Category Archives: South Carolina

Soul-searching in the secular realm of politics

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By BRAD WARTHEN
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
A reader recently told me she enjoys my columns because she likes to follow my “soul-searching” as I try to work through an issue. I suggested she keep reading — who knows; someday I might actually find something.
    But I knew what she meant, and took it kindly. That’s the kind of commentary I value, too. That’s why I called Hal Stevenson on Friday to talk about the upcoming presidential primaries.
    Hal is a political activist of the Christian conservative variety. He’s a board member and former chairman of the Palmetto Family Council, which has its offices in a building he owns on Gervais Street. He’s also one of the most soberly thoughtful and fair-minded people I know, which to the national media probably constitutes an oxymoron: The thoughtful Christian conservative.
    When last I saw Hal, he had brought Sen. Sam Brownback in for an editorial board interview regarding his quest for the GOP presidential nomination.
    Since then, several things have happened:

    Of all those, the nod I would have valued the most was that of Sen. Brownback — like me, a convert to Catholicism. When he spoke of the impact of faith on his approach to leadership, it actually seemed to have something to do with Judeo-Christian beliefs: He spoke of acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly.
    By contrast, Pat Robertson’s explanation as to why he was endorsing the one Republican least in tune with religious conservatives seemed to have little to do with spiritual matters, and everything to do with secular ideology and partisan strategy: He spoke of defeating terrorism, fiscal discipline and the selection of federal judges. The first two concerns are secular; the third seemed the least likely of reasons for him to back Mr. Giuliani.
    The ways in which “values voters” interact with the sin-stained realities of power politics have long mystified me, and I wondered: Does a guy like Pat Robertson, with all his baggage (wanting to whack Hugo Chavez, suggesting 9/11 happened because America had it coming), actually deliver more votes than he chases away?
    So I called Hal to help me sort it out. As of lunchtime Friday, when we spoke, he was up in the air about the presidential contest himself, now that his man Brownback was out of it. But he’s sorting through it, and has had face-to-face talks with the candidates he considers most likely.
    “My heart says Huckabee,” he said. “He’s much more like me, I suppose, than the other guys.” But that’s not his final answer. He said when he asked Sen. Brownback why he didn’t get behind Gov. Huckabee, he said “it’d be like endorsing himself, so he might as well stay in himself.” He was looking for someone who offered what he couldn’t, and chose McCain.
    As for Hal, “I did meet with McCain,” who is “certainly a real patriot,” but he’s trying to decide whether the Arizonan’s position on stem cell research — he charts a middle course — “is going to be a deal-killer for me.” (Brownback has told him that McCain says he wouldn’t make such research a high priority as president.)
    He hasn’t decided yet about Mitt Romney. He’s talked with him, and sees him as “a very capable executive… he’s proven that.” But he cites “Sam’s words” about the former Massachusetts governor: “He’s a technocrat, running as an ideologue.”
    While noting that “we don’t look to Bob Jones III for a lot of stuff,” there are “some very credible Christian activists out there supporting Romney.” He mentions state lawmakers Nathan Ballentine and Kevin Bryant, and cites his respect for U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint.
    He says he’s not bothered by Mr. Romney’s flip-flopping on abortion, since he “takes the right position now.” But he worries it could hurt him in the general election, when Democrats could use old video clips to great effect.
    “I am going through a methodical process,” he said, “and I have been impressed with McCain, Huckabee, Romney….”
    He has not, however, met with Fred Thompson, “and I probably wouldn’t waste Giuliani’s time.”
“I respect him for being straightforward and not trying to B.S. us,” he said of the former mayor, but he does not relish having to choose between two pro-choice candidates next November.
    As for the host of “The 700 Club,” “I really don’t much care what Pat Robertson does.”
    “Robertson lost credibility with most thinking evangelicals a long time ago.” Hal said he was turned off back during Mr. Robertson’s own run for the presidency in 1988: “It was all about acquiring political power in the Republican Party,” and that “wasn’t what many of us thought the Christian Coalition was about.”
    While Hal himself is still seeking the answer, “I’ve got good evangelical friends who are working for every campaign.”
    Every Republican campaign, that is. Nothing against Democrats per se, Hal says; it’s just that “A pro-life Democrat doesn’t have a chance in the Democratic primary,” and that is a deal-killer.
    Hal still doesn’t know which of the candidates that leaves please him the most, but in the end, that’s not the point: “The only person ultimately I’m trying to please is the Lord.”

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Over the transom

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This morning, I read the story about the changed Bar exam scores with some interest, because the tale was immediately familiar.

Earlier in the week, I had received this e-mail:

Brad-
    I’m not sure if you are the appropriate one to handle this, but I figured you would be able to pass it to the right person/people. As you may or may not know, the South Carolina Bar recently issued its list of the most recent admittees into the South Carolina Bar. This list was published October 26 and can be accessed online at www.sccourts.org. The bar passage rate was 77.5%
    Either yesterday or today, the SC Supreme Court issued a statement in which they threw out the results of a section of the bar exam, which allowed 20 more individuals to pass the bar exam. At least one of those who now passed is the daughter of a House Judiciary Chairman Jim Harrison. I have information … that 12 of judicial law clerks failed the bar exam and are among these 20. I also have information that Rep. Harrison is among those who contacted the bar examiners to complain about his child not passing. It is also my understanding that some of those 20 also may be children of members of our Judiciary.
    As you can see, this is quite the discomforting situation. … I find this entire situation outrageous and would like to see these people called out on it. The swearing-in ceremony is next Tuesday, Nov. 13th. There is typically a program which includes the names of those being sworn in. A comparison of that program with the list now available on the website would give you the names of those admitted after the fact. At that point, it simply becomes a question of finding out who is working for whom. Obviously it will be fairly easy to tell whose children, if any, are among those added to the list.
    I’d be willing to talk to you about this more if you have questions. I do not, however, want to be named at any time if you or someone else decides to investigate further.

And so it is that I leave the name off, and excise a couple of short phrases that might point to this tipster’s identity. (I’ll say only that it was not a regular source of mine; this was a classic "over the transom" tip.)

I forwarded the e-mail to some folks down in our newsroom. Whether they had received other tips, I have no idea. I seldom receive so much as an acknowledgment that my e-mails are received when I send tips to the newsroom, which is fine; I understand. No one on either side wants to seem, even to himself, to engage in collusion. Such is the nature of the separation between news and editorial.

In any case, it seems the tipster was onto something, and had his/her facts straight. As to what to think of it — once again, we’re in that gray area of appearances that I’m never sure what to think about. It might have been innocent; it might have been awful. One thing I do know about such stories of apparent favoritism: I’m glad to see them reported, so that you can decide for yourself if you think wrong was done.

Way to go, Joe!

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Yesterday, I got so busy writing about stuff happening over among cultural conservatives in the GOP, I forgot to celebrate Joe Riley’s entirely predictable, but still noteworthy, re-election to a ninth term as Charleston’s mayor.

As our own immediate metropolitan area writhes in confusion and lack of accountability, at least we can look down the road and know that dynamic, courageous leadership still exists somewhere in our world — and, even more amazingly, is sometimes appreciated!

Way to go, Joe! We’re proud of you, and envious of Charleston.

Giuliani defends Pat Robertson, explains endorsement

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Just hours after Pat Robertson announced that he was endorsing Rudy Giuliani’s bid for the presidency, a supporter asked what Giuliani thought of the televangelist’s comments right after 9/11 (which he claims to have predicted), when he essentially said that the terrorist attacks were God’s wrath unleashed on a stiff-necked nation. Specifically, he said:

"We have allowed rampant secularism and occult, et cetera, to be
broadcast on television. We have permitted somewhere in the
neighborhood of 35 to 40 million unborn babies to be slaughtered in our
society. We have a Court that has essentially stuck its finger in God’s
eye and said, ‘We’re going to legislate you out of the schools, we’re
going to take your Commandments from off the courthouse steps in
various states, we’re not going to let little children read the
Commandments of God, we’re not going to let the Bible be read — no
prayer in our schools.’ We have insulted God at the highest levels of
our government. And, then we say ‘why does this happen?’ Well, why its
happening is that God Almighty is lifting His protection from us."

OK, so it was more like he was saying the Almighty withdrew his countenance — his protection — from us.

Anyway, Rudy is no stranger to dealing with the protection racket. He brushed off that concern, saying, "Gosh, I’ve had to explain lots of comments of mine at different times."

Saying, "I’m very, very pleased to have Pat Robertson’s endorsement," the former mayor went on to explain why. If you want to know why, watch the video. And if you want video of the announcement earlier in the day, you can find a clip at this site.

Rudy gives pep talk to supporters

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Here’s footage from Rudy Giuliani’s brief appearance this afternoon at his West Columbia headquarters at 1221 Sunset Blvd.

It’s pretty vanilla stuff. First he explains how important they are, and that he couldn’t do it himself. He does this awkwardly enough — I’ve cut out some of the repetition to keep this under 5 minutes — that I could almost see him thinking, They know that! How obvious can you get? Say something interesting! Mention 9/11!

He then goes on to tout his qualifications in what you might term a cut-down, just-among-friends version of his stump speech.

I’ll have more video of him talking about the Pat Robertson endorsement momentarily…

How did you vote in the District 5 referendum, and why?

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Let’s have a little real-time civic discussion here.

I notice that interest seems high in my posts from yesterday on the subject, here, here and here.

Now that the voting is actually going on, let’s analyze it, and let’s not do it the bogus, TV-style, talking-heads-guessing way. Let’s hear from real people who have voted today:

How did you vote in the District 5 referendum, and why?

I’ll do my best to keep up with approving comments, to keep this as current as possible. Now, let’s see what happens.

Video: What’s different about THIS referendum?

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One last word on the subject of the District 5 referendum. Now, on the eve of the vote, is a good time to revisit my video clip in which the unanimous board explains, in their words, what’s different about this bond proposal, as opposed to the ones in the past that divided the trustees.

Message from District 5 superintendent

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Here’s a handy tip for the future — don’t send me e-mail on Friday and expect me to see it before the next week! I just don’t have time to read the messages on that day.

That said, here’s one more item relating to the District 5 referendum tomorrow. It’s an e-mail sent to me … on Friday… by district Supt. Scott Andersen:

Brad –

Below is a letter I would like you to consider publishing pertaining to D5’s referendum this Tuesday. 

    I have thought long and hard about what I should write this week as we lead up to our very important bond referendum vote on Tuesday, November 6.  I have wondered if there was one piece of information that would help theDist5_007
District Five community best decide the course we should take on that day. The impression that I have received is that our community members have been inundated with numbers, facts and a wide variety of opinions.
    Therefore, I am going to share a true story that happened to one of my co-workers.  It has a message that is appropriate for our District Five community at this important juncture in our history.
    He walked into a local restaurant recently with his wife and two children.  As soon as he entered, he heard music playing over the intercom system.  After noticing the music, he saw an elderly couple sitting at a table and eating their burgers and fries while “getting into” the music.  As he approached the counter to place his order, he noticed that the lady working the counter was helping the customers while also “getting into” the music.  As he looked past the lady at the counter, he saw that the gentleman cooking the hamburgers was doing so while moving with the music.  Then as he walked back to the table where his family was sitting, he saw a young father carrying drinks back to his table while singing the song that was playing on the intercom.  Finally, when my friend made it back to his family, he noticed that they too were tapping and moving to the song that was playing.
    After seeing all of this, he paused and thought for a moment.  In that restaurant, at that moment in time, everyone was “tapping their feet” to the same song at the same time.
    And now I ask, what would it be like if, as a community, we all “tapped our feet” for a few brief moments to the same “song” for our children?  Imagine what we could accomplish.
    Imagine what could happen if we agreed as a community that regardless of where a child goes to school in our district, they had a great facility that supports teaching and learning.  Imagine if every student, regardless of where they go to school, and if every teacher, regardless of where they work, had access to technology that truly supported teaching and learning.
    Imagine if we did not have to put our students and staff in unsafe, educationally inappropriate, and fiscally irresponsible classroom portables every day.
    Imagine if we reinvested in our existing facilities throughout Irmo, Dutch Fork and in Chapin so that our neighborhoods had terrific schools that helped keep property values high and businesses prosperous.
    Imagine if we addressed the needs of all of our students by providing them the much needed Career and Technology classes at every high school to ensure that they have a bright and productive future.
    Imagine the opportunity to make all of that happen November 6.

Can you read this?

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posting via Treo from Rotary…

Our speaker today is Debbie Yoho of the Greater Columbia Literacy Council, talking about the problem of adult illiteracy in South Carolina.

Her Most Alarming Fact sums up why we should care: 52 percent of adults in South Carolina can’t read beyond an elementary school basis. It’s actually worse than that sounds … Debbie explains that what that means is that a majority of adults in our state can’t anything beyond 300 to 500 simple word they recognize by sight. I don’t know about you, but I’m guessing I was at that point sometime during the first grade.

Explains a lot, huh?

2010 election update

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Catching up on last week’s doings…

House Speaker Bobby Harrell was the keynote speaker at the Columbia Urban League‘s Equal Opportunity Day banquet last Thursday night at Seawell’s, as mentioned previously. How did he do? Well, by the abysmal standards of recent governors and would-be governors, I’d say he did a middlin’ job.

It was only the second time I’ve heard him give a set speech — last time was to my Rotary a while back — and he was better then. I suspect he read that one, and was therefore more confident in his material. This time, he trying doing the off-the-cuff thing, riffing on what had been done and said earlier in the evening, and while he didn’t say anything to embarrass himself, he came across as a little jumpy, a bit ill-at-ease in his bonhomie.

Mind you, he’d have to go some to beat the worst speech I ever heard delivered to that group, and I don’t think he was feeling that ambitious. The standard for sheer, mortifying awfulness, of course, was the infamous "Let’s Make a Deal" address delivered by Jim Hodges back in 1999. The few folks with the Urban League who got an advance look at it begged him throughout the dinner not to deliver it, but he went ahead. Here’s a link to our editorial on the subject (which I think I wrote, but it’s hard to remember).

But enough with the nostalgia. As I said, the Speaker’s speech wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t his best. He tried winging it — with impromptu comments about folks he saw in the audience — and if he gains any handlers between now and election time, they should probably revoke his winging-it privileges. One good thing about it, though — he did give my blog a plug.

And on the whole, he made friends there that night, and that’s the point of such speeches at this stage of the game, right?

Anyway, this prompts me to engage briefly in the parlor game of naming the likely gubernatorial candidates at this time. Remind me if I’m forgetting anybody. There’s…

GOP

  • Bobby himself. I don’t look for him to declare himself unless and until
    some of these other possibilities bow out. Who would give up the real
    power of being Speaker for the ceremonial honor of being governor if
    it’s not a sure thing?
  • David Wilkins — The former speaker is said to be eying a triumphant march back below the 49th parallel.
  • Billy Wilkins — The distinguished jurist and brother of the ambassador to the Great White North is also being mentioned.
  • Gresham Barrett — The congressman has been known to make gubernatorial noises similar to those of Mr. Harrell.
  • Jim Ritchie — Best known for his forward-looking green buildings initiative and the immigration issue, this Upstater is the one state senator known to be considering a demotion.

DEMS

  • Joe Erwin — Little known outside of the party structure, this former chairman will have to live down his association with payday lending.
  • James Smith — The former House Democratic leader would be the one candidate able to claim war-hero status.
  • Inez Tenenbaum — The Democrats’ top proven vote-getter — who incidentally was one of the folks Mr. Harrell singled out to say nice things about from the podium last week, she’d probably have the best shot at the nomination if she wants it. She’d be pinning her general election chances on it NOT being a presidential election year, unlike her last outing.

Columbia leader to Malcolm X: ‘You’d better leave.’

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Here’s video of Anthony Hurley — one of the co-counders of the Columbia Urban League — talking about his encounter with Malcolm X long ago.

Warren Bolton’s column today tells of this exchange, so I thought I’d provide this clip as a supplement.

The Urban League, of course, has stood for a very different approach to race relations than that which Malcolm X embodied before his hajj. It’s always been about working with people to effect positive change, rather than destructive confrontation.

That’s one reason why I was proud to serve on the board of the Columbia Urban League for a decade, and why I will be happy to help the organization celebrate its 40th anniversary at its annual Equal Opportunity Day dinner tonight.

The NAACP’s selective boycott

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A reader sends this question today via e-mail:

My wife and I spent some time last week in Montgomery, Al, where our newly married son and wife reside.  We toured downtown Montgomery (in the throes of being "reinvigorated") and the State Capitol.  I was interested to see  confederate flags prominently displayed on the grounds of the Capitol.  Not just one flag, but the four major flags of the confederacy, includignthe battle flag.  This was not some subtle showing of the flags as they were all on tall flagpoles being very prominently displayed.  I became curious as to the NAACP stance to this but my research fails to find any reaction.  I wonder why SC is being boycotted but not Alabama?  Any ideas?

This is the way I understand it: The South Carolina element within the NAACP has a lot of pull with the national organization. A key link is the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III. Basically, S.C. is targeted because that’s the way the South Carolina NAACP leadership wants it. It has nothing to do with S.C. being worse, or special, in any objective sense.

Consider:

If I were the NAACP, and I were inclined to boycott, I’d be boycotting Mississippi. But that’s just me.

As if the Democrats weren’t bad enough last night…

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Now Mitt Romney has jumped in, along with Edwards and Obama, for a twofer — demagogue the immigration issue, and bash Hillary.

Just got around to reading this e-mail that William Holley of the Romney campaign sent me this morning:

    One more for you:
    If y’all didn’t catch the Democratic debate last night, Senator Clinton and other Democrats made some troubling remarks in support of a plan in her home state of New York to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
    That won’t fly here in South Carolina.
    Governor Romney, on the on the other hand, has a clear record of opposing driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.
    Here is a “Romney Vision” policy document on the issue: http://mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Romney_Vision_Illegal_Immigration

    Enjoy.

Urging me to "enjoy" it is being just a tad optimistic there, William.

Words fail

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You may have noticed that I haven’t had anything to say about the kids who died in the fire. That’s because I don’t know what to say, beyond the fact that it’s awful.

More importantly, we haven’t said anything editorially. At least, we haven’t said anything that’s been published. We forced ourselves to do an editorial for tomorrow’s paper. Warren Bolton, God bless him, volunteered to write it after Cindi and I (remember, Mike’s out) both said we didn’t think we were up to it.

Part of this is that Cindi and I are not the world’s best empathizers. Of those currently on the board, Warren (who is almost, but not quite yet, an ordained AME minister), is the best. At times such as this, we really miss Claudia Brinson, who was really good at it. She said the right thing, and said it beautifully. Back when she and John Monk were on the board, they were always the first to say we needed to say something about something like this. I would agree with them; I just wouldn’t know what to say about something like this — something that everyone was talking about, but which did not have an obvious editorial point. No matter of policy or anything like that, which of course is the usual province of editorials. (The term we use under such circumstances is that we just need to "resonate" to the news, something I’m not that great at.)

But there’s more to it than that, at least for me. As I said in our meeting this morning, I don’t even know what to say in a case like this when I’m intimately involved with it. When my youngest daughter’s boyfriend died a month back, I drove up to Pennsylvania to be with her, and was there for the visitation and funeral, and I still didn’t know what to say — to his mother, his friends, even to my daughter. Warren says that sometimes you don’t have to say anything; you just need to be there. And that’s true, which is why I drove up there. But there’s still a moment that demands something be said — such as when I was introduced to David’s mother at the funeral home — and I am struck dumb.

I continue to want to comfort my daughter over the phone, but I continue to be at a loss. I just tell her a lot that I love her.

Pretty lame, huh? I’m at no loss for words when it comes to total B.S. — such as chatting with a celebrity about nothing, in the "Seinfeld" sense of nothing — but wordless when it comes to the things that matter most.

Anyway, we have an editorial for tomorrow — a short editorial, fleshed out with a photo, because there are just so many words you can come up with even when you’re trying hard. Warren wrote it, and I tried to improve it in the editing, but I just finally had to let go and put it on the page, dissatisfied.

Words are just so inadequate.

I do have a column rattling around that is peripherally related to this tragedy, but I think it’s one that would be better a few days from now, so I’m saving it for Sunday. A column is easier than an editorial under such circumstance. An editorial demands authoritative pronouncements; a column allows for vagueness and uncertainty. But I’m going to let that one gestate.

In the meantime, if you have words — perhaps there are some Claudias out there among you, who possess the words I lack — you may put them here. Or better yet, go to this page at thestate.com. That would be more respectful. A blog just seems like an awfully frivolous, useless thing at a time like this.

Will Sanford take next step, and actually WORK with Rex?

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Check out Cindi’s column today. It seems Gov. Sanford was somewhat taken aback to learn that he and Supt. of Ed. Jim Rex have some reform goals in common — this, despite the fact that I (and others) have made that point to him since right after last year’s election. Here’s video of my asking the governor about this in January.

Unfortunately, the governor has put all his education-related energies into the effort to pay people to desert the public schools, rather than into making those schools better.

Like Cindi, I, too, am encouraged that — thanks to his laudable efforts to get his hands around the budget process — the governor has at long last had a conversation with Mr. Rex regarding these matters. (It’s also great to see the first lady working with Mr. Rex on another front.) He asked Mr. Rex whether he would actively advocate some of these reforms. What I want to know is, will the governor break precedent and do something he never did with Inez Tenenbaum, and has failed for a year to do with Mr. Rex — seize upon areas of agreement, and get some worthwhile things done.

As you know, we believe that the governor should appoint the education superintendent, and have direct control over how that half of the state budget is spent. So, to hear him tell it, does the governor. But up to now, he has stiffened resistance to that idea among those who care about education by swinging back and forth between negligent apathy and outright hostility toward public schools. It’s time he helped the cause of government restructuring — not to mention the crucial cause of universal education — by showing he can be a force for positive change.

Urban League 40th anniversary

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Thursday night, the Columbia Urban League will be celebrating 40 years of service at its annual Equal Opportunity Day dinner. As a former board member, I will be there, among others sitting at The State’s table at the event.

Today, President J.T. McLawhorn (above), Board Chairman Tony Grant (right), board member Cindy Cox and co-founder of the chapter Anthony Hurley (bottom) came to see our editorial board to talk about the past 40 years.

Some of the points covered:

  • Our guests talked about the particular niche the CUL carved out in the community, which was lessUrban_league_005
    confrontational than other civil rights organizations. The Urban League and J.T. have taken flak for that over the years. Many who might otherwise support the organization griped when former Gov. David Beasley spoke to one of the EOD dinners. Why was a Republican invited, they wanted to know? The answer was simple — the Urban League was about working with everybody, and building relationships across the board. (This year’s speaker will be Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell, who will probably be a candidate for governor in 2010.)
  • Mr. Hurley told of having to soothe apprehensions in the community when he and his wife helped start the chapter in the 1960s. He knew at least of a model he did not want to follow — he told of Malcolm X coming into his office to seek his support in getting his organization established in Columbia, and Mr. Hurley asked him to leave.
  • J.T. and Tony talked about all the people in the community who can trace their success to the organization’s summer jobs program, which has taught many young people how to live productive lives.

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Was it all Democrats? You betcha

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A reader noted that he saw no Republicans in the photos or videos from the Stephen Colbert brunch, and he’s absolutely right.

The invitations to the event were sent out by Dwight Drake, and seemed to include a lot of his friends. Beyond that, it was staged as though "Candidate" Colbert were making a pitch to S.C. Democrats to let him onto the ballot for the state’s presidential primary.

Dwight had hinted ahead of time that one Republican would be there for a special presentation, but it didn’t work out because the GOP token had a family emergency.

See the above video as a partial guide to who was there. At bottom, you’ll see a clip that shows Colbert making his "pitch" to the party honchos.

Emile DeFelice to Colbert: Put Your State on Your Neck

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We all know that Emile DeFelice, hog farmer and sloganmeister extraordinaire (when I told him I had missed his twice-monthly alternative farmers market yesterday because we were having a garage sale, he responded "Put your Junk in your Trunk"), is a real consciousness-raiser when it comes to putting S.C. first.

Here, he takes advantage of Stephen Colbert‘s having mentioned South Carolina peaches to present the South Carolinian comedian/presidential candidate with neckwear more appropriate to his surroundings. (Note the slogan Emile put on the box the tie came in, below.)

Candidate Colbert, ever ready to pander, immediately effected a change, without pausing in his patter.

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But seriously, folks: Land on Sanford and Workers’ Comp

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Just to show that this morning’s event wasn’t all fun and games — well, OK, it was all fun and games for the Democratic Party luminaries Dwight Drake had invited to the roof of his law firm’s fancy digs, but set that aside… here’s a clip of me asking Sen. Land a question that he, of all people, would take in utmost seriousness.

Sen. Land is an attorney who represents workers in Workers’ Comp cases, so the recent controversy over the governor’s efforts to influence the administrative law court’s standard is a sober subject for him.

(Please excuse the occasional disappearance of the senator’s chin; the glare on that rooftop was considerable, and I had trouble seeing what was on the little monitor screen on my camera.)