When Adolf Hitler was informed that Winston Churchill had entered the British Cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty, he was reportedly seized by a fit of trembling. For days, his closest advisors found the Nazi dictator to be beyond consolation.
The war was on for real at that point, and Hitler knew it.
Churchill – as he later famously stated himself – would “never surrender,” and his resolve in eradicating the Nazi menace proved it.
Here in South Carolina, the battle against our own penny-ante Nazi menace (as we have dubbed it) isn’t quite so dramatic – but a “Churchill” has risen up to fight it.
Specifically, we’re referring to the efforts of one lawmaker to defeat the Kapitolpolizeitruppe, or the legislatively-controlled “Capitol Police Force” that’s been proposed by Senate President Glenn McConnell.
In fact, this brave soul may have defied the odds and successfully killed this totalitarian proposal for the year, although we have no doubt there are still plenty of tricks up McConnell’s sleeve.
So which lawmaker dared to cross the powerful Senate dictator?
It’s conservative S.C. Rep. Nathan Ballentine, who represents several of the men and women currently charged with guarding the S.C. State House for the Bureau of Protective Services.
No stranger to bucking legislative leaders, Ballentine single-handedly kept this bill from being brought to the floor of the S.C. House – which set up a dramatic committee showdown this week.
Or at least it should have set up a dramatic committee showdown.
Sources tell FITS that pro-McConnell lawmakers were instructed not to attend a House Ways & Means committee meeting last week because the Kapitolpolizeitruppe bill lacked the votes to pass.
These members failing to show meant that the committee would not have enough people present to conduct its business, which in turn meant McConnell would be “spared the embarrassment” of watching his signature proposal being voted down.
One committee member who “walked” told FITS that the whole thing was an effort to “save face” for McConnell.
Ballentine confirmed to FITS that he forced the bill into committee by objecting to it – which he pledged to continue doing – but referred questions about the committee drama to lawmakers who were there.
“I’m doing this for my constituents,” Ballentine told us.
Obviously, the battle over the Kapitolpolizeitruppe isn’t over.
In fact, some have speculated that House Speaker Bobby Harrell is “toying” with the bill because he wants something from McConnell, who has thus far dominated the discussion of how this “police force” would be comprised (and used).
Incidentally, the budget that’s on Gov. Mark Sanford’s desk right now actually funds the Capitol Police Force by transferring money from the Bureau of Protective Services.
And while Sanford isn’t discussing budget vetos yet, it’s a safe bet that this transfer of funds won’t escape his attention.
Certainly, McConnell’s bill itself is a non-starter.
“It’s no secret that the governor would veto this bill should it come to his desk,” Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer told FITS today.
Stay tuned …
By hammerheadSC May 15, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Why save Mcconnell, these lawmakers are just sinking themselvs in the same boat. Good Job Ballentine!!!
By CNSYD May 15, 2009 at 7:40 pm
U have missed the parallel with WSC. Sanford is analogous to Chamberlain. McConnell is the spur under his saddle much like WSC was to Chamberlain. BTW I looked up the definition of “phony baloney” and there was a picture of Sanford.
By Marvin May 16, 2009 at 1:25 am
Churchill was a brave, principled man of his word, and his words were powerful and from a place of deep character. He rose up as a giant against tyrants who were bent on using their power to achieve a purely evil end.
It’s a stretch to say McConnell is bent on pure evil, but he is a hypocritical tyrant determined to protect a system that has helped him and his friends and hurt citizens he’s supposed to serve. McConnell and Churchill? Total opposites. Well, not as opposite as WC and Bobby Harrell, whose character is about on par with some of the more power-hungry dictators we’ve seen throughout history.
Sanford’s done pretty much all he can here. We have to make sure someone with his philosophy and willingness to take on the establishment no matter what takes his place.
By CNSYD May 16, 2009 at 10:59 am
Marvin, WSC was IMHO one of the greatest men to have ever lived. Yes he went up against great odds and stood firm. Not only the Axis but his fellow politicians. Don’t forget the wilderness years. IRT the establishment, he was somewhat the establishment himself. He was a supporter of the Britain he knew, that is the one on which the sun never set. Empire became something that was no longer popular but WSC still believed in it. So I will go out on a limb and say if WSC had lived in SC he would see heritage, the flag, as something to cherish not abhor. So in that way I see parallels to McConnell. Sanford? He is not worth discussing.