SC Senators Called Out
One of South Carolina’s up-and-coming political websites is causing some headaches from the State Senate.
Earlier this week, The Garnet Spy posted a curious letter from S.C. Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Wes Hayes (RINO – York) that basically told State Senators to stop breaking the law with respect to reimbursing themselves from campaign accounts for expenses that are already provided by taxpayers.
“Senate Ethics” is an oxymoron, obviously, while Hayes is just a regular, low-grade moron.
Anyway …
“Members should cease reimbursing themselves from their campaign accounts for all lodging, meal and travel expenses that are defrayed by a subsistence or mileage allowance from the State,” Hayes wrote to his colleagues in the November 3 missive.
As the Spy notes, this is basically an acknowledgment that lawbreaking has been going on, but that Senate “Ethics” is going to look the other way in the hopes that members will self-police (ahem, cough).
Fed up with the whitewash, the Spy wrote on Monday that “since Wes Hayes won’t do his job, I guess I’ll have to do it for him.”
And on Tuesday, he did, revealing the first round of violators …
State Senators Kent Williams and Darrell Jackson each paid $648 from their campaign-designated monies to buy USC football tickets.
Their colleague, Senator Yancey McGill must be the designated driver because he paid $500 to “SC ETV” on George Rogers Blvd. – next to Williams-Bryce Stadium – for “parking.”
Senator Williams also paid the USC ticket office $36 for “University” on the 5th of March – the same day the Carolina men’s basketball team hosted Tennessee in an ESPN broadcast game.
Then there is the $190 in campaign funds to the Darlington Raceway two days before this year’s Southern 500. The description of that particular expense is listed as “unknown.”
Go Spy!
This issue received some limited airplay on FITS back in March of 2007 when it was revealed that S.C. Sen. Jake “Ol’ Knocky” Knotts was paying his Sons of Confederate Veterans dues with campaign cash.
Since then, it’s stayed mostly under the radar.
Obviously, the amounts in question are “chump change” (which The Spy acknowledges), but laws are laws, people. It’s the principle of the thing.
It’s also interesting that the State Senate waits until S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford gets busted breaking state travel law before it decides to clean up its own act.
Anyway, props to the Spy for his ongoing efforts …
WEB EXTRA
Senators Are Such Sports (The Garnet Spy)
A Letter Most Curious (The Garnet Spy)
Sen. Hayes’ Letter
Comments
By Todd on December 2nd, 2009 at 8:29 am
Fits, I agree with you 90%, well maybe 80% of the time. I must disagree with your assessment of Wes Hayes. He is one of the most ethical and moral and sincere public servants we have. He is just so much in the minority and there is so little he can do in that environment of corruption up there.
By McFailure on December 2nd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Don’t complain about your neighbor’s back yard if yours is full of weeds.
Time to cut the grass.
By Elmer on December 2nd, 2009 at 8:45 am
Self-policing is a joke. Senate ethics is an oxymoron. Anyone want to do an over under on the dollars paid in fines from all this illegal activity?
By fitsnews on December 2nd, 2009 at 8:52 am
Todd-
Wes Hayes is corrupt RINO who wouldn’t know fiscal conservative policy if it threw him into some furniture … hey, that reminds us … it had been way too long since we made a furniture tossing joke.
-FITS
By Liberty For Me on December 2nd, 2009 at 9:17 am
I suggest politicians do their job for free,for the sake of patriotism.
Be supplied gas money an office and supplies .Then we might see who truly wants to help our country.Do away with most of the agenda that is unconstitutional and their job shrinks at least 75%….Most people are so brainwashed into thinking because things have run this way for 100 years that they cant be done different.TRY to think outside the box for a change…Try understanding the way our government was intended to run…
Dont support the status quo and then bitch about it.
By dirtbogger on December 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
Well said LFM
By Ron on December 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 am
Will,
As you know, we have a SC House Ethics Commission, a SC Senate Ethics commission and a SC Ethics Commissionn. In my view, this structure is extremely corruptable and needs to be reformed.
Unfortunately government rarely reforms itself. What in your view can we the people of South Carolina do to facilitate effective ethics reform? I’d like to see some comments here perhaps from watchdog groups around the country who have most certainly studied this issue.
Ron
By Philip Branton on December 2nd, 2009 at 11:52 am
FITS………
Ol’ RON….needs an answer to a question of PATRIOTIC duty…..
RON…..if you would take time to think and look in a mirror….the answer to your question hits you right between the EYES…!
Since we all here live in the 21st Century and have the “INTERNETS”, it would behoove to have ONE statewide website for ALL elected officials. City, County, State and FEDERAL…!!! This website would be an OPEN book for CALENDAR appointments, Campaign accounts, State, City, County and LOBBYISTS funds accounts that are accessed by ANYONE at ANYTIME….!!!
All Public Meeting notices and Government schedules would be posted for ALL citizens statewide to see in calendar format with Google Earth links…!! No more LAST Minute meetings that only LOCAL citizens know about that have STATEWIDE impact…!!!!
AS FAR AS ETHICS……..once all accounts are posted, including Lobbyists and Public Institutions accounts, most blatant offenses would STOP due to campaign re-election ramifications alone…!!! This website would allow a COMMENT SECTION for all citizens to offer their “TRUTH Perspective” for all transactions. Millions of EYEs are far better than some ETHICS COMMISSION….!!!!
Heck, all family relations and all business and all school relations should also be displayed and acknowledged.
As far as WHO would PAY for this website……just take a LOOK at all the many websites already payed for by taxpayers already….!?!? A serious effort in Information efficiency is LONG overdue…!! Once citizens WISE up to this SCAM, these funds will go back into LOCAL school coffers..!!
Who would update the information….??? Actual High School Students would be the DATA Entry volunteers to actually LEARN how state Government WORKS….!?!?!
How many High School Juniors and Seniors do we have in this STATE …!?!? The teachers would GRADE them on there ….WHAT…!?!
Who would help the teachers do the grading……. Answer: statewide citizens COMMENT FEEDBACK….!!!!
We taxpayers pay for these schools……should we NOT BE getting a direct timely PAYOFF for our investment into our kids EDUCATION…!?!?
We are sure that if information was inputted incorrectly that POLITICIANS and who else….would be very QUICK to point out the mistakes…!!!!
Imagine how FITSNEWS or the GARNET SPY would then be used …..!!!!!???
Does anyone know how many counties do NOT have a GIS system or use Google EARTH to show LAND transactions….!?!?!
Talk about a RUDE awakening……students getting out now are mortified and stunned when they actually wake up to how inefficient OUR government information flow truly IS…!!! Government officials really have NO CLUE how this LACK of information is fueling a growing BACKLASH……!!!
Our floundering newspapers actually know this …..IS IT REPORTED..???
By Union County Statewide on December 2nd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
It’s apparent to me that voters across the State of South Carolina have voted the corrupt politicians of Union County into offices all over the state.
When I run for office my campaign slogan will be, “I Won’t Get Caught”
By pissed off! on December 2nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
These members should be investigated ASAP! Especially Ol Yancey! I cant believe they can get away with this stuff!
By Overruled on December 2nd, 2009 at 10:10 pm
well there is a Senate and House Ethics Committee, not a commission. It’s evident most of you have very little idea how anything works and I’m continously amazed most of you can put together a complete sentence…I digress
Phillip Branton, you have some good ideas….however most of them are already implemented, so why are you still bitching. And are you serious about this statewide calendar?? there would have to be another agency hired just to manage that. As someone who worked in state government at one point, I can tell you just my small office and agency had 10 meetings a day in the Columbia area, and 90% of people don’t care about what we did or they now do.
Unfortunately, FITS needs things to write about, and it’s you same morons (probably FITS staff) that keep responding.
To quote FITS “but laws are laws, people. It’s the principle of the thing” — well FITS, why aren’t you doing time for CDV or facing slander and libel charges? Because you’re above the law aren’t you.