S.C. HOUSE SPEAKER WORKING HARD FOR CHIEF JUSTICE …
If powerful S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell (RINO-Charleston) goes down this year in connection with an ongoing corruption case, it won’t be before he wields his considerable influence one last time …
We’re referring, of course, to next month’s legislative election for chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court – in which Harrell is backing incumbent Jean Toal over her challenger, associate justice Costa Pleicones.
We’ve weighed in on this race previously … and would like to reiterate we do not care who emerges victorious. Not one bit. Both Toal and Pleicones are left-of-center geriatrics, and the whole race revolves around a petty grudge – not genuine ideological differences.
The only pro-free market, pro-taxpayer vote here is to “abstain” – followed by a vote to do away with the corrupt practice of letting ethically challenged lawmakers elect judges in the Palmetto State.
But that’s not going to happen …
Lawmakers are trading horses left and right … exacting promises (usually paid for with tax dollars) from those legislative leaders who have a stake in the outcome of the election.
Like Harrell …
According to our sources, the embattled Speaker has gone “all in” on Toal’s behalf. Ordinarily that would guarantee her a victory – seeing as Pleicones is trailing Toal badly in the S.C. Senate.
But with Harrell weakened by scandal, pro-Pleicones lawmakers – led by Sen. Greg Hembree and Reps. Greg Delleney, Tommy Pope and Todd Rutherford – have found many of their colleagues surprisingly receptive to the notion of defying the Speaker.
They’ve got a compelling arrow in their quiver, too … namely a taxpayer-funded clerkship secured by Toal for Harrell’s son.
“It was with a retired judge,” one pro-Pleicones lawmaker says of the clerkship given to Trey Harrell. “Find out how many other retired judges in South Carolina have law clerks, won’t you?”
We did … there were none.
Of course the race between Toal and Pleicones isn’t really a referendum on Harrell’s power. There are far too many special interests jumping into the fray for far too many reasons – including the powerful S.C. Manufacturers’ Alliance (which is backing Toal) and a network of influential solicitors (who are supporting Pleicones).
So who’s going to win?
“In the final analysis (Toal) has more power to get big business behind her and move Republicans to her side,” one veteran State House observer tells FITS. “Everyone thought it was a done deal for her and no one had made calls. They are on the phone this weekend and will be until she wins.”
33 comments
luv it.
Trey should start job hunting.
Pete Strom picked up young Trey…..
Sic Willie told us Strom was top lawyer in SC.
I’m sure Harrells’ kid is just a chip off the old turd… I mean, block. Just like Bob Coble’s kid – running for Columbia City Council while still in law school and having no work experience whatsoever. These entitled bastards in the State House and Senate have spawned kids who feel just as entitled as their parents.
Chip off the old turd, now that’s funny!
Republicans love nothing more than a government check and government health are as long as they are the recipients. I guess they are worried that if anyone else gets either it will reduce their share.
Dont have to worry about a share China will end up with it all or we may even have another Civil War,who knows?
Will, you’re simply incorrect in stating that retired judges don’t have law clerks. While some do not employ a clerk, some do. You can review the list of all judges at the link below, and where a retired judge has a law clerk, it is listed on his information page. I’m not sure where you checked, but you didn’t check the right place.
http://www.sccourts.org/circuitCourt/alphaList.cfm
Actually, four out of nine retired judges have law clerks. Nice try though.
Fits learned journalism from the Fake News Network. Never let the facts get in the way of the story you want to tell.
You probably do not know the facts yourself. Most probably one of the sheep!
But none of those 4 got their job right after failing the bar!!! Toal has to approve a retired judge to have a clerk. Bobby’s boy fails bar and needs a job. Toal gives him a state job as a law clerk. Not long later Toal says she’s running. Son gets a state job, Bobby backs Toal…no quid pro quo there!!!!
You do remember the Supreme Court under Toal forcing a lot of people that failed the bar to be passed do you not.
I thought Haley was the new car smell Queen
That’s not “new car smell” in her back seat…
Toal is corrupt to her very core. She is hiding something and doesn’t want any honesty in the Chief Justice position to expose her. Beatty and Hearn will keep her secrets.
ANY LEGISLATOR WHO VOTES FOR TOAL SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED TO FIND OUT WHAT THE PAYOFF WAS. HOLD YOUR LEGISLATOR ACCOUNTABLE FOR VOTING FOR TOAL.
She still drives drunk.
In recent photos and news conferences, Harrell seems to have developed herpes or some sort of growth on his lips, and has aged about ten years. He’s coming unglued under the pressure of the grand jury, and I’m enjoying every minute of it. Only twelve out of those eighteen folks needed to indict you, Bobby. And unlike you, none of them are tooling around in a BMW or a private airplane. Harrell getting a state job for his son… I hope the grand jury can be told about that, too.
Bobby has been very ill. A respiratory thing. He will get over it and look fine. But your turd of a heart will likely stay as it is. Shitty.
But if tried and convicted Harrell is in the know to where he could manipulate the system and get it before the SC Supreme Court and have it over turned. Folks look into the system and smell the stench.
Toal and Harrell have put the SC Supreme Court up for sale to the highest bidder.
Just plain embarrassing.
Costa can’t win. Legislators are scared to death of Jean and Bobby. Just yesterday, a lawyer Rep. from Sumter was going to commit to Costa but Jean and Bobby made him wet his diaper so now he is voting for Queen Jean. Go within two miles of courthouse and you can smell the fear.
Not sure about that. The Toal people have been BS’ing from the beginning. They said they had this locked up. They do not. They have repeatedly said they have 30 votes in the Senate and that is a lie too from what my Senator says. He is on the fence but says he knows for a fact that currently she has less commitments in the Senate than Costa. He said if it was an anonymous ballot she would lose in a landslide. Nobody likes her. As people come to realize that her loss would immediately deflate her power base (the fight would immediately start to replace her and then Pleicones in two years and no one would have any appetite to help her seek vengeance) he thinks support will start trickle to Pleicones and then flood. The lies about commitments and now the unwillingness of people to commit to her has revealed that she isn’t the invincible machine she wants everyone to think she is. Toto is about to pull back the curtain and expose her.
My intel is the same as yours, the hawk. The lawyer legislators are scared shitless of Toal and Bobby, but they are feeling the pressure to get rid of both of them. Courson is about apoplectic about this situation. Toal is all over his ass and has Coble hammering him to get some of the fence sitters to go with Toal, but those fence sitters are hammering back at Courson. Sheheen is feeling the heat from those in the know in the Democratic party and will probably have a terrible sudden case of the flu on vote day. Outside of Richland County where Jackson, Lourie and Smith protect her, the remainder of the state knows the Toal score and they are ready for her to go. She’s going to lose and the trip down the hill of power will be horrible to her massive, over inflated ego. Good riddance.
Protecting lawmakers? Now why does that sound familiar? I have heard this somewhere before. Oh yeah:
https://www.fitsnews.com/2013/06/23/jean-toals-lawmaker-protection-order/
According to The State, Jenny Horne (currently suing the state for millions of $) and Bobby Harrell (soon to be indicted) are working the floor for Toal. They NEED Toal to win! But I find it hard to believe Toal will get conservative pro-law enforcement republicans backing her if those are her two people carrying her water.
A lot of these Lawyers get rich off of the state by suing them and we all know they control the purse strings. I understand Sheheen also has gotten his share and well as a couple I know who have since retired.Folks it is not about Democrat and Republican it is about us fish and the sheep!
It is all about power and control. It has nothing to do with Justice it is about Just-us. The Judicial System in SC is the same as it is throughout America and look at the way Eric Holder and Obama dispense so called Justice the same is true in South Carolina. I operated in the system for 30 years and when I seeked Justice I got Just-us. Up front and personal,I know! Harrell can twist arms in the House because those in the House know with him in leadership he control about anything they could wish to accomplish..
A Charleston Law Firm Connection!
Just saw in The State newspaper in John Monk’s article that Lourie, Smith and Courson have all sold out to Toal. Of course, they all know that if they didn’t vote for Toal, her connections to Darryl Jackson and I.S. Leevy Johnson will cause their seats to be yanked out from beneath them in their next elections. And they KNOW she will do that to them. Her heavy handed threats are not going over well with most legislators and her support in the senate is evaporating hourly. The smart ones know that voting for the ethically challenged Toal will cause them problems are home and later on.
Jean’s circuit court judges are running for the hills. They DO NOT want to be involved in her dirty tricks campaign. Horne is a light weight who is just a Toalite whore. We haven’t gotten down cold yet what she has been promised, but have some credible suspensions right now.
The hate for Harrell across the entire state has grown more and more each day. People see that he is a criminal and say that he must be sent to prison as punishment. This is a good thing and a victory for us all. The people see our elected leaders now as their own enemy within. Its all coming to a head. The wrath of We The People cometh.
Sign the petition here! Let your lawmakers know how you feel!
http://www.change.org/petitions/restore-the-integrity-of-our-supreme-court-elect-costa-pleicones