The SC House Is Talking Trash

REPUBLICAN SPIN DOCTORS GLOAT OVER IMMIGRATION REFORM “COMPROMISE”

FITSNews – June 3, 2008 – In the juvenile back and forth over an election year “Immigration Panderfest,” it’s always fun to watch South Carolina’s Republican spin doctors go at it.

Like this flier posted on the S.C. House Republican Caucus message board, for example, which refers to the recent immigration reform compromise between the two Republican-controlled chambers as an “unconditional surrender” by the South Carolina Senate.

The flier quotes State Sen. Larry Martin, who recently told the Greenville News that the Senate had “lost the PR war” with the House over immigration reform. Martin – in epic display of statesmanship – then lent voice to the sentiment of many vulnerable incumbents when he said “I’m not going back home being viewed as the reason the state Legislature hasn’t done anything.”

Needless to say, the House declaration of the Senate’s “unconditional surrender” brought a swift response from Senate President Glenn McConnell … in all capital letters, no less …

“I WOULD CERTAINLY CONGRATULATE THE HOUSE BRAIN TRUST THAT IS JIM MERRILL, JASON ZACHER, AND GREG FOSTER FOR THEIR WITTY FLYER. TOO BAD I CANNOT CALL THEM THE 3 WISE MEN. WHILE THEY ARE CERTAINLY QUITE ADEPT AT PASSING OUT PRESS RELEASES, THEY HAVE NOT USED THE SAME INDUSTRY TO HAVE THE HOUSE PASS OUT CONSERVATIVE LEGISLATION.

I HATE TO SAY THAT I ACCEPT THEIR UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER ON FAILING TO PASS THE ENGLISH ONLY BILL, THE TEACHER PROTECTION ACT AND MANY OTHER BILLS THAT WOULD MAKE OUR STATE SAFER.

THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL IN PASSING OUT THE FIRST GENERAL TAX INCREASE OUT OF THE HOUSE IN OVER A DECADE SO I GUESS THEY CAN PASS SOME THINGS WHEN THERE IS A WILL TO DO SO. PERHAPS IN THE INTERIM, WE IN THE SENATE WILL FOCUS ON INCREASING THE NUMBER OF SENATE SPIN DOCTORS TO EQUAL THE HOUSE’S. UNTIL THAT TIME, WE WILL TAKE SOLACE IN OUR COMMITMENT TO SUBSTANCE OVER STYLE.”

Click on the image below for a high resolution version of the House’s “unconditional surrender” document:

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