“Credibility”
“I am the punishment of God,” the great warrior Genghis Khan once said. “If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.â€
For whatever reason, that quote was bouncing around our heads today as the dust began to settle from this week’s massive insider brawl at the S.C. State House.
What should have been a simple, unambiguous debate over whether or not state lawmakers were going to let the public see how they voted devolved instead into a bitter and caustic personality conflict – one which was started (and for that matter, effectively finished) by the increasingly petty and vindictive Speaker of the House, Charleston’s Bobby Harrell.
With intensely personal allegations and insinuations flying from everyone’s quivers, at the heart of the matter remains one indisputable fact – Harrell and his legislative allies continue to demonstrate an affinity for expanding the size and scope of government while suppressing anyone who dares to speak up for fiscal conservatism and government accountability.
But that’s not what Harrell and his “fluffers” want you to think the debate is about … to them, it’s all about personalities, including ours.
Case in point, we received a text message today from an ally of Speaker Harrell which read as follows:
No offense, dude. But your bite needs to match your bark. You’re losing cred(ibility) with some folks in the Echo Chamber.
Interestingly enough, the last time we checked the pulse of the public, it was those “folks in the Echo Chamber” who were losing credibility with the taxpayers of this state.
In fact, Speaker Harrell lost some credibility with the mainstream media reporters we spoke with today in the aftermath of this particular battle, as several of them openly joked with us about how unconvincing his excuses were for the revenge he meted out.
And irrespective of all that, our job is to call it like we see it. Not like they see it. Like we see it.
Other people can worry about whether we’re “credible” or not.
Needless to say, though, our vocal defense of lawmakers like Nikki Haley and Nathan Ballentine has rubbed more than a few “folks in the Echo Chamber” the wrong way.
So what.
When elected officials are actually standing on principle instead of sucking up to the powers that be, somebody’s got to be willing to stand up for them.
We believe in less government and open government. So do Reps. Haley and Ballentine. So does Gov. Mark Sanford. So does the S.C. Policy Council, the S.C. Club for Growth, South Carolinians for Responsible Government, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and dozens of other groups and elected officials who are sick and tired of wasteful spending putting this state in an economic hole.
Oh, and so do the people of this state, who are sick of living in a Banana Republic with record unemployment and the nation’s worst schools.
But the legislative leaders of the S.C. House of Representatives – specifically Speaker Harrell, Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, Rep. Jimmy Merrill and Rep. Annette Young – all believe in more government, which has clearly failed to produce the results our state needs.
And ironically, it’s because of that very failure (and their desire to pretend they’re real Republicans) that Harrell, Bingham, Merrill and Young are so aggressively fighting transparency, because God forbid our leaders actually do what they say they’re going to do.
So in other words, they can attack our “credibility” all they want.
We’ll let the people judge for themselves who does (and doesn’t) have it …
Comments
By GnuBerry on December 4th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
The massive insider brawl devolved in to a caustic insinuation when the increasingly petty and vindictive Genghis Khan’s fluffer meted out revenge!
By BIN News Editorial Staff on December 4th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
“I am the great punishment of howie, scrg and the voucher scams…” screams the great wart(hog) sic(k) willie. “If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you,†mused wart(hog)willie.
What cr@p!
BIN News Editorial Staff
Flair and Balanced
By Reader on December 4th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
BIN, how old are you? Answer that question. If you have one gram of normalcy — you can DO IT!
By WMD on December 4th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Will, your credibility is zero. Make that less than zero. You attack attack attack all morning noon and night and then you think a GHENGIS KHAN [learn to spell] quote makes you some kind of bad ass?
Next thing we know you are going to tell us you are Jesus.
What we all KNOW is sick is the steamy illicit relationship between you and Nikki Haley and the same between Nikki Haley and Nathan Ballentine. That is why Will is doing ALL of this. Doesn’t she have children, Will? Don’t you have one on the way? Enquiring minds ……
But NADA anymore. Too bad so sad b/c the money is drying up for you both now that your buggers have bugged out and the LCI cash is no longer heading in Nikki’s diretion. You are both “Kaput.”
Bobby rose up and smacked all of your media whore darlings down with “Great vengeance and furious anger.” You are next and don’t think your little threatening all over the place is going to scare them off of you. So play pretend the high road all you want. You are going down too.
By Reader on December 4th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Fairness = I am 46. Years.
By Reader on December 4th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Never say someone is going down until you see the whites of their eyes. And ONLY the whites of their eyes. Right, Rooster?
By fitsnews on December 4th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
WMD-
You forgot about Sic Willie and Nathan’s “steamy illicit relationship.”
Come on, man. We can’t keep helping you out like this …
FITS
By Reader on December 4th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Oh good grief — is that you two that are going to star in my documentary @ Granby Park tonight? I’m not donning those ugly ski clothes of my husband’s for THAT. Dull!
By Fashizzle on December 4th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
If Will is suddenly irrelevant it must have happened during those two days the site was down after crashing multiple servers. Yeah, that’s it.
By James the Foot Soldier on December 4th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Mr. Folks and gang:
The one glaring omission on the list of conservative voices in South Carolina was Senator Jim DeMint’s. If only the senior senator from South Carolina had half the testosterone as the junior Senator we’d quit freakin’ cancelling our state’s votes in the U.S. Senate. On issue after issue Senator DeMint has stood for principal while lindsey and her pals in the senate keep standing for re-election.
If you’re as sick as I am of all the rino’s in the Senate then spare a buck or ten and donate to DeMint’s PAC:
http://slatecard.com/Blog/post/Sen-Jim-DeMint-Embraces-Slatecard.aspx
It’s a gift that will hopefully keep on giving!
By Silence the Noise on December 4th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Come on Wesley…..lets see you bring down Fits…..
By Katherine Jenerette on December 4th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Credibility is not the issue here at all. This credibility argument is nothing more than a ‘look behind you’ distraction to get the readers or observers of this ‘drama’ off track of the real basic core principle of ‘individual self government.’
This is really simple.
Stand the argument on its head about what ‘should-be’ or ‘should-not-be’ open to the public in the State Legislators agenda and the ‘center-of-gravity’ should have two fundamental rules:
Rule #1) All business conducted by any elected or appointed officials on behalf of the people of the State of South Carolina will be conducted in the open, and recorded fully, including ‘who-what-when-where-how’ for review by the people at any time in the present or in the future.
Rule #2) Any exception to rule number one must be passed by unanimous vote of both chambers of the legislator and signed into law by the executive branch of government and will have a sunset provision of that legislative session only.
That’s it. Simple.
It’s called being a ‘representative’ of the people’ not a ‘secret agent’ over the people.
That’s all for now.
Katherine
By Insider on December 4th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
WMD/Greg Foster…can you be any more obvious?
By Ju on December 4th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Following is the headliner on cnn.com
Killing their neighbors: Genocide’s foot soldiers
Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Slobodan Milosevic. They are household names, infamous for masterminding genocide. But who were the foot soldiers who did the dirty work? In many cases they were the friends, neighbors and co-workers of those they raped, slaughtered and buried alive. “The truth is that we all have the possibility for genocidal behavior,” says Harvard psychiatrist Robert Lifton
Apparently not all Dr. Lifton. Representatives Ballentine and Haley have morals and ethics. Moreover they have placed the people they represent, and even those they don’t, ahead of personal gains and arrogance in an effort to lead the State. Unfortunately too many others are just so self serving.
By lisa on December 5th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Problem is those politicans represent the government not the people. That my friend is the Republican way.
By Gene E. Nowak on December 5th, 2008 at 11:46 am
When attacking the messager is the prime response the message is on target. Too bad the facts are only being discussed on this site and not in the MSM.
By The Palmetto Chancellor? on December 5th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Realpolitik Harrell style…,to some the speaker is the greatest and noblest of South Carolina’s Statesmen. To others, he is nothing but a devious politician who abused his power and led our General Assembly into a dictatorship. What next will he be spewing from his pulpit? “It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.â€
By The Rise of the RINO'S on December 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Genghis Khan also had a personal historian kind of like Harrell has his personal cronies. While driven by revenge, Genghis also loved conquest, kind of like Harrell too. He once remarked to his personal historian: Man’s greatest good fortune is to chase and defeat his enemy, seize his total possessions, leave his married women weeping and waiting, (and) ride his (horse). This captures the summation of Khan’s personality, kind of like Harrell’s again, aggressiveness and ruthlessness. Surely there are more sides to such a “diabolical†organizer and strategist (for Mr. Harrell) .
By The Rise of the RINO'S on December 5th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Genghis Khan also had a personal historian kind of like Harrell has his personal cronies. While driven by revenge, Genghis also loved conquest, kind of like Harrell too. He once remarked to his personal historian: Man’s greatest good fortune is to chase and defeat his enemy, seize his total possessions, leave his married women weeping and waiting, (and) ride his (horse). This captures the summation of Khan’s personality, kind of like Harrell’s again, aggressiveness and ruthlessness. Surely there are more sides to such a “diabolical†organizer and strategist (for Mr. Harrell)
By Kirsten on December 5th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Dear Speaker Harrell,
I am writing to you as a concerned citizen of South Carolina, in a time where true government transparency is few and far between. I am appalled at the present situation in the SC House, pertaining to Rep. Ballentine and Rep. Haley. I understand the deep importance in advancing your own political career, and I understand the fact that your own egotistical ambitions can not be achieved without blocking transparency and the careers of others. With this established, I find blackmail quite a brow-raising method to reaching these goals. Although loopholes are easy to find, your actions have not only shown a lack of legality and morality, but also the prominence4 of honorable qualities you so so dearly possess that I want my Speaker of the House to have. But the backwards nature and questionable sincerity of South Carolina’s Speaker can only go hand in hand with the same backwards nature of our state being the only one lacking a roll call vote.
But don’t worry, I understand the necessity for your backstabbing, black mailing ways, as ignorance is not transparent either.
By Madi; the girl from current issues on December 5th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Speaker Harrell,
Why dont you want to be 100% transparency? Obviously you (and your “allies”) are hiding something. Dont you think its strange that were the only state without it? Nathan Ballentine is one of (probably the only) honest politician – who actually cares about the people. What kind of government is this? If youre going to claim to be a Republican, be a Republican. Republicists are suppose to be “by the people, for the people.” I’m confused because it seems like youre only for yourself. Is what youre doing even legal? you may think it’s ethical but it’s not. Ostracizing Ballentine from the Education and Ethics Committee and Haley from the Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee was unfair and intellectually incurious. Honestly, you need to think about hte fact that we are the only state with a secretive government.
point blank. (:
By kelly on December 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Dear Speaker Harrel,
I’m writing you in regards to the goings on in The State House right now. I’ve read a few articles about the situation that arose. As far as i can tell you have unfairly voted Nathan Ballentine out of the Ethics Committee and Nikki Haley out of the Labor, Commerce, and Industry committee. Just because you didn’t agree with with the passing of the Transparency Bill, did not give you the right to ruin an upstanding citizen’s political career. I just don’t understand why our state is the only one in the United States without 100% transparent roll-call voting. I’ve learned that in a republic we, as citizens are voting for people who support the sames things we do. Why should we not be informed as to what they’re actually voting for?
By Ms. Payne's student on December 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Nathan Ballentine,
You being removed should not have happened. The things that you stood for were a great thing. You stood up for what is right and were punished for it. I’m proud to say that I support you and what you stood for. You did not deserve what you got. You stand for the people. Thank you for doing that, but I do hope you get back in.
By jacob marshall on December 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Dear bobby harrell
What i think you did to nathen and haley was unethical and unamarican. You need to grow a pair and stop being a baby when you dont get your way you did that when you were 10 and younger now your in your 50s you did that 40 years ago. We need a change cause obviously you and your followers dont now what your doing i think we need to go to 100% transparency.
By Will on December 5th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Dear Representative Ballentine,
I am truly sorry about the unfortunate events that have happened to you this week. You have been treated wrong and everybody that knows that Speaker Harrell did to you and Representative Haley was not right. I know that I cannot do anything to help you but I would like you to know that I support you and what you have done. I appreciate everything you have done to help out and to promote with Alive @ 25 in our schools. I know with the loss of all my recent friends, the class really effected me. Again I appreciate what you have done and I am truly sorry for what has happened to you the past week.
By Katelyn on December 5th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Speaker Bobby Harrell,
Unfortunately, I do not understand your motives. If you intend to keep up your current postion you need to be honest with your listeners. I do not for one minute believe that 99% of voting in open to the public- it’s one of those numbers only meant to impress. However, even if 99% of information was widely open and available, as citizens and taxpayers the people of South Carolina are entitled to a full 100%. Nothing should be kept secret as everything discussed in these meetings leads to votes. The general public should be fully aware of everything that goes on. The public is already aware that some things are hidden from them and if more confusion begins to occur, more problems will arise. People will become angry as some already are. When people are angry their actions are rash and their words worse. You will lose respect and trust to a great extent. Your position in the state may be threatened and who knows that will become of the status of South Carolina at that point. I hope you will reconsider your intentions Mr. Harroll and do whatever you feel is best for the state of South Carolina while keeping in mind that we, the public, your listeners, audience, and judges, like to be kept well informed.
By Jessica on December 5th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Speaker Bobby Harrel:
I think what you did to Nathan Ballentine and Nikki Haley was absolutely disgusting. To have such persons chosen to represent the people of our state shutdown and embarrassed for exactly that, is a disgrace to politics. Haley’s idea about this state FINALLLLY catching up with the rest of the nation would only be a good thing for South Carolina’s government. 99% transparency is not full cooperation from you, big spender, it makes you look unintelligent to not want to let the people see in what ways you vote. By hiding what you vote, it only lets people believe that you are not properly representing us. In that case, your not doing your job, and should be kicked out by your backside, just like you have done to others. You should be humiliated and embarrassed, just like you have allowed our state to be. How hard could it be for you grow up and realize its not all about you, we have examples of 49 other states to follow, I think, even with our poor education (thanks for that by-the-way), that we could manage to allow 100% transparency!
Thank you for your poor representation.
Jessica from Ms. Payne’s class
By Random Person on December 5th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Bobby Harrel,
I personally don’t agree with anything you have done lately. I liked Nathan Ballentine, he was a good man. Alive @ 25 in my point of view is a very important bill to pass I think because it tries to help save the lives of many teenagers. The class also tries to help persuade you into making the right decisions that could help save your life. My next point is the South Carolina Educational System. We have horrible educational systems probably one of the worst in the country and as the years go by we aren’t getting any better, but the other states might get better making us look worst. Transparency is another point. Keeping voting records away from citizens is messed up because we are a free country but also we live here and should know what goes on around the state. Here’s a tip for you Bobby Harrel, you could try to improve everybody and please the citizens of South Carolina by letting us know about what goes around in the house and voting results. I don’t think its right overall and not letting us know what is going on is wrong. We should know and be 100% transparency.
By A student on December 5th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
To Speaker Harrell,
@(-_-)@
We The People support transparency. As it is in our best interest as voters, we deserve to know who and what we vote for. As voter’s our only way of passing laws in our favor is who we vote for in the begining. We deserve to know how our lawmakers are voting FOR US. You seem to have forgoten what your job is. Your job is to represent THE PEOPLE, not your own agenda. Maybe you should have a reality check and realize you don’t have a position if you don’t recieve votes.
Reavalute your look on life pal. Or are you really just a socialist pig?
By Travis on December 5th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Dear Mr. Speaker Harrell you are intimidating the republican and the Democratic Party. I am very confused because the Republicans and Democrats are trying to figure out what is the situation. In a Republic it says “For the people and by the peopleâ€. For the Democrats State Rep. Nikki Hailey, you choose to force a big showdown against her about transparency Package. In class we are learning about this situation. You have been intimidating people about there votes and it is not right. Notice we are the only state that doesn’t have a 100% Transparency. In my opinion I think you doing people wrong. I am very intellectually incurious about you. Only I can do is pray for you.
By Adrienne on December 5th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Dear Speaker Harrell,
I am a student in high school and I just learned about how you used your power to manipulate and intimidate some of your own house members to vote the way you wanted them to. I am very confused now because I was taught that a republic was supposed to be a by the people and for the people. I am so surprised that you worked so hard to find a loophole to get members booted out of certain committees.
South Carolina is behind in almost everything and now we are the only state in the U.S. that does not have 100% transparency!!! It is time for the South to start keeping up with the rest of the world but it is impossible when we have intellectualy incurious people like you in charge. If South Carolina continued to keep everything the same then it would probably still have slavery and segregation. It’s time for a change.
By Ashley on December 5th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Speaker Harrel,
I think that the actions you have taken in the past weeks are totally ubsurd and unfair on your part. Mr Ballentine and Ms. Haley have been treated unfairly for what they believe and I think its sad that a grown man like yourself would take an extreme measure and stab a person in the back like that. You should be ashamed of yourself and the actions you have taken. You may not have thought about how your actions affect the people in this state reguarding Mr. Ballentine and Ms. Haley. Some times you just have to not think about yourself and think about what really matters, and what really matters is not a intellectuly incurious person like yourself. Needless to say Mr. Ballentine is a big part of our life and our community, he has helped thousands and thousands of people and right now I believe it’s more than you can say you’ve done to help us.
Signed, An Unhappy Student!!!
By Alex on December 5th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Dear Speaker Harrell,
We are studying you in my class, Current Issues. I’m just wondering, is what you did constitutionally ethical? I’m very confused about the fact that you removed representatives Nathan Ballentine and Nikki Haley. They were just standing up for their own rights. I mean, this is America isn’t it? Just because they stood up fort their rights, which they had the right to do, does not mean that you can “send them out†of the legislative committee. Like, seriously? Do you think that thee state of South Carolina just automatically agrees with you? Well I can assure you that you are definitely, out of the question, wrong! The legislative committee is supposed to set examples for all people, especially young people like me. This is just completely wrong! You are just an intellectually incurious guy that obviously does not know anything about the rights of people in America. Did you not study the right of human beings in America? Oh yeah, didn’t you go to a Charleston Public School? That may explain the uneducational decision you made on the part of Nathan Ballentine and Nikki Haley. Have you not noticed that the state of South Carolina us the only state that has no transparency? Don’t we already have enough problems in this state? We are supposed to be proud of the state we live in, and at the point we are looking at now, not looking so great. On top of everything else South Carolina is lowest for, this! Nice one Speaker of The House Harrell, keep it up, you’ll have the whole world looking at you, and that’s not a compliment!
Alex
By Change Is Needed on December 5th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Speaker Harrell,
You may be receiving a few letters from angry students pretty soon and I’m here to tell you that I am one of them. I don’t need to address the situation in detail because you know exactly what occurred but I will say that it was very unethical! I’m no republican but I do know that Republican means “by the people, for the peopleâ€. By not supporting 100% Transparency, you are only proving that you are intellectually incurious. Incase you haven’t noticed, which obviously you haven’t, S.C. is the only state that does not have 100% transparency and we also are listed as having the worst education system. I need to know that I can receive a great education and have a government that supports that. I don’t know if you believe in God but if I had to guess I would say that you think yourself higher than him. Who gave you the right to remove the two best people in the House? You should know that by doing this you have lost all respect from several people of this state and just as you found a loophole around the law, we will find a way to get you out of the House. Don’t get too comfortable.
By cm on December 5th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
“Speaker” Harrell,
Hw old are you? You seem to be approaching old age, but you act like you are a spoiled five year old. The ways in which you handled yourself and the ways of the government makes you seem like a vindictive, irresponsible pouty child. Never in my life have I seen such heinous acts of backstabbing and two facing and I’m still in high school, which should tell you something, “respected Speaker†Harrell.
How dare you ruin the hopes and careers of two fine Reps, Haley and Ballentine, in caps you forgot, by you vindictive acts of attempting to hide your corrupt pork barrel spending with veils of transparencies and half attempts to conceal how backwards you are? Do you not realize how much pork barrel spending goes on in the government, or are you too caught up in yourself to realize. You yourself are from Charleston. Do you not see firsthand how important things like education are affected when money is wasted? Before you chickened out of being a Democrat, you should have noticed how bad Charleston’s public schools were. NEWS FLASH: THEY ARE ALL BAD! Stop being so egotistical and look around you! There are so many problems with out education system that I can’t even believe that I made it to my senior years. Apparently for wimps like you RINOS, money makes the education. Thank God I have money, because without it, I’d be in the same situation as half the other students in this state. Maybe you got caught up in your backstabbing business to notice that SOUTH CAORLINA HAS ONE OF THE WORST EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN THE NATION, you intellectually incurious individual.
By HP on December 5th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Wow — Power to the Teachers — Y’all ROCK, Mrs. Payne’s class!!!
This is what democracy and freedom is all about!
…….
Did the Speaker just not want TOO many Ethics or TOO much Labor on those assignments? Sad!
By Bill on December 5th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
It is an absolute shame that two individuals that are trying to move our state forward are being punished by House Leadership. This is exactly what is wrong about government and belittles the deliberative process, ultimately keeping us from progress on so many fronts. Negative actions such as this don’t do any favors for the general public or to other members of the General Assembly.
These two Representatives are being punished by leadership for fighting for what the general public wants and deserves. The only punishment to ever be doled out should be between the voters and their respective Representative and Senator.
As a voter it is up to you to hold your elected officials accountable and if or when the lines get blurred, remind them that they work for you, Joe and Jane taxpayer.
By Gene E. Nowak on December 5th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
The letters from the students is a small step in the right direction and I commend them and their teacher. Now they need to take their concern to the next level.
Write a letter to the Speaker protesting his actions is probably the first step. Talk to others about your concern with the undemocratic way our state government is operating. Ask the editors of local papers in a letter why they are not enraged over the heavy handed way that the Speaker runs he State house. Ask them why they are not vocally concerned about the lack of a paper trail and accountability that roll call voting would bring to the legislative process.
When writing to any official keep on the message and keep it short. Tell them what is wrong and how you think it should be corrected. Name calling will not accomplish anything good.
By Richard on December 6th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
The bigger problem for Rep Harell and the Legislative body is that business owners in Lexington County have requested this bill. Rep Haley and Ballentine took on the challenge and took a stand for their constiuents. Not only has Bobby Harrell punished them he has punished and slapped Lexington and Richland County in the face with his rule antics and his manipulative tactics. We as business owners want the Haley version of this bill passed, not the rule. As well we will be demanding that both Representative Haley and Ballentine be reinstated to their original committees. We have every intention of making this very public until our voices are heard by those elected to serve and represent us.
Bill, you make a great point in that the public should have the only right punish its Assemblyman by voting them back into office or choosing another candidate. For punishment to be handed down inside the Statehouse for doing what they were sent there to do is un-diplomatic and un-American. There will be more from the constiuents and business owners alike that proudly have elected and support Representatives Ballentine and Haley.
By Displeased on December 6th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Please let’s start calling this what it really is “recorded voting” instead of roll call voting. Shame on Harrell. The people have a right to know what votes have been recorded! Shame on the lobbyists and special interest groups too.