Deb Morrow for congress!

Deb Morrow has not 'officially' announced her run for congress, but I already blurted it out on my radio show, Saturday morning. She was a great sport and didn't mind.



I attended Deb's first organizational meeting in Spartanburg, yesterday. I love that an Occupier is running for office, but at the same time, I am skeptical that the Democratic Party brass will allow this, or will back her candidacy. Will they find some party-hack to run against Trey Gowdy, since Deb is a genuine working-class, progressive Democrat?

As you may recall, this is what happened in 2008 to Ted Christian, who was bringing all kinds of Ron Paulish-Libertarian-leaning local folks into the Democratic party. In response, the Establishment Dems trotted out some flunkie, whose name slips my mind, to pretend to run against Republican Rep. Bob Inglis.

And most recently in 2010, when Inglis was down for the count, the Democratic party could have tapped some local heavy-hitters, or at least found another rabble-rouser like Ted, to give the Republicans a run for their money. Instead, they sat on their hands and let the GOP take the 4th District, once again.

Sometimes, I wonder if these things are choreographed, as so many non-jury trials are. Is it all decided by the powers-that-be before the elections even start? (Do they divide up the state, as Roosevelt and Stalin divided up Europe?)

I am reminded of Christine O'Donnell's doomed Delaware senatorial campaign, which the Republican Party honchos ignored. She was elected in the primary due to a groundswell from the Tea Party Movement, which embarrassed the Yacht Club Party to no end. There they were, clutching their hanging-chads, and asking WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? The Tea Party out-organized you, is what. They took it straight to the people. And as a result, the resentful Republican Party in Delaware basically disowned O'Donnell and did not share their considerable political and financial power with her. Who is THIS person, seemed to be the consensus. (And as Glenn Greenwald and others pointedly noted, this is precisely why "regular folks" were ready to listen to her.)

History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy and the second time as farce. I hope this won't be the farce. It would be fabulous if Deb actually won the 4th District congressional primary, simply due to a groundswell of anti-bailout sentiment; people are totally fed up with the rich getting it ALL. But will the Democratic party support Deb, if she wins? Or will some boring, party-approved, regulation white guy get brought in at the last minute?

If this happens, it will likely be the last time I help out a Democrat candidate. Like one of my heroes wrote, we won't get fooled again.

~*~


Today's confession: I am unsure of what my sign means. Well okay, I know what it means, but not all of the particulars. I grabbed it from a pile, because it was RED, my favorite color. ;)

I also think the idea of MORE bailouts, makes most ordinary folks start frothing at the mouth, and that's the reaction we want! (Yes, we stood out there in the rain, which really does wonders for my hair. Is there any way we could bottle this, do you suppose?)

Commercial: Don't forget to drop by Coffee Underground tonight for our Occupy-Greenville-sponsored showing of "Capitalism, A Love Story"--a film by Michael Moore. The show starts at 7pm, so be there or be square!

~*~

Aside: Sitting here watching INSIDE DAISY CLOVER (no relation) and wishing Natalie Wood had not drowned. They have re-opened the case, but having read all of the major biographies and accounts of the drowning-story, I have no idea what they think they are going to find. It's 30 years later, people. (Is there newly-discovered DNA evidence or something else we don't know about?)

In this movie, they dubbed Natalie's singing voice with Jackie Ward's, just as they dubbed her voice in WEST SIDE STORY with Marni Nixon's. (She always found that embarrassing, that her singing was not deemed good enough.) They left it alone in GYPSY, but partially dubbed Rosalind Russell's voice with Lisa Kirk's.

I read that Barbra Streisand wants to play Mama Rose, which is the world's most perfect casting. THAT WOULD BE SO TOTALLY AWESOME! Although some people prefer the actress who actually won the Tony award for the playing the part, Patti LuPone.

I do love Patti, but Streisand IS Mama Rose, and I am really pulling for her in the role. I just swoon thinking about Barbra singing this:

Everything's Coming Up Roses - Ethel Merman



Extra points if you knew she was gay, according to Jacqueline Susann, who knew everything about everybody. (And who suddenly just thought of the movie "Airplane"?)

PS: This song is officially dedicated to Deb Morrow!!! Good luck to you, Deb.

Inglis Campaign sign: say what?

Zooming by on Pelham Road, I first thought this sign was a white man's hands *holding back* a black man's hands. Nah, I thought, couldn't be. Did I really see that? Then I saw it twice more in quick succession; the signs are suddenly all over upstate South Carolina.

Intrepid investigative reporter that I am, I parked on a side street and trekked through the weeds (if I get poison ivy, I blame Bob Inglis) to the first sign and took this photo.

Up close, the hands are not so obviously two different hues, but when one is hurriedly driving by, that's exactly what it looks like.

On close inspection, we see that the two "top hands" belong to the person (notably) wearing white, who is holding back the fire-hose held by the "bottom hands," a person (notably) wearing black. Probably just a coincidence!

Notice also, the prominent wedding ring and enormous old-school wristwatch worn by the white-clad "upper hands": Inglis is a married man (family values!) who CARES ABOUT THE TIME! (Time is money!) And the fire-hose is... the money spraying everywhere? Huh?!? (Does this mean the Republicans want to cut public money for fire stations, now?)

What do you think?

Sign paid for by the Inglis for Congress Committee! (Vote for FAYE!!!)

What about Bob?

Both photos of Bob Inglis were taken by me at the Town Hall Meeting in Travelers Rest, SC, August 18th.





I met Congressman Bob Inglis yesterday! Yes, I strode right up to him as he was lunching in my place of employment.

A woman in the restroom had remarked, rather bemused, Bob Inglis is sitting out there. I peeped out and lo and behold, there he was. I walked right up and introduced myself as a campaign worker for Ted Christian, LOL. Yes, I did!

He and his companion, whose name I have forgotten already (some GOP-heavy, one assumes, in suitably Republican threads), stood up (like gentleman, no kidding) and shook my hand. Such southern politeness and civility! Joe Wilson showing his ass is even more unbelievable in comparison. They were friendly and joking, even as I told them I never agreed with them. They were gracious, terribly likable and kind.

Wow, I thought, no wonder he gets elected.

It turns out that Inglis has read my blog, the profile of Ted linked on Christian for Congress. Considering Ted's mean Inglis-cartoon graphics, I was a little shocked (I certainly wouldn't watch mean cartoons of myself!), but of course, politicians have to check on the opposition. I don't think he read the Town Hall Meeting piece, and I didn't mention it. Okay, fell down on the blog motto there (Ain't Skeered), because I didn't want to be rude.

At the mention of Wilson, Inglis said to check out the before-and-after pictures of himself, sitting in front of Wilson during Obama's speech. Right after Wilson shouts, Inglis looks pained and brings his hand to his forehead. Obviously, a campaign set-piece of Inglis's, and very funny.

Unfortunately, the far-right Black Helicopter faction here in South Carolina is gunning for Inglis as they are (quite unsuccessfully) gunning for Senator Lindsey Graham. The big difference is that Graham can count on the whole state, and centrist Democrats will save him. Inglis has no such electoral cushion, here in hyper-Baptist, upstate-Bob Jones-land. The right wing in Greenville County is very, very solid and strong; Senator Jim Demint is their patron saint.

Inglis' real problem will be in the GOP primary, where the wingnuts will be out in force.

~*~

A few weeks ago, I met with Gregg Jocoy, Major Green Party dude, and talked about the possibility of running for office. YES! YOUR HUMBLE NARRATOR! I was thinking of something modest like County Council, School Bored (as the Yippies used to call it), one of those. The goal being, running for office gets the necessary concepts out there... and then we really don't care who uses the ideas or who takes up the banner for change. Whenever and however Green Party concepts (ecological/sustainability proposals) are presented to the mainstream, it can only be good. Green Party ideas, once regarded as total fringe, are gaining in popularity everywhere, even here.

Gregg assures me I could run under my blog name 'Daisy Deadhead'--in the same way football stars run under names like Biff and Tiger. I would, however, have to use my surname, which I think I could live with.

It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

However, there is the marginal possibility that I could actually get elected and have to do the job! Yow, that is rather daunting.

Here in upstate South Carolina, there are no educational requirements for any political office but sheriff (of all things)... this was dramatized back in 1996, when Debi Bush, a high-school dropout, was elected to the school board. (Under intense criticism and facing almost-national consternation, she very-publicly attained her G.E.D.) Well, I have a high-school diploma, certifications in lots of extinct computer-programs and, as Zonker Harris once said, I've been kicked out of some pretty good colleges!

Thinking it over. A fund-raiser with some rock bands would be fun, huh? :)

~*~

Who's to blame
When parties really get out of hand?
Who's to blame
When they get poorly planned?
Whooooo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoooo--oooooo?

Crashers get bombed
Slobs make a mess
Ya know sometimes
They'll even ruin your wife's dress
Crashers gettin bombed
Who's to blame?
Can you pull it back in line?
Can you salvage it in time?


(Green!) Party out of bounds - B-52s

Health Care Town Hall Meeting in Travelers Rest, SC

Crossing over to the West side of Greenville County, I worried.

I felt the right-wing southernism slowly creep into my consciousness, as I began to notice the tailgating and became acutely aware of my ANOTHER MAMA FOR OBAMA bumper sticker (which has caused me trouble ever since election day). I tried on my motto, Ain't Skeered (which came into redneck vogue during the No Fear era), but you know, I was skeered. I didn't know what to expect, although I told myself, nobody will be angry at Congressman Bob Inglis, ass-kissing Republican, since he totes water for the gung-ho southern right wing. But I realized I didn't want to see Republican anger, in any form.

I also realized that I would see what I really didn't want to see and have never wanted to face: southern racism in full battle cry.

Nah, Daisy, come on. This is Travelers Rest, South Carolina. The old town slogan was Travelers Rest: On the Way Up since it sits at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and (white) travelers really did rest there before continuing their trek up the mountains. It is known as TR (pronounced Tee Are) by locals. I used to attend the TR AA meeting, held in the Methodist Church, and once considered a core member of that group to be my best friend.

I kept reciting these facts to assure myself that I belonged at this meeting as much as anyone else. I've lived in this county since 1988, I repeated to myself like a mantra. 1988. 1988.

1988, dammit.

Maybe nobody will be there. TR is also known as Gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the suitably-named Gateway Elementary School is way out there, almost in the country. Ain't nobody coming, will be a sleepy little town hall meeting; some homeschooling kids will have been assigned the meeting as homework and have their little spiral-notebooks open, all prepared to learn about Civics and.... I just kept comforting myself.

Turning onto Hawkins Road, I saw the cars, parked waaaaaayyy out--almost to Highway 25. Ohhhh, holy shit. Lots of cars. Cars and more cars. SUVs and more SUVs. They easily overflowed the parking lot of Gateway Elementary, which displayed a sign welcoming Inglis.

I started sweating, a profuse sweat I didn't even have at the local John McCain rally last year. Was it the way they were purposefully and angrily striding into the building? Was it the fact that the crowd looked so Republican? (I know, not supposed to generalize; too bad, this is my blog, people!) Was it the blinding whiteness? I counted 3 black people in the crowd (of nearly 400, guessed one of Inglis' people) and carefully stood next to one. (Was I protecting her or was she protecting me?) I noticed she never clapped for anything they said.

And of course, neither did I.

I found myself flashing back to one of the most terrifying moments of my young Yippie life, the time we infiltrated a large kkk rally in a rural area outside of Middletown, Ohio. It was at a secret location out in the boonies, and we were so proud we had discovered it. So we drove, drove, drove... until we were waaay out in the sticks, dangerously so. I remember one very young Yippie whining, "I can't breathe, man, I can't breathe," and that was even before we saw all the cars. I experienced the same feeling last night in TR, as I had all those years ago at the kkk rally: There are so many more than I thought. We looked at each other in panic and realized, we never expected this many. Should we turn back? Are we identifiable as troublemakers? We realized that NO, we were not, since, haha, we weren't gonna make any trouble, were we? They were noticeably armed, carrying rifles and baseball bats openly and defiantly. As we got out of the van (which suddenly looked as raw-hippie as Ken Kesey's bus), I was so terrified I threw up, and another woman's knees buckled. We looked at each other, embarrassed at our fear; the guys were suddenly stoic, and I remember I wished I'd had some of that, although I usually hated masculine stoicism....

The memory came flooding back. And I hadn't thought about it in ages, even to blog about.

I wondered, should I write about my kkk flashback? Is that relevant to the story? What does it mean that I pull up to Bob Inglis' Gateway Elementary School town hall meeting and suddenly remember a scary backwoods ku klux klan meeting from three decades previous?

The same people, I thought reflexively, only older now?

~*~

There was a line to get in. I saw the Poor Clares from their local monastery and wondered what they were thinking. What would Clare do? I knew what she would do, and I thought maybe I should go stand next to them for some kinda spiritual uplift... but I waited too long, dithering over whether I should go inside... and they disappeared into the throng. A middle-aged man standing near me began talking to his friend about how the government could not manage health care; he had seen this up-close and personal at the Veterans' Administration clinic. He was still waiting for an operation on his eye, he said, and had been for a year.

So, I fumed, this guy gets free health care, and he doesn't want anyone else to have it? Some people won't get an operation no matter how long they wait!

I looked around. A proliferation of OLD PEOPLE, likely on Social Security, with free health care. But they don't want the government to manage it! Then stop taking your Social Security and Medicaid, you FUCKS!

Do they not see the contradiction here? Why don't they?

I held it together and decided I would go inside. I realized that in a group, I was always pretty brave, but by myself? Ha. Not hardly.

Inglis' flunkies handed me a sheet of paper announcing Bob Inglis' 16 reasons to oppose Obama care. These "reasons" were also prominently displayed on a poster up front, where Inglis, dressed like a mellow golfer dude for the evening, announced he was here to listen to whatever people had to say.

A few of these 16 reasons (lies), that jumped right out at me:

Could allow taxpayer-funded abortions.

Ignores medical liability reform.

Provides little incentive for quality outcomes.

Lacks focus on individual responsibility or choice.

Kills jobs by making them more costly.

And then, I flipped the printed sheet over, and read about Bob Inglis' stellar "ratings" from various conservative groups:

National Right to Life - 100%

Americans for Tax Reform - 75%

Chamber of Commerce (listed as a conservative group!) - 80%

Americans for Prosperity - 86%

National Rifle Association - A

English First - A

American Conservative Union - 84%

Christian Coalition - 100%

And I saved the best for last:

JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY - 62%

The John Birch Society? He is proud of a rating from the crackpot John Birch Society? Again, the kkk flashback, "I can't breathe, man," and I almost hightailed it out of Gateway Elementary at that point.

No, Daisy, take pictures. You have a blog.

Staring at the printed sheet of GOP fibs, I suddenly got why they prefer the term "Obamacare"--because that is who they are really upset with. (I had seen tons of "Nobama" bumper stickers on my way in.)

The meeting started, with red meat thrown to the crowd at regular intervals. Quiet and well-behaved, they erupted loudly and cheered on cue when anyone criticized the government or Obama. It was basically a rehash of the Nuremberg Rally I had seen on C-Span over the weekend, the RightOnline Conference in Pittsburgh. But this was different--there was an undercurrent of menace. There was an undercurrent of fury. Nobody was smiling, and this is the south, where smiling is practically mandatory.

Standing Room Only.... as you can see from this photo, a lot of older people in attendance, who presumably already have their health care paid for.

There were no 'questions' to speak of... just older white men who already have health care (((fumes))) holding forth and spouting off in the manner you have all grown accustomed to on Fox News. Blah blah blah, we don't want government-run health care! (((cheers, huzzahs, whistles, yeahs!))) Inglis stood there holding the microphone like a mannequin and said maybe two sentences that I heard. He looked properly concerned, though, which I suppose is all he is required to do at these events.

As one fella stood up to bloviate at considerable decibels that fascism is coming to America (tell me about it!) because they are trying to shut down talk radio (we can only hope), I saw two older white women my age, weaving through the crowd and looking pissed. They exited the building in obvious disgust and I weaved through the crowd to run after them, "Hey, you girls!"

We attempted to chat, but we mostly just stood there speechless and shaking our heads at each other. "We don't belong in there," one said. I agreed with the sentiment. She told me another meeting was happening in Spartanburg, a PRO health care meeting.

Spartanburg. And then, another realization hit me:

Spartanburg is heavily black.

The upstate has re-segregated itself into Greenville (run by whites, although a large black population) and Spartanburg (run by blacks, although a large white population) Counties. Why were there so few blacks at this meeting? They need health care, too, okay? But if I was scared to go in, I assume they would be, too. In fact, no doubt: If I were black, I'd stay far away.

Tell me, is this DEMOCRACY in action, Congressman Inglis? Are you the representative of the white upstate or ALL the upstate?

One of the women pointed back at the entrance to Gateway, and told me authoritatively, "You know, this is all really about integration. That's really what it is. Always has been."

Yes, I know.

Health Care rants

Today, as I go to up to Travelers Rest to check out the health care town meeting thing (God save me), I'll share this piece of straight-up brilliance from Dw3t-Hthr, helpfully bolded for emphasis:

Because there is no "Maybe I won't get sick" like "Maybe I won't get robbed" or "Maybe my house won't burn down". That's resources lost, pfft. You'll get sick, or injured, or whatever else. Eventually. Unless you're hit by a truck tomorrow and die instantly, of course, in which case the insurance company will be really happy with you for being their ideal customer.

And because you will inevitably have need of health care, the thing where everyone's putting a little bit in as a bet against the chance that they're robbed/burned down/flooded out so the few who actually do wind up in need have enough resources to recover doesn't work so well. Everyone will be pulling something out sometime, so there's no chance for the pot to build up enough to take care of everyone's needs (unless, of course, we're spending exorbitant amounts).

And so the game goes like this: we pay money in, sunk cost, and when we need the money out, it's in the best interest of the insurance people to not pay that out (less money for them and, for that matter, for everyone else), so we get surcharges, pre-existing conditions, caps on how much medication we can take or how much care we can get even when we need it, all designed to keep the money drained out of us. So now we're down the money and we don't get the care.

So people try to 'economise'. Some go without insurance and pray that the major illness doesn't happen to them just yet. Some skip preventative healthcare (that would increase the odds of catching those major illnesses early) to keep the resources for catastrophic situations. Some have to decide which of their conditions will get treatment.

And people get stuck in awful places, because the whole system is set up to feed this goddamn protection racket. Trapped in a bad job but can't afford to quit because that would lead to 'losing health insurance'. Unable to get insurance and stuck managing serious illnesses out of pocket. Making major life decisions based on whether or not health care access will be possible, because we can't afford the risk - or have people depending on us who aren't 'risks' but 'actualities'.

And I hear rhetoric about how we don't want bureaucrats between us and our health care as a reason to ... make sure we have insurance companies available to kneecap us, rather than some sort of system that makes sure that basic care is available to people in general.

And then I replied:

You have also touched on what infuriates me from the free-market Republicans. According to the capitalism gurus (Forbes: capitalist tool. He sure is!) a dynamic growth-economy is necessary for capitalism to succeed. A stagnant no-growth-economy is failure. Adam Smith 101.

Now, how can capitalism be dynamic if people are afraid to take economic chances?

And WHY are they afraid? No health insurance.

The very people ready to take these chances and create new businesses? We tend to be older and more established, with money saved up for the business venture. More likely to be working class, believers in the American dream, blabbity blabbity. We are, in short, OLD PEOPLE. The Ma and Pa business of American Norman Rockwell/Horatio Alger fabled legend.

Ma and Pa WILL get arthritis, bet on it. We WILL get sick, because we are OLD.

So, we do not try any new business ventures, or even take the chance on a new job or moving to another locale for a better one. Instead, we hunker down and hope for the best. That's why the economy is presently in the shitter. Adam Smith 101.

And its these assholes who claim to believe in the free market, SUPPOSEDLY, who don't want people to have any health insurance.

CONTRADICTION!

As I said, going up to TR (as Travelers Rest is locally known, pronounced Tee Are) to see what's up. Since this is a Republican area and Congressman Bob Inglis is an ass-kissing Republican, it will probably be a love-fest in comparison to the yankee town hall meetings.

But we'll see. I'll let you know!

Stimulus Deadline approaches, South Carolina appears fucked

...in ohhh, so many ways.


Photo of Governor Mark Sanford is from NBC news. He is the cause of all this. Inscribe his face on your memory. After he is out of office, he deserves to be made unemployable for the rest of his days.



States have until midnight on Friday to apply for the economic stimulus package, and as regular Dead Air readers know, our sorry-ass governor has yet to do so, citing some kind of half-baked, Ayn Randian bullshit. He is proudly refusing the funds on principle. And our state, of course (no thanks to him and his type), is in some pretty bad shape.

Needless to say, South Carolina is in some dire economic straits. Where is Sanford getting the idea that we don't need the money? Pulled right out of his clueless, rich, white-boy ass.

Of all 50 states, only my state and Montana have not applied for funds.

And only Governor Sanford can apply. It is all on him. And since he refuses, as my post title today proclaims: we are fucked.

There was a protest in Columbia, at the South Carolina statehouse, yesterday. According to the STATE newspaper (Columbia):

Rally urges Sanford to 'Take the money'
Educators, students, lawmakers rally at State House
By GINA SMITH - gnsmith@thestate.com

More than 1,000 teachers, college students and others converged on the State House Wednesday with a message for Gov. Mark Sanford: Take the $700 million in federal stimulus money.

Without it, an estimated 1,700 teachers, like Lisa Matthews, could lose their jobs, according to the state Department of Education.

Estimates by some Democratic lawmakers put the job loss number in the 3,000 to 4,000 range.

The House version of the budget uses $350 million of the federal funds to offset cuts to K-12, higher education and law enforcement.

Matthews, carrying a sign that read: “Pink Slip for Mark Sanford,” said she has been put on notice by Kershaw County school district leaders that she will lose her job as an in-school suspension teacher at Lugoff-Elgin Middle School if Sanford doesn’t accept the funds.

The governor has until Friday to make a decision but has already made it clear he won’t take it unless state lawmakers agree to pay down a corresponding amount of state debt.

“I just don’t feel like he understands, like he gets it,” said Matthews, who has been a teacher for nearly seven years. “He’s trying to make a name for himself. And he’s doing it.”

Behind her, Janet Haselden, a media specialist assistant at Lugoff-Elgin Middle School who also will lose her job without the stimulus funds, said she is disappointed with the governor.

“I don’t think he’s looking at the big picture right now. I don’t think he’s thinking about the needs of schoolchildren,” she said.

At least one of DEAD AIR's readers may also lose her job.

It's personal, Governor Sanford, you swine!

From Tim Smith, of the Greenville News:

Sanford has said he will only accept the $700 million -- part of $2.8 billion in stimulus money available to the state over two years -- if lawmakers agree to spend the same amount to reduce the state’s debt.

Sanford for months has protested the federal stimulus legislation, arguing it will only heap debt on taxpayers and not cure the economy. He said accepting the $700 million for the budget will only postpone dramatic pain to agencies for two years, when the money runs out.

Lawmakers argue that rejecting the money will in effect send South Carolina taxpayers’ money to other states without any of the benefits. And without the stimulus, they argue, thousands of teachers will lose their jobs, tuition will be hiked by double digits at state colleges and prisons will close.

Sen. Hugh Leatherman, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, met Wednesday afternoon with Sanford in his Senate office about the issue and told reporters afterward that the meeting was "utterly fruitless."

"He offered no compromise, no stepping back from the cliff upon which he has plunked our state," Leatherman said, who accused Sanford of becoming "personal" in the meeting and telling Leatherman he just wanted "to grow government."

Joel Sawyer, a spokesman for Sanford, said Leatherman’s complaints were an attempt "to distract from the real issue here: the governor has offered a very reasonable middle ground in taking a quarter of the stimulus money and using it to pay down debt." Sawyer said the governor is continuing to work with some legislators on a plan to spend the money on debt.

Leatherman said he told the governor the state couldn’t afford to use the stimulus on debt and is already in a bind over the potential loss of federal matching dollars if further cuts are made to education and Medicaid agencies.

One of Sanford’s closest allies in Congress, Rep. Bob Inglis of Travelers Rest, on Wednesday urged Sanford to accept the funds.

"It’s like this," he told the Gannett Washington Bureau, "a table full of food has been prepared. And South Carolina is going to join the other 49 states in paying for the food. That being the case, it seems irrational to me to refuse the sustenance."

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has also urged Sanford to accept the money, on Wednesday released a letter to him by Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, who said Sanford, not lawmakers, has to apply for the stimulus money. But Orszag said Congress should change the law.

"It would be unfortunate (and we believe unintended) policy outcome if the children of South Carolina were to be deprived of their share of federal stimulus dollars, which South Carolina citizens have already paid for," he wrote.

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the House Majority Whip, had tried to head off this week’s crisis by inserting language in the stimulus legislation allowing legislators to bypass governors who don’t accept the funds.

Clyburn on Wednesday said in response to the White House letter that Sanford’s refusal of the money would cut education funding for two-thirds of the state’s children who would have been helped by the money.

Meanwhile, on the state Senate floor, Sen. John Land, leader of Senate Democrats and the Senate’s longest-serving member, displayed what he called the "countdown clock to chaos," showing the time left before Sanford has to make a decision.

Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler asked the governor to change his mind, "pretty please with sugar on top." Others called Sanford "Don Quixote" or suggested his actions were influenced by White House ambitions.

Sen. Michael Rose, a Dorchester County Republican, pleaded for a compromise.

"This is mutually assured destruction. That’s what we’re headed for," he told the Senate. "This is too serious to risk brinksmanship."

But three of Rose’s resolutions, non-binding statements that he said were attempts to reach out to the governor, were sent to Leatherman’s committee, where he predicted they would die.

Leatherman said if Sanford doesn’t apply for the money Friday, he will seek passage on the first available legislative day afterward of a resolution asking for the stimulus money, as allowed by Clyburn’s provision.

Furious barely covers it for me, folks. I have pretty much been reduced to sputtering level, no good for a blogger.

Ohhhhh, won't someone help us?! (((cries))) (((howls)))(((starts singing any number of trad blues songs)))

As one commenter said on one of the above articles: Governor Sanford seems to have a pretty high tolerance for other people's pain.

I remember people used to actually engage in tarring and feathering. It's a thought.

Crestfallen campaign update

Regarding the 4th Congressional District Democratic primary runoff election, held Tuesday the 24th: Ted Christian got roughly the same percentage of votes that he got during the primary on June 10. (33% on the 10th, 32% on the 24th) The estimated turnout, according to local talk radio, was around 2% of the upstate electorate. That is just scandalous, IMHO.

Ted credits his weasely opponent's hitpiece for his loss, but I credit the microscopically-low turnout. Paul Corden, the candidate who will be running against hyper-conservative, Bush-groupie Rep. Bob Inglis in the fall, pledged that he is the "real Democrat" in the race, yet never discusses the war and seems completely oblivious to the fact that "real Democrats" can't get elected around here. A DIFFERENT kind of Democrat (or other type of politician) will be necessary to penetrate the boredom and overall sense of futility people have around voting.

And so, I am taking Ted's widget off my blog, weeping all the while. We are presently licking our wounds and talking about what we should do next. I am all about the Green Party, which may be too lefty for Ted, but we'll see.

(((sings several rounds of FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW))))

----------------
Listening to: Amy Winehouse - Me & Mr. Jones
via FoxyTunes

RUNOFF ELECTION FOR TED!

Left: Ted Christian watches election returns at the Liberty Tap Room last night.

~*~

It was a long day yesterday. We busted major ass.

First, I go to work, and encounter my favorite customer who had a TV show made about him, Tony Della Ventura. I asked him if he voted in the primary and ohhhhhhh, I forgot. (I asked him that before, didn't I?) I was treated to a mini-diatribe about how politicians are all whores, which you should pronounce the way Tony Montana did, whilst sitting in the bathtub: these horsssssss. Della Ventura is the only ex-New York cop I know with a confederate flag tattooed on his leg. He was played by Danny Aiello, which is utterly perfect casting, except that Danny isn't tattooed over every square inch of his body, riding a Harley. (Well, in fairness, this is after retirement and moving south.)

And so, Tony tells me: don't vote for these horssssss.

I take his point, but I tell him how I try to work within the system, yada yada, and with that, we are off on one of our epic conversations. I re-stock the Greens Plus and talk about Ron Paul, who he likes.

~*~

Went to vote in the Thornblade precinct, where they had (this is no exaggeration) only 17 Democrats all day, and 324 Republicans. (This totally explains the golf course in my face, now doesn't it?)

My spies say they saw Jim Burns shaking hands with people, shilling for votes, right on the polling place property, supposedly as he stopped in to vote for himself. Isn't that against the rules? Who's in charge here?

Off to do some quick windshield-leafletting, wash dishes, grab kombucha on the way over to the West End.

~*~

And speaking of the West End--damn, what happened to this place? You ain't in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. I arrive at the aptly named Liberty Tap Room, which didn't even exist a couple of years ago. I'm still quite amazed by the whole capitalist enterprise; the pseudo-artsy West End (once the low-class textile mill area of town), the new ball park, the condos atop the ballfield, etc... all the latte-town dreams of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. I look at the ballfield and wonder how many old millhouses and ancient storefronts died for it's sins. I've still never been to a Greenville Drive game, although I did go to Greenville Braves games in the old suburban stadium, back when we had the Atlanta Braves farm team. I think DRIVE is a DUMB name for a team and I say so at every available opportunity (like right now). The Braves were sold to Mississippi and are now the Mississippi Braves. Damn, I hate that.

~*~

Ted was watching the returns when I arrived after the polls closed at 7pm. The whole crew was there (see photo below) and we settled in to watch the returns on one of those giant restaurant TVs out on the terrace. He joked that at least he had eleven votes!

When approximately 44% of the precincts were in, Ted looked at the TV-screen, somewhat startled, and did Rocket Scientist magic right in front of us. He squinted in deep thought, like Mr Spock, and announced that if Bryan McCanless had X% of the vote and Paul Corden had Y%, with 44% of the precincts? Closes eyes, put hands to eyes momentarily--then he says: Runoff.

"No single candidate could possibly have 50% of the vote," he said, somewhat surprised at what he was saying. "Runoff election between me and Corden!"

What? How did you DO that, man? NO WONDER HE CAN LIVE OFF THE FREAKING STOCK MARKET, with talents like those. I wish I could do algebra right in my head. (Just like they told you in school, word-problems can actually help you in real life.)

Ted looked exultant, well, as exultant as rocket scientists ever get, anyway.

At this point, cell-phones start ringing, and people start handing them to Ted. HE DOESN'T HAVE A CELL-PHONE, PEOPLE. HE IS RUNNING FOR CONGRESS AND DOESN'T HAVE A CELL-PHONE!!! Newspapers and Channel 4 wanna interview him--Ted sprints off to Channel 4, which is, luckily, right down the street. (Sometimes, living in a smallish town has its perks.)

The phones continue going off with various ring-tones, and one campaign-worker says, HEY, TED TOOK MY PHONE!

~*~

And so, it's a Runoff election in two weeks, between Paul Corden and Ted Christian. Ted landed 33%. I attribute not a small amount to those Walmart windshields I littered up!

Ted, on his website:

We're inside the gates, boys and girls.

Here's the deal. Anybody who didn't vote Republican in the primary can vote in the runoff. Corden got the party hard core yesterday, and that's about all he's going to get. We on the other hand have an entire universe of fed up people to tap into. Do the math.

Ted's all about math.

More work, more windshields, I can't pretend this isn't exhausting to think about. But Ted actually in the race against entrenched Republican incumbent Bob Inglis, where he CAN'T BE IGNORED? It's a dizzying prospect. And it could happen! We were all flush with success, woo-hooing our way out of the Liberty Tap Room.

More to come, of course. I will keep you all posted.

Edit, by popular demand: here is your humble narrator doing her Brunhilde impersonation last evening, particularly necessary in heat like this, where my hair threatens to smother me. Photo by Serena.

----------------
Listening to: Grateful Dead - The Race Is On
via FoxyTunes

It DOES take a rocket scientist!

Left: Former rocket scientist and South Carolina 4th District Democratic congressional candidate, Ted Christian, consults with campaign advisor Sheila Jackson about why he forgot to mention global warming on his new leaflets.

Last evening at the Coffee Underground, sitting in on a brainstorming session with Christian, Jackson and an unidentified, deep-cover Obama campaign worker (not pictured, not named, not even supposed to say they were sitting there!), I realized I hadn't charged my camera battery again. This always happens when I am trying to take important pictures vs. trivial ones. Ted asked me-- does it take a rocket scientist?--flipped open my camera battery (I have trouble remembering WHERE it is), quickly exchanged it with his own, zip-zip, and handed it back to me. "Should work now," he said.

A ROCKET SCIENTIST! Ted is one of the few people who can really make that joke because he was one, working at NASA HQ in Houston with bigshot contractors like Lockheed. I realized, this needs to be a campaign slogan: IT DOES TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST!!!! I think it should be on bumper-stickers, buttons, signs...

And so, we pick over the fascinating details of Ted Christian's life, wondering what the Republicans will say. He knows he's not a typical candidate. The rest of us wonder how much that fact will hurt or help his candidacy.

The simple fact is, Ted Christian might be TOO COOL for upstate South Carolina. For instance, he retired at age 28, after successfully playing the stock market for several years as only a rocket scientist could. This fact may bring admiration, and then again, it may bring envy and suspicion. It's one thing for the members of the upper classes to waste time on yachts and dash around Europe in expensive sports cars; quite another for a very smart working class kid to figure out the ins and outs of capitalism well enough to make a lot of money so he can do interesting things like live in the desert for awhile, hang out in Australia and make pilgrimages to the Vatican ("Including the gift shop," he says) and Tibet. Tibet? He'll have some explaining to do around here in Baptist country. Although the Tibet stories would probably get him instantly elected down on the coast, say, in Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head or Charleston. But up here?

Well, I don't know. Have we arrived as a real live Metro area or not?

Whether Democratic voters in the June 10th primary will vote for an interesting person with new ideas borne of different and varied experiences around the world, or stick with the same old homespun Bubba-characters and/or party hacks, will tell the tale.

Ted Christian was born in Japan (to a Vietnam veteran father) and grew up in Florida. After college, he went to work in the aerospace industry in Houston, working on the space program. He also lived near Las Vegas for a time, studying the mathematics of various card games, which he considered researching for a dissertation. It makes sense he would be captivated by the mathematical probabilities of the stock market.

After making enough money to live on, he decided to see the world and eventually ended up here in Greenville in 1999, which is also the home of his sister. I first met him during his work on the Billy Mitchell mayoral campaign. Ted founded the Greenville Antiwar Society, virtually the day the war began. Like Obama, he was against the war before it started and is the only candidate who can make this claim.

And so, here he is, running for congress as one of three candidates vying for the Democratic congressional nomination. (The others are Greenville resident Bryan McCanless, and Paul Corden, a former marketing executive and retired community college teacher from Spartanburg.) He is eager to debate the other candidates, who seem utterly terrified of him. They should be; he is smart, witty and quick. My concern is that he will blurt out something irreverent, which he likes to do (he's funny!) and then get raked over the coals for it (at worst) and/or misunderstood (at best).

Example: Every candidate in the upstate is duly interrogated about religion, and expected to give their church affiliation when they run for office. It's standard operating procedure and Christianity is required, much as it is for the presidency. I asked Ted what he was going to say, and he quipped "Uncommitted!"

Now, see, you can't say that stuff. They will eat him alive.

But of course, a candidate's religion IS seriously no one's business in a democracy that supposedly prides itself on the separation of church and state. These questions are highly inappropriate, but the media ask them anyway and the candidates answer like trained seals. They obediently provide the details of their multiple-year-membership in whatever approved Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian denomination (and it better be one of those, no off-brands!) they have dutifully enlisted in. And this information is printed on the campaign leaflets. If Ted wants to be the "change candidate"--he might actually be the first upstate candidate to declare, "I find that question inappropriate!"--but then again, this might make him look like an educated snob. (Even if his opponent, incumbent rightwingnut Bob Inglis, is the one who went to Duke.)

Ted could also be his witty self and reply with something like "Well, I haven't decided on a church membership yet, but I've noticed church membership doesn't stop our Congressman Bob Inglis from engaging in morally questionable acts, such as giving his wife a pricey job in his re-election campaign!" Using the occasion to hammer at Inglis, might be the way to go.

I will be leafletting for Ted and busting my butt before the primary. He is a shaft of sunlight peeping through the door, a harbinger of a new Upstate that thrives on diversity and real debate. He signifies that the 4th district has come of age and is ready to entertain some actual political argument.

GO TED!

Christian for Congress!

This morning, opened my email to find some YouTube video featuring a fella with a SUIT on, claiming to be TED CHRISTIAN!

Wait, that IS Ted Christian! Wow--he cleans up real good! Who knew?

Antiwar activist and all-round swell guy Ted Christian is running for Congress, South Carolina 4th district. The district Democratic primary is June 10th. If you are local, vote for him. If not, send him money! He is up against incumbent Republican Bob Inglis, hard-core right wingnut.

Ted, who lent you the tie, man!?!

~*~

Ted's kickoff campaign video, with suit: