Brett Banter

Watch WSPA's Scene on 7 tonight as Brett's own John Boyanoski discusses the recent spate of pardons for famous dead people. With state budgets being slashed, why are politicians wasting time and money to review cases of the dead.

And these events aren't really trying to wrong egregious sins of the past. These are not cases of pardoning an innocent man of murder because of mishandled evidence. This is showboating. Florida just pardoned rock singer Jim Morrison of public indecency charges stemming from a 1969 concert. The state's governor Charlie Crist called it a "blot" on the record of an artist for something he may or may not have done. Um, really? This is Jim Morrison of the Doors. This will not change his legacy one bit.

The legacy it changes is those of the lawmakers. There are three ways politicians get noticed: By being brilliant. By being idiots. Or by being showy. The last is the easiest to pull off. Crist's name will now forever be tied to Morrison's bios. He gets to live on.

It's smart politics, bad governing.

So who should South Carolina politicians pardon to make a name for themselves? Does James Brown have some old charges in Aiken to be absolved? Maybe a parking ticket for Shoeless Joe Jackson in Greenville?