A reader yesterday asked what I thought about the smear job, reportedly engineered by Rod Shealy, that hit Tom Davis this week at the outset of his attempt to unseat Sen. Catherine Ceips.
When I read about it, I just nodded. Tom, the subject of my column this past Sunday, indicated last week that he expected something of the kind, and that it would probably be worse than even he expected:
I hadn’t even thought about that, to be honest with you… I hadn’t even thought about what it’s gonna be like having a guy who wakes up in the morning who just wants to strip the bark off me. I mean, and that’s what Rod Shealy’s gonna wanna do… I’ve never been through a campaign. I’ve been told just to expect, whatever it is about you that you don’t want people to know, expect it to be known.
Tom thought it would be about something true about him — such as the fact that he was a Democrat when he was young — instead of this illegal-alien nonsense. But that’s Tom’s great liability in this race: He’s a Mr. Smith type. He’s a very open, candid, straightforward, sincere kind of guy (I would have added "thrifty, brave, clean and reverent," but you get the idea), so he figured whatever he was hit with would be something real.
So he was right: He hadn’t really thought through what it would be like with Rod Shealy after him. That’s because Tom Davis is incapable of thinking like Rod Shealy.
It’s a helluva thing, isn’t it, when honest people have to fear running for public office because of sleazy stuff that will be done to them that has nothing to do with their suitability for office?
Oh, but wait! Rod Shealy is reformed! It’s got to be true… PBS said so…
Anyway, in the video above, you’ll see and hear Tom talking about this subject.
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If y’all have trouble running the video, just come back in a little while. I put it on YouTube just before posting this, and you never know… sometimes you can call things up on YouTube the minute you upload them, other times it takes an hour or more. This time, so far, it’s not showing.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
Oh, but wait! Now it’s working, although the image isn’t showing yet. Just click on the blank screen image…
Although my experience was nowhere close to what Mr. Davis is experiencing, I saw firsthand just how low people will stoop in the political game when I ran for school board.
Lies, backstabbing, collusion… doesn’t matter if you’re running for dog catcher or President, there are people out there who will do ANYTHING to win.
I wish I had a tape recorder on me at the time to capture all the things that were said. Just to give you an idea:
– One current board member told me when he worked for an accounting firm that he specialized in working the “grey area” of taxes. The same guy leaned over to me during one of the school board forums to tell me one of his co-board members basically uses the position to go on junkets to Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach.
– I had the head of one of the magnet programs call me up to ask about a rumor she had heard that I was against magnet programs in the district. Which was interesting since two of my kids were in a magnet program at the time.
– One board member claimed to have invented “No Child Left Behind” (which apparently did not include her grandchild who was shot by the police after a robbery car chase)
– One board member was basically a front for her husband (now convicted of federal fraud charges) who did not want to be in the public eye but wanted to run things behind the scenes
The fact is, Brad, there are very few Mr. Smiths in Washington or Columbia. There’s a bunch of people driven by personal agendas and greed. It’s all about money. And the only solutions are term limits and cutting taxes so there is less to steal.
We can only hope that someday all these political consultants get their just due. Lee Atwater did. Dick Morris did. A life built on lies is not one I would recommend.
Tom, those little Miss CC mad cheerleader tactics will wear very thin on the voting public. Good Luck in your campaign. It sure would be great to have some…
“open, candid, straightforward, sincere, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent” Senators! That would be awesome…
Maybe the Marines won’t have to do a tour of duty in the South Carolina Statehouse after all! They can concentrate on those pesky terrorists. And those mad cheerleaders AND their “people.”
Brad,
You are my guy…I like you. But you gotta get over the Tom Davis man crush.
Who do you think has been carrying the Governors dirty water over these years? Who do you think cooks up all those half true statements and meaningless statistics? Who has been in charge of the opposition research and USING it…Tom Davis…that who.
He is playing the poor me sweet Betty routine , while he has been in the thick of rough, high level politics for 6 years.
And just a word for the wise…I ain’t even going to discuss the “rough stuff” …nor the rumors about Tom that are just as valid as those the Davis crowd has been passing around about his competition.
Brad…you need to do some asking around to the people that know before you go further on the Davis train.
Wasn’t it sweet Tom Davis who tried to rewrite history a couple of years ago and say that Tommy Moore was the real mastermind behind Lost Trust?
And have you hada chance to read the blog entrees on the net, and the comments posted in the Beaufort paper?
Almost all with the same narrow, disciplined message. All done immediately…all sending out the message “bad Rod” and “bad Senator Cieps”. Many referring to an alleged personal problem that Will Folks has been spinning for months (yes, Will the friend, former co-worker, and client of Tom Davis).
All signs point to Davis running a disciplined, offensive, and “hard” campaign of his own…so let’s stop the Tom Davis an angel bit. It is very tired already.
Tom Davis nor his contractor purchased a building business permit for the paint job.
The contractor did not purchase a business license until 2 weeks after they started the job, and after the county called and demanded him do so.
The worker in question seems to be an illegal and working contrary to law.
No one has mentioned if the contractor is insured, and if workers compensation premiums have been paid…but I have my doubts.
This is text book case of why we have an immigration problem…rich white republicans evading the law, regulations and fees in order to get a cheap paint job.
Disgusting. Simply disgusting.
I think it’s just a little too sad that running for office has to include dealing with smear tactics such as those Rod Shealy is famous for creating.
What happened to running on your own good merits? Why do we have to make every attempt to ruin a good person in order to make the opposition look good?
I’m not a deeply religious person but do believe that bearing false witness against thy neighbor is a sin and one day you WILL have to answer for such.
Good luck, Mr. Davis…watch your back!
Nice job Mike…on point and short…and no substance. You take instruction well. And the religious card was a nice touch…but I noticed you did as expected in that you tried to make this about anyone other than Tom Davis and the illegal alien.
So do you think the chief of staff for the governor should have an unlicensed contractor, on an unpermitted job, with illegal aliens at his personal residence? If so, should I be given the same privileges?
Why should I have to pay fair wages and pay for permits, and pay for the expense of insured workers when Tom Davis does not?
(PS … I noticed you had no curiosity about the insurance and worker compensation status of the company. 25 years of contracting tells me the company has neither.,..but we shall wait for the crack journalists at the State to ask that question…hehehe)
Sorry, folks, but these two things are true at the same time:
— Tom has been the governor’s most loyal lieutenant practically forever, and
— Tom is a good guy.
I realize that in the simplistic, partisan worldview that one sees reflected in most media and most political discussions, that can’t be. But it is. One of the purposes of this blog is to point out things like that.
The GOP is the Lord of Flies come to life. Sure, Obama and Clinton are fighting but the Clintons are the instigators and are cut from the Karl Rove cloth (the circular firing squad analogy for the democrats is still the most appropriate). Swift boating is business as usual in the party of Rove and Atwater so why is Tom Davis surprised?
In the Columbia City County 3 race, there are 3 candidates who are competing to protect the interests of their wealthy constituents. Belinda! attempts to scare the middle class white voters into supporting her with her version of the 3AM phone ad. There’s no mention of the constituents who don’t live in refurbished homes as there was no mention in the GOP presidential primary regarding poverty.
When the focus of a party is protecting powerful and moneyed interests – the “haves” – the islanders will turn on each other.
Sorry, Brad, but Davis is no political virgin — it’s almost comical to suggest that he’s just now contemplating the realities of campaign politics in South Carolina, of all places.
You obviously have some history with Davis, but given the realities of where he’s been and what he’s done, the Dudley Doright portrayal is hard to swallow.
Brad nailed us hook, line & sinker Gordo! We are Tom People now. I think it was the sincere, “thrifty, brave, clean and reverent, that had us at HELLO.
Music Break
The story in the Beaufort Paper noted that Rod Shealy would submit to a polygraph examnination about this.
Why would Tom Davis not agree to take a polygraph test like Rod Shealy? What is he got to hide? If Tom Davis is telling the truth why wouldn’t he jump on that opportunity?
Tom Davis, like Governor Mitt Romney, caught got doing something that too many people “wink, nod and look the otherway” about – the hiring of illegal workers.
Tom Davis can settle this by simply agreeing to take a polygraph and prove he is telling the truth.
Governor Sanford on Illegal Immigration
January 30, 2008 – “Since Washington has failed to act on this issue, I think that as a state we have to be very clear about not creating incentives for illegal behavior,” Gov. Sanford said.
Legal immigration has been and continues to be part of what makes this country great, but at the same time we have to send a clear message that South Carolina won’t sanction illegal behavior with a wink and a nod.”
> The story in the Beaufort Paper noted
>that Rod Shealy would submit to a
>polygraph examnination about this.
A pathological liar probably can pass a polygraph very easily.
I predict that Summer temperatures will exceed 100 degrees this year. Duh! Now, we will see if Davis attacks under the guise of “running a clean campaign” or if he attacks himself with obvious issues he will face in an attempt to get the backlash effect and make some issues he will face moot.
Looks like Shealy has accomplished his first objective in this campaign of being feared rather than loved.
If Tom had nothing to worry about, other than being a past (or present) liberal Democrat, why would he be worried?
Is it because while he was giving that interview the folks in Beaufort were already working on his house?
Tom Davis told the AP reporter he checked to make sure the contractor had a license. He didn’t.
Simple question: Why would Tom Davis lie about that?
What else about this incident, the use of an illegal immigrant to perform work at his house, is Tom lying about?
He can put an end to it easily by taking the polygraph.
The company was not licensed when it began the work, nor did they have a building permit. They are not qualified by Labor License and Review to do the work.
They were supposed to pay triple the amount for the penalty, but the town allowed the important Mr. Davis to escape this fine. The average citizen is given this privilege.
I highly suspect that one worker is illegal and that the rest are not in the workers comp system. I suspect the company itself is not insured.
Tom Davis…corrupt citizen…will fit in perfectly in the Senate.
Well, I hope none of the workers got hurt while working on his house if they did not have workman’s compensation. Why? If they did not have worker’s comp and they got hurt there is no ceiling on damages, and Mr. Davis is liable with no coverage as it is specifically excluded from a homeowner’s policy.
Of course, I have yet to accuse Mr. Davis of being intelligent. So, your free lesson is not so hard learned.
However, do we want someone that creates this type of personal liability creating state liabilities. Count me out. No free ride for dummies here.
Gordon, thanks for a reasonable assessment.
Brad, I have some sandy land that may have oil under it. I’d like to see it go to an upper quintile kind of guy.
Interested?
Be honest, if a contractor comes to your house gives you a bid. You like the price and agree to the terms; do you card every worker that does the service? Get real and stick to the issue at hand. Who is the better man? Clearly Tom Davis. Rod needs to play games which waste my time and tax dollars.