A Big Blanking Deal

By Richard L. Wolfe

With the election of Tim Scott to represent the first district and Nikki Haley as the state’s first female governor, South Carolina has signaled the beginning of the end for the good ole boys club and business as usual in the nation’s premier state. I can hear my liberal friends crying foul and reminding me that the election is not until November. Well that is just a formality ladies and gentlemen, just a formality. Think of it this way; everything is faster these days and I am determined to get the jump on the networks. Speaking of the networks, I will have to watch the returns on MSNBC. It will be great theater to watch them go through the political equivalent of a root canal as they are forced to watch and call race after race for the Republicans. It will be similar to Bobby Thompson’s “shot heard around the world”, only in reverse, when the 39^th seat in the House is won by a Republican and it becomes reality that the House of Representatives is now in Republican control. But instead of shamelessly savoring the moment that Chris Matthews loses the tingle in his leg, I should get on with the point and purpose of this column.

The election and inauguration of Barrack Obama as the first Black President of the United States of America was a benchmark event. It was one of those rare moments when we knew that something of a solemn, profound, and historical significance was happening in our lifetime. There are no words to adequately describe the thoughts and emotions of millions of African-Americans who witnessed the impossible manifest itself right before their eyes. The inauguration was splendid. Other than a few of the usual suspects, the MSM conducted itself with a dignity and respect for the event that unfortunately has become a rare occurrence in these contentious times. I thought that they captured the mood, tenor, and overall magnificence of the proceedings in a manner that was worthy of praise. They should have; because to paraphrase and edit Vice President Biden’s infamous words, “This really was a big blanking deal.” 

This sets up my point about the historical and transformative event that the Scott and Haley victories will signify. Tim Scott will not be the first Black Representative from S.C. since Reconstruction. That honor goes to Jim Clyburn from the sixth district. He will, however, be the first Black Representative from a non-Black majority district to be elected since Reconstruction. To Tim’s credit, when he talks about representing his district he will be talking about all of the people of the first district, not just the oppressed minorities. I know Tim personally and I can vouch for his honesty and integrity because I have not only seen and heard it, I have experienced it.

I have never met Nikki Haley, but I listened to her answer questions of substance and was impressed by not only her answers, but also by the way she artfully dismissed the ugly rumors about her personal life. Let’s face it. She was the only gal in the gubernatorial race and she whipped her male competitors soundly. She sounds a lot like another gal that we all know and love. She faces a much tougher opponent in Vincent Sheehan. Other than being another tax and spend Democrat, he is a likeable, decent, intelligent, and hard working guy. Unfortunately for him, this is a year when we need to create private sector jobs instead of increasing the public dole.

So, how will the media handle this historical and transformative election? I suppose the national media will take notice and there will be a short buzz about how minorities and women were able to make inroads even in the South. Some will see it for what it is and acknowledge it as such, but most will just brush over it and say that these candidates were just part of the Republican tsunami that swept over America in 2010. I do not believe that most of them are prepared to deal with the reality of the changes that are taking place in South Carolina. But who really cares what they think? After all, they are as responsible as anyone for the Obamanation that we are currently trying to recover from.

What I am more interested in is the state and local media’s treatment of this election. For decades they have written and profited from painting S.C. as a backward, racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, and intolerant place to live. Some of these charges have merit and some do not. When they are faced with the sudden reality that S.C. now has a Republican female Governor and a Black Republican Representative from the first District, how will they react? Will they be as gracious and supportive as they were divisive and accusatory, or will they treat these Conservatives the way the media treated Thomas and Palin? I hope they choose the former because in reality this is a big blanking deal!        

The election and inauguration of Barrack Obama as the first Black President of the United States of America was a benchmark event. It was one of those rare moments when we knew that something of a solemn, profound, and historical significance was happening in our lifetime. There are no words to adequately describe the thoughts and emotions of millions of African-Americans who witnessed the impossible manifest itself right before their eyes. The inauguration was splendid. Other than a few of the usual suspects, the MSM conducted itself with a dignity and respect for the event that unfortunately has become a rare occurrence in these contentious times. I thought that they captured the mood, tenor, and overall magnificence of the proceedings in a manner that was worthy of praise. They should have; because to paraphrase and edit Vice President Biden’s infamous words, “This really was a big blanking deal.” 

This sets up my point about the historical and transformative event that the Scott and Haley victories will signify. Tim Scott will not be the first Black Representative from S.C. since Reconstruction. That honor goes to Jim Clyburn from the sixth district. He will, however, be the first Black Representative from a non-Black majority district to be elected since Reconstruction. To Tim’s credit, when he talks about representing his district he will be talking about all of the people of the first district, not just the oppressed minorities. I know Tim personally and I can vouch for his honesty and integrity because I have not only seen and heard it, I have experienced it.

I have never met Nikki Haley, but I listened to her answer questions of substance and was impressed by not only her answers, but also by the way she artfully dismissed the ugly rumors about her personal life. Let’s face it. She was the only gal in the gubernatorial race and she whipped her male competitors soundly. She sounds a lot like another gal that we all know and love. She faces a much tougher opponent in Vincent Sheehan. Other than being another tax and spend Democrat, he is a likeable, decent, intelligent, and hard working guy. Unfortunately for him, this is a year when we need to create private sector jobs instead of increasing the public dole.

So, how will the media handle this historical and transformative election? I suppose the national media will take notice and there will be a short buzz about how minorities and women were able to make inroads even in the South. Some will see it for what it is and acknowledge it as such, but most will just brush over it and say that these candidates were just part of the Republican tsunami that swept over America in 2010. I do not believe that most of them are prepared to deal with the reality of the changes that are taking place in South Carolina. But who really cares what they think? After all, they are as responsible as anyone for the Obamanation that we are currently trying to recover from.

What I am more interested in is the state and local media’s treatment of this election. For decades they have written and profited from painting S.C. as a backward, racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, and intolerant place to live. Some of these charges have merit and some do not. When they are faced with the sudden reality that S.C. now has a Republican female Governor and a Black Republican Representative from the first District, how will they react? Will they be as gracious and supportive as they were divisive and accusatory, or will they treat these Conservatives the way the media treated Thomas and Palin? I hope they choose the former because in reality this is a big blanking deal!