Brett Banter

Yet many remain vehement that the flag is a symbol of racism and want its removal entirely, including the NAACP, who has maintained a long-standing boycott of South Carolina as a result.

When gubernatorial candidate Mullins McLeod announced this week that he believes the Confederate flag should be permanently removed altogether from the Capitol grounds, angry hornets from both sides started buzzing again. While the Confederate flag issue is a tense one, it for the most part has remained dormant for the last nine years. McLeod maintains that flying the flag is a detriment to state economy and will ultimately hurt jobs and economic growth.

With our ear to the ground when it comes to South Carolina politics, we have noticed in the last day or two just how fervid the argument over the flag is. While certainly a legitimate argument with many people's feelings deserving to be taken into consideration, it also made us think about what this persistent issue is doing to South Carolina politics.

Regardless of whether or not you think the flag should go or stay, regardless of whether or not you agree with McLeod that the flag hurts our economy, we would be remiss not to point out the zealous and angry discord the issue is allowing to continue...and drag on...and on.... The issue has created a serious crack in our politics, our political parties and our people, and each time it resurfaces we open those old wounds. Our point? Sure, it's a heated issue and a very personal one for many people. But we need to work together to heal this fissure. It's bad for our state, it pollutes our political climate and it pits our people against one another.

As a state that is already perceived by much of the nation as floundering in a fishbowl of political quandaries, we need to band together, not allow issues to sever our political parties.

More insights and info into the Confederate flag issue:
FITSNEWS
The Rock Hill Herald
The Greenville News

According to the Goddard post, Plouffe writes in the book that Obama's response to Edwards "was quick and firm: he would cut no deals."

An endorsement, including any bestowed by a former candidate who has bowed out of a race, can provide a powerful channel to help shape a public persona and political identity for a candidate, not to mention influence voting behavior. Many, if not most voters, rarely follow candidates closely enough to have more than just a passing familiarity with their political ideologies, and thus often turn to non-political cues such as endorsements to ultimately make voting decisions.

At the time when Edwards apparently courted the Obama campaign, news had not yet leaked of his now infamous dalliance and affair with Rielle Hunter that for any foreseeable amount of time has cost him his political future, dragged his reputation through the mud, and made him the laughingstock of late-night comics.

Looking back, we bet Obama is glad this is one deal he didn't make.

As we begin digging tooth and nail into the heat of the 2010 election, South Carolina candidates no doubt long ago began seeking the constituent rapport, image-boosting press coverage and essential political endorsements that are so synonymous with crafting a solid public image. It's no secret that to get elected, you have to be liked... by a lot of people.

Senator Larry Grooms, a Republican candidate for Governor, has until recently been trailing behind in the Republican primary, particularly in regards to fundraising. Two of his opponents, Henry McMaster and Gresham Barrett, already hold notably prominent positions in the state Attorney General's Office and in U.S. Congress, respectively.

But Grooms might already see the tide shifting considerably in his favor thanks to his role in a recent deal with Denmark-based Maersk.

Back in 2008, Maersk, a shipping line located in Charleston, announced its intentions to pull its business from the state because of failing efforts to renegotiate a deal with port labor unions. Grooms got involved in the Maersk deal, hosting meetings not only in his offices but also in his home down in Charleston. Grooms co-authored a port restructuring bill, the passage of which played a pivotal role in convincing Maersk that remaining in Charleston would be financially sound. On October 22, 2009, Maersk announced it would not leave but rather enter into a revised contract with the State Ports Authority through 2014.

If Grooms can capitalize on this recent profile boost and his role in aiding South Carolina's economy, he can truly lionize his place in the Republican primary for Governor. He needs to have viral links to articles spotlighting his involvement making the internet rounds; he needs supporters writing letters to the editor on his behalf; he needs laud and congratulations circulating all over Twitter and other social media. Grooms truly needs to get the word out about his involvement in the deal, especially to his constituents. And while some people eat up South Carolina politics each and every day, the majority don't... and as a result probably don't even know about Grooms' involvement. PR opportunities offer a limited window of maximization opportunity, and now is his time.

SCHotline Blog's Michael S. Smith II wrote an in-depth piece on the subject that is a must read; view the article here.

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Make a cigarette tax increase happen

For the past nine years, legislation to increase the state cigarette tax has come before the South Carolina General Assembly that would financially boost Medicaid by providing health-care coverage for many of our state's poorest residents and also pay for smoking prevention programs. And for the past nine years, that legislation has failed to become law.

It would seem reasonable to assume that a bill which would be so valuable to our state's health should be a legislative no-brainer. Not only would disadvantaged South Carolinians get health-care coverage, but smokers would hopefully be encouraged to give up the habit, and others would be dissuaded from ever starting. But year after year, a number of bumps in the road continue to prevent our state's neediest citizens from getting the Medicaid assistance many of them literally cannot live without.

In 2008 it appeared South Carolina would join the legion of other states, as well as the District of Columbia, that have increased cigarette taxes. The House and Senate passed legislation to increase the then 7-cent tax to a reasonable 50-cent tax, which would still be the lowest rate of taxation on cigarettes in the nation, only to have the bill vetoed by Gov. Mark Sanford, who held tight to his no-new-taxes stance.

During this year's legislative session, cigarette tax bills once again came to the floor of both chambers and once again were not passed, this time due to a battle over different versions. The House version would have offered maximum tax credits of $3,000 to people making up to $21,000 annually.

The Senate version of the legislation argued that the House plan would only create unnecessary bureaucratic and overhead costs by distributing the money on an individual basis. The Senate's alternative lobbied instead for the tax money to go straight into expansion of Medicaid programs, which would additionally have procured the state $3 in matching federal funds for every Medicaid dollar spent. At the close of the 2009 South Carolina legislative session, the battle over the expenditure of the proceeds was still undecided, shutting the door once again on a new state cigarette tax.

According to a recent Families USA research study, 670 people a week lose their health-care coverage in South Carolina. Yet we still have the lowest cigarette tax of any state in the nation and rank last among states in funding smoking prevention programs.
Our House and Senate seem to have reached a general consensus that it's time to raise the cigarette tax, because the issue continues to come up year after year. Now it's just a matter of untangling the web of disagreement between members of the General Assembly and the governor so we can get the job done in 2010.

Call or write your legislator and let them know your thoughts on the cigarette tax bill. To find your legislator, visit http://www.scstatehouse.gov/ and click “Find Your Legislator” in the left-hand column.