Tom Ervin Releases First Campaign Ad as Candidate for Governor from The Post and Courier on Vimeo.
First, I’ve got to learn that his name is “Ervin,” not “Erwin.” I keep confusing him with Joe, the former state Democratic Party chair (and there hasn’t been one as good since).
Maybe his new media blitz can help me with that. (Although I’m dependent on press releases or news coverage of the ads to call them to my attention, since I seldom see these things on the boob tube. All that money spent to place them on broadcast outlets is lost on me. Fortunately for me, it’s impossible to stick them into old episodes of “The West Wing” on Netflix.)
Now I’ll get to the substance, and the question of the day: Will Mr. Ervin’s (just typed “Erwin” again, but caught myself) expenditure of $2 million on three TV ads through Labor Day make him a contender?
Or will it just make him more likely to pull votes from Nikki Haley, thereby putting Vincent Sheheen within reach of a win?
The later seems more credible to me, and it’s apparently what is causing the Sheheen campaign to be very careful not to do anything that might mess with this developing dynamic.
That’s his first ad above, the point of which is to say that Tom is a really nice guy. And also a guy who can afford to do something like this, which has got to be nice.
Here, by the way, is Ervin’s second ad, and his third one. He seems to be pretty good at sounding folksy. It’s a gift for a Southern pol to be able to sound genuine when saying “bidness”…
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He can’t win but I like a lot of his statements on issues on his website. At least he’s got some specific bold ideas. Repeal the income tax, school choice for students in failing school districts, increase minimum wage, term limits for legislators (I’d vote for him on this alone).
Too bad Sheheen doesn’t have the guts to make some bold statements. 4K pre-school is trivial.
Although income tax repeal is unfortunately a no-go, as Erwin knows, he is positioning himself for a future campaign. Should Sheheen lose again, he can plan to make his bones in D.C. (by appointment) and return without a D.C. taint.
I heard DC Taint open for Weezer at Madison Square Garden in 1998.
Have those who return without a DC Taint experienced a taintectomy?
Juan, why is income tax repeal a no-go? I believe that North Carolina is in the process of phasing their income tax out. If they can do it, why can’t we?
If North Carolina jumps off a cliff, do you think you should, too?
An excellent question, because of the seven states currently with no income taxation, two have legislatures like SC (that is, as ranked by the National Conference of State Legislatures with state input), they are “hybrids”.
Hybrid legislators (including WA, TX, and NC) typically say that while they spend more than two-thirds of a full time job being legislators, their income from legislative work is not enough to allow them to make a living without other sources of income (e.g. Bobby Harrell).
As with unionized workers, legislators never want to demonstrate efficiency or urgency.
SC legislators have enacted rules of order and procedure that guarantee foot-dragging from year to year on matters of actual significance (income taxes and data security), which are “complex” and must be studied from session to session as opposed to urgent matters such as the State herb.
Silence, I hope we are both alive when SC abandons its state income tax. It will probably take 10 years to phase out if ever enacted, and that will only be when retirees stop bringing their IRAs with them (say another 10 -15 years).