Still scratching my head over the state Ethics Commission fixin’ to slap Nikki Haley’s wrist, then changing its mind:
Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign will not have to repay the state for the cost of a SLED security detail that accompanied her on a trip to North Carolina in June, the State Ethics Commission’s executive director said Wednesday.
Haley attended a late-June N.C. event sponsored by the Renew North Carolina Foundation, a 501(c)4 that supports Republican N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory. Tuesday, reports surfaced the state-owned vehicle Haley was riding in on that trip was involved in a minor car accident June 27. Haley, along with her political adviser and a campaign fundraiser, were passengers in that vehicle, according to a public incident report.
Cathy Hazelwood, the attorney for the state Ethics Commission, said Wednesday morning she had sent a letter to Haley’s campaign asking it to reimburse the state for providing the Republican governor with a security detail on a campaign fundraising trip. “I can’t fathom why you have campaign people in your car and that’s not a campaign event,” Hazelwood said…
But then, the director of the agency said never mind, once he got “the whole story” from one of the governor’s attorneys.
So… what IS the whole story? I mean, what’s with the governor of our state getting in a wreck in another state, and we hear about it months later?
And how was that not a campaign trip?
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Let’s try not to hyperventilate too much over a SLED agent backing into a post t 10 mph.
Is that REALLY a “wreck”?
Are you questioning the SLED director’s statement?
““No one is trying to hide anything,” Keel said. “We have agents who have accidents all the time it. It would be one thing if it were an accident where someone had gone to the hospital. “From you all’s perspective, the governor is there. I understand that. It was a minor accident,” Keel continued. “Honestly, it’s folks trying to make something out of nothing.”
The best part of the story in The State was this line:
“News of the wreck was first reported by Fitsnews.com”
It’s too bad that a part time blogger uncovers more news in this state than the entire news staff of the leading newspaper.
It is not hyperventilating about the fender bender. It is the snicker-worthy assertion that it was not a campaign trip, and the lack of disclosure.
Sure Fits can report A story better than the decimated State. He posts whatever, whenever. No deadlines and set column inches to fill. He also has a huge, um, whatever for Nikki!
You say Brad is biased against Haley!
So neither SLED nor the Ethics Commission is reliable.
Brad and Will Folks each have their own obsession with Nikki Haley. Each appears to spend much of his free time waiting for anything he can use to slam her.
I think she’s a lousy governor but I don’t delude myself into thinking she matters. And if she beats Sheheen again do you think it will matter to her one bit what Brad or Folks thinks?
It’s possible that it wasn’t a campaign event. Perhaps she was using the travel time to talk and strategize with her advisors. I’m not saying that was the case, but I’m saying it’s not unreasonable to think that they might have been using the hours of travel time to iron out some campaign details.
I’m no Haley fan either, I think I’ve been as sharp a critic as anyone when she does things I disagree with. I’ll call a bindi a bindi.
If it wasn’t a campaign event she wouldn’t have collected campaign contributions.
Or brought campaign personnel along….as Cathy Hazelwood said.
This problem isn’t really about Nikki Haley. It was about a system of ethics oversight that is broken, far too often serving the interest of officials rather than the citizens of the state. Both the legislative and executive branches need appointees from the other branch on an Ethics Commission that oversees both to come a little bit closer to keeping things honest. Otherwise the ethics “overseers” of both of these branches of government will continue to do what they are doing now — tell us that up is down and down is up, and that everything is just fine the way it is. It isn’t. It isn’t working in the executive branch, where a trip to someone’s PAC fundraiser is official state business. It isn’t working in the legislative branch, where legislators are paid lobbyists for companies and organizations instead of representing the people who voted for them, and the law does not require that they disclose the existence or the source of their “consulting” income.
Since it is Haley bashing time again, when is it not Haley bashing time?, thought this gem might lighten the mood. Don’t know if it is an actual comment but here it is anyway.
“Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.”
–Department of Social Services, Greenville , South Carolina
“Hello, it is a happy day in South Carolina, how may I assist you?”
Lynn wants separation of the branches of government with cross oversight responsibilities. Why is that such a novel idea in SC?
Thanks, Lynn. Seriously.
It isn’t an Ethics Commission overseeing the executive when the Governor has the immediate power to replace and reform the Commission as she chooses. We don’t have a system of government within this state. We have a governance of corruption.
Kudos to the Ethics Commission attorney who did the right thing and is I am sure feeling the heat she full well expected.
Ummm… Where was the “bashing” in this post?
I raised a couple of questions. Reasonable questions. In a calm tone.
You want to see some bashing, go dig up some of the stuff I wrote about Mark Sanford. And Jim Hodges. And David Beasley. And Carroll Campbell.
I was on occasion way more critical of all of them than I was here of Nikki.