Governor Gresham?

SOUTH CAROLINA’S THIRD DISTRICT CONGRESSMAN TOPS LIST OF PROSPECTIVE SANFORD SUCCESSORS

FITSNews – March 24, 2007 – We never point blank asked Gresham Barrett whether or not he was running for governor of South Carolina in 2010.

Truth be told, we didn’t think the question was necessary.

After all, no answer Barrett gave was going to add or detract one iota from the growing gubernatorial buzz surrounding this small town boy turned U.S. Congressman from Westminster, S.C.

In fact, were there ever a prospective gubernatorial candidate in South Carolina politics who stood to benefit from such a “perfect storm” of potential support, Gresham Barrett is probably that candidate.

On the one hand, Barrett gets high marks from fiscal conservatives who respect his principled votes in support of market-based solutions and against wasteful government spending. On the other hand, he’s adored by evangelical voters who admire his uncompromising stances on a smorgasbord of social conservative issues.

“Gresham isn’t afraid to stand up for fiscal and social conservative values, sometimes almost alone and usually without getting the credit he deserves,” says Oran Smith, President of the Palmetto Family Council, a social conservative advocacy group based in Columbia, S.C.

Translation? South Carolina’s Third District Congressman has potential mass statewide appeal, not only with the burgeoning political center of pocketbook voters, but also with the diminished (but still potent) Christian Coalition wing of the South Carolina Republican establishment.

Throw in Barrett’s good looks, readily-accessible “aw, shucks” personality, made-for-television family, apple pie background (yes, he married his high school sweetheart) and it’s easy to see why many consider Barrett the frontrunner to succeed current S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, who is limited to two terms in office.

No pressure, right?

“Sure I’ve thought about it,” Barrett told FITSNews matter-of-factly during our free-flowing, half hour chat in his Washington, D.C. office earlier this month. “But there’s a lot of time between now and then. And frankly, there are some tremendous opportunities for me here in Washington working with Bush Democrats who don’t necessarily agree with all of this Nancy Pelosi stuff.”

Asked which legacy – fiscal or social – he wanted to be remembered for one day (after being politely informed that he could not choose “both”), Barrett thought for a moment before giving FITSNews his answer:

“I would have to say social issues,” he told us. “One of the things that make me who I am – the leader I am, some would say – is my heart for social issues. It spills over into everything I do.”

Not that Barrett is at all shy about discussing his heart for fiscal conservatism.

“I’ve used this quote before, but if we continue spending money the way we are now there’s not going to be any left to spend later when we need it,” Barrett says. “Sixty-two percent of our budget is Social Security, Medicaid and payments on the national debt – and by 2040 entitlement spending alone will eclipse where the entire federal budget is today. That kind of growth is simply not sustainable, and it’s not just Republicans saying that, I’ve had a number of Democrats come up to me and say that we need to try to rein some of this in.”

That explosive spending growth in Washington is one reason Barrett favors market-based proposals such as personal accounts for social security.

“It’s a no-brainer,” Barrett says. “It’d be pretty cool in seventy years to say you have an entire segment of society that isn’t beholden to the federal government anymore.”

Barrett’s positioning on the ideological map reminds many of South Carolina’s current governor, who also made a name for himself in the U.S. Congress by aggressively supporting market solutions and bucking the status quo on spending.

“Whenever there’s a lopsided vote, where only a few of us are voting against some bill that sounds nice but adds millions in new spending, you know that Gresham will be up on the ‘no’ board,” Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake told us.

Yet unlike Sanford, who started his political career in Washington, Barrett also has state government experience, serving in the S.C. House from 1997 until his election to the U.S House six years later.

“Gresham is night and day from Sanford,” one State Legislator who served with Barrett told us. “We know Gresham – and Gresham knows us. We don’t have to tell him relationships are coin of the realm here, not a bunch of pie charts and press stunts.”

Barrett’s combination of social and fiscal conservatism makes him “well-positioned to run politically” for the Governor’s Mansion, according to Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon.

“I’d say the odds are pretty good,” Huffmon told FITSNews. “He is liked and respected within the party, has a growing war chest, and has a growing network of statewide supporters. Running a Sanford-style media savvy candidacy while doing the campaign legwork of (S.C. Lt. Gov Andre) Bauer and playing up the accessible ‘common man’ demeanor he exudes … yeah, that could work.”

Others are not so optimistic about Barrett’s chances, particularly in a field that could conceivably include State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Attorney General Henry McMaster.

“Gresham’s not going to beat Henry (McMaster),” veteran GOP consultant and McMaster advisor Richard Quinn told us flatly. “Henry has a statewide base, all Gresham has is a Congressional District base.”

Be that as it may, Sanford’s campaign in 2002 proved a U.S. Congressman could defeat not just one, but three sitting statewide candidates. Of course it remains to be seen whether Barrett can dial for dollars at Sanford’s prodigious clip, which most credit as the key to his political potency. Barrett raised just over $1 million to defeat token Democratic opposition in 2006, and has only about $300,000 in his campaign account, according to his latest FEC report.

It also remains to be seen whether Barrett can “message” a statewide campaign as effectively as Sanford did in 2002. In fact, some go so far as to say Barrett’s “heart” for social issues could potentially cost him votes by overshadowing his pocketbook appeal – pointing specifically to the twenty-point drubbing Sanford inflicted on the values-centric campaign of former Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler in 2002.

“Barrett will have the conservative base Bob had six years ago, but he has to upgrade the Peeler message substantially or he’ll lose them – and lose the center if he’s not careful, more importantly,” another veteran GOP consultant and current Sanford advisor told FITSNews. “Governor Sanford won on a message of taxes and spending, not family values.”

Barrett says he’s not concerned with those sorts of political considerations at this stage of the game.

“We’re just trying to be consistent,” he said of his Congressional record. “We look at every issue and say ‘let’s make sure we’re always who we say we are.’”

Given his growing profile and the primacy of the Palmetto State in the GOP presidential nominating process, Barrett’s endorsement has not surprisingly become one of the most coveted in the nation among the crowded field of Republicans aspiring to the White House. And despite rumors that he favors former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Barrett insists he hasn’t made up his mind. He even went out of his way to find something positive to say about each one of the prospective candidates.

“At this point I’m still open,” he says. “At one point I was getting pretty close to a couple of candidates but I want to see where the money is, I want to see how they do in the debates. I’m also very excited about talking to (former U.S. Senator) Fred Thompson.”

Incidentally, Barrett is one of the first major South Carolina politicians to embrace the political blogosphere as a legitimate communications medium. Unlike the present governor’s office – which refuses to grant media credentials or provide on-the-record statements to political bloggers – Barrett’s office actively courts “new media” outlets as part of its press strategy.

“If it’s a way for people to get involved in the process, to get engaged and find out what’s going on, then I applaud it,” Barrett says of the blog phenomenon. “If they’re pulling down a blog, they’re getting the real scoop.”

Stay tuned to FITSNews for additional profiles of prospective 2010 gubernatorial candidates in the months to come …

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