Making Some Political Endorsements for the Run-Off

So far, it’s not been a pretty political season in South Carolina.

I guess it started when Governor Mark Sanford coined the phrase “hiking the Appalachian Trail” as a euphamism for committing adultery in South America. It has since degenerated into :

· Two lackeys associated with the sitting Lieutenant Governor, Andre Bauer, claiming to have had relations with front-runner candidate Nikki Haley. Last-place Bauer, who was getting the crap kicked out him, challened Haley to take a lie detector test in a playground move one step removed from Nanny Nanny Boo Boo.

· Unemployed, drummed out of the Army, facing a felony sex crime charge, and not very good with forming coherent sentences, Alvin Greene still won the Democratic primary for the honor of losing to Jim DeMint in November.

· State Senator Jake Knotts calls both the President and gubernatorial candidate Haley “ragheads” and publicly embraces being called a redneck.

· Various rounds of mudslinging and accusations about who did or didn’t create jobs, who did or didn’t raise taxes/lower taxes, who’s qualified and who’s not, ad infinitum.

For the most part, much of the dirt didn’t reallt start to fly until a couple days ago. Most of it is easily overlooked but….to tell you the truth I’m about sick to death of two particular phrases in this campaign. Much in the way that the Hope & Change crap mantra was thrown about to “elect” The Annointed Holy One Barack Hussein Obama (Blessed Be His Name) Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm, the conservatives are now throwinbg about the key words Tea Party. Damn near every single Republican running out there is bending over 8 ways to Sunday to identify themselves as The Tea Party Candidate and get the annointed blessing of every local Tea Party organization in South Carolina, from Charleston Tea Party to Columbia Tea Party to Greenhville Tea Party to the Dogpatch (population 25) Tea Party. The term “Tea Party Candidate” has been thrown around so much that it really has almost lost any sort of legitimacy, the same as Hope & Change was bullshit long before the election in 2008.

The other annoying phrase running around is “Family Man”. Case in point, now that Tim Scott has received an endorsement from Sarah Palin among other notables and his opponent in the First Congressional District, Paul Thurmond, is lagging in the straw polls, I keep hearing Thurmond ads proclaiming that he’s a family man, like that’s a criteria item for being a good Congressional Representative. Earlier Thurmond ads featured him & his wife parading around the kids (Thad & little Fletch). Dude, I don’t care if you have kids, nor do I really care what their names are. The unspoken part of your ads are “Tim Scott is a bachelor and therefore something must be wrong with him.”

Oddly enough though, pretty much all the major political sex scandals that I can think of involved married guys, self-professed Christian Family Men……go figure. Bill Clinton, Mark Souder, Mike Duvall, David Paterson, John Edwards, Jim McGreevey, Elliot Spitzer, etcetera ad nauseum.

Anyways, tomorrow is the runoff election here in South Carolina. And for what it’s worth. I have my own endorsements to ladle out.

For Governor, I’m still endorsing Gresham Barrett. It’s not that I have anything against Nikki Haley and should she win tomorrow I would throw my full support towards her. However, I really like Barrett’s conservative voting record against Obama in Congress and truth be told, I’m worried that some of the good ole’ boys of South By God Carolina might not be willing to vote for a female Governor.

For Lieutenant Governor, I’m still supporting Bill Connor.

For Attorney General, I’m still with Alan Wilson. His opponent Leighton Lord tried to smear Wilson by revealing that Wilson had once failed the bar exam. So what? Kennedy got a D in college and became President. You, sir, have never been a prosecutor and don’t think that prosecutorial experience isn’t needed to be the head prosecutorial figure in the state. Sorry, your Lordship, but I do.

For Treasurer I’m staying with incumbent Converse Chellis. I just had a bad taste in my mouth after all of Curtis Loftis’ negative ads.

Although I am not in District One, I support Tim Scott.

I am, however, in District Six, and I support Nancy Harrelson to be the one to knock Jim Clyburn into unemployment.

Don’t just sit on the sidelines, people…get out and VOTE.