Following the South Carolina blogs before we started this little project, I couldn’t help notice that Blogger A would frequently charge Blogger B with shilling for Consultant X. One thing I didn’t pay attention to was that the (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal was a mouthpiece for the Spartanburg GOP Chairman and its legislative delegation.
Then, I read Sunday’s article.
The article was titled, “Groups seek to shape Legislature” but probably should have been called “It’s not nice to pick on incumbents, and people shouldn’t have a voice in politics.”
This was an article filled with speculation – not news or facts. Frankly, it had about as much opinion as any political blog post, and it was easy to spot what triggered the paper to write the article.
Someone somewhere conducted surveys in Spartanburg County legislative districts.
Who conducted the polls?
Well, according to the article, it MIGHT have been the SC Club for Growth. It COULD have been South Carolinians for Responsible Government. MAYBE it was ReformSC. It’s POSSIBLE that Conservatives in Action was behind it. How about GOVERNOR SANFORD?
Me? I think it was Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick
The truth of the matter is that nobody knows who was responsible, but to a handful of consultants with candidates in districts where someone conducted polls and to the county party’s chairman, it was and is a big deal.
Someone or a group of someones decided to test voters’ thoughts and feelings. They added sensitive issues to questions to see where strengths and weaknesses were. They wanted to see what mattered and to whom.
Of course to the state’s consulting machine and the county’s party boss, it meant that someone was messing with their income and their way of life.
I always thought that in a representative government like ours, it was our duty to practice advanced citizenship. I’m not talking about that garbage they force you to swallow in elementary school about being nice to everyone. I’m talking about really getting involved.
It’s more than taking a few minutes out of your day to vote every now and then (which not enough people do anyway).
It means that as an American and as a South Carolinian, you should know what your leaders think and feel. You should know if they represent you. You should know if what they do in office is what they said they would do in the slickly designed campaign pamphlet somebody shoved in your door when you weren’t home.
The disturbing thing is that Spartanburg’s NEWSpaper actually condoned the line of thought coming from the party and consultants. Its editors sanctioned and published an article that seemed to include few facts except that someone ran polls.
One consultant accidentally made sense among those quoted in the piece. He said that there are “as many people recruiting candidates, and as many agendas, as you can count.”
What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that what we want? Don’t we want South Carolina’s best in public office? Don’t we want to elect people who believe like we do so that our thoughts and feelings are represented at City Hall, County Council, the Statehouse, or Congress?
Apparently the Spartanburg newspaper doesn’t agree, and neither does Spartanburg’s Republican chairman. It seems that in their minds the status quo should not be challenged. If you want to run for office you must ask permission or sit on the sidelines and wait for an opening.
Personally, I think somebody needs to go back to high school and retake a civics class.
– Wilson Charles
As the Herald-Journal blasts suspected groups for conducting a poll to figure out what gets people to the polls, I just had to thank Fox News for sharing a story about a man who loved both the polls and the pole.
