Editorials

Nikki Haley and The State, Simpatico in Every Respect

Nikki Haley and The State, Simpatico…

It is obvious that Gov. Nikki Haley has a direct, sympathetic line into the editorial rooms of the mainstream media.

Please read, Will lightning rod Knotts retire soon?, Haley relishes role of ‘kingmaker’ and or Haley dodges political jabs, lands on feet (See links below).

Sunday we heard that Haley’s hopes of being Mitt Romney’s vice presidential nominee are stronger than ever after she was cleared of ethics charges by a two day investigation.

Let’s be clear, Haley was not ever tried for ethics charges against her. The “two day investigation” was nothing but a staged, friendly hearing before a House Ethics Committee pre-destined to dismiss the charges.

No witnesses were called to make a case against her. How can you have an investigation when the only witnesses called were those that would exonerate her?

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Kathleen Parker: Words vs. Deeds

Kathleen Parker: Words vs. Deeds

South Carolina politics never fail to bemuse. A recent ethics imbroglio between Republican Gov. Nikki Haley and GOP activist John Rainey is a case in point.

The squabble would be of passing interest if Haley weren’t a rising star often mentioned on lists of potential vice presidential candidates. And had she not called Rainey, a nationally recognized philanthropist and community bridge-builder, a “racist, sexist bigot.” Such charges deserve clarification and context.

Haley made the remarks during a state House Ethics Committee hearing that was prompted by a complaint Rainey filed alleging that Haley had lobbied illegally while she was a legislator. (Haley has been cleared of any wrongdoing .) Her invectives toward Rainey, though perhaps understandable given an exchange between them (about which more anon), are contradicted by his record. Rainey is anything but racist, sexist or bigoted.

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First Shot Fired Against Jake Knotts

First Shot Fired Against Jake Knotts

The first shot in what promises to be a vicious fall campaign was fired today when a story on Sen. Jake Knotts appeared in a Columbia newspaper hinting the incumbent District 23 senator may be considering retirement after his next four year term.

I have been in the news business long enough to recognize a planted story when I see one and this one has all the earmarks. It seems like a not so subtle attempt for Gov. Nikki Haley to weigh in on Knotts to the advantage of her best friend and Knotts’ opponent Katrina Shealy.

Shealy will have to be a petition candidate in the fall because she failed to file her candidacy forms properly during the March filing period. Therefore, she needs to build awareness for her candidacy because she won’t be the nominee of a party on the ballot and benefit from all the straight party voters.

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Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment Repealed

Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment Repealed

Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shall not speak ill of any Republican,” died in Lexington, South Carolina on Monday night. The party’s executive committee approved a resolution that GOP Party officers may now support non-Republican candidates in the upcoming November general election.

The resolution only formalized what has been going on in Lexington County and around South Carolina for months. Speaking ill of other Republicans has become the sport of this election season.

A second resolution to try and run incumbent Sen. Jake Knotts out of the party failed, but demonstrates the political infighting currently rampant within the party. Knotts is expected to be opposed in the fall by petition candidate Katrina Shealy, best friend of Gov. Nikki Haley. Knotts is the Republican nominee. Shealy will have the support of the state’s nominal top Republican office holder.

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Lexington County GOP Eating It's Own

Lexington County GOP Eating It’s Own

The Lexington County GOP will consider a resolution Monday evening that will allow party officials to ignore a state party rule in order to support non-party candidates in the generalelection.

The county party is trying to find a way to support petition candidates, should they become eligible for the ballot, who failed to file candidacy papers in accordance with state law so they could appear on last month’s primary election ballot.

These petition candidates will be opposing duly nominated Republican Party candidates on the general election ballot.

Of course, we all know what exactly is happening here. The county party is trying to find any way possible to kow tow to Gov. Nikki Haley and support her Best Friend Forever Katrina Shealy in the upcoming November general election.

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"Public pensions must be more transparent, accountable." Curtis M. Loftis Jr.

Public Pension Plans Must Be Transparent

It’s no secret that public pension plans and their investment boards nationwide are underperforming. Blame is often assigned to the economy, over-promising politicians, unrealistic assumed rates of investment returns, and workers that retire earlier and live longer. But, is there more to the story?

“In all 50 states hard-working public employees and taxpayers supply the money for these investments. They should not be riding in the back of the bus, and in fact they should be driving the bus. ”

My research and experience shows that many pension investment boards lack vital transparency and accountability. The absence of these key principles of good governance leaves the plans vulnerable to increased risk. The inner workings of these investment boards are mysterious to outsiders; in fact these investment boards are places where enormous sums of public dollars are entrusted to a select few, but coveted by many.

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MBIA

A Lesson in Government Folly

It was interesting to note, earlier this week, a media story that passenger arrivals at Myrtle Beach International Airport were down approximately 13 percent for the current year. The downturn in passenger numbers occurs while the airport is in the midst of an approximately $120 million expansion of its terminal facilities.

Horry County Council member Carl Schwartzkopf called me up to ask if I had read the story and asked my reaction.

I told him my reaction was limited to four words, “I told you so.”

The reason for the conversation is Schwartzkopf was elected to council in a special election in district 8 in late 2003 to fill the unexpired term of member Liz Gilland after Gilland was elected council chairman in a special election earlier in the year.

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Nikki Haley, The Innocent Little Girl

Nikki Haley, The Innocent Little Girl

In a move that should surprise no one who watched the ethics hearing Thursday, all four ethics charges against Gov. Nikki Haley, for actions while she was a House member, were dismissed by the S.C. House Ethics Committee Friday morning.

The voting was a small encore to what was an incredible performance the day before when the committee ‘purportedly’ was presented the case against Haley.

It was obvious from the beginning of the hearing that the fix was in to exonerate Haley. The accuser, attorney and Republican fundraiser John Rainey was never called to testify. The ‘presenter’ of the case, an attorney hired by the House for the event, never called an accusing witness.

All witnesses called in the hearing were done so to make sure Haley got off on all charges.

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Truth Be Damned: Palin Revives 'Death Panels' Claim

Sarah Palin Revives ‘Death Panels’ Claim

Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008, revived her outrageous claim that President Barack Obama’s health-care law, the Affordable Care Act, includes a provision for “death panels.”

Palin made the comment in a Facebook post on Tuesday in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the health-care law. Palin first uttered her “death panels” claim after the Obama administration made its proposal for comprehensive health care in 2009.

“Though I was called a liar for calling it like it is,” Palin said in her post, “many of these accusers finally saw that Obamacare did in fact create a panel of faceless bureaucrats who have the power to make life and death decisions about health care funding”

Palin was indeed called a “liar” three years ago because what she said was as maliciously reckless as it was maliciously false. The fact-checking Web site, PolitiFact.com, later recognized Palin’s “death panels” statement as its lie of the year.

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Questions for Tom Rice

Questions Submitted for Tom Rice

We voted for Tommy Rice’s new best friend Nikki Haley two years ago and a lot of us chumps are not too happy with how that turned out…So, before we make the same mistake again, we first want to ask attorney Tom Rice here a few questions before we give him our vote.

By the way, did Tom or anybody else tell the gov why this is called “the Independent Republic of Horry?” Didn’t think so or she wouldn’t have been here yesterday. People don’t like to be told what to do here as the defaced campaign signs from two years ago demonstrated at the campaign stops.

Mr. Rice, a lot of questions folks wanted answers to questions that didn’t get asked of you at the debate the Myrtle Beach Chamber put on. Maybe that’s ‘cause the two TV stations which did the debate are both on the board of the Chamber. And maybe not.

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