South Carolina Politics

[gman430]

WOW! Looks like South Carolina just made history by electing our first woman governor. After years of white, male, good old boy, we should be proud to see the sexism bridge has been crossed. Not only a woman, but a woman of Indian Sikh heritage.

Most channels are calling Haley as the winner.

Looks to me like we re-elected Mark Sanford except he'll be wearing a wig for the next four years instead. The people of South Carolina just gave the late night comedy shows another reason to laugh at our mockery of a state for the next four years by electing the Haley and Wilson duo. We deserve every bit of bad publicity this uneducated state gets. I for one am sure going to love seeing more high unemployment and terrible education here...NOT.

[growingup15]

WOW! Looks like South Carolina just made history by electing our first woman governor. After years of white, male, good old boy, we should be proud to see the sexism bridge has been crossed. Not only a woman, but a woman of Indian Sikh heritage.

Most channels are calling Haley as the winner.

I'm not happy at all. i didn't even vote for her. Wish we didn't see another 4 years of Sanford. i voted but not Haley. :'(

[CorgiMatt]

The people of South Carolina just put one party in solid control all the way down the ballot and in the Senate and House. Now we can rest assured that the storm clouds that have had the sun blocked out in this state are about to part with a one-party magical touch.

[krazeeboi]

I can't say that I'm surprised, but I'm willing to give Haley a chance. After all, SC's governor is more of a figurehead anyway. SC is still under the predominantly White, male good ol' boy system by way of the Legislature, which is controlled by Mr. Confederacy himself, Glenn McConnell.

[vicupstate]

WOW! Looks like South Carolina just made history by electing our first woman governor. After years of white, male, good old boy, we should be proud to see the sexism bridge has been crossed. Not only a woman, but a woman of Indian Sikh heritage.

Most channels are calling Haley as the winner.

Too bad she had to forsake her Sikh heritage to get elected.

A woman can be just as bad as any man in office. I hope for the best, but she is inexperienced, and aheres to a far-right ideaology. Her only demonstarted skill is giving a good speech. I hope she proves me wrong and actually does a good job.

[Spartan]

I can't say that I'm surprised, but I'm willing to give Haley a chance. After all, SC's governor is more of a figurehead anyway. SC is still under the predominantly White, male good ol' boy system by way of the Legislature, which is controlled by Mr. Confederacy himself, Glenn McConnell.

Well said. Haley has a lot of ideas that I agree with, so I'm going to keep a positive outlook even though I would not have voted for her if I still lived in South Carolina. Maybe she actually can change some things for the better. For example, one of my major pet peeves with the SC General Assembly is that they don't maintain voting records, so there is no actual accountability when trying to determine if the elected officials live up to their word. She said she will try to change that...

[gs3]

Too bad she had to forsake her Sikh heritage to get elected.

A woman can be just as bad as any man in office. I hope for the best, but she is inexperienced, and aheres to a far-right ideaology. Her only demonstarted skill is giving a good speech. I hope she proves me wrong and actually does a good job.

Gosh guys.....where is all the excitement and talk about "diversity". Remember when we elected a black man president (and his only qualification was giving a good speech) and everyone gushed about "diversity" and "a new day" and "change". Why no gushing for that same "diversity", "new day", "change" with an INDIAN WOMAN now as governor? Historic in SC to say the least.....a female AND an Indian female. Thought everyone would be thrilled to see the diversity?????

And Vic, as far as her "far right ideaology, seems that is what the voters wanted nationwide yesterday. In case you didn't notice, big government, spending and far left ideaology were suddenly toxic.

[vicupstate]

I voted for Obama because he was the best choice of the two presented. It had nothing to do with his race. If race is all that mattered, ALvin Greene (who I didn't vote for)would have actually cracked 30%.

Haley won because she speaks the good-old-boy gospel, despite her gender and race. She disavowed all mention or displays of her ethnicity, and did not digress from the standard right wing hymn. She conveniently converted religions before running for office.

There was certainly no diversity of thought, nor respect for ethnic or other differences in her platform or campaign.

I hope for the best from her, but she is gives every indication of being just another Mark Sanford.

[krazeeboi]

Well at least Mark Sanford had good ideas, but his methods were entirely too computational and confrontational. Let's hope Haley learns from his mistakes.

[GvilleSC]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this. Greenville's Peace Center will once again host a presidential debate next year. May 5th is the date. All of this amid/prior to the performing arts center's $20 million renovation next year.

[krazeeboi]

By a 55-54 vote, the S.C. House Wednesday approved a bill -- again -- to revoke the driving rights of high school dropouts. The measure requires the state Department of Motor Vehicles to revoke the learner's permits or driver's licenses of students who drop out of high school. Students who must work to support themselves or their families would be exempt from the requirement. All teens would be eligible for a license once they turn 18 regardless of their educational status. After one House more vote, the bill goes to the Senate -- where it died last year.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill Wednesday requiring people to show photo identification to vote, as opponents pledged to fight it through the U.S. Justice Department. The signing came after three years of debate. Republicans have argued the law is crucial to deter election fraud. Democrats countered it will suppress the vote of poor, disabled and elderly voters who lack a driver's license. Under the law, voters must show either a driver's license, passport, military ID, a photo ID from the Department of Motor Vehicles or yet-to-exist voter registration cards that include a photo. The law calls for the Election Commission to begin making those in each county, if legislators provide the estimated $500,000 cost for equipment and supplies. So far, legislators have not put the money in their spending plan for 2011-12. Debate on that plan continues in the Senate. The U.S. Justice Department will review the new law because of South Carolina's history of voter rights violations.

[Spartan]

I think its a great law. It establishes that driving is a privilege, not a right.

[krazeeboi]

I have a feeling it will have very little to no impact on the high school dropout rate.

[Spartan]

Unless there is a dramatic spike in graduation rates, I doubt there would be a way to connect the two, statistically speaking.

[GvilleSC]

Greenville County is being kept whole in the measure passed by the Senate subcommittee today. I'm not sure either plan would have truly affected the area in the long run, but it's been debated at length locally.

[westsider28]

That redistricting plan that just passed the Senate subcommittee is terrible. It totally screws over Spartanburg County. Here's a great Herald-Journal editorial about the redistricting issue. I'm glad somebody finally exposed the elephant in the room, which is that Greenville seems to promote its own interests over the interests of the rest of the region, and at the expense of others in the region (namely Spartanburg) even while under the guise of promoting the "Upstate". The proposal which takes a few small sections out of both Greenville and Spartanburg counties is much better (and what the Herald-Journal editorial advocates).

Actually, the plan I like the most is the one which gives Greenville and Spartanburg counties their own districts with portions of other counties included in each. That keeps both counties whole and would better serve the interests of citizens in each county. But I'm sure the Lowcountry and Midlands would never let that one pass, since it would give the Upstate more influence.

[GvilleSC]

The focuses on the "Upstate is one" thing, throws me off. Districts will subdivide the region, but how exactly is that going to affect things such as Upstate Alliance?

I'd like to know more about this issue, but it seems to me that you and author of the article are putting a lot of blame on Greenville leaders. Maybe it belongs there, I don't know, but where are Spartanburg's leaders? Over the years, I've seen multiple scenarios where Spartanburg's leaders and residents try their hardest to distance themselves from Greenville. Now, it appears that being Greenville's sibling is a good thing?

I'll be interested in following this more and having a quality discussion on here.

[westsider28]

I'm mainly concerned with keeping Spartanburg County whole in any congressional district, whether that district includes Greenville or not. Otherwise, if the county is split, Spartanburg loses the influence that it deserves as the state's fourth largest county. And it's certainly not all Greenville's leaders' fault. I'd definitely like to see Spartanburg leaders take a more vocal stance on this issue to make sure we're represented effectively. From an article I read about the current plan, it seems like Spartanburg senators were blindsided by the proposal.

[GvilleSC]

One thing that I can kind of see with this plan, is that it arguably keeps the areas that are most economically tied together together. Spartanburg's west side and Greenville very much meet together IN Spartanburg County. I'm not sure of what Spartanburg's eastside has to offer, but know that most growth is happening the other way.

[westsider28]

The point is not to keep economically similar areas together. The point is to keep counties/population centers together, so that residents can be represented fairly. Spartanburg is not a suburb of Greenville, but that's essentially what it would become under this redistricting plan. Maybe there aren't as many businesses on Spartanburg's east side (perhaps the same could be said about the west side of Greenville), but there certainly wouldn't be any coming with this plan (i.e. east side Spartanburg residents would be basically abandoned).

In another article today, there are some pretty strong accusations that behind-the-scene deals are being cut, and Greenville businesses are pulling some strings at the expense of Spartanburg. I'm glad that Senator Shane Martin is presenting a new plan similar to the House plan which cuts only small portions (10% each) of both Greenville and Spartanburg counties' population. It would give a fair population split for the district (60% Greenville, 40% Spartanburg). I hope it gains support and passes instead.

[GvilleSC]

The point is not to keep economically similar areas together. The point is to keep counties/population centers together, so that residents can be represented fairly. Spartanburg is not a suburb of Greenville, but that's essentially what it would become under this redistricting plan. Maybe there aren't as many businesses on Spartanburg's east side (perhaps the same could be said about the west side of Greenville), but there certainly wouldn't be any coming with this plan (i.e. east side Spartanburg residents would be basically abandoned).

This is not entirely off-topic, but this reminds me a lot of what I hear from Spartanburg residents. Spartanburg County IS Spartanburg to them. No, Spartanburg is definitely not a suburb of Greenville. BUT, suburban Greenville very much exists in Spartanburg County. The airport, for example, is in Greenville's suburbs. Similar comparison could be made for BMW. But, no, the CITY of Spartanburg is not a suburb.

Thus, if you're intent on keeping population center together, shouldn't that void county boundaries? For reference: Spartanburg , Greenville

[vicupstate]

There are strong rumors that Lt. Governor Ken Ard will resign soon.

Normally Glenn McConnell would fill his place, but that would mean he would give up tremendous power, so there will be some politically motivated musical chairs occuring, if this comes to pass.

If it occurs, this would be the first time either a Governor or Lt. Governor has resigned since 1965 when Gov. Donald Russell resigned to take a seat in the Senate.

[Spartan]

^Why would he resign?

This is not entirely off-topic, but this reminds me a lot of what I hear from Spartanburg residents. Spartanburg County IS Spartanburg to them. No, Spartanburg is definitely not a suburb of Greenville. BUT, suburban Greenville very much exists in Spartanburg County. The airport, for example, is in Greenville's suburbs. Similar comparison could be made for BMW. But, no, the CITY of Spartanburg is not a suburb.

Thus, if you're intent on keeping population center together, shouldn't that void county boundaries? For reference: Spartanburg , Greenville

Well, as weird as this may sound, the legislature came up with a relatively pragmatic boundary for District 4. If the courts approve of the boundary, the Spartanburg and Greenville urban areas will remain in the same district, with rural parts of each county being sent into neighboring districts. I think in the long run, having the two cities together with 1 representative is for the best(though the upstate as a whole would have at least 3, maybe 4 depending on how you look at it).

[gman430]

Queen Nikki caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Like a deer in headlights:

[CorgiMatt]

Fast-talking governors always have at least some kind of answer. Her hair was kinda mussy. Maybe she forgot her coffee.