***Palmetto Morning Presented by Jim Dyke & Associates***
THIS FIRST — EIGHT MINUTES — South Carolina voters got their first official look Sunday at Alvin Greene, the unemployed veteran who shocked the political establishment by winning his state’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary. Greene picked the monthly meeting of his local NAACP branch to make his first campaign appearance.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Magna Cum Laude George McGovern and from WPDE in Florence, Stuart Scott
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NATIONAL LENS — HEALTHY FIX — A group of Democratic lawmakers wants to use the immigration reform debate to fix one of the most hotly contested aspects of the health care law — provisions that bar immigrants from using new government programs to get coverage. One of the main conservative talking points against the health care bill was that it would cover illegal immigrants — that’s what led to South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie!” outburst to Obama, who said they were never covered under the bill. Now Republicans say any attempt to ease immigrants into the system would prove the GOP was right.
ANGER MANAGEMENT — On YouTube and talk radio, at town halls and rallies, voters seem to be angrier than they’ve been before. Host Guy Raz talks with politicians who’ve borne the brunt of the anger, including Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC).
NO BEANBALL — It turns out U.S. Senator Jim Bunning was ahead of the curve. Four months after the Kentucky Republican made colleagues squirm by blocking an extension of unemployment benefits for Americans out of work long-term, the party has adopted his cause as its own. Republicans are holding up aid for millions of jobless people while insisting that Democrats cut spending elsewhere to keep from adding to the federal deficit.
STILL SPRY — He turns 70 this week. And U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn fully grasps the biblical significance of July 21, 2010. Clyburn will get his three score and 10 years Wednesday, man’s life expectancy, according to Psalms 90:10. He is looking forward to a fourth or fifth score, thanks to good health and modern medicine.
BURNT-OUT — Rescuing itself from the obscurity it richly deserves, the NAACP has found a way back onto the front page: accuse the tea party movement of harboring racists. If discrimination means favoring people or opposing people based on race, two questions arise. Is that not pretty much the job description of the NAACP? And when has the tea party advocated hirings, promotions or school admissions based on race? In the South Carolina gubernatorial primary, the tea party backed a woman of Indian-American descent, Nikki Haley, who was raised a Sikh, over three white men with superior resumes.
RABBLE-ROUSERS — The Washington Post published another story dedicated to the proposition that the Tea Party is too extreme and will ruin the Republican Party’s appeal to moderate voters. Former Senate majority leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), now a D.C. lobbyist, warned that a robust bloc of rabble-rousers spells further Senate dysfunction. “We don’t need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples,” Lott said in an interview. “As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.” But Lott said he’s not expecting a tea-party sweep. “I still have faith in the visceral judgment of the American people,” he said.
BODY COUNT — Democrats going up the chain all the way to Vice President Biden tried feverishly on Sunday to reverse Robert Gibbs’ prediction that Republicans could seize the House in November, as GOP lawmakers claimed Washington indeed was on the verge of a power shift. House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., said on “Fox News Sunday” that despite the “tough climate,” Democrats would have a “strong showing” in November. But Republicans had predictions of their own.
FIRST FLIGHT — Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has debuted its first flight outside the United States on Sunday when it landed in Farnborough just a day before the beginning of Farnborough International Airshow. The chairman and CEO of Boeing Co. led other company officials and VIP officers on private tour of the 787 Dreamliner which was followed by the tour of a U.S. Congressional delegate which included Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Harkin, and Sen. James Inhofe.
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2010 WATCH — BACK TO BUSINESS — GOP gubernatorial nominee Nikki Haley has spent the past two weeks in closed-door meetings with S.C. business leaders, seeking to mend fences and calm fears about her commitment to business in the state. Haley is trying to head off Republican support for her opponent Vincent Sheheen, who has been courting the business community and positioning himself as the candidate more interested in working with business and the General Assembly on economic development.
YOU DON’T SAY — Children’s education company Super Duper has lost the latest – and perhaps final – round in a multimillion-dollar legal dispute with toy giant Mattel over trademark infringement. The Greenville publisher of educational materials for special-needs children sued in 2005 after Mattel got the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to revoke trademarks on several Super Duper’s products, some dating back more than 20 years, using the words “SAY” and “AND SAY.”
STUDY ABROAD — Gov. Mark Sanford is on a trade mission to Europe to leverage Boeing Co.’s record-breaking investment in South Carolina and transform the state into an international aerospace hub. The governor, in one of his last official acts, will attend the Farnborough International Airshow outside London next week with a cadre of South Carolina political and business leaders. The show runs Monday through July 25.
LOTS’O’LOOT — U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson heads into the third quarter with slightly more money available than his Democratic challenger, while South Carolina’s senior congressman, Democrat John Spratt, has $1.2 million cash on hand heading into what could be his toughest race, according to campaign finance reports filed this week. Less than $35,000 separated Wilson from Democratic challenger Rob Miller when the second quarter ended June 30.
FUND FIGHT — State Rep. Anne Peterson Hutto says she’s concerned that her opponent Peter McCoy is accepting campaign contributions from lawyers whose clients he is prosecuting as an assistant Ninth Circuit Solicitor. McCoy says Hutto is trying to distract voters from her record and that most of the lawyers who have donated to his campaign have known him for many years and are expecting nothing in return.
FAIR SHARE — Some South Carolina lawmakers want a review of a program designed to boost tourism in rural areas, to make sure they are getting their fair share of funds. The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg reported Monday that Denmark Rep. Bakari Sellers has obtained signatures of six other lawmakers asking the Legislative Audit Council to review state participation in the National Heritage Corridor.
MYRTLE BEACH — Market Common changing hands, but enjoying busy summer in Myrtle Beach area
CHARLESTON — Rid waters of abandoned boats
GEORGETOWN — ‘Mystery chickens’ roaming in the city
GAFFNEY — Hundreds savor Gaffney’s Peach Festival treats
FLORENCE — Non-profit Leadership Institute at FMU accepts applications
HILTON HEAD — Hilton Head Plantation to undertake $200,000-plus private beach renourishment
N CHARLESTON — Will casino boat gambling make money for N. Charleston?
CLEMSON — Clemson extends student grants, jobs program
UPSTATE — Farmers say Upstate peach crop is sweetest in years
VIEWPOINT — THE MASK — “Now that the U.S. Treasury has failed to follow its own evidence and brand the People’s Republic of China as a regime that manipulates its exchange rate to gain a competitive advantage in international trade, the question is what will happen next? Will Congress step in and do what the executive branch will not?”
VIEWPOINT II — IT’S COVERED — “Now that health reform has become law in America, we can hold up our heads in the company of other developed nations that afford all their citizens the right to health care. The Affordable Care Act, which marks the first important step to turn our broken health care system around, includes significant reforms that will improve our nation’s health care system and benefit South Carolina’s children and families.”
FINALLY THIS — BEACH READ — South Carolina children’s book author Ching Yeung Russell, who formerly lived in Greenwood, is an accomplished writer who has garnered much acclaim in her career. If she has been below your reading radar until now, Russell won’t be for long. Her latest book, “Tofu Quilt,” has been named to Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club Kid’s Reading List for 2010.
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