Transparency Reforms Take Flight
The cause of open government in South Carolina got a boost today as Gov. Mark Sanford joined State Reps. Nikki Haley and Nathan Ballentine and SC Policy Council president Ashley Landess on a statewide tour promoting Haley’s proposal to require “on the record” legislative votes for any bill that spends taxpayer money.
Damn … that was a long sentence.
Anyway, a recent study by the Policy Council revealed that South Carolina lawmakers hardly ever record how they vote on legislation, meaning that they routinely blow your money on crap like this and then turn around on the campaign trail and pretend like they’re fiscal conservatives.
No wonder a “Republican” majority was able to pull off the greatest expansion of government in South Carolina history over the last three years.
An example of how “on the record” votes force fiscal accountability occurred last year when State Rep. Mick Mulvaney demanded a recorded vote on a proposed back door pay increase for state legislators.
Not wanting to see their names attached to such a wasteful, self-serving proposal, a majority of Representatives voted against the bill.
Below: Sanford and Co. get their “charts and graphs on” at a press conference this morning in Charleston.
Comments
By Ming Ming's Biggest Fan on September 24th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Amen to this legislation! The only route to cleaning up the mess in Columbia and bringing about TRUE CONSERVATIVE change in Cola is to see where each legislator stands. It’s all about accountability and the voter’s right to know where their legislator truly stands. Kudos to Reps. Haley and Ballentine, the Governor and a major standing ovation to the South Carolina Policy Council. The Policy Council is on the ball and deserves the ovation.
By SeaFair on September 24th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Ming Ming- totally agree. Now if we get only get the three musketeers (Cooper, Leatherman and Harrell) to grow a pair. It’s worth asking- what are the opponents of this bill hiding? Could it be that taxpayers might actually find out why those slick lobbyists line up outside the chamber?
Harrell has become a complete joke in Columbia and elsewhere over this bill. Watching his reaction is like watching a train wreck. You know someone’s going down in flames, but the fireball at the end is totally worth it.
By Vagabond on September 24th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Bobby Harrell’s office released a statement right after this event claiming that voting on the record is “pandering.” Yikes – calling your constituents that demand government accountability stupid and gullible. That’s a great PR strategy.
By Tired on September 24th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Bobby Harrell is a JOKE. Hiw press release references voting on non binding resoultions such as congratulations for football teams. If he….or his half brain Greg Foster….would have done ANY research on the legislation that Nikki Haley and others are proposing…..it EXCLUDES such resolutions.
What absolute idiots.
Thanks for the release though….seriously…..nothing could have exemplified the stupidity of our Speaker any clearer.
Great job Bobby!
By Umm on September 24th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Bobby’s toast. Mark my words. He’s about to lose complete control- and why? His good ole boy backslapping, corruption and big spending ways have caught up to him. Voters and taxpayers are tired of it- and the 70%+ approval rating of Governor Sanford proves it. This is a great idea and to attack it has to be one of the stupidest things I’ve seen in my life.
By Ron on September 24th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
We need to run a “write in campaign” opposing some of these obstructionists to reform in Columbia including Harrell, McConnell, Cooper, Leatherman and Knotts just to name a few. We the people have to somehow “send a message” that we’ve simply had enough of their obstructionist “good ole boy” and “serve the special interest” shennanigans. Especially all of these azzholes that voted for the 2006 tax shift and were guardians of the “alternative funding” debacle etc should be replaced. It’s these types of scandals on a smaller scale than Washington that have led to the meltdown of the financial industry in our country! OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW. I DON’T CARE IF ANY OF THEM SURVIVE.
By Anonymous. Yes. on September 24th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Who is Blondie in Photo Number Three?
By shallow on September 24th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I only see two photos, buddy. But I believe the blonde to the right of Governor Sanford in the bottom one is Ashley Landess.
By Carl on September 24th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Note to Harrell…Just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s true. You have to actually be conservative, you have to pass real tort reform, real earmark reform, vote responsibly, spending limits….HA!, etc etc. Your actions are very telling, and they are anything but what you tout in your press release. Can’t wait to see your tax increase on the cigarettes this coming session. Oh and next time at least read the bill before commenting, it just makes you sound more like an ass.
By Insider on September 24th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Good read…
http://www.thestate.com/statewire/story/534366.html
Potentially makes my job a little harder, but is a great bill and much needed.
By Anonymous. Yes. on September 24th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
buddy, there are three photos, butted together, for a panoramic effect of sorts. But — according to Google, she is one of the good guys…
I just wanted to know, for COL! [COL = crying out loud, right?]
By Jimmy Byrnes on September 24th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
With all of the serious problems facing our state and nation, the Gov & his two sidekicks are touring the countryside ranting about some parlimentary procedure that 90 percent of the electorate can’t define. All of you, channel your energy into something remotely productive, please!!! Note to Nicki & Nate—-enjoy the sidelines and irrelevancy.
By Carl on September 24th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Well you’re a bright one Jimmy Byrnes. THE problem facing our state and nation is lack of oversight…hence growing our state government and national examples like AIG, Lehman, etc. I have a lot of respect for those sponsoring and signing onto this bill. Keep up the great work!
By shallow on September 24th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Buddy, gotcha. I see what you’re saying. I didn’t realize the whole panoramic deal. I was just saying I only saw 2 photos. The only reason I made that point was so I could hopefully answer your question correctly. I was trying to make sure I described the person I thought we were both talking about. And she is one of the good guys! Well, actually, as you can most definitely see, one of the good gals! COL = Crying out loud sounds good to me.
Note to “Jimmy.” You’d be surprised how much the electorate can figure out. For instance, I’ll bet the electorate can figure out that “parlimentary” is actually spelled parliamentary! But if you’re right about the electorate, you must be among the 90% you speak of. In which case, all you’re doing is helping the Gov. and his sidekicks make their case that SC’s lame public schools need an overhaul!
By Jimmy Byrnes on September 24th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Attn Carl: Get a clue. MS & Co are done…they no longer are part of the equation. Don’t take my word ..just check the complete lack of meaningful accomplishments. Continuous blathering about arcane bs gets us nowhere.
By Cockfighter on September 25th, 2008 at 6:37 am
Attn Jimmy: Uhhh…have you read this post. Seems like your the only idiot that thinks MS & Co are done.
By Tired on September 25th, 2008 at 10:02 am
is it just me or is Jimmy Byrnes woefully unintelligent……woefully. Kinda resembles our speaker Bobby Harrell a bit in his un-wit and obviously uninformed remarks…..maybe Jimmy could be Bobby’s new press secretary…..he needs a new one…….baaaaaaad
By Draven on September 25th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Seems to me that Jimmy might have a point: High unemployment, folks being killed in record numbers by drunk drivers, poor schools, a budget that’s out of whack. And we’re talking about voting procedures?
By Gene E. Nowak on September 25th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
If recorded votes is pandering, then lets have some pandering.
By A.Y. on September 25th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
shallow,
You speak as one of the more literate ones on the blog; thank you.
And, if you are Sic Willie’s Librarian-helpmate, God Bless You!!!
By Draven on September 25th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I guess my point, and I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s Jimmy’s point, is that this isn’t really the most crucial issue in the state. Focus on those.
By clyde on September 26th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Draven and Jimmy — nothing is stopping the legislature from handling those crucial issues you refer to. The budget would not be so “out of whack” if those guys had to record their votes on every section. It is not as if forcing them to be accountable has somehow derailed their ability to restructure government or revamp the tax code. They can do that anytime they want to. The General Assembly has done nothing to reform health care or cap spending. Instead, they went on a billion dollar spending spree last year, and this year the leadership concocted some crazy pyramid scheme that they called “economic development” but which is really just a bunch of government agencies getting tax money. Only way to get those guys in line is to hold them accountable, and we cannot do that as citizens when they won’t vote on the record.
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