Waiting to Pounce

Wonder where your republican lawmakers are?  If Peter McCoy is your representative in the South Carolina State House, I have a good idea.

If you don't know Peter, he is that warm and fuzzy lawmaker whose issues page promises that "South Carolinians can count on Peter McCoy" to do any number of things, followed by no specific item or pledge.  How can you not like someone who you can "count on" to:  provide ethical leadership, improve infrastructure, grow jobs and the economy, protect taxpayers and ratepayers, continue enhancing our quality of life, and continue improving education?  Sign me up.

Actually, if you are a republican legislator in a safe district, the first thing you do is:  nothing.  Mark Sanford was a pro at this, until he got sideswiped by a simultaneous challenge from the right and a progressive Democrat taking advantage of a loophole that in the past had always worked to the republicans' advantage.

Lately, Peter McCoy has had no challengers.  In 2012, Carol Tempel gave him a run for his money, despite the fact that a bizarre rule kept her off the ballot as a Democrat and forced her to run as an Independent.  He was not expecting that to be a serious challenge.

During that 2012 campaign, while Tempel worked tirelessly to get her message out to the voters, McCoy was avoiding anything that might actually inform voters of his stand on the issues, including refusing to show up to a debate, thus becoming the other "empty chair" featured in that year's political extravaganza.

About the time the Post & Courier endorsed Carol, the McCoy gang decided it was time to bring out the big guns they had at the ready.  With more money in his campaign chest, and little need to spend it till the last few weeks of the campaign, McCoy began to litter mailboxes in the 115th with fliers claiming that Carol was the "most liberal" candidate ever, featuring the most unflattering photo of her that they could find and further doctor.

This isn't new.  Republicans here in SC will bring out all the fear-mongering tools at their disposal, starting and spreading rumors about their opponent being a "Nancy Pelosi liberal" when they can't find a skeleton in the closet.  Sadly, in SC this sometimes means a last minute whisper campaign about sexual preferences.  Right this very minute there is a smear campaign going on against a candidate for SC House District 15, featuring the bombastic musings (complete with mug shot) of FitsNews.  This is because, of course, they are unable to fight on the issues.  Because, of course, if they were honest about their stand on the issues, they would lose.

Let's take Peter McCoy, for example.

He has had one issue that he has been hanging his political hat on lately:  SCANA.  This ripoff of South Carolina ratepayers has put McCoy squarely on the side of... pretty much all utility ratepayers.  So he has been outspoken on where he stands, kind of like demanding the end to puppy abuse.  And he was also in the fortunate position of being a leader in the House legislature when this issue exploded.

But what about all those other things McCoy claims you "can count on" him fighting for?

Peter McCoy hasn't yet found a tax he wouldn't want to cut.  He is one of those folks who promises to cut your taxes and improve your... fill in the blank.  The secret is, that he stands by big business (he calls it "small business"), as the answer to pretty much everything.  You can "count on him" to privatize education, vote no to modernizing public transportation in the Lowcountry, and resist any regulation that his donors might oppose.  The result is an education system that continues to lag well behind the rest of the country, roads and public transportation that continue to worsen, and shameful and costly failures in infrastructure.

If Peter was around to debate these issues, he might blame local government.  Or he could, as Carol Tempel does, vow to work with local government to make these incredibly important changes happen.

And then there is Peter and the NRA.  He voted to allow guns in restaurants and bars a short couple of years ago.  He won't concern himself with the gun tragedies that happen on James Island, maybe because so many of his voters come from "safer" (read, "white") parts of town, conveniently gerrymandered (read, "hammered") into House District 115.  When it comes right down to it, McCoy will always vote with the NRA because he knows where the big money comes from.

And as long as we are on favors, let's talk about "counting on" Peter to provide ethical leadership.  It appears that McCoy's wife was easily appointed to a seat on the Circuit Court in Charleston County, leading to charges of nepotism.

In a surprising twist, Peter McCoy has come out in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.  McCoy has a more, shall we say progressive, attitude towards allowing medical marijuana than other knuckle-draggers on his side of the aisle because he has had personal experience with seeing his infant daughter suffering and learning of the relief that is available through cannabis.  To his credit, rather than hunting it down through illegal channels he has pursued legalizing the drug.  Not true for abortion, as I suppose he has never been the unfortunate who has had to face an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy.

McCoy will always support life until birth, and gun rights afterwards.

Now, rumors were swirling in the younger days of this never-ending Trump administration that Charleston's own Peter McCoy was being considered for a federal prosecutor appointment.  He had been a good Trump supporter until the cannabis thing.  But whether Jeff Sessions had a conniption over McCoy because of his own irrational obsession over marijuana, or somebody just told Trump that he might score more points by appointing a woman, McCoy continues to be stuck here in Charleston.

Laying low, until the final weeks of the campaign.

This is a strategy that rears its ugly head with the GOP because, frankly, it works.  We need to be aware and educated on this dirty trick.  Let your friends and neighbors know that Peter McCoy is not being forthcoming about his positions on issues, those votes that have not improved South Carolina and the Lowcountry in the years he has had the privilege of representing you.

And be aware, and make others aware, that while Peter presents himself as harmless and endearing, the people behind the money that feeds his campaign are not.  There are likely to be smears and just plain stupid insults, designed to create fear of voting for change.  Don't let it work this time.

South Carolina continues to hang onto the bottom of quality of life measures, and education continues to be underfunded.  As Carol would say, "Education=Jobs."  We are losing good teachers because they can earn a living wage in other states.  Our environment can be protected with adequate funds for infrastructure, and modern public transportation.

We need a state legislator that is honest and ethical.  Time to stop letting the GOP get away with playing games, like spreading innuendos and dirt, or hiding till October and then tossing a grenade at their opponents.

With just over three months to this election, it is time to spread the word, not just about the GOP dirty tricks, but about the good candidates that are running.  Carol Tempel is in this to improve and safeguard District 115, Charleston and the state of South Carolina, and she will be happy to talk to you about it.  She is not just asking you to trust her to do the right thing, she respects the people in her community enough to tell them what she plans to do when she gets to the State House.

Forced to run as an Independent in 2012, Carol came away with 31.9 percent of the vote.  I imagine the republican machine is working overtime to make sure they are armed and ready to fight her off again.  As Will Folks writes in FitsNews:  "There are one or two other competitive SC House races this November... so stay tuned for reports on those seats."  Reports, indeed.

Support her any way you can, because she is one of the great candidates that will actually work to make the changes that Peter McCoy will only make vague promises about.

Opposite Day at the GOP

We're all pretty accustomed to the flip-flops and distortions over at the GOP, but I think that of late they have surpassed Orwellian flights of fancy.

It was the anti-Obama ad where the Romney crew cut his words so that it sounded like, in 2008, he did not want to talk about the economy:

"...if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose..."

What is notable about this ad is that, instead of trying to dance around the fact, Romney himself basically said, "Yeah, we lied, so what?"

And that, folks, has been the modus operandi for the GOP ever since.

Every day is Opposite Day at the GOP.

Paul Ryan went on the road after the VP announcement condemning President Obama for trying to cut his mom's Medicare.  You know, those cuts he made to private insurers who had been gouging the government through subsidies for the Medicare Advantage supplemental health plan.  He assured us that it is the republican party that is going to save Medicare for his poor old mom.  You know, the snowbird that plays golf in Florida during the winter, just like our moms.  By the way, he also reassured us that, while grandma will be safe, the younger folk will be screwed.

While heads were spinning over that nonsense, the GOP was just warming up.  The GOP Convention, in fact, was a panoply of nuts and lies.

In the backrooms of the asylum is Ralph Reed, pockets full of gold and heart full of hate, preaching to his choir a plan for spending buckets of Supreme Court-approved anonymous cash to wipe out the evil Democrats in every election in every state.

Our own Nikki Haley bragged that it was because she stood up to Boeing that they offered to add jobs to their Union shop in Washington.

Of course, the big lie was the entire theme:  We Built It.  Each heart-warming story involved those hardscrabble Americans, from Chris Christie to Mitt, who all worked their way up from hardship.  With no help from the government???  Celebrating their hard-won success in a convention center that was built with government funding.  And that theme "We Built It" was, by the way, a misquote of Obama's, a clumsily stated tribute to those who built roads and bridges, the American system that fueled the success.

Mitt Romney nearly shed tears over how disappointed he is that Obama's plans to save the economy had failed, followed by Clint Eastwood blaming an empty chair that he mistook for Obama for things like the war in Afghanistan.  The combination of which finally caused Jon Stewart to go ballistic.  Good to know just how much bull it takes to put him over the edge.

For your sanity's sake, watch the whole segment.  Be sure to take away from it Jon's deduction that the republican view of reality exists because "...there is a President Obama that only Republicans can see...."

And if they really want to make the election about "invisible President Obama", he invites them to,

"Go ahead...Make my day."

At last, something about this election season I'll be looking forward to.