Special Report
Part 3 of 50
Previous entries
April 10th - Indiana
April 12th - Oregon
In our third look at our American Senators and Representatives we move away from the Midwest and Northwest into the very heart of the Southeast. That's right, South Carolina herself. As a resident of South Carolina back in my Army days, the state remains dear to me, almost like a mythical Avalon, albeit with a darker history. Since I may be biased, and to continue our tradition, this piece will be written by famed reporter for The State - South Carolina's largest newspaper - Abner Vorhees:
Good day, ladies and gents. I won't bore you with idiotic Southern proverbs, mainly because I don't know them. And I will try to stop my pro-Republican stance from drowning out the two McCords and Grant Spencer. Probably because I'm not a fan of our current Republican Reps either.
South Carolina's an old-school Democratic state, and we've gone Democratic the last two Presidential elections, despite my protests. I guarantee you we won't next time, of course I guaranteed that last time... Anyway, we were part of the "Solid South" Democratic states up until Richard Nixon's Southern strategy and Lyndon Johnson's, and later Dems', liberal ideals broke away from most South Carolinian views. Since then we've been pretty Republican nationally and a hodge-podge locally. My own Mayor is a Democrat, but a good man, so I don't hold it against him.
Now here are the Senators:
Senior Senator: Harry Proctor, Republican
"Good Ol' Harry" is the cream of the crop when it comes to politicians, not just from South Carolina, but from anywhere. The youngest Senior senator, at least until Cody Riley's ascension some weeks ago, Proctor is a surprising choice for senior statesman. He's been receiving his dues lately, being considered for VP, at least tokenly, by the Walken campaign.
Electoral Prospects: Harry is well, and I mean well-respected in the state. He nearly lost in his 2008 re-election, but that was only to a very strong challenger, and it probably won't happen again in 2014. However, there is the fact that he never has a bad word to say about anybody, something that harmed him in 2008 when he refused any negative ads. I don't know how it worked in '02 and his congressional campaigns.
Junior Senator: Tim McCord, Democrat
Like his brother, Mr. McCord is quite the conservative Democrat. And like Harry, he was also vetted for VP, albeit for the other side. We were *this* close to having a Walken-Proctor v. Santos-McCord race, which would've just exploded South Carolina in half or something to that effect. A senior spokesman on reforming energy policy, Mr. McCord was also partly responsible for getting the budget to pass late last year. He's also the only South Carolina politician with a movie (1998's "In His Honor") based off his military career. Remember, that whole "Gulf War Hero" thing.
Electoral Prospects: McCord is up for election this year, and his opponent is Republican State Senate President Priscilla Quigley. I'm afraid she doesn't have much of a chance, given some recent allegations of impropriety, to say the least.
And for your Representatives:
1st: Max Johns, Republican
Alot of people will tell you that Max Johns is a nice guy, a jolly guy even. His striking resemblance to Santa Claus has helped in more ways than one in his popularity. But Santa he is not, because ever since he was elected in the '70s, trouble and scandal and controversy has followed him wherever he goes. People forget it because "the woman dropped the charges" or "the court found him not guilty" and thank god the Republicans were in charge whenever he found himself in trouble. His congenial personality and "love from all" really creeps me out. He has a 65% approval rating, but that just makes me lay my head in shame.
Electoral Prospects: Again, high approval ratings mean little-to-no competition in South Carolina, no matter what party you're in. The Dem candidate might bring up the money laundering or the '90s prostitute, but I'm afraid it'll just be ignored yet again.
2nd: Sam Wendt, Independent (caucuses with the Republicans)
I'm ashamed to admit I voted for this guy. Since he was kicked out of the GOP, the Dems have been urging him to join their caucus, despite him being the most Conservative guy this side of Don Butler. He's a recovering alcoholic, which is all fine and well, but he's also pretty much a pariah from the press (how'd he manage that!), and the public. Sellner let him stay, mainly due to the adage of "work with the enemy you know," as the 2nd district is ragingly Republican these days.
Electoral Prospects: He's gone. Despite his begging, the South Carolina GOP refused to let him rejoin the party and run for re-election and the district is contested between Scott Wilson and Eugene Ellings. Wilson, the Republican candidate, is pretty much the winner, due to the district's heavy, heavy leanings.
3rd: Nathan Templeton, "Independent Democrat" (caucuses with the Republicans)
The most interesting guy in the House. Most people, myself included for some time, are confused at Templeton's political party. He was a Democrat in the House from 1962 until his first retirement in 1989. He was re-elected, as a Democrat in 2004. That's where it gets interesting. He began going to Republican caucus meetings, ignoring the Democratic caucus entirely, and voting almost exclusively with the Republicans. There was no doubt he was a Blue Dog from way back, but the news jumped on his story as a "rebel Democrat," and he later adapted the nomenclature "Independent Democrat." The Dems were furious and in April '05 they kicked him out of their party, much like Wendt would be kicked out of his party. Although the Republicans made overtures to him, committee chairmanships and the like, he decided to form his own "Independent Democratic Party," which just consists of him, and ran with that party in the '06 and '08 elections. He caucuses with the Republicans though, and they pretty much consider him one of their own, putting up no opposition in the '08 election.
Electoral prospects: There were rumors of him resigning at the end of his present term, but he summed it up best when he said: "I've quit once before, and I didn't like it. They're gonna have to wheel my dead body off that Hill when I'm done." No Republican candidate, plus strong respect as an elder statesman, and no serious Democratic candidate, means he has little chance of going anywhere.
4th: Susan Day, Republican
Probably the most moderate of the bunch, and yes, that means she's more moderate, if I dare say liberal, than the Democratic South Carolinians. Her support for abortion rights has seriously, seriously harmed her in this last Congress. Her "airhead" style hasn't won her any favors, and the only thing she has going for her is about $70 million dollars in "daddy's trust fund."
Electoral prospects: She's a first-term politician, and I think she just might be a one-hit wonder. She narrowly won the Republican primary (a shock to everybody!), but her Democratic opponent is the niece of MacDonald Barclay, a popular former Republican Governor.
5th: Sam McCord, Democrat
A former Marine Lt. Colonel, before his one-term stint in the State Senate, McCord isn't known for breaking off the trail led by his big brother Tim. If my calendar's right, he'll be Senator in 2016, and god knows what else after that. I'm not a fan of nepotism, and the Dems are no help in that regard, so I was more than a little bothered when they got Tim's little brother, who I had never heard of, to follow him into Washington. Maybe that's just because Sam doesn't have a kick-a** movie yet!
Electoral prospects: He just won a special election in August, and pretty much soared through any primary challenge this year. The Republicans are all gaga over this guy, but I can't tell if former state Comptroller General (yes, that's a title) Devon Bell is taking this serious or not.
6th: Grant Spencer, Democrat
Conflict-of-interest. Spencer married my sister once. I think? How many women has this guy married, or better yet, how many he hasn't? Spencer's 8 wives aside (yes, 8!), I'm not sure how this guy managed the time to start any of his businesses, let alone become popular enough to run for any office and win. Sources tell me he was a mayor of some small town before becoming a rep, which is quite an accomplishment, especially since he supposedly had gone through five wives by that time.
Electoral prospects: He's been elected and re-elected for ten years now, but faces serious competition every time. There is a good chance that State Rep. Kirsten Lee could beat him, but she lost once four years ago.
