In case you missed the show today, here’s everything you need to catch up and be like the cool kids.
First, we have a photo above taken by my favorite “pollster,” Emerson Smith. It shows me with Michael Feldman (that’s Michael in the garnet “Cocks” shirt). That’s bassist Jeff Hamann hanging his head in the background; I don’t know what I said to make him do that.
Then, there’s this synopsis of the segment featuring me from the Web site, notmuch.com:
:10 – Michael talks with Brad Warthen, formerly of The State Newspaper and blogger of “all the opinions that weren’t quite good enough to put in the actual paper.” See http://blogs.thestate.com/bradwarthensblog/. Warthen was the Vice President of the paper and the Editor of the editorials and lost his job. What happened?! “It’s happening all over,” Warthen said. He and Michael talk about the state of the economy in South Carolina. The Governor of South Carolina doesn’t want to accept federal stimulus funds, “because he doesn’t believe in public education. He actually has control over this. Congress is sending out this money in a way that allows Governors to apply for it, assuming that they will. This is actually a moment in which he actually gets to make a decision…and we see the quality of the decision he’s made.” Other political hot buttons? “Everything is related to [the Governor’s choice]. We have 11.4% unemployment,” for example. The cigarette tax is .07 cents…it’s the lowest in the country, “all but subsidizing kids to smoke.” Is Columbia a Democratic enclave? Richland County is. Lexington County, where Warthen lives, has been one of the most Republican counties in the country. The University of South Carolina is working on a new fuel initiative. In the area of research, there’s unprecedented cooperation between USC and Clemson. Michael asks Warthen if he has season tickets. “I do not…I’m not a football fan,” he admits. He went to school here for one semester, started in the Honors College, but had a disasterous experience. “There was all this freedom!” he exclaimed. He transferred to Memphis State University after that, and majored in journalism and history. See bradwarthen.com for Warthen’s online columns, or his blog noted above.
Or, you can go to that same link and listen to the whole show.
Finally, for those who wonder what goes on in the moments before the show, here’s some very bad video from my phone, shot from the wings. About the only part you can hear clearly is when Michael is coaching the audience to say “Not much. Y’all?” instead of the usual “Not much. You?”
If you’ll forgive the cliche, a good time was had by y’all.
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So Brad could not handle USC because there was too much freedom (and responsibility). Nothing has changed.
Nobody told me about the responsibility part.
That’s the part that scares most people into surrendering their freedom.
Hi Brad,
I was in the audience yesterday! Great show and great interview. You were right on with your comments.
I was born in Bennettsville and raised in Cheraw.
Two famous B’ville natives are Miriam Wright Edelman the child advocate and Rick Hendrick of Rick Hendrick Motorsports (NASCAR).
Best Regards,
Sandhillsmcp
Who said this?
“People need to be upset,” he said. “This is a complete, absolute abandonment of fiscal discipline and the Obama budget is a roadmap to disaster that will bankrupt this country.”
Probably some partisan Republican hack, right?
Nope, our Senator. Lindsey Graham. The man who tilts whichever way the wind is blowing.