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Let The Spin Begin

CHANGE VERSUS THE STATUS QUO - WINNERS AND LOSERS

FITSNews - June 11, 2008 - We’ve already written on the landmark victory of Tim Scott and the shocking stomp-down that Tom Davis put on incumbent State Senator Catherine Ceips last night, but what of the rest of the Palmetto State’s political landscape?

As the battle rages on between the conservative forces of change and the good ole’ boy Republicans hellbent on preserving our state’s failed status quo, it goes without saying that both sides will try to declare victory in the wake of yesterday’s primary elections. But who were the real winners and losers?

On the one hand, four of the status quo candidates we “undorsed” (i.e. opposed) ended up winning anyway - Carl Gullick, Keith Kelly, Bill Sandifer and B.R. Skelton.

On the other hand, four of the status quo candidates we “undorsed” got beat - Gloria Haskins and Bob Walker in the House and Randy Scott and Ceips in the Senate.

And beyond the races we weighed in on, another four incumbents were defeated last night with several more staring down runoff elections (which is what happens in South Carolina when nobody gets over fifty percent of the vote) …

Status quo-ites will likely cling to their victories and frame them as a repudiation of the so-called “voucher movement,” a tactic which (while predictable) ignores a couple of important realities.

First of all, the so-called “voucher movement” isn’t just about vouchers, tax credits or other proven market-based reforms designed to turn around South Carolina’s worst-in-the-nation system of public education.

Sure, that’s what the left-wing editorial board over at La Socialista wants you to believe, but it’s simply not the case.

That “voucher movement” is also about lower taxes, less spending, a better structure of government and new ethics and accountability laws designed to clean up the cesspool and put an end to the rampant cronyism and corruption in Columbia.

Also, the fact that “Republicans” like Gullick, Kelly, Sandifer and Skelton won their primaries doesn’t give the status quo any additional power or influence that they didn’t have already. Those were four seats that the waste mongers in Columbia had to successfully defend, and in the case of Gullick and , they did so by the hairs of their chinny chin chins.

On the other side, change agents who knocked off sitting status quo legislators scored outright victories that actually shift the balance of power.

Spartanburg’s Joey Millwood defeating Bob Walker - the soon-to-be-former House Education Committee Chairman - is perhaps the biggest of these wins, as was Greenville’s Wendy Nanney knocking off Gloria Haskins.

Tim Scott’s election to a seat vacated by status quo’er “Doc” Dantzler is another example of the “floor math” moving against the good ole’ boys in the S.C. House, as is Bill Wylie’s win over Bob Leach.

Pro-change forces also successfully defended their seats, with Tommy Stringer winning a seat that’s being vacated by soon-to-be Sen. Phil Shoopman in Greenville, and Deborah Long winning a seat that’s being vacated by soon-to-be Sen. Mick Mulvaney.

And wow … the Senate.

In addition to Tom Davis’ richly-deserved pummeling of Catherine Ceips, strong fiscal conservative Mike Rose knocked off big government backer Randy Scott.

There’s simply no way to spin those as anything but pure victories for change, despite the fact that Ceips has always been a loyal vote for the so-called “voucher” backers.

Long story short? The good guys came out ahead last night - with several more races awaiting runoff verdicts.

Oh, and look before you leap before trying to boil all of these races down to a single issue. More often than not, that’s a recipe for misinterpretation.

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