The Opinion Blog

Austin Tice update

Remember Austin Tice, the McClatchy journalist who went missing in Syria? I posted a wonderful essay by him last week about why he does what he does. Looks like he's been taken captive by the Syrian government. 

Czech ambassador to Syria Eva Filipi said of Tice that “our sources report that he is alive and that he was detained by government forces on the outskirts of Damascus, where the rebels were fighting government troops.”

Clint at the RNC

See this last night? Any reaction to Clint? He's getting mocked a bit this morning (though I doubt he cares). What'd you think?

 

Reply in Poor Taste, but not Racist

Friday’s first editorial offers a measured defense of Rep. Alan Clemmons and his recent racist email reply flap. No, we don’t think it was acceptable. But it’s out of character for Clemmons and we believe it to be a forgivable hasty mistake:

Yes, Myrtle Beach Rep. Alan Clemmons was wrong to respond “Amen” to a racially charged email from a constituent, but one ill-advised response doesn’t make him a racist.

Step 1 in Ethics Reform: More Ethics Funding

Friday’s second editorial urges more funding for ethics if state leaders are serious about making the issue a priority this coming year:

Gov. Nikki Haley has declared this coming legislative session “the year of ethics reform” in South Carolina, and she’s certainly not alone in her goal of strengthening the state’s lax ethics laws (or the first). Legislative leaders from both sides have also declared their intention of moving forward with an overhaul, as have a number of special interest and policy groups. It’s a good year, it seems, for trying to be good.

What’s one way that these reform-talking state leaders could show they’re serious about more enforcement and stiffer rules on issues such as income disclosure and conflict of interest recusals? They could start by better funding the office charged with investigating such offenses.

FRIDAY OPEN FORUM

Be civil or I'm banning the lot of you. And enjoy.

And you thought 2012 was ugly

Always good to have some historical perspective. From Dick Polman up in Philadelphia:

The Founding Fathers actually wrote the book on how to brawl in the streets. In the words of historian Edward Larson, “They could write like angels and scheme like demons.” Consider the campaign of 1800 — when, for the first time, two political parties skirmished for presidential power.

 Thomas Jefferson looks noble on the nickel in your pocket, but back in the day, he hired hatchet men to do his dirty work. As the challenger in 1800, his goal was to topple the incumbent. His critique of President John Adams included the accusation that he was “a hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.”

... Adams also did his business through surrogates. Jefferson was described as “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father … raised wholly on hoe-cake (made of coarse-ground Southern corn), bacon, and hominy, with an occasional change of fricasseed bullfrog. …”

More here.

Where the money goes

The state's comptroller general just released his annual year-end report on the state's budgeting (the fiscal year ended June 30). Included in his report (available here), is a breakdown of spending by state agencies. If we can at least partly judge our state's priorities by how much money we dedicate to different causes, it makes for an interesting glance at what we hold dear in South Carolina.

Top of the list, costing the state nearly $2.1 billion of its about $5.7 billion in general fund expenditures, was education. After that, at $944 million is health care. The numbers trail off sharply from there. Intriguingly, all the way down near the bottom of the list is the State Ethics Commission, which was authorized to spend $262,000 in this coming year, or as Gov. Nikki Haley recently called it, "the year of ethics reform." Only ETV and the procurement review panel received less money. Guess that shows how serious we really are about this whole ethics thing.

Back in the saddle

Back from a long weekend. Always nice to return to multiple emails from blog posters complaining about each other (Seriously guys, just try ignoring the people you don't like). 

Couple of stories from the past few days caught my eye off the bat. First, any reaction to the story about Alan Clemmons and the racial email? Perhaps a tempest in a teapot as it's somewhat understandable for a politician to act nice to any constituent, especially when they're agreeing with you. But still, a regrettable lapse of judgment and taste on Clemmons part, in my opinion.

Second, it seems that after being fairly low-key about her female, minority status during her campaign, Gov. Nikki Haley is now embracing it and stepping into a key role in encouraging more minority voters to lean GOP. Strange turnaround? Or merely an understandable change in tone based on venue? It makes sense that she may want to play that down during a campaign, as it might not help in South Carolina and she'd rather be elected on her merits than her gender or race. But it's also something to be celebrated after the fact. So is this actually that surprising? Perhaps not.

THURSDAY OPEN FORUM

Be civil and enjoy.

WEDNESDAY OPEN FORUM

Be civil and enjoy.