S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell reportedly made the list … while S.C. Senate President Glenn McConnell and Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman checked it twice.
That was the big rumor circling inside (and outside) last night’s “Unleashing Capitalism” debut party in downtown Columbia, an event sponsored by the S.C. Policy Council.
Oh, and according to Harrell, McConnell and Leatherman, whoever attended the event was “naughty,” whoever stayed home was “nice.”
Already in hot water with Speaker Harrell (RINO-Charleston) and the “Rockefeller Caucus” of the S.C. General Assembly, Landess and the Policy Council stepped in it (and good) two weeks ago when they aggressively (and we mean aggressively) opposed an incentive package for aircraft manufacturer Boeing, which announced that it was bringing 3,800 new jobs in the S.C. Lowcountry.
Yeah … not smart. Particularly when the correct position can be so easily nuanced.
Here’s the tit and tat, in case you’re interested – but the long and short of it is that the Policy Council took it on the chin and as a result has lost some credibility among the powers that be. Not to mention that, they’ve given lawmakers who already hate the organization a perfect opportunity to beat them about the head.
Not quite as perfect as, say, hiking the Appalachian Trail, but pretty close.
Anyway, as a result of the back-and-forth over Boeing, Policy Council President Ashley Landess was shocked to hear reports that her event was being staked out by Harrell’s minions – who sources tell FITS were on a mission to compile a list of every individual who walked in the door of the event.
Donors, politicians, press … you name it.
It’s an “enemies list” pure and simple … sort of like the old House Committee on Un-American Activities. You know, the whole “are you or have you ever been a member of the S.C. Policy Council?” That sort of thing …
Here’s the problem, though.
As far as elected officials were concerned, the scare tactics worked. Or maybe it was the $500 a head that the Policy Council charged non-member lawmakers.
Either way, they stayed home. In droves. Even the Policy Council’s ideological allies.
One rumor we heard was that S.C. Rep. Nikki Haley was miffed over receiving a belated invite to the get-together, although her campaign says that she was previously committed to an event at Lexington Medical Center, which she was in charge of organizing.
Another rumor we heard was that Haley didn’t want to be seen at the event with S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, who appeared but was not recognized by Landess from the podium.
Yeah … the governor was there, but didn’t get a shout out.
Reduced to little more than a recognizable object of pity, Sanford spent most of his time at the event standing next to his former spokesman Joel Sawyer, who from what we could tell was more popular at the event than his old boss.
Sure, he got his share of obligatory handshakes, but no more or less than anyone else in attendance.
Bottom line? Thanks to setbacks like Sanford’s prolonged implosion and the Policy Council’s short-term misfire on Boeing, the fiscal conservative cause in South Carolina is reeling.
And Harrell, McConnell, Leatherman and all the big government RINO’s who worship the ground the walk on know it …
By Wes Wolfe November 13, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Oh, surprise. Will Folks gives a blowjob to the Policy Council. Damn, we didn’t see that shit coming. Also, you’d know a thing or two about an “enemies list,” wouldn’t you?
By Hal November 13, 2009 at 6:21 pm
The Policy Council is firing on all cylinders. I am excited about their plans and think their brightest days are just ahead.
Goodness knows we need them to flourish.
By fitsnews November 13, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Wes-
We didn’t think anybody could be more pathetic than BIN, but you’ve managed to pull it off, dude!
Congrats!
Now … do us all a favor and get back to digging up dirt on my wife and kids, why don’tcha?
-FITS
By columbia insider November 13, 2009 at 6:40 pm
This was a blowjob? Wolfe, you need to change the macro on your FITS-Policy Council default posts. FITS made the Policy Council look bad in this piece.
By 2 cents November 13, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Sic,
As you know, I love to hate or hate to love this site. I don’t like the soft-pornish stuff & disagree a lot with your political views. However, I do appreciate the fact that you can break a story like nobody’s business & how you challenge corruption in politics. Do you play dirty? Yeah. But you have to, considering how dirty politics is. A lot of the time I really don’t know what to think of FITS, with all the spin out there.
That being said, I would not tolerate anyone digging up dirt, needlessly might I say, on your wife & kids. They’re not a part of this. Kick some a**, I say. Anyone who says crap about someone’s kids deserves it.
By Mike Honcho November 13, 2009 at 9:31 pm
So the Policy Council attendance was light. Let’s pull out the excuse generator and concoct a reason why.
It could have also been Steve Spurrier ignoring the General Assembly’s weak right side.
It’s all really just the luck of the spin.
By marvin November 13, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Will, I’m disappointed in you. Usually can count on you to think. Never seen you come down on the side of government meddling in the economy.
But in fairness to you, maybe there’s stuff I don’t know. In all seriousness, I’d like to hear your arguments about why you think the deal is a good one. It seems to me that even though it is a great company, taxpayers are having to pick up the tab for them to locate here. What’s the right criteria for which companies should get these deals and which ones shouldn’t? And why isn’t the right solution to cut all taxes for all businesses and individuals? If you’ve got some inside info on the substance, I’d be interested in learning more.
Maybe it wasn’t your intention to defend the Boeing deal, but that was the impression I got from your attack on the Policy Council.
By TebowsGF November 13, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Wolfe man appears! Glad to see they have free WiFi at the homeless shelter.
By Gayle June November 13, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Honcho, attendance wasn’t light — plenty of people were there. Didn’t see too many politicians, true (but I don’t know that many anyhow). So what? For all you people who live in the capital city, parties without politicians still count as parties. In fact, most of us prefer them.
By Making a list? November 16, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Davis and Mulvaney were both there — complaining to anybody who would listen about how the Policy Council butchered their handling of the Boeing deal. They weren’t alone. Landess was not happy. So what list does that get them on.
By Eliott Larkin November 16, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Lord, these politicians are thin-skinned! Frankly, I didn’t pay that much attention to the whole Boeing thing when it happened. Just shook my head and said “yet another political wheel-deal.” Don’t remember reading anything that resembled “butchering” comments, and I don’t know that much about the SC Policy Council.
But now that all these guys are whining and complaining about the PC attacking them, I’m becoming more interested in WHY they attacked them. What was in that deal? What are we not being told? Why are these guys so upset about it that they are staking out a party? Isn’t that a little strange?
Clearly, there is more to this story than has been reported.
By Poly Esther January 5, 2010 at 1:09 pm
How did Haley get her job at LMC? It appears that her mom’s less than $2MM business apparently no longer needs her services yet she is listed as the CFO (pretty heady title for a business that does less than $2MM in revenue per year – I run multiple projects per year worth far more than $2MM each yet Haley is casted as a big business minded professional. Her mom’s business has shuttered the doors of her business on 378, yet Haley gets a cushy position at LMC (amazingly how LMC continues to try to get a license for a heart surgery wing??). Talk about politics. We do however need a conservative system of government. My first move would be to consolidate all of the Lex County fifedoms into one municipality and do the same for the FIVE school districts. At a party before Christmas, Congressman Joe said it was extremely tough to try to make this happen. How do we get FITS or for that matter any other esteemed political mag fight for the citizens and probably reengineer the public sector?