The Opinion Blog

Harbor Funds Should Go to Harbors

Should federal money collected for harbor maintenance be used to pay for harbor maintenance? We sure think so:

As much as pundits and politicians might like to say otherwise, there is almost nothing clear-cut or straightforward about our nation’s spending problems. Managing a nation of more than 300 million people with a federal budget now approaching $4 trillion a year is a monumental task of nuance, judgment calls and hard decisions.

But sometimes the intent of government budgeting seems so heart-breakingly simple that it’s just all the more frustrating when that intent is ignored.

Congratulations, Tim and Tom; Now Let's Get a Plan

Tuesday’s editorial has some appreciation for the words of our newest congressman and urges those leaders in D.C. to get a national gameplan in place and then follow through on it.

There’s nothing like starting your job smack dab in the middle of a crisis. New U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, and new U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-North Charleston, took their oaths on Thursday as the nation they seek to help lead struggles through a particularly nasty patch of partisan bickering and stonewalling.

Governing has taken a back seat to mud-slinging and shouting. Rather than work together to improve the United States, Congress has settled for lurching from crisis to crisis, barely averting each fresh disaster just days or hours before it happens. What a reality to encounter on your first day on the job.

Meet the New Leaders, a Lot Like the Old Ones

Friday’s editorial isn’t so much a stance on an issue as just an observation about how the faces of our leadership seem to stay the same from year to year:

It’s been quite a year of change for Horry County leadership. Or has it? What’s striking is how little things might have actually changed.

To quickly sum up the most notable moves among our top brass:

Haley Thinking Ahead on DeMint's Seat

Thursday’s editorial applauds the governor’s intention to appoint more than a pretty face and a seat filler in DeMint’s place:

Sen. Jim DeMint’s surprise resignation last week instantly put plenty of pressure on Gov. Nikki Haley, who will appoint his immediate successor until an election is held in 2014.

Haley has responded well thus far, particularly with her announcement that she would not be appointing a placeholder, somebody to simply fill the seat for two years until the election.

Ditch the Pledges

Friday’s first editorial urges our politicians to stop signing those silly pledges:

Call us old fashioned, but we like political leaders who can make their own decisions.

Accordingly, we’ve never been a fan of political pledges such as the anti-tax promise promulgated by Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform. It’s not that we’re a fan of taxes. If our leaders can figure out how to pay for our government work without raising taxes, bully for them. But that simply won’t be the case from here until eternity, all day every day. Populations change. The economy changes. Needs change.

Congratulations; Now Get to Work

So much for the campaign. Now it’s time to actually get some work done, as Thursday’s editorial says:

The ballots are in, the votes have been counted (and in Carolina Forest they’re being recounted), the victory and concession speeches have been given, and residents and politicians alike are breathing sighs of relief as we return to our normal lives after yet another divisive political season. But if you’re one of those elected, now comes the hard part.

Rice for U.S. House

Saturday’s editorial shares our recommendation for who should be the first representative from our new 7^th Congressional District:

Color us frustrated, exasperated and disappointed.

After having high hopes for Democrat Gloria Bromell Tinubu, who has many of the qualities necessary to succeed in Congress, her recent behavior has revealed enough of her character to sour us on her campaign.

Why We Recommend

Why do we even bother to share our thoughts on the upcoming election? Sunday’s editorial attempts to explain:

Over the coming week, The Sun News editorial board will be sharing our analyses, and our recommendations, of the candidates running for local, state and federal offices in the Nov. 6 election.

We do not call these pieces “endorsements;” nor do we think of them as such. An endorsement, in our view, is an exhortation that you vote for a particular candidate, and that’s not what we’re doing.

We simply want you to have as much information about these races as possible as you go to the polls. In these pieces, we will describe our impressions and critiques of these candidates in a way that the journalists who write in our news pages will not. (Rest assured, as always, that the two functions of newsgathering and opinion writing are separate at The Sun News.)

Victory at the Hotel Pools

Tuesday’s editorial:

News last week that Congress had finally acted to scrap the absurd regulation barring temporary pool enclosures in floodplains was an all too rare example of common sense at last winning out over one-size-fits-all federal regulations. And while the change comes only after some local hotels forked out tens of thousands of dollars to comply with the rules, the belated fix is welcome nonetheless.

Tinubu in the Democratic Primary

Today, our thoughts on the Democratic side of the congressional race:

If Preston Brittain is trying to cast himself as the “new generation” of politics, he’s doing a pretty good job of looking like the old generation.

Brittain, the presumptive Democratic front-runner in the 7th Congressional District race – at least since Rep. Ted Vick’s campaign imploded last month – has racked up an impressive stack of endorsements. Congressmen, state leaders and local Democratic movers and shakers have all lined up behind him. Perhaps they know something we don’t, but we just can’t bring ourselves to do the same.

After interviewing three of the four candidates remaining in the race – Harry Pavilack did not respond to requests for an interview – The Sun News was most impressed with the candidacy of CCU professor Gloria Bromell Tinubu.