Monday, May 20, 2013
Gov. Haley's husband Michael was deployed in January.
Governor Nikki Haley's husband Michael has returned home for two weeks of leave from his deployment in Afghanistan, the governor's office said on Monday. The First Gentleman was deployed on January 10 for a tour of 11 months and his leave was granted by his commanding officers. Two weeks is a customary amount of time for leave for a soldier in Haley's position. As a result of her husband's return, the governor cleared her public schedule for the week, including a scheduled speech in Mount Pleasant on Monday morning.
Latest controversy has legislators split.
Last week the state airplane became a source of controversy yet again. Democrats accused Gov. Nikki Haley of misusing the state plane and the governor's staff provided documentation that she had not. The Democrats countered by saying that even if the governor had not violated the letter of the law, she had violated it in spirit. The state senate then spent much of an afternoon debating whether or not the Budget Control Board should look into simply selling the planes. As has been noted before, just about any part of the state can be reached in a few hours by car and the state could always charter a plane when it was absolutely necessary. Selling the two planes the state owns would probably net the state a significant windfall. The two …
Friday, May 17, 2013
Biggest month-to-month drop in 25 years.
The unemployment rate in South Carolina fell from 8.4 percent in March to 8.0 in April, according to the latest report from the Department of Employment and Workforce. The month-to-month decrease is the largest since May of 1987 and the overall unemployment rate is now the lowest it's been since October 2008. Since April 2012 more than 26,000 jobs have been added to South Carolina's economy. All 46 counties added jobs in the last month and three counties--Charleston, Greenville and Lexington--now have unemployment rates below 6 percent. Four counties saw their rates drop a full point since March--Marion, Horry, Barnwell and York. "This drop in unemployment is yet another piece of great news for South Carolina," said Governor Nikki Haley…
Thursday, May 16, 2013
But Haley said the charges are baseless and use of plane was approved by State Ethics Commission.
UPDATED: 4:45 p.m. The state planes are once again a source of controversy. After Democrats accused Gov. Nikki Haley of using a state plane to transport a videographer for political purposes, the spokesman for the governor said she violated no ethics laws. Rob Godfrey, citing Cathy Hazlewood of the State Ethics Commission in a February email, said, “A videographer is a legitimate expense for the Governor’s office, so it is also a legitimate expense to be paid from her campaign funds pursuant to 8-13-1348(A).” Sen. Joel Lourie (D-Richland) who was one of four Democrats at a Statehouse press conference on Thursday morning, said that though Haley may not be in violation of the letter of the law, she was breaking the spirit of it. Lourie …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Measure had bi-partisan support.
Rob Godfrey, the spokesman for Gov. Nikki Haley, told Patch on Thursday that she will sign the so-called "Boland Bill" that came out of the legislature. The bill was borne out of an incident at Charleston's Ashley Hall School in February when Alice Boland pointed a gun a school officials. The gun did not go off. It was later learned that Boland had been adjudicated as mentally ill and had threatened to kill George W. Bush. The legislation received bi-partisan support in both chambers. It passed the House 87-0 (with 34 members not voting) and the Senate 35-6. The only six votes against the bill were by Republicans: Lee Bright, Kevin Bryant, Tom Corbin, Larry Grooms, Shane Martin and Danny Verdin. Attorney General Alan Wilson was an early …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Movement Fund makes first ad buy.
UPDATED: The comments of Tim Pearson were added after initial publication. Even though a potential rematch against Democrat Vincent Sheheen is 18 months away, the first campaign ad of Gov. Nikki Haley's re-election bid is set to hit South Carolina airwaves net week, according to an article in Politico. The ad is paid for by The Movement Fund, a PAC that supports the governor and has raised over $500,000. The ads will appear in Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach television markets at a cost estimated to be $130,000. They arrive before Haley has confirmed she'll seek a second term, although she has set up fundraising teams across the state. Tim Pearson, Haley's Senior Advisor told Patch, "The Movement Fund ads will be asking the public…
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Numerous years in the making, residents will ultimately decide the matter.
The long-running question over whether to allow non-profits to sell raffle tickets for fundraising purposes will be decided by voters in November 2014. A resolution will be put before the electorate as a result of a measure passed last week it. Gov. Nikki Haley has until today to veto, sign or pass on the bill. Based on her comments on Tuesday a veto seems unlikely. “You can’t go wrong when you let the people decide,” Haley said. “This is letting the people decide whether they want to let churches to do it. It closes a loophole that’s been there for a long time.” Only a veto by Haley would prevent the matter from going before voters. If voters approved the measure, churches and schools could conduct a limited number of raffles. According …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
With 2014 elections looming, and both facing challengers, the two SC political leaders are heading in opposite directions.
The Winthrop Poll released its April figures on Wednesday morning, showing how South Carolina residents feel about their political leaders, national leaders and the country in general. Two candidates who face 2014 election opposition find themselves going in opposite directions. Gov. Nikki Haley saw her overall approval rise 1 percentage point to 43.5 percent from the February poll. Among Republicans and those who lean GOP, it rose to 69 percent from 66.8. Haley's spokesman Rob Godfrey told Patch: “While the ups and downs of poll numbers are interesting to many political observers, Gov. Haley pays much more attention to South Carolina's jobs numbers, and she is thrilled that they are growing by the thousands.” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Democrat will challenge Gov. Nikki Haley.
Vincent Sheheen put to rest months of speculation by announcing his candidacy for Governor on Wednesday morning. The Kershaw Democrat will likely challenge Gov. Nikki Haley in a rematch of the 2010 race which saw Haley win by 4.4 percentage points. Haley has not officially announced her candidacy, but is expected to do so after the legislative session ends in June. Sheheen has been a persistent critic of Haley's since then, most recently pointing to the cybersecurity breach of the Revenue Department as an example of Haley's leadership failures. In an email to supporters Sheheen wrote: South Carolina is the greatest state in the union, with unlimited potential. But let's face it, the status quo is not working. I want what you want - a …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Senator's book tour gives him the latitude to talk policy without the election spotlight.
It’s too soon to say if the proposals in Vincent Sheheen lays out in his book will be effective. But as a public relations device it’s already yielded great results. For the last few weeks the Kershaw County senator has travelled the state talking about his book “The Right Way” and his ideas to improve South Carolina. Given that Sheheen seems all but certain to again challenge Nikki Haley for governor, the tour is a pre-campaign of sorts. But without the trappings of an election, the book gives Sheheen a way to give voters an idea of the priorities he would have as governor. “Too many politicians talk in sound bites and not about substantive issues, so I wanted to write about policies I’ve talked about in the Senate as well as some new …
JoSCh
12:18 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
With just 3 comments this might be the most epic display of reactionary patchitude ever. Bravo. lol@you Shawn, you poor bastid. more ›