots. The state Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the suit Tuesday morning in Columbia. The court meantime has ordered election officials to stop distributing ballots for the June primary until the matter is resolved…
Eric
1:33 pm on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
stanley seigler - always comments, all times, all days - always against conservative values - its like someone is paying him to do so more ›