***Palmetto Morning Presented by Jim Dyke & Associates***
THIS FIRST — INSTINCTS — “Friends and foes of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer expressed shock and disappointment … over his comments about people on government assistance and ‘feeding stray animals,’ but how it all might play into his run for governor is uncertain,” The Greenville News reports. “Bauer said parents should be drug tested and required to attend PTA meetings to receive assistance. Bauer told The News on Saturday that he did not regret his comments at the town hall meeting but ‘maybe the stray animals wasn’t the best metaphor.’”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Former Senator Conrad Burns and GA political matriarch Joan Veazey
***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 — A BIRD IN THE HAND — “After three consecutive losses in statewide races, some top Democrats are questioning a tactic aimed at boosting the party’s candidates in each of those contests: Bush-bashing. Running as much against the Bush White House as he was running against Sen. John McCain, Barack Obama easily carried Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts in 2008. … ‘Voters are pretty tired of the blame game,’ said longtime Democratic strategist Steve Hildebrand, a top aide on Obama’s presidential campaign. ‘What a stupid strategy that was.’ Howard Wolfson, a senior official on Hillary Clinton’s campaign and veteran Democratic communications guru, noted that his party was able to run against Republican Herbert Hoover’s Depression-era presidency for 30 years. ‘That doesn’t seem to be the case here,’ he said.”
SUNDAY SHOW RECAP — The Obama administration tried Sunday to steady itself and its top domestic priority after last week’s stunning Massachusetts Senate upset … Sen. Jim DeMint, a leading opponent of the healthcare plan who last year declared that its defeat would be Obama’s Waterloo, said, ‘Massachusetts was a rejection of the president’s massive policies of spending and debt. The Republicans want to work with the Democrats on improving healthcare, focusing on jobs,’ DeMint said on ‘This Week.’ ‘But for this first year, the president really believed that he could steamroll the Republicans, not even have us in the same room, and in the process, he was steamrolling the American people, not listening to what they were saying.’”
CLARIFICATION — “U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint said today that he never wanted health care reform to be President Barack Obama’s ‘Waterloo.’ In an interview with GreenvilleOnline.com, DeMint said he was issuing a warning to the president last summer when he said, ‘If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.’”
***SIGN UP NOW TO HAVE PALMETTO MORNING DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX EACH MORNING***
SKINNY POCKETS — Although Governor Sanford is perpetually portrayed as “wealthy”, “a review of available public records by The Greenville News suggests a far different portrait. The only real property listed in just his name in the Lowcountry is a mobile home used for storage. His wife is listed as the owner of the family’s multimillion-dollar Sullivan’s Island home, and he shares an interest in the plantation and other Beaufort County land with family members.”
VIEWPOINT — CHANGE — Governor Sanford writes to Greenville News readers, “People rarely change unless they have to. Businesses change when they have to. Governments never change until they have to.”
COMPETING INTERESTS — “Robert Ford and Vincent Sheheen, two state senators, would seem to have little else in common. Sheheen, a young white Democrat from rural Kershaw County, is quiet, cerebral, reserved and politically conservative. Ford, a middle-aged black Democrat from urban Charleston County, is brash, unpredictable, extroverted and politically progressive. Sheheen, 37, has only attended integrated public schools in South Carolina. Ford, 61, went to jail more than 30 times fighting against segregation and for African-Americans to have equal rights. This year, the two men have something new in common – both want to become South Carolina’s next governor.”
GEARING UP — “In recent weeks, Latinos in South Carolina have gathered for food and conversation to discuss a strategy for immigration reform.”
VIEWPOINT II — COFFERS — Barbara Williams writes, “It’s not how much, but how little money Jim Rex has in his campaign coffer that has attracted attention. But the state superintendent of education says there’s no chance he’ll be the first of five Democratic candidates for governor to fall by the wayside”
WORTH WATCHING — Stu Rothenberg, prognosticator extraordinaire, notes Rep. Bob Inglis faces a challenge that has developed to a stage that makes him worth watching.
GREENVILLE — Chamber sets a bold agenda
AIKEN — Despite low pay, teachers reminded of importance
SPARTANBURG — To control costs, city cuts 9 jobs
BLUFFTON — VIM clinic seeks to expand
ORANGEBURG — Manufacturing plays key role in employment
SUMTER — Dwight named Business Person of the Year
AUTHORITY — “The authority for several state agencies that provide health care services to residents would be shifted to the next governor under several proposals before the Legislature.”
CROWDING THE FIELD — “Horry County Council Chairman Liz Gilland may be interested in becoming a US Congresswoman, but people close to her say she’s waiting for the calling. When asked if she was planning to run for the seat of retiring Congressman Henry Brown, Gilland gave a big laugh and no clear answer. ‘Well, I might,’ Gilland said last week, but added, ‘I don’t know yet.’”
FINALLY THIS — MAMA SAID — “Severe weather apparently knocked out a transmitter for an NBC-TV affiliate in South Carolina for more than two hours , affecting viewers in two states. WYFF-TV in Greenville said the transmitter on top of Ceasar’s Head Mountain in Greenville County was knocked out at about 5:45 p.m. Sunday. Engineers were able to restore service shortly after 8 p.m.”
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.