***Palmetto Morning Presented by Jim Dyke & Associates***
THIS FIRST — END IN SIGHT — “Today could be decision day for a House subcommittee considering an impeachment resolution against Gov. Mark Sanford. Rep. Jim Harrison, chairman of the subcommittee, said he expects the panel to wrap up its work today when it looks at two trips Sanford took to Argentina. If the subcommittee votes against sending the resolution to the full House Judiciary Committee, it could turn its attention to a resolution to censure Sanford. Harrison, who said he hasn’t made up his mind whether leaving the state for five days is an impeachable offense, filed the censure resolution on Tuesday. ‘I wanted to have it there in case this doesn’t move forward,’ said Harrison, R-Columbia. ‘This is another remedy.’” (Spartanburg Herald-Journal)
REMEMBRANCE — Today is Pearl Harbor Day
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Senators Susan Collins (ME) and Thad Cochran (MS) are joined by Larry Bird.
***GOT AN EVENT, STORY, TIP OR ANYTHING ELSE ON YOUR MIND YOU WANT INCLUDED IN PALMETTO MORNING? CLICK HERE AND TELL US ABOUT IT***
NATIONAL LENS — “The Obama administration, buoyed by a resurgent Wall Street, plans to CUT the projected long-term cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program by more than $200 billion, in a move that could smooth the way for the introduction of a new jobs program,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The White House and leaders in Congress are debating whether to use any of the remaining TARP funds for other domestic efforts, such as a jobs bill. Congress authorized $700 billion for the program during the height of the financial crisis. … Lower-than-expected TARP losses could help the White House tap remaining funds for a jobs program because the revised estimates will help bring down the projected federal budget deficit since the White House will be able to assume less spending associated with the program. President Barack Obama is expected to raise the idea of using repaid TARP funds for a jobs bill in a speech he plans to give on Tuesday. On Friday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged that repaid bailout money is ‘certainly being looked at’ for a jobs bill.”
FIELD OF SLEUTHS — “The candidates for governor of South Carolina are convinced someone is scouring public records and delving into their pasts, looking for dirt. And they’re right. Who’s doing it? Their opponents,” writes The State’s Leroy Chapman this weekend. “Attorney General Henry McMaster of Columbia and state Rep. Nikki Haley of Lexington, both Republicans, said they are not spending money on opposition research. Democratic candidate Dwight Drake, a Columbia lawyer, also said he is not spending money on opposition research. U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett of Westminster and Bauer, both Republicans, and Democrat Mullins McLeod of Charleston said they are investigating their opponents’ records. Democrat Jim Rex of Fairfield County would not answer. His spokesman, Zeke Stokes, said the campaign does not publicly discuss internal strategy. The campaign for state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Camden Democrat, also did not provide a response. Lachlan McIntosh, McLeod’s spokesman, said McLeod’s campaign will be reviewing other candidates’ voting records and lobbying clients. ‘Voters have the right to know where the candidates have stood on important issues and what kind of legislation they have been paid to influence,’ McIntosh said, an obvious reference to Drake, formerly a highly paid lobbyist. Rob Godfrey, McMaster’s spokesman, equated the McMaster campaign’s plan not to use opposition research to running ‘a positive campaign.’ He said Barrett and Bauer, on the other hand, ‘have both hired campaign advisers who are known for their work as opposition researchers.’”
DAYBOOK — While the House weighs Governor Sanford’s fate, he will be in Spartanburg to speak to the First Monday Club at Yannis restaurant, 2600 E. Main St. Lunch at 11:30 a.m.
***SIGN UP NOW TO HAVE PALMETTO MORNING DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX EACH MORNING***
THROUGH ALL OF THE ISLANDS AND ALL OF THE HIGHLANDS — “It has been a little more than five months since South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to an extramarital affair involving a secretive, seven-day trip to Argentina. Local legislators say it will also take time to see if a change in his style of governing has been made following the scandal,” reports the Orangeburg Times & Democrat. District 90 Rep. Bakari Sellers said, “‘In my 3-1/2 years of serving so far, I have had the opportunity to speak to the governor on a number of occasions, and he’s always been a very nice individual who always appeared to care and move the state forward. We just differed vastly on the way to do that.’ … District 95 Rep. Jerry Govan, whose district is in Orangeburg County, said the governor appears to be more focused, particularly in the area of economic development. ‘It takes a team effort … and even though he didn’t do it by himself, I think it would be remiss not to give him some of the credit in terms of helping Boeing come to South Carolina,’ said Govan. … District 39 Sen. John Matthews … said he has yet to see any major differences in the governor’s attitude since his affair was discovered in June. ‘I have not noticed any specific changes. We have not had that much interaction except over the phone. We have not discussed any statewide public policies,’ he said, noting that his political observation of the governor could be best described as ‘nonexistent.’”
VIEWPOINT — GETTING IT — James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and Chairman of News Corp. in Europe and Asia writes in the Washington Post, “Conservatives have a robust tradition of principled concern for the environment. It was, after all, Teddy Roosevelt who created five national parks and signed the Antiquities Act. It was Richard Nixon who established the Environmental Protection Agency, and George H.W. Bush who ushered in one of the greatest environmental success stories, the 1990 cap-and-trade plan to take on acid rain. … Through market-based incentives we can achieve clean energy at the lowest cost and with the strongest incentives for innovation — ensuring that the energy solution will help, not harm, the economy. Republicans such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) get this and are working across party lines to build support for new legislation. Previously conservation-minded conservatives are missing in the heated partisanship of today’s politics. It’s time they found their voice again.”
‘AS GAME AS OUR ROOSTERS’ — “As the law cracks down on what has been a longstanding but underground practice in South Carolina, gamecock breeders are speaking up,” reports The State. “They criticize the grand jury probe [which recently indicted 21 people for felony animal fighting and illegal gambling at sites in Williamsburg and Lexington counties] and state arrests and say the government should be spending its time and money going after real criminals – not them. ‘We will fight them tooth and nail in the legislature and in the courts – we’re as game as our roosters,’ said Ken Richardson, 44, of Edgefield, secretary of the 700-member S.C. Gamefowl Breeders Association. The breeders say the U.S. attorney’s office has subpoenaed its membership list. Gamefowl Association vice president Jimmy Collins of Spartanburg, along with others in the state’s little-known gamecock fighting subculture, say their activity is a sport with ancient roots and have refused to cooperate with the ongoing federal grand jury investigation.”
A BREWING SCANDAL? — “An attorney for one of four city police officers who resigned amid a federal civil rights investigation of Greenville police treatment of the homeless said he expects the U.S. Justice Department to file charges within two to three months in what he described as an investigation that is ‘grasping at straws,’” according to the Greenville News. “Defense attorney Ryan Beasley said the investigation led by Washington officials has included rumors about whether city police officers roughed up or urinated on homeless people, and he has seen no evidence of either allegation, only ‘nitpicky, minor things.’ He … said the officers were arresting homeless people on charges including public drunkenness as part of a periodic roundup of the homeless downtown ordered by police department superiors. Police Chief Terri Wilfong said city police didn’t conduct homeless sweeps but did respond to areas where they identified pockets of crime and had received reports of strong-arm panhandling and women being accosted downtown. Beasley said that, as a part of the homeless operation, police officers were operating undercover and were instructed to ‘come up with something’ such as panhandling or public drunkenness charges as part of a regular sweep of downtown.”
VIEWPOINT II — BUFFALO HUNTING — “In the past, economic development was often compared to big-game hunting – buffalo hunting to be exact. Just recently, South Carolina landed a major buffalo when Boeing broke ground on a new facility in North Charleston, promising 3,800 jobs,” writes Buddy Bateman, president of the South Carolina Economic Developers Association in The State. “These projects are important, but the days are gone when we lived on big-game hunting as our only hope. … To be successful in economic development – to create jobs and raise income levels – we must develop and implement a strategy that is well-balanced and comprehensive. … As we look at a broader, more strategic approach, it makes sense to focus on a short list of industries that South Carolina has the greatest chance of attracting: traditional manufacturing and distribution, investment-intensive manufacturing, high tech/high wage, and corporate headquarters.”
CHARLESTON — Harlem program inspires concept for local proposal
BEAUFORT — Celebrating the traditions of a very Gullah Christmas
GREER — Job seekers get new resource in Greer
CLEMSON — Barker marks decade with Clemson
ANDERSON — Military serviceman and his wife would like clothes for their children
BRING IT ON — Tom Swatzel, Chairman of the Georgetown County Republican Party, doesn’t mince words: “Tax increases, whether on a local, state, or national level, are the last thing we need in the face of a severe economic recession. If … liberal Democrats want to run for office next year under the banner of ‘we’ll increase your taxes,’ please bring it on.” (Sun-News)
FINALLY THIS — “An inmate who escaped earlier this morning in North Charleston is back in custody,” reports the SC Radio Network. “Michael Jones, an inmate of the minimum security Coastal Pre-Release Center in North Charleston, was apprehended by Corrections investigators shortly after noon at the Genesis Hair Salon on Johns Island. Jones, who works at the salon, was supposed to have reported to work this morning about 9 a.m. but went missing when the salon’s owner stopped at a Burger King restaurant en route to the salon. An escape charge against Jones is pending.”
THAT’S IT FOR THIS MORNING – STAY TUNED ON TWITTER OR FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES THAT JUST CAN’T WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW. HAVE A GOOD ONE!
You must log in to post a comment.