SC House overrides Governor Sanford! Sanity at last?

Head Goofball in charge!


Rich, evil greedhead Republicans who send their children to private schools (and therefore do not care about the public ones) have blessedly NOT prevailed after all. I am very, very pleased to report the following:

SC House overrides major Sanford budget vetoes
ASSOCIATED PRESS • May 20, 2009

COLUMBIA — State lawmakers took first steps today to override the governor’s vetoes of the $5.7 billion state budget and his refusal of federal stimulus funds sought to avert deep public school cuts and big college tuition hikes.

The House voted 98-19 Wednesday to send the budget issue to the Senate and followed that up with a 93-23 vote to override Gov. Mark Sanford’s refusal to accept $700 million in federal stimulus cash. The votes came without debate.

“Woo hoo,” cheered state Education Department spokesman Jim Foster after the vote. He hoped the Senate would follow later Wednesday by also overriding those two key elements.

“We’re disappointed,” Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said. In the Senate, “we know it will be a lot closer. We hope we will cross the finish line with sustaining it there.”

Sanford, a Republican whose stance has won him national prominence, has said he won’t request that money unless it can be used to offset state debt. But the White House twice rejected that approach, emphasizing the money first had to be used to support education.

But leaders in the GOP-dominated Legislature expect the budget fight to end up in court. Sawyer said the governor is not ready to say whether he’ll raise a legal challenge.

A Chapin High School student has said she plans to refile a lawsuit aimed at forcing Sanford to accept the funds. Casey Edwards did not immediately respond to a message left with her father Thursday.

Meanwhile, Foster said the U.S. Education Department has now set a July 1 deadline to apply for the money.

Sawyer said he was not prepared to comment on that.

Yeah, I'll bet he wasn't! (giggle)

I am so glad the greedheads were outvoted. WOOT! (((happy dance)))

And what is that about "national prominence"? Let's change that to national laughingstock instead. HOW MUCH MONEY has the Governor's little economic-grandstanding stunt cost us, exactly? For instance, when he barnstormed the state for political support for his anti-stimulus fiasco--who paid for that? The South Carolina state taxpayers or the GOP?

Hmm, let me guess.

PS: Time to pray for the SC Senate. Take out those rosaries now!

Student files lawsuit challenging Sanford's refusal of stimulus

Left: South Carolina state flag.



As you know by now, our Idiot-in-Charge, Governor Sanford, declined a hefty portion of the federal economic stimulus funds, due to some Ayn Randian nonsense he subscribes to. Unfortunately, the "tea party" protest against the economic bailout/stimulus here in upstate SC was nearly 10,000 strong last week, one of the largest in the country. I am sure Sanford perceived this sordid event as a sign of political support, even if the dopey tea parties are basically aimed at the federal government and President Obama. (I told you I lived in possibly the most conservative county in the USA!)

An 18-year-old high school senior, Casey Edwards, filed a lawsuit, which has been thrown out (for now):

State high court declines to hear stimulus suit
Justices rule Legislature must act first before decision can be made

COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a high school senior's legal petition asking the court to decide whether the Legislature can bypass Gov. Mark Sanford to accept $700 million in federal stimulus funds but left the door open to hear the case if the Legislature appropriates the money.

State Attorney General Henry McMaster had argued that the case wasn't yet legally "ripe" for court review because some action had to be taken, either the Legislature appropriating the money or passing a resolution to accept it.

The justices on Wednesday agreed, denying a review "at this time."

"We find this action is not ripe and appropriate for judicial determination unless or until the General Assembly has taken, as it is authorized to do, measures to appropriate the funds at issue," the court said.

"Until that time, there is no real and substantial controversy, as opposed to a contingent, hypothetical or abstract dispute, upon which this court can render a declaratory judgment."

Dwight Drake, one of the student's Columbia lawyers, said he believes the order is "good news."

"The Legislature was going to have to appropriate the funds before they could get to the schools anyway," he said. "Some people in the Legislature had argued the Legislature could not appropriate the funds. The court order says they can appropriate the funds."

McMaster responded by saying the order gives Sanford and the Legislature time to resolve the matter "free of any extraneous complications."

The governor has refused to apply for $700 million of $2.8 billion available to the state over two years unless lawmakers agree to spend an equal amount to reduce state debt.

Joel Sawyer, Sanford's spokesman, said the justice's order Wednesday "confirms what we said all along, that the governor is the one who has the authority to request the money. So there really is no issue for the court to resolve here."

Legislators have predicted for weeks the issue would eventually wind up in the courts. State Attorney General Henry McMaster, in an opinion weeks ago, said he thought Sanford had to apply for the money but said if the Legislature also requested it, the issue would have to be settled by the courts.

The petition that triggered Wednesday's order was filed last week by Casey Edwards, an 18-year-old senior at Chapin High School who said she is concerned about the impact on schools if the state doesn't receive the $700 million in stimulus funds.

The House has included one year's worth of the stimulus funding at issue in its budget plan. A Senate plan now being debated also would use the money.

Nice try! But as stated before, I still think we are fucked.