From Rep. James Smith’s Facebook page:
If SC had seen genuine ethics reform previously and had an ethics committee with any teeth, Nikki Haley would likely have been forced out of the House and never would have made it to the Governor’s office. Her actions and the culture of corruption continue to bring shame on SC and the people of our state deserve better.
Coming from such a nice, easygoing, mild-talking guy as James Smith, that is way harsh. Especially that last sentence.
That’s the kind of stuff his neighbor Mia McLeod would say. We can see this, I suppose, as a heating-up of rhetoric as James’ friend Vincent Sheheen prepares to take on the governor. But I think it’s also a measure of the degree to which James, mild-mannered as he is, is fed up.
Anyway, for context, here’s this morning’s story in The State about the ethics bill.
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Nope; he was about dead on. There absolutely is a political culture of corruption in SC.
And it encompasses pretty much all the current leadership of the legislature. But we don’t talk about them as much. Maybe because they have all the power and people fear retaliation?
“And it encompasses pretty much all the current leadership of the legislature. But we don’t talk about them as much. Maybe because they have all the power and people fear retaliation?”
There is genuine truth to fear of retaliation. In addition, lawyers have become today’s singular role models as subject matter experts in constitutional matters, litigation and ethics.
Omitted as usual is the fact that Representative (1997 – Present) James E. Smith, Jr. (Dem) is an attorney hoping to curry partisan favor with the Sheheen’s coterie. More significantly omitted and obfuscated (thank you, journalists) is the enormous CONFLICT of INTEREST embodied in lawyers elected to representative offices at state and federal levels.
Again with the anti-lawyer jihad. Cripes a’ mighty!