And The Whiner Is …
It’s tough to recall a politician who was worse at … well, everything … than S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell.
Seriously, people. It’s gotten to the point where making fun of him is politically incorrect – like beating a blind person in Go-Kart racing, or winning a thumb war against a chimpanzee.
Anyway, for whatever reason Harrell keeps trying, in his own “special” way.
Yesterday morning, for example, Harrell decided to publicly call out Greenville News reporter David Dykes for a story he wrote this past weekend about the debate over state spending in South Carolina.
We delved into Dykes story here on FITS, as a matter of fact, and thought it was pretty fair.
Harrell apparently didn’t agree, though, and proceeded to nit-pick the reporter to death in an e-mail he later forward to the entire S.C. House Republican Caucus.
Here, the Speaker tells Dykes in no uncertain terms how to do his job as a reporter:
I don’t mind you quoting me in articles, but I would rather you not say that this statistical information represents “claims” that I have made, because I am simply passing it on to you from the original source. Instead, you should ask the state budget office so you can say, as you did at the beginning of this article, that these are statistics or information the Greenville News has obtained.
In the typical bitter, caustic tone we’ve come to expect from him, Harrell’s e-mail proceeds to rip into Gov. Mark Sanford, lacerating him here and there on mostly insider issues, but focusing most of his attention on the fact that Sanford proposed a budget last year that was $61 million bigger than the final spending plan passed by the legislature.
Again, from his tirade to Dykes:
You left out one very important fact in your story today, that I gave to the Greenville News from information I obtained from the State Budget Office. Just last year, the Governor submitted to the General Assembly the biggest budget ever submitted to a General Assembly by a Governor in our state’s history. His budget was over $7.5 Billion. The General Assembly passed a budget that was $61,000,000 LESS than the Governor submitted.
What Harrell’s e-mail neglects to mention is that the budget passed by the House (prior to a series of revenue estimate reductions during the year) was $100 million higher than Sanford’s spending plan.
Whatever you think of Sanford and Harrell’s competing claims, that’s sort of an important nugget to include if you’re going to nit-pick over $61 million.
Of course, like a five-year-old who won’t be content without getting the last word, Harrell gives Dykes one final instruction for future stories …
If you have this conversation with the Governor’s office and they say or claim something I should know, please contact me.
Sheesh.
And this is supposed to be the most powerful politician in the state?
No wonder House Speaker Pro Tempore Harry Cato is already reportedly walking around the State House like he owns the place.
Finally, from a public information standpoint, what’s also interesting is that by having his whinefest blasted out to an e-mail list that included multiple government recipients, Harrell has officially opened up dozens of lawmakers’ personal e-mail addresses to public inspection.
Smooth move, Mr. Speaker.
WEB EXTRA:
Comments
By Dell on January 27th, 2009 at 1:13 am
He is just embarrassing himself. My God. The guy sends a letter to the SC Policy Council board whining that he was unfairly attacked because Ashley Landess read his quote off the front page of the paper, sends a freakin’ novella on Sic’s “inconsistencies” over the past gazillion years to a senator, also whining that he was unfairly attacked, and now he’s bitching out a reporter for — yep, you guessed it — UNFAIRLY quoted!
This is getting hard to watch. I feel like I have to intervene.
Okay, dude. Seriously. Fire every single person who works for you right now. Call up Chernoff Newman (they work for the Democrats, so you will fit right in) and get them to give you a PR makeover. After all, they came up with “Where Friendliness Flows” slogan for Columbia. Perfect for you! They will teach you neat tricks, like not to write long, whiny emails that make you sound like a weepy teenage girl on ritalin. Also, they will give you some books so you can read about American capitalism and how it is NOTHING like what you are promoting. Then go get your nails done.
I guarantee you, it will be the most productive day you’ve had yet, and certainly your best press day in a year.
By Is Bobby related to Jennifer Jason Leigh? on January 27th, 2009 at 2:41 am
Unbelievable. I used to think that there was blame to be shared in the Harrell – Sanford relationship problems, but it is becoming more and more clear that Bobby is just a pathetic whiny bitch who is so jealous of Sanford that he can’t see the fiscal facts from the conserved trees.
Bobby, you and Comrade Leatherman led the charge to grow spending by over 40% and threw tirades when Sanford tried to slow down the increases. Now you are throwing another tirade and complaining that Sanford is supposedly a big spender?
The pork-laden budget you guys passed last year spent $7.3 billion of our taxes. I just pulled up Sanford’s new budget – $5.8 billion. But sure…HE is the one with the spending problem in your relationship.
And then you have the audacity to say in your email to a reporter and the House Republicans that public education “is not a major concern of Governor Sanford.†You say this about the guy who is the governor of your state and the leader of your party. And oh yea, in his budget he allocates nearly $3 billion towards public education – over 50% of his general fund budget.
Seems pretty major to me.
But don’t let facts get in the way of your single white male hate. I just hope the Mansion security detail is now on high alert given your continued slide into mark madness.
The only question is whether they should be more worried about you sneaking into the Mansion to boil a bunny rabbit or whether your next episode involves you getting your haircut like Mark’s and trying to slip into bed with Jenny.
By Robert Sams on January 27th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Speaker Harrell should be removed from his position. To think that he has the power and autority to crush anyone who questions his decisions is frightful. There are too many more qualified people who have a calmer disposition to negotiate in these tough times. Where is the outrage? The SC Senate has been modernized. Lets reform the House and start at the top.