As the day has worn on, I haven’t thought of anything particularly clever to say about the news that the Legislature is coming back to town. I’ll just make these three quick points, and turn it over to y’all:
- I don’t know that lawmakers should try to rush into impeachment proceedings — although if they’re going to do it, I’d rather they get it out of the way so it doesn’t waste another legislative session, the way Sanford’s foolishness over the stimulus wasted the last one.
- Sanford’s right that the department of Employment Security should report to the governor. Of course, he’s done all he could over the past year to undermine the case. It didn’t help with the commissioners disclosed that this governor had never been interested enough in what they do to have a real meeting with them in his six years in office.
- In case you wondered, I don’t have a dog in this fight, in the sense that I don’t think I, as an unemployed person, derive any benefit from what lawmakers are coming back to do. Long story, which I’m not going to get into right now, but suffice to say that as of this moment, I am not claiming unemployment compensation.
That’s all for now. What do y’all think?
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I sincerely hope they deal with getting the problem(s) with extending unemployment compensation before they start squabbling over whether or not to impeach the govenor. That said, I kinda sorta hope they get busy and impeach Gov. Sanford, not because I dislike him, but rather because I suspect that business is staying out of the state right now because they’re uncertain what’s going to happen next, and don’t particularly want to come here as long as Mr. Sanford’s around. For all he’s said, I don’t think he’s done much to encourage small business entrepreneurs. Nor has he created an environment that would attract big business. His approach to education has done nothing to improve the skills of the blue collar workers in this state, or to educate our rural citizens to the point that they could become an effective workforce for any business looking at a rural location. His taxation policies benefit the rich, but I don’t think they help people scrabbling to get a new small business off the ground.
When Sanford goes away, the problems in this state will remain.
Until the Legislature is overhauled from the top down, nothing will change.
From The State article:
” Harrell and McConnell said it should take lawmakers no more than a few days to make the change.
“The General Assembly will take quick action to fix this oversight by the (Employment Security Commission) to ensure that unemployed South Carolinians will not suffer further by being denied this federal benefit,” Harrell and McConnell said in a joint written statement.”
Ha.. ha.. ha… ha… a few days to basically write a couple paragraphs. That’s our government at “work”.
Wouldn’t want to deny all those out of town legislators a few days of per diem and mileage, eh?
I agree with Ms. McLeod. I hope the legislature will work on extending unemployment compensation before they start squabbling over impeachment. My prediction is that they will fight over impeachment all of the 2010 legislative session, and again nothing will be done to help our unemployment rate.
I would think that it has to weigh on the minds of officials looking to expand business that
1) GOP officials made comments about DeMint saving pennies like a Jew and the escaped gorilla being Michelle Obama’s ancestor
2) the national self-satire of Sanford and Wilson
3) a governor who derides the education system in his own state as being bad
4) an ongoing controversy about the confederate flag
Some Fortune 500 company is unlikely to open shop in the fun house of a carnival.
Given the reported sequence of events leading to this disaster, with one lobbyist for the poor and one legislator showing any interest in the problem after repeated warnings from the federal government, it seems about normal for South Carolina. Everyone was obsessed with their own political advantage. One legislator was interested in governing responsibly, and he wasn’t one in a position of central leadership. In a properly run world, everyone else would be busy writing their apologies and letters of resignation.
Amen, Karen.
I must say, Sanford really takes the cake with this one, though. He gets up on his high horse, when it was in no small part due to his distraction that the ball was dropped in the first place.
Has he no shame?
Uh, well, no.
I thought Cindi’s piece in yesterday’s paper seemed to sort out the blame nicely. Props to Sue Berkowitz of Appleseed, who is the “lobbyist for the poor” she cited who was the lone voice crying in the wilderness of SNAFU.
They will come to town, quickly take care of the unemployment glitch (keep the voters happy), bluster some about impeachement(but do nothing), and go home.
Unless… Glenn McConnell etal have found a loophole in the state constitution that protects his seat of power. He’s not about to give up Speaker Pro Tempore for the Lt Gov seat. That would break up the Triumvirate (Leatherman, McConnell, Harrell) who are the real “govenors” of SC.
Just my “between the lines” take.
Yes, I’ve thought that since the beginning–McConnell doesn’t want to be Lt. Governor (SC-2).
Why impeach Sanford when he’s toothless anyway? He’s a useful placeholder–a straw man–a pinata to whack at when the going gets uncomfortable.