Petty Hate Machine
“Bow down before the one you serve …”
The words are from the Nine Inch Nails album Pretty Hate Machine, but they definitely fit the “Petty Hate Machine” that has pervaded the corridors of power at the South Carolina State House.
Like a penny-ante version of The Empire Strikes Back, House Speaker Bobby Harrell today exacted additional revenge on two lawmakers who defied his wishes by pushing for greater openness in government.
How vindictive and personal has Harrell gotten with this thing?
State House observers can scarcely remember a time when retribution was dispensed with this level of coolness and calculation.
Not content with merely stripping conservative Rep. Nathan Ballentine of his spot on the House Ethics Committee yesterday (click here for more on that), Harrell today yanked him from his spot on the Education Committee and stuck him in the legislative wasteland known as 3M, or the Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee.
Typically reserved for new members (or Democrats who have physically assaulted their colleagues), 3M is pretty much a death sentence for lawmakers in that it handles virtually no important legislation.
Additionally, Harrell went out of his way today to exact special revenge on conservative Rep. Nikki Haley, removing her from the powerful Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee via a letter hand-delivered by his Chief of Staff, Brad Wright shortly after he had already stacked the committee against her and forced her to endorse his hand-picked chairman.
Both Haley and Ballentine were vocal proponents of a government transparency initiative that would have forced everything but ceremonial votes to be cast “on the record.” That effort suffered a setback yesterday as well, as Harrell forced a sham transparency rule change through the House in an effort to silence the debate.
From what we can tell, the modus operandi of the 2009-10 session of the House of Representatives appears to be as follows – crack down hard on anyone who aligns themselves with sensible public policy or a fiscally conservative governing philosophy.
In pursuing this strategy, Harrell’s “fluffer” brigade of willing accomplices includes new GOP Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, outgoing majority leader Jimmy Merrill and resident State House alcoholic Annette Young, all of whom played integral roles in helping Harrell dispense his revenge on these two independent conservative reformers.
Stay tuned … the fallout from this organizational session is only now beginning to hit the fan.
Comments
By Hubert on December 3rd, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I say we MARCH!!!!!!! Let’s have a conservative rally against Bobby on the State House grounds and see what the rank and file do then. I actually think it might work.
By EyesWideOpen on December 3rd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Oh bobby oh bobby how you hate being written about…..but you just cannot seem to grasp unbelievably difficult things like “common-sense” and “conservative policy” which Will and just about everyone else not serving in the SC legislature seem to get. I know being in the legislature automatically give you an IQ of at least 70, and being Speaker means you hit the minimum 75 IQ requirement….but seriously Mr. Speaker….being mildly retarded is no excuse…..you have got to do better than this……especially if you plan on keeping your job…..damn being Speaker you need to worry about re-election…..good luck kiddo!
By Snead on December 3rd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
“resident State House alcoholic”? Holy shit, man. The statehouse shenanigans certainly put a wad in the FITS girls’ panties.
By Jack on December 3rd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
South Carolina Republican Party Members, You have a problem! The cost of putting the pursuit of power above the principals of the party was demonstrated in the National election results in 2006 and 2008. Wallace Scarborough and the Charleston County ticket is the tip of the iceberg of cooling support for Republicans in SC. North Carolina proved that the Repubilican candidates can be defeated in the southern states. The chill for Republican governance is spreading south.
Six years of legislative obstruction against the leadership of a very popular Governor striving to lead in accordance with the principals of his party would have resulted in the ouster of the entire leadership structure of that party in any other state. Only in South Carolina will the party structure support legislative leaders whose obstructionist policies have resulted in such abysmal results for the citizens and businesses in this state. Senator McConnell and Rep. Harrell, like too many of our elected representatives in Washington, have clearly demonstrated that they put their personal quest for power above the interest of their constituents.
If the “Republicans” in Columbia won’t stand up for lower taxes, less spending and the principals of good governance which they champion in their campaigns, then the Democrats will be happy to show them the exit from elected positions. Wake up Republicans and field some true conservatives in the next election cycle and show the obstructionists the door, or prepare to watch from the side as the Democrats show you how to win elections in “safe” districts and states!
By HP on December 3rd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
SC, this is your Mobocracy @ work. I pegged it as such last summer in an e-mail to La Socialista’s Brad Warthen — which he immediately poo-pooed. [?!]
Makes you wonder why good people even BOTHER entering politics.
What a crock of shitola.
By Carl on December 3rd, 2008 at 7:43 pm
These are absolutely cowardly acts by the Speaker. He fears the ability, knowledge, and public trust and support that Rep. Ballentine and Haley represent. To remove these types of legislators from their posts and committees is spineless and paranoia. The Speaker is holding our state at randsom and he continues to use fear tactics to keep other legislators in line. My question to those legislators that turned their back on their friends…what do you have to show for it? Do you really think you are better off today than you were last year? What are your ethical standards? What are you going to do about it?
By Fashizzle on December 3rd, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Kudos to Nikki and Nathan for having the moral courage to stand up and make a difference at great personal expense. Too many people run for office and then sell their souls for power once they get to Columbia. These two remember the reason they were elected is to serve the state rather than their own interests. If all our lawmakers were willing to stand on principle the Speaker and his goon squad would find themselves powerless. It is a dark day for representative democracy, but as long as we have honorable principled leaders such as Nikki and Nathan there is still hope for us a a people. On behalf of everyone, I’d like to thank them for their service.
By fitsnews on December 3rd, 2008 at 9:01 pm
EyesWideOpen-
Everyone in leadership over there has a “whiff of Downs” in our book.
FITS
By Jennifer on December 3rd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Carl, you couldn’t be more correct. I’d love to hear from each of the House members on the questions you’ve posed. You have about 5 people in leadership making decision and pupeteering how 119 others act/react. What is wrong with these people? Are they that ignorant?
By Please on December 3rd, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Nikki and Nathan got what they deserve. They have lambasted the Speaker relentlessly for months in the press for their own personal gain. Everyone knows Nikki is a climber and loves her name in print and Nathan is just a pitiful little follower. Will, you and your small group are just looking plain psycho with your personal vendetta against Bobby. Do you ever even write about anything else anymore? None of you have any credibility…people read it like Star magazine. Everyone knows it isn’t true but it’s fun reading. And as far as the comments, everyone also knows that it’s a handful of people writing over and over again. And they are all insiders. Do you think the average person who doesn’t even know who their representative is, is reading your blog? It’s all politicos. And we all know how you make your living. I hope Nikki is paying your mortgage for the next year. I meant rent.
By Rick on December 3rd, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Jennifer, I think the word you’re looking for is Cowardly. And yes, they are.
By Donny Brascoe on December 3rd, 2008 at 10:18 pm
You can only be in power so long by leading by fear. Harrell did this to make an example of them and inject fear in the rest of the House. He overstepped…his days are numbered.
By Ju on December 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
http://jonesonpolitics.com/2008/12/03/breaking-news-wallace-scarborough-loses-protest-battle-against-anne-peterson-hutto/
Awe, Bobby lost one of his pets.
By mijeel on December 4th, 2008 at 12:42 am
Re: Please – as one who is not an insider and is not a politico, I read this blog and a whole host of media sources to obtain information from many diverse perspectives. At the end of the day, anyone with half an ounce of intelligence can see Bobby Harrell for what he is – a self-serving, power-hungry, and arrogant little bully with the interpersonal skills of a two year-old who couldn’t care less about the actual people he is supposed to be serving. Jack has a valid point: the SC GOP politial machinery better wake up before it finds itself completely irrelevant because a bunch of Democrats running on (comparatively) conservative principles start winning elections.
By lisa on December 4th, 2008 at 8:35 am
People are sick of these power hungry mean Republicans. They have work to do, a lot on their plates and all they do is argue about who is going to be the biggest and bestest bossman.
Represent your constituents is what you were asked to do… please tend to the most important matters.
By Silence the Noise on December 4th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Im fairly sure that the fact that Fitsnews get some 25 kagillion hits a day proves that the posts are not the same people posting over and over.
It does, however, mean that the door is wide open for every idiot to post their comments…..not matter how ignorant……even if Greg Foster must hit the minimum quota for comments required by his boss good ol Bobby.
Keep an eye to the bushes Bobby…..you never know who is watching…..or what they will do with what they find.
By Fed up with status quo on December 4th, 2008 at 9:55 am
I am disappointed that Harrell and Jim Merrill conspired against the people of our state to shun transparency and hide votes from the public.
Jim Merrill used to try to sell himself as being against state agencies hiring lobbyists- but being involved in hiding our elected officials votes from the taxpayers is 10 times worse than state agencies using taxpayer money hiring lobbyists.
How could any voter not be in favor of having all votes counted and made public? If an issue is important enough for our elected officials to have a vote, it is important enough for us to see how they vote.
By tigerjeff on December 4th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Yawn……
By Workin' Tommy C on December 4th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Please, “Please!” Nikki Haley has always answered my emails directly herself and I’ve met her once and she remembered me. She’s a fighter. She’s one of us. She is very concerned about making legislators more accountable to us citizens of SC. She is the one who told me about this situation. My reaction to her bill is: what honorable citizen can argue against it?
This legislation is needed and necessary to stop scoundrels like Harrell from getting away with fiscal murder again and again.
By Unfairly Persecuted on December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
The worse our General Assembly’s problems are, the more leaders need a scapegoat. So sorry Nathan and Nikki.
By Insider on December 4th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Not so sure there’s any reason to be sorry for Rep. Haley and Ballentine. They both have slayed dragons in worse circumstances. This has backfired in the Speakers face more than he, Greg and Brad know. In time they will once again prove victorious over a now very bruised dragon.
By Been there-done that on December 5th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Didn’t I hear sometime back that Harrell would run for governor next go round?
I hope it is just a rumor if he is that crooked. If true Republicans represented their party for what it stands for, we would not have to put up with “such baby stuff” from Harrell and others that claim to represent their party. THe same for Democrats.
Thank goodness there are good republicans and democrats still here. THe vast majority is more crooked than Crooked Creek in Marlboro County.
WE refer to Crooked Creek here as representing the crooked politicians and leaders of a “dead” Bennettsville and Marlboro County.
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