File photo.
On Saturday, July 26, while on vacation, I posted “The pettiest thing I’ve ever heard Nikki Haley say,” which referred specifically to this comment about the refugee children from Central America being billeted in South Carolina:
“You want me to educate them, right? And you want me to pay their health care, right? It does cost us something”…
We had a moderately lively discussion of the matter here on the blog, and it got more buzz on social media than weekend items usually get.
Anyway, as I was writing that, I put in a phone call to the Sheheen campaign, seeking his thoughts on the matter.
I tried Phil Bailey, who works for Senate Dems and can usually put me in touch. He suggested I call Kristin Sosanie, the state party spokeswoman, who has been working closely with the campaign. I tried to call her a couple of times. Then I moved on…
I only went to that much trouble, on a Saturday on vacation, because I thought it was really worth knowing whether he took a different position from the governor’s, and no one in the MSM seemed to be asking him about it. But I figured two or three attempted calls from the coffee shop of a Barnes & Noble was above and beyond. I went on to write another, unrelated post and went back to my family and my vacation.
But after being reminded of it late last week, I reached out again to Kristin, reminding her of my previous call. She responded, “Yes, sorry we were on the road that day and I dropped the ball. Will talk to him and let you know, thanks!”
I bugged her about it again this morning, and received this response:
We don’t have any comment for you in this, sorry!
Which is disappointing.
When I mentioned last week my initial unsuccessful attempt to get a response on the subject, Doug Ross — ever the cynic — responded:
It’s another issue he has to avoid (like gay marriage) to try and hang onto Republican votes. If he says anything, it will be through a mouthpiece and be sufficiently obtuse as to not be clear what he thinks.
He’s trying to win an election, not be open and honest. I can picture the campaign meetings where consultants tell him what he can and cannot say in order to appease crossover Republicans.
I responded that I would hate to think that’s why I didn’t hear back, but the possibility did occur to me.
Anyway, I told y’all I would try again to get a response, and so I’m sharing what I got back. I told Kristin I was sorry to hear that they weren’t going to respond. And I am.
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It’s about time for the SC Dems to write this election off, and write this candidate off as well.
I wonder what Vincent Sheheen thinks about President Pastides promised million dollar payday?
I don’t know, but I think any lawmaker has a nerve presuming to say anything about spending at our “public” universities, seeing that appropriations from state taxes now make up a percentage of universities’ operating budget that is somewhere in the single digits…
I could see parents paying tuition, or regular lottery players, having a beef, but the state itself has little skin in the game these days…
And yet, the State of South Carolina (or rather the collective taxpayers) are still the largest single entity paying for the university. The parents paying tuition don’t really get a vote, except by sending little Johnny or Janie elsewhere, so they are a non-starter. The legislature appoints the board of trustees, who hire the president, approve salaries, and I think, also approve the university budget.
Pastides’ payday is not really much of a state issue, since his state salary is in the $200K range, not a big deal for the head of a major institution! The rest comes from the Foundation, which might ought to concern taxpayers on account of its tax exempt status, but I think Harris deserves big bucks more than Spurrier or Tanner….
When it comes to politicians, cynicism should be the prevailing attitude. It hasn’t failed me in 35 years of following politics as a voter.
With the Chamber of Commerce endorsement, Sheheen may as well begin preparing his concession speech now.
Sheheen should say something, in response to Haley….unless he agrees, in which case shame on him
Sheheen can’t run on issues and he can’t run on his sparse record over the past four years. He can’t cater to the Democratic base. He can’t say he’s pro life to loudly or that he likes to shoot guns with his sons.
He has had one strategy since day one: I am not her. To lose a second time by a wider margin will be a disservice to his party. Four wasted years.
It seems to me that Sheheen thinks that with Ervin in the race, he’s got a shot — and therefore his team is averse to taking any risks that might change the dynamic.
His campaign now seems to be based in the same idea as the Obama foreign policy: “Don’t do stupid s___.”
He would win with around 42-45% of the vote. Which would mean most voters thought someone else was a better choice. Which would make him powerless.
If the only way he can beat Haley is to hope someone else takes votes away from her, he’s not much of a leader.
A win is a win. Bill Clinton sure made a difference in his first term, with less than 50%. W, too. 😉
But, Doug has a point, for a different reason…
A Democrat in South Carolina would need a mandate to make a difference, dealing with this Legislature. Any excuse they have to ignore him and his agenda, they will eagerly seize upon…
I’m pretty much an optimist concerning most things, but Doug and Silence are right on Sheheen. He’s a weak flavor of vanilla. Were the election today, I’d skip that box on the ballot or cast a Neither-Nikki-nor-Vince vote.