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The Rast Family Redeems Themselves

It’s not exactly Shawshank, but one politically-active South Carolina family certainly redeemed themselves in our eyes this week.

After we ripped Peggy Rast on our pages for some “status quo quotes” offered during a local bond referendum debate, her husband (and S.C. Club for Growth board member) Ben Rast redeemed his family with a dead-on letter to the editor about state spending that appeared Monday in the rapidly-dwindling editorial pages of La Socialista.

We still feel that Peggy Rast’s quotes in this article were the stuff of educrat appeasement, but it’s hard to argue with the wisdom of “Gentle Ben …”

From La Socialista:

In good times or bad, the best financial advice is simply this: Live beneath your means.

Unfortunately, House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Cooper and Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman have a different idea: Don’t let money burn a hole in your pocket.

For years, they have promoted ever-larger budgets, ignored the warning signs of overspending, bullied their peers and run rough-shod over responsible legislators. They have scoffed at every one of Gov. Mark Sanford’s executive budgets and dismissed all of his suggestions about saving for a rainy day. They have ridiculed the fiscal conservatism of Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom.

When the governor suggested that lawmakers set aside additional funds for a rainy day, control spending and concentrate on funding core services such as corrections, Sen. Leatherman dismissed him as nothing more than a “Chicken Little.” Now, the senator has sky all over his face.

Sen. Leatherman and Rep. Cooper had their chance, and they failed miserably. Now, hundreds of state employees could lose their jobs, citizens will lose services, infrastructure will crumble, and public safety will suffer. These men should be replaced.

The chairmanships of these two committees are too important and too powerful to be decided on seniority and politics alone. Surely there is someone in the House and Senate who can deal with the real-world economics of unlimited wants and limited means.

BEN A. RAST

Columbia

Nice … along with House Speaker Bobby Harrell, Leatherman and Cooper are indeed at the very heart of everything that’s wrong with this state, and the sooner Republicans kick them to the curb (or in Leatherman’s case, kick him back over to the Democratic Party from which he came), the sooner we can stop growing government and start growing our economy.

Oh and, here’s some mood music to enjoy from Shawshank as you enjoy Gentle Ben’s missive …

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