SC

2014: Winners And Losers

FALLOUT FROM THE “REPUBLICAN” ROMP … By FITSNEWS || With the 2014 elections in the rearview mirror, it’s time to assess the fallout from the race that was … and the implications on races to come. Those implications are abundant, but our first step is to take inventory of the winners…

FALLOUT FROM THE “REPUBLICAN” ROMP …

By FITSNEWS || With the 2014 elections in the rearview mirror, it’s time to assess the fallout from the race that was … and the implications on races to come.

Those implications are abundant, but our first step is to take inventory of the winners and losers from November 4 – and not just the names appearing on various ballots here in the Palmetto State and beyond.

The big story is obviously the rebirth of the “Republican” party – at least as an electoral force to be reckoned with.  The GOP may still be the other side of the “heads they win, tails you lose” big government coin, but they dramatically expanded their political power.

In South Carolina, the GOP rout was relentless … and though turnout in the Palmetto State appears to be down from 2010, that doesn’t discount the enormity of the “Republican” victory.  Now … will the GOP use its vote of confidence from those who showed up at the polls (hello, Taylor!) to actually shrink government and lower taxes?

Of course not … especially now that they know they can easily win without doing so.

Anyway, here’s our unflinchingly honest assessment … including a bit of self-deprecation.

***

WINNERS

scgop cash problem persists

1. REPUBLICANS – Seriously, if you had an “R” by your name – in South Carolina or pretty much anywhere else across the county – November 4 was a very good night for you.  The GOP won the U.S. Senate convincingly, padded its lead in the U.S. House and swept South Carolina’s constitutional offices with huge double-digit margins.  Everywhere one looked, “Republicans” outperformed the polls – scoring unexpected and bigger-than-expected victories.  It was a “Republican” romp of epic proportions  – and in the Palmetto State it marked the effective end of the Democratic party as a credible “minority.”

haley

2. NIKKI HALEY – South Carolina’s incumbent “Republican” should have been the most vulnerable governor in America.  Instead, she won reelection by a landslide.  How the hell did that happen?  Easy: Her Democratic oppponent Vincent Sheheen ran the single worst general election campaign in South Carolina history – failing to exploit Haley’s glaring vulnerabilities while charting a course far to Haley’s left on bread-and-butter fiscal issues.  Sheheen’s “I want to grow government bigger than she does” campaign strategy failed miserably (as we predicted it would) – enabling Haley to be perceived by voters as the “conservative” choice despite having advanced a liberal agenda on taxesspendingeducation and (most notably) government-subsidized health care.  Now Haley – who was dead in the water as recently as a year-and-a-half ago – has a resounding reelection win under her belt and is once again being discussed as a credible national candidate.

tim scott

3. TIM SCOTT – One of the few “Republicans” who displays a genuine commitment to the party’s stated principles of less government and more liberty, Scott became the first black man elected to the U.S. Senate from a southern state since Reconstruction.  Not only that, he scored the most decisive win of any of the “big ticket” races – netting a whopping 61 percent of the vote (the highest for any Republican in a contested race).  We don’t care about Scott’s skin color, we care about his voting record (which is far better than the average “Republican” in Washington) – but it was nice to see his historic victory take place in South Carolina, a state that hasn’t always set a high bar when it comes to race relations.  Scott will have to run again in 2016 for a full six-year term, but his huge margin should serve to discourage any credible challengers – assuming he continues to vote the right way.

graham poll

4. LINDSEY GRAHAM –  We put Graham behind Haley and Scott on our “winners” list because his vote totals trailed both of the other top ticket GOP candidates on election night.  Graham wound up with 55 percent of the vote – well above his low forties approval rating – but still, he won a race that he could (and should) have easily lost.  Graham is the most liberal “Republican” in Washington, D.C. – a guy who less than forty-eight hours before facing voters vowed to once again raise their taxes in violation of his previous pledges.  Despite that, he still won by a double-digit margin – a win that could fuel presidential aspirations.

state house sign

5. RICHARD QUINN – The veteran GOP consultant scored victories up and down the ballot in South Carolina – with his clients winning races for lieutenant governor, state treasurer, attorney general, superintendent of education – and the U.S. Senate, among others.  There is no more potent political force in the Palmetto State right now than “The Quinndom,” with the firm’s huge election night paving the way for dramatically expanded power in state government – as well as greater influence over the 2016 “First in the South” presidential primary.  The era of the political machine, it would appear, is far from over in South Carolina – and that machine is run by Richard Quinn and Associates.

MORE WINNERS: SCGOP chairman Matt Moore – The youngest party chairman in America led the SCGOP to its biggest electoral romp ever.  Moore’s personal stamp was all over this election cycle prior to his party’s sweep last night.  His work on Vincent Sheheen’s defense of sex offenders and child molesters set the stage for the Republican Governors Association (RGA)’s devastating TV ad blitz – effectively stopping Sheheen’s campaign before it could it take off.  Moore also had the courage to publicly rebuke a S.C. Congressional nominee who called gays and lesbians “gremlins.” Bob Livingston – South Carolina’s adjutant general was unopposed on the ballot but he led the charge to pass Amendment 2 – which will make his office an appointed position. Word has it Livingston put significant personal resources behind this effort – which represents another small step towards having a more sensible, streamlined executive branch. Momentum exists for appointing other offices. Kirkman Finlay – The first-year lawmaker ran a disciplined campaign in a Democratic-leaning district to hold off a challenge from liberal trial lawyer Joe McCulloch.  Finlay is a champion for ethics reform at the S.C. State House, and his reelection should help move this issue forward.  Greenville and Lexington Counties – Voters in both GOP strongholds voted down sales tax hikes by convincing margins.  S.C. Election Commission – Once again, director Marci Andino’s organization ran a smooth vote.

***

LOSERS

taxpayer boulder

1. TAXPAYERS – As we pick winners and losers from an election, each year “Republicans” and Democrats pick winners and losers with hundreds of millions of your tax dollars – an inherently corrupt practice.  Corporate cronyism, welfare statism, warfare statism and unsustainable government spending continue to drain the U.S. (and South Carolina) consumer economy of the juice it needs to create job and income growth – and big government “Republicans” like Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham are as guilty of fueling these destructive forces as Democrats.

donkey

2. DEMOCRATS – Could it have been any worse for Democrats on election night?  Nationally they were stampeded by a herd of elephants, but in South Carolina that herd not only ran over them … it backed up over them and then ran over them again.  So no … it could not be worse.  Democrats were defeated in the Palmetto State by double-digit margins up and down the ballot – a seismic repudiation of their message, and their messengers.  For decades in South Carolina (up until the 1980s), the only election that mattered was the Democratic primary.  Today, that distinction belongs to the GOP primary.

sheheen

3. VINCENT SHEHEEN – On October 21, we published a column declaring Nikki Haley would win reelection as governor of South Carolina.  How did we know that was going to happen?  Because the candidacy of Vincent Sheheen – once viewed with such promise – collapsed under the weight of its own left-leaning ideology.  Back in the spring of 2013, our founding editor was asked by the candidate himself how to beat Haley.  His answer? “Go right,” in other words, find a way to get to Haley’s ideological right flank on issues like taxes and spending.  Doing so, our editor argued, would not only neutralize Haley’s attacks against him – it would open up a damaging hypocrisy angle against Haley on the issues that mattered most to voters.  Sheheen didn’t listen, though.  He didn’t “go right.”  He went left.  Hard left.  And his candidacy – which was poised for an upset as recently as a year ago – imploded.  Seriously … Sheheen ran the worst statewide campaign for elected office we’ve ever seen.  And that was before he “inadvertently” called Haley a “whore” during the last week of the race.

ravenel rand paul graham

4. THOMAS RAVENEL – In late July and early August, mainstream media polls (and internal surveys conducted by various pollsters) showed the independent U.S. Senate candidate receiving anywhere between 10-15 percent of the vote in his petition bid against exceedingly vulnerable “Republican” Lindsey Graham.  What percentage of the vote did Ravenel end up with?  Four percent.  Despite his checkered past, the opportunity was there for Ravenel to emerge as a credible alternative to Graham.  He failed to do that … miserably.

sic willie leon lott

5. FITSNEWS – That’s right, “us.”  This website has long championed a “third way” in politics, but the voters who showed up on November 4 once again picked one establishment poison over the other.  In 2006 and 2008 there were Democratic wave elections, and now in 2010 and 2014 the GOP has had its wave elections.  When will a “wave” address the growing segment of the electorate that wants both its bank accounts and its freedoms protected?  Good question.  In the meantime, though, those of us who advocate for electoral solutions outside of the two-party system continue to tilt at windmills.

MORE LOSERS: After winning a contested special election last year, U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford was unopposed in his reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives this fall.  So naturally, he won.  What’s interesting, though, is that more than six percent of first congressional district voters wrote in the name of someone else – well above the normal (i.e. under one percent) write-in percentage for a congressional race.  That bodes poorly for Sanford’s prospects in the event a credible “Republican” (or third party challenger) runs against him in 2016.  Joe McCulloch – The Democratic candidate for the S.C. House of Representatives ran one of the nastiest and most fundamentally dishonest races we can recall, and still got beat.

***

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69 comments

diamond jim November 5, 2014 at 10:33 am

Losers? Tom Ervin?
How can a guy get 20,000 signatures to get on the ballot, accept about $100 GRAND in campaign donations, spend around $4 MILLION dollars of his own money and then QUIT a week before the election NOT make the LOSER list?

Just asking.

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Bill November 5, 2014 at 10:36 am

Why did you change your name from Sandi? Just asking?

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diamond jim November 5, 2014 at 1:01 pm

hackers…look what happened to Fits last night

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Buz Martin November 5, 2014 at 3:08 pm

pogo, ain’t nobody EVER hacked you, dipshit.

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diamond jim November 5, 2014 at 4:17 pm

Who is pogo? You sure fucked up Vida Miller’s campaign ,didn’t ya? I knew as soon as you endorsed her Goldfinch would win. :-)

Buz Martin November 5, 2014 at 6:59 pm

pogo is “Sandi Morals.” Sandi is YOU, “diamond jim.” You are also a few others. Unmistakable M.O.

Hey, I didn’t fuck up the Miller campaign. It was Will Folks who did that. Haw!

diamond jim November 5, 2014 at 7:17 pm

You two are on major losing streaks and remind me of the 69 Mets!
Speaking of that ,has anybody heard from ‘vicupstate’? The ‘self-appointed/identified comment section pollster’ for Fits may be on a bridge near you! Don’t jump vic ! I told ya Brownback would win! :-)

My political prognostications and predictions are free of charge in case he has left the country. Oh my!!!

SCBlues November 5, 2014 at 6:41 pm

“pogo, ain’t nobody EVER hacked you, dipshit.”
I cannot stop laughing over this one! LOL+

Don Quixote November 5, 2014 at 10:34 am

“In the meantime, though, those of us who advocate for electoral solutions outside of the two-party system continue to tilt at windmills.”

Is it just me or does this seem to be an incorrect usage of the idiom?

I thought the phrase meant “attacking imaginery enemies”, sometimes in vain. Didn’t Mike at the Beach use it similarly to how Will just used it too?

Someone please illuminate to me if I’m missing something.

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Bible Thumper November 5, 2014 at 10:48 am

Will used it properly, “attacking imaginery enemies”, but not as he intended.

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HD November 5, 2014 at 10:41 am

“This website” is not a loser in these elections. You’d have had to have been taken seriously before hand. You had nothing to lose.

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SCBlues November 5, 2014 at 10:42 am

Losers = The American People – with special emphasis on South Carolinians

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LD November 5, 2014 at 11:09 am

The Republicans won. However, I don’t want to hear how Christian, moral and ethical they are, because they are not any of those. In SC they would have won anyway, but to have to resort to fear mongering, voter suppression, gerrymandering, dishonest and half-truth messages– shows a disturbing moral side on the party of “morals”. Afterall under Obama– gas under $ 3, employment under 6%, stock market at an all time high– but WTF– he’s black.

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heels1785 November 5, 2014 at 11:34 am

Gas is under $3 because of Obama, yeah. You may want to revisit a 5th grade social studies class.

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LD November 5, 2014 at 3:04 pm

Well you certainly blamed him when it was $ 4. Take your pick, you can’t have both ways– but then you are Republican.

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Don't waste your keystrokes... November 5, 2014 at 3:31 pm

LD don’t waste your keystrokes trying to reason with Republicans…they don’t deal in FACTS or SCIENCE….

diamond jim November 5, 2014 at 7:45 pm

We are damn good at MATH however as you found out last night.

TyroneMamaCollards November 5, 2014 at 12:39 pm

The Dems lost because they did not have a message the voters wanted, and they failed to have the necessary turnout. Plain and simple. They can fix the second one, and they need to huddle for the next two years on how to get the first one right.

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diamond jim November 5, 2014 at 1:00 pm

Dems lost because of Obamacare and amnesty.
Voter don’t give a shit about pubs or working together.
They want Obamacare repealed and the border secured.

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CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 3:36 pm

If so, then why didn’t Lindsey lose on those same issues?

stop with the race card November 5, 2014 at 4:23 pm

Gas is down because the US is the #1 producer of energy despite Obama’s obstruction, and the Saudis are glutting the market.
Unemployment down but participation rate is piss poor.
Stock market up because all the cheap money that flowed from QE.
These outcomes are color-blind. It is the policies that led to them that leave a lot to be desired.

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Nölff November 5, 2014 at 10:51 am

Let’s fight about things beyond our control, like weather or the honesty and integrity of our elected officials. Come at me, bro.

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GrandTango November 5, 2014 at 10:57 am

Was there ANY bigger loser than FITS News?

Not only did FITS taint Nancy Mace so indelibly, she was never taken seriously, but FITS published ridiculously fabricated polling numbers regarding Thomas Ravenel. And FITS pumped up Tom Ervin and Vincent Sheheen. Both CRASHED MISERABLY and burned…They went from fringe curiosities to absurd jokes, with promotion from FiTS…

Every candidate FITS touched, now has a helplessly RUINED political career.

Biggest Winner: SCPSD proved there is an audience – and desperate need- for alternative, more in-line w/ the people political commentary.

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BK November 5, 2014 at 11:54 am

At the risk of my own mental well-being and in an act of jeopardizing all the training and education I’ve consumed over the years, I visited your site. One word: Yawn. I’m predicting Rush Limbaugh’s lawyers will be sending you a cease and desist letter promptly for your plagiarism. I may revisit occasionally, as lately I’ve suffered from more insomnia than this dyslexic agnostic can handle. I can tell that your site is a more potent therapy than laying awake all night, pondering the existence of a Dog.

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GrandTango November 5, 2014 at 12:59 pm

Why is it, all of you, in your “critiques” can tell me how YOU feel…using tired cliches, despite the fact you’ve “consumed” training and education….but none of you EVER articulate why IT is bad, or EXACTLY what is wrong with IT, structurally or logically?…

Ever been advised (when you attempt to communicate w/ words) to SHOW, not tell…

You are the epitome of TELLING…w/ no ability to show…and that usually means you have no idea of what you are attempting to say…which certainly rings true in your case.

Hey thanks for trying…

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BK November 5, 2014 at 4:45 pm

Tango, I didn’t spend a lot of time in my critique, and that may seem unfair to you. Equally unfair – I didn’t spend a lot of time on your site. I didn’t have to. I gleaned quickly from your prose that your acumen of the facts is to rehash someone else’s drivel. Sound harsh? Well, you didn’t like my earlier critique. So this one I decided to expound on a few things. First, the cliche and lexicon on which you draw are far too familiar. As your audience, there’s nothing I got from your site that I can’t get elsewhere in large doses. Beyond that, the articles on SCPSD I quickly perused read like brochures for the GOP. Nothing wrong with being a republican or espousing those ideals. But what you have to offer can already be found on the MSM sites. The reason Fits is popular is because Will Folks dares to question the mass conformity of established parties while others (such as your site) pull an Andre Bauer and whip out the pom poms to cheer along with the party line. That’s sophomoric to those of us who engage in critical thinking.

My other critique issue I have with your site actually centers on your behavior on this site. From your constant postings on here as well as the limited content you have on your site, it’s evident you spend more time on Fits than you do on your own site. I am a sporadic viewer of Fits, and an even less frequent poster herein, but every time I’ve been on here I’ve encountered your rampant posts proselytizing hits for your site and criticizing Folks. Does that make sense to you? Because it doesn’t to me. Like, you have more content contributions on here than you do on your own site. And that’s just sad. But, hey, I guess Folks is flattered at your attempt at imitation and undaunted by your disapproval of his content.

If you want my advice, think critically and write critically. Spend more time honing your own writings and less berating others. But that’s just my opinion-the opinion of someone you’ve already figured out and thus are too smart to listen to for advice.

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GrandTango November 5, 2014 at 5:43 pm

Yet again: you’re telling me about what you think of me…in your attempted critique of political content on my website. You offer no substance, or detail, just shallow generalities. And then you go on to offer an unsolicited opinion of FITS, that also contains no specifics…other than what he says about himself.

In addition to that, you’re trying to use big words in hopes of sounding intelligent. It just comes across as stilted. IOW: You’re trying too hard, and look stupid doing it…

Examples: perused,gleaned, prose, acumen, lexicon, undaunted, proselytizing…

No one uses that many of those words in a normal conversation. It’s like you’re trying to impress an AP English teacher.

That is the TRUE sign of an amateur, who is fooled into thinking that ripping off a dictionary will cover for your lack of ability or intellect.

That said: I do agree with you on this: You DEFINITELY are on the level of the typical FITS worshiper. You two are PERFECT for each other. I love to Kick both of your @$$#$ (figuratively) …And I know, from your laborious – and laughable – effort, it bothers you…

BK November 5, 2014 at 11:42 pm

Actually, what bothers me is that you think “prose” is a big word.

mamatiger92 November 6, 2014 at 8:26 am

ha!

GrandTango November 6, 2014 at 9:18 am

Good point. And you are correct….Actually it’s small…and just pretentious…

Just like the dumb@$$ who initially introduced it….LMAO….

CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 1:04 pm

It’s like watching a “reality show” on cable TV. The screaming inside of your head (as thousands of brain cells die a horrible death each second) is maddening.

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nitrat November 5, 2014 at 10:59 am

I don’t quite get the ‘small government’ adulation of Tim Scott. He has worked far more closely with Lindsey Graham on bring home the bacon/quasi earmarks than the pathologically rigid Jim DeMint he replaced. As far as DeMint was concerned, SC could just fall into the ocean if its needs involved federal programs or assistance.

But, the GOP loves its black and Hispanic token something fierce. It will be interesting to see how far the SCGOPers let Scott go.

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Smirks November 5, 2014 at 3:03 pm

He knows his rope goes out as far as Lindsey’s at the very least, so they’ll let him go quite far out.

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tomstickler November 6, 2014 at 9:23 am

Somebody should send Scott a copy of Robert Burns’ poetry.

“O wad some power the giftie gi’ us To see oursels’ as ithers see us!”

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BK November 5, 2014 at 10:59 am

BIGGEST WINNER(S): *TIE* Richard Eckstrom and The SCGOP

Both the Eckstrom candidacy and the SCGOP proved that mindless sheeple will vote party ticket, ignoring the glaring weaknesses of most of its candidates. Sure, there was a small fraction of those who voted another choice on the top of the ticket. However, no matter what (or who) you think Nikki Haley did or should’ve done, the fact is that she received LESS votes than Eckstrom. Let that sink in. He trounced her by 32,000 votes!

BIGGEST LOSER: The Commonwealth that is the State of South Carolina. What a piss-poor slate of choices we were afforded by either party!

As to our State’s future: weeping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMGz3sXRhvE

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@#$$%#$^^%$$ November 5, 2014 at 11:00 am

I wish to never see Reid, Pelosi, Schumer, Durbin , Clyburn ever again.
But, just as badly, I wish to never see Haley, Harrell, Leatherman, Peeler, White and the vast majority of the rest.
The Country and State continues to need wholesale change!

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The Colonel November 5, 2014 at 11:08 am

Will, could you do us all a favor? For the next couple of weeks could you abstain from even mentioning Thomas Ravenel in passing? We’d all appreciate it!

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Rocky November 5, 2014 at 11:11 am

Biggest Winners – Medicaid wanna haves – because Nikki will move quickly now to expand Medicaid and get them federal dollars. Hurray.

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Haley doesn't lie..yeah right! November 5, 2014 at 3:21 pm

Come on Rocky, you mean to tell me Haley has been lying all this time about her motives for not accepting the federal medicaid money? Haley would never lie to us (LOL)!

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Interesting to Watch November 5, 2014 at 11:13 am

If we look at this objectively, the biggest winners may be the emerging class of young guns coming out of Nikki Haley’s cabinet. This victory means they have four years more to effect state policy and grow their ambitions. Templeton is already campaigning. Others are pushing forward. Whether this will result in SC being the “loser” remains to be seen.

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Bill November 5, 2014 at 11:25 am

Add to losers, middle class America. At least two more years of no one giving a shit what they need.

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The Real Losers November 5, 2014 at 3:18 pm

Amen Bill….we are the real losers….these Politicians are laughing ALL the way to the bank.

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Hagley neighbor November 5, 2014 at 11:31 am

GOLDFINCH! You miserable people who ran a nasty and hateful campaign against him got your heads handed to you. Take a hint Vida. We don’t need your hatefuness here.

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Jack Klompus November 5, 2014 at 11:42 am

I sure hope Fits’s virtual fellation of “T-Rav” will finally cease. It is time for that vapid, self-serving, low life charlatan to disappear from the public sphere forever. Go buy another shopping center to soothe your self-loathing insecurities T Rav.

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jimlewisowb November 5, 2014 at 11:46 am

Winner – Every man, woman,child, dog and cat who resides in or visits the State of South Carolina

The Gypsy Queen’s victory puts her at the top of the list either to run for national office or secure a POTUS appointment. With a little luck she will take the bait like a malnourished rat, resign as Governor and hopefully end up with Sarah Palin on the DumBitch List

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shifty henry November 5, 2014 at 11:54 am

Jim, we’re in agreement here. Her asshole is still puckered from the excitement!

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CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 12:16 pm

… in anticipation of the favors she will be sharing as and so she moves up the political ladder of “success”…

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CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 12:15 pm

I tend to agree on one level Jim, but the thing is, this will be a loss for our country. She does not deserve to advance. Hell, she doesn’t deserve to be where she is right now.

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jimlewisowb November 5, 2014 at 2:09 pm

Just want her to take the bait and leave us the hell alone

Don’t believe she will go any further than Palin and she deserves the same fate as the Palins

Perhaps one day will read of the Gypsy Queen, the First Eunuch and the kids duking it out with others in the the Sikh Temple parking lot

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Smirks November 5, 2014 at 3:00 pm

She does not deserve to advance. Hell, she doesn’t deserve to be where she is right now.

Same with Sanford, Lindsey, etc.

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CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 3:37 pm

Yep!

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shifty henry November 5, 2014 at 11:47 am

NEWS FLASH
===========

(Reporter 1) The cult members seem totally brainwashed, and still place their blind faith in a false savior offering hollow promises of salvation!

(Reporter 2) And that concludes our report from the White House.

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Sandy Burglar November 5, 2014 at 11:50 am

Loser = Barack Hussein Barry Soetoro Obama. “Make no mistake; all of my policies are on the ballot, every single one.”
Yes they were, Mr Hussein Obama and they were rejected as soundly and definitively as one could possibly imagine. Noboby bought you, your party, your failed economic policies, your failed candidates, your lies, your obfuscations, your empty and tired rhetoric, your incompetence, your foreign policy disasters, your pointing fingers of blame in every direction but your own…nothing.
Your unwillingness to show any semblance of the desire to govern, your unwillingness to build coalitons on the other side of the aisle (as Clinton figured out he needed to do with Gingrich and a GOP Congress) and your unwillingness to accept ANY, I mean ANY responsibility for DC failures on your watch led directly to the Dumbocrat electoral disaster which took place yesterday.
Hope and change? Not sure about the “hope” but you sure brought about some “change,” huh?

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The Real Losers.... November 5, 2014 at 3:16 pm

FACT Check….the only losers from last night are the American people. It will be business as usual in Washington. The Dems will filibuster and the president will Veto. The Republican victory is a hollow one…

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Manray November 5, 2014 at 11:58 am

All the sheep said…baaa.

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Rocky November 5, 2014 at 12:17 pm

At the national level – losers are Ted Cruz, Mike Lee. Here’s the scene. McConnell, playing the role of Don, has a lot of Senators in his office. He’s walking Ted and Mike to the door, saying “We appreciate all your support. We’ll be talking soon” and as they leave the door closes behind them. Little do they know it’s been decided to marginalize them. There’s a standing order to hit men to stand by in case they don’t get the message. In another corner Sessioins of AL is sitting down as Graham of SC leans towards him and says, “We’ve worked together in the past. We hope we can count on you to work with the team again.” By the window, flanked by Ayotte of NH, Rubio is receiving a message from McCain, “We’re going to let you stay in the room for now, but you need to stay silent. There’s not invitation for you to say anything. If you cannot do that, we’ll have to ask you to leave.” Over in the House, the 20 Tea Party members are waiting to speak with Boehner. They’ve been campted in the ante chamber for three days. The secretary says – “Mr. Boehnor isn’t in today. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

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CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 12:22 pm

Actually, taxpayers DID win in a couple of places last night. Voters in Lexington County overwhelmingly defeated Bill Banning’s, Debbie Summers’, and Johnny Jeffcoat’s, beloved penny tax increase which would have given them tons of money to squander on themselves and their cronies in the paving and other industries.

Surprisingly, voters in Kershaw County also demonstrated common sense, though not on as grand a scale, and defeated similar garbage that was on their ballot, too. It was a narrower victory, but a victory, nonetheless.

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Tazmaniac November 5, 2014 at 1:33 pm

CiC, my ballot had the straight ticket option, R,D,L, American, AND “working families”. My question, did your Senate ballot have Brad Hutto(D) and Brad Hutto(Working Families) as choices? How the Hell do they get away with that? It isn’t like he had a snowball’s chance, but it seems wrong.

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CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 1:38 pm

Indeed my ballot DID have that, Tazmaniac. Someone commented on that here a day or two ago and tried to explain it. I still don’t fully grasp its meaning or purpose.

I got creeped out as I was reviewing my ballot last night. I saw where I had apparently “voted” for Lindsey Graham and muttered to myself, “oh hell NO”. I quickly paged back to that ballot and changed it to T-Rav. On a second review, all was as I intended. A friend I spoke with said it was likely just weirdness with the touch screen and/or “fat fingers” that resulted in that happening. I hope it was that and not some kind of weird rigging of the machines that we hear rumors of from time to time.

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Smirks November 5, 2014 at 3:01 pm

Agreed regarding the penny tax, glad that one’s in the grave.

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Barry November 6, 2014 at 9:17 am

The penny tax proposal will never die. They’ll simply keep shoving it on the ballot until they catch voters in an inattentive moment, or pass it via fraud a la Richland County.

I’d love to be wrong about this but look at the history…

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CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 1:28 pm

One thing to watch for regarding the defeat of the LexCo penny tax increase: They will relish in not fixing any roads for a while just to throw it back in our faces. I was told by one council member a while back that this is pretty much their strategy. They noted how this thing was fast tracked to the front to give us a “choice” (despite their best efforts to ram this down our throats, we chose alright) and that if we chose not to, in effect it was on us when we called to complain about our roads. Hey, I can live with that. When we vote out Jeffcoat, Summers, and maybe a couple more, in favor of someone who doesn’t need to squander OUR money, I think things will get better. I can wait.

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jimlewisowb November 5, 2014 at 2:19 pm

Prior to the penny tax vote yesterday the HIghway Department posted signs along Highway 41 advising of a Nov. 6th meeting to discuss the improvements to Highway 41

Will be interesting to hear what they have to say now that the penny tax has been defeated

Maybe they will go ahead with the project and use some of the $528 million that was going to be used for the Bobby Harrell Parkway in Charleston

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CorruptionInColumbia November 5, 2014 at 3:44 pm

Jim, have you noticed the clusterfuck that DOT or contractors of SCDOT or LexCo have had in progress along 378 in Lexington the last few nights? Last night, while doing some grocery shopping and before making a trip to Starbucks before they closed, it was all I could do to constrain myself from getting out of the car and yelling for those workmen to knock off of work as their funding just ran out.

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Buz Martin November 5, 2014 at 3:05 pm

Once again, Will totally ignores TOM RICE.

Fact is, he’s a “Republican” too, and a really shitty one. I don’t buy the argument I’ve heard from some truly cynical people that the “MB Mafia” is paying Will not to talk about Rice or those most closely associated with him in Horry County. That is far too pat an explanation. By all rights, it was Gloria Tinubu’s incredibly out-of-touch and inept staff that ran a campaign far worse than that of Vincent Sheheen.

She did much better fisrt time around, trouncing him in their two debates — the main reason he refused to debate her this time. Apparently this time, Clyburn did not do as much to help Rice, but he sure as shit didn’t do a thing for Tinubu, either. But you won’t read about that here. The Horry news and commentary blackout continues from FITS. Until something happens with the Thad case again, I guess.

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diamond jim November 5, 2014 at 7:43 pm

oops…you fucked up Tinabu’s campaign AGAIN!!!!????
If you are going to accuse Will of being dishonest and accepting bribes, don’t you owe it to him to just ask him why he is not covering the fantasies and falsehoods your sic mind has created about the fantasy ‘MB Mafia’?

Come on Buz, these allegations are even beneath you.

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Buz Martin November 5, 2014 at 8:34 pm

More of your dishonest bullshit. I had nothing at all to do with Tinubu’s campaign this time.

I didn’t accuse Will of anything. I specifically stated that I don’t buy into that accusation at all.
“Myrtle Beach Mafia” was first used by critics of the crony corporatist elites who control the MBACC way back in ’06 or so, before I ever got active in local politics.
What SHOULD be beneath me is even bothering to respond to your trollish nonsense.

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diamond jim November 5, 2014 at 8:46 pm

You don’t “buy into that”? Then why bring it up? Whether YOU believe it or not it attaches his name to such an allegation with no way to defend himself. People see it and form an opinion.

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Santiago Ledbetter November 5, 2014 at 7:35 pm

So, then, South Carolina voted Republican.

This is some hard-hitting, insightful journalism, right here.

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