The Truth is Out There.

No, I wasn’t looking for something to show that I’m secretly excited about the new X Files movie opening on July 25. It’s just that the show’s tagline fit here.

SC Hotline brought a new blog to my attention today. It’s called the “Carolina Truth Coalition.” While there’s nothing suspicious (Note: Sarcasm) about a site like this popping up a week before a primary with a bunch of contested races, I kinda like what they’re doing.

Their mission or “About Us” page says:

The Carolina Truth Coalition represents a fresh voice in the hall of political participation.

We believe in free speech. We believe that your right to it means you can speak as loudly or as softly as you want. That’s all a part of what makes speech free.

We also believe that truth isn’t always concrete. In fact, there are other groups out there that CLAIM they advocate truth, when they won’t tell you about the bloggers on their payroll, that they have clients out there who only advocate so-called campaign finance to protect their elected positions.

Their brand of “free speech” isn’t free, and their brand of “truth” isn’t true. We’re watching to provide another side to the story.

We’re tearing down the 4th wall so you can see what’s really happening in South Carolina’s political world.

Now all of us here have thumped our chests in defense of free speech — well everybody except Mary Claire. She’d hurt herself if she did it if you know what I mean, but the free speech idea is important around here. It’s what allows us to write what we want and you to read what we write or go to another blog more along your taste.

Anyway, while their free speech philosophy was one thing I liked about them, the other is that they’re calling Bravo Sierra on claims about various campaigns, third party groups, advertising, and media reports.

Hopefully, the “Carolina Truth Coalition” will stick around for a while and not fizzle out after the primary. I guarantee there will be some garbage pulled during the general election, and there are a bunch of opportunities to call out elected officials in this state on almost a daily basis.

Some of the things this “coalition” reported on in its first week were:

• The B.R. Skelton video calling voters “dumb@$$es” which I thought was especially funny considering some of the things we’ve given him a hard time for here (like increasing the state’s gas tax by a nickel per gallon or introducing a bill to legalize ticket scalping).
• Challenging B.R. Skelton’s mailer claiming that his challenger was controlled by special interest money even though Skelton’s ethics reports show 90% special interest contributions.
• Offering visual proof that a recent article in the Spartanburg newspaper made false claims as an associate justice on the South Carolina Supreme Court said that he was being used in a mailpiece because of his race when the mailer itself has no picture of the justice or mention of the justice’s skin color.
• Questioning one candidate’s endorsement while pulling back the curtain to explain several others.

Good for these guys. They claim that there are other “truth” groups working who are less than truthful and that they plan to call out those groups when they try to pull a fast one.

Like I said, I like what they’re doing, and I hope they stick around for a while.

– Bo Burdette