***Palmetto Morning Presented by Jim Dyke & Associates***
THIS FIRST — SHE’S OUT — South Carolina is home to one less Senate hopeful, after Democrat Linda Ketner announced Monday that she will not accept a petition nomination to appear on the ballot. Ketner told supporters of her decision in an email in which she said South Carolinians “deserve – and desperately need – better government,” before noting that “a last minute campaign without essential resources won’t get us that outcome.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — One of a kind Eric Cantor, Natalie “Marathoner” Morales and Dana “Schwing” Carvey
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NATIONAL LENS — STRONGHOLD — The ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said NATO and Afghan troops will prevail in the war if they can succeed in securing and bolstering governance in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. Sen. John McCain, who visited Afghanistan’s largest city in the south on Monday with two other U.S. lawmakers, (Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Joseph Lieberman) warned of tough fighting ahead and predicted that casualties would rise in the short-term.
STRENGTH OF STEELE— Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele’s most recent gaffe — this one about the war in Afghanistan — has effectively eliminated any chance he might have had to return to his post after the 2010 election, according to a number of individuals close to the committee. Another high-level Republican strategist said there had been a series of calls over the weekend about the possibility of a placeholder chairman being put in place through the election but acknowledged that scenario is very unlikely for three reasons.
DESI POWER HOUR — Five years ago, a group of Indian Americans who worked as staffers on Capitol Hill started up a club. They called themselves the “Desi Power Hour,” and met to share their experiences and help each other get a leg up in Washington. Today, though, that once-casual gathering of legislative aides, communications consultants, tech gurus and fundraisers has grown into an influential political network that undergirds the record number of Indian Americans running for political office this year.
FEELINGS HURT — Today, the National Tea Party Federation called upon Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to issue an immediate and complete apology to the more than 20 million tea party activists across America he insulted last week in the New York Times when he called the Tea Party movement “unsustainable” and without “coherent vision.”
FROM THE POLLS — Americans pick two politicians as their best heads of state since 1969, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 32 per cent of respondents think Ronald Reagan has been the best recent president, while 30 per cent select Bill Clinton.
ON DEFENSE — With the first tar balls from the Gulf oil spill now washing ashore in Galveston, Texas, Rep. Ron Paul, whose district includes the affected area, said Monday the federal government is not doing enough in the recovery effort. Paul has been one of the few national Republican leaders to come out in support of embattled Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele after Steele told a fundraiser last week the Afghanistan war was “a war of Obama’s choosing” and suggested it was not winnable. The former GOP presidential candidate disagreed with his colleagues Sens. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, who over the weekend blasted Steele and his comments, calling them inaccurate, uninformed and unwise.
DISBELIEF — In Sunday’s New York Times, Senator Lindsey Graham made clear his opinion of the Tea Partiers, saying their movement was “unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country.” Any conservative today who does not want to rethink or reexamine our current state of affairs is not serious. Graham wants to rethink and reexamine nothing, but does take great pride in serving elite interests, facilitating deals for the current administration as much as he did the last one. How this makes him a maverick remains clear only to the NYT’s. How it makes him conservative remains clear only to him.
HOT SEATS — As one general tried to reassure Congress that she respects the military, the other general tried to reassure Congress that the military respects civilians. The split-screen Obama nominees for huge, daunting jobs were accompanied by family. The solicitor general and the solicitous general, politically shrewd navigators, are regarded as shoo-ins for an administration where little else is going smoothly. If Kagan was headed toward the land of First Mondays, Petraeus was headed toward the land of “Who’s on first?”
REMEMBERING HUNT — House Majority Whip James Clyburn (S.C.) theorized that an operative ran unemployed Army veteran Alvin Greene’s (D) South Carolina Senate campaign to create a “mess.” Clyburn maintains that Greene is being backed by outside interests and their motivation is simple. “To mess with the system,” he told the Ballot Box.
RAISING RATES — Battered by massive losses, the Postal Service wants to raise rates to bring in more money. Postal officials scheduled a briefing Tuesday to discuss the amount of the increase, which will go to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission for review. The boost comes as no surprise. Postmaster General John Potter said March 2 that a rate increase would be necessary for the agency, which does not receive tax funds for its operations.
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2010 WATCH — NO EXCUSE — “We were glad that the campaigns of Rep. Nikki Haley and U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett rose to our challenge and reported the donations they received during the final 20 days before the primary and the two weeks leading up to the Republican gubernatorial run-off. That allowed voters to learn, for instance, that donors were sticking with Mr. Barrett even though he didn’t have a prayer of overcoming a 27-point deficit, and that Ms. Haley had picked up her fund-raising after her near-win in the primary. It also allowed anyone who wanted the opportunity to see just who was bankrolling the candidates. But this was voluntary.”
ON THE MAP — When President Barack Obama needed a big win in Congress, it was U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn who wrangled the votes necessary to win passage of the president’s massive health care reform bill. And when Obama wants to find a Republican with an independent streak to build a bridge between conservatives and Democrats on illegal immigration reform, energy independence or detainee matters, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is the one he has called on. Not since the days of U.S. Sens. Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings has South Carolina commanded this kind of influence inside the Beltway.
SAFETY FIRST — The ocean draws tourists like few other attractions, but that magnet can also be deadly, as emergency officials know all too well. That’s why, despite substantial budget cuts this year, funds for lifeguard service contracts remained largely intact, officials said last week.
NEWSTAND NEAR YOU — Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley will grace the cover of the latest issue of Newsweek. The magazine named her one of several “women on the verge.” In the article, Haley is called “earthy, attractive, articulate, and the GOP’s newest star in a fast-changing south.”
AND IT BEGINS — The next election is still four months away, but candidates for the second district Congressional seat are stepping up their attacks. Incumbent and Republican Joe Wilson and Democrat Rob Miller have both raised millions in what is one of the most closely watched contests for congress in the country.
CAROL CALLS IT — The S.C. Democratic Party will have a new leader next spring following the Alvin Greene political debacle. Party chairwoman Carol Fowler told The State she won’t seek a third term in the spring of 2011. “Twice is plenty. I’ve never intended to run again,” Fowler said. “I don’t think anybody should be the state chair more than two terms. You always need new ideas so the party doesn’t get stagnant.”
SUMTER — Mayewood Middle shows big improvement
CLEMSON — Clemson adds menengitis vaccine to list of those required
HORRY — Would-be motorsports school makes its pitch
COLUMBIA — What’s the key to a vibrant Main Street?
GREER — SC thief takes 60 pounds of homegrown produce
CHERAW — NETC receives $4,000 grant from Bank of America
FLORENCE — FMU’s Jokisch receives national physics award
SPARTANBURG — Guardian ad litem can offer stability to young, chaotic life
MORRIS ISLAND — Shoring up the leaning lighthouse
FOLLY — Folly police ramp up efforts over holiday
VIEWPOINT — FINAL VOTE — “As the Senate moves toward a confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, the only question is how many Republican senators will support her. Will it be more than the nine who voted for Justice Sonia Sotomayor? Fewer? And what will that say about her qualities as a justice? As Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is fond of saying, “Elections have consequences.”
VIEWPOINT II — KEEPING IT REAL — “Michael Steele was right when he called Afghanistan Obama’s war. Well, sort of. But what got him in hot water was committing one of Washington’s greatest sins: saying what he really thinks. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) declared Steele’s comments “unacceptable” and demanded he apologize to “all the men and women who’ve been fighting in Afghanistan.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) slammed Steele’s remarks as “uninformed, unnecessary, unwise, untimely.” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) called on Steele to resign. But Steele was not so off-base.”
FINALLY THIS — LICENSE TO KILL — Hunters and Fishermen in the Palmetto State have a new option when it comes to their sportsman licenses. The South Carolina General Assembly recently passed a new law that allows purchase of several new types of three year hunting and fishing licenses.
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!
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