The SC Republican Goobernatorial Debate: A Low Bar

By FITSNews || Having watched the field of S.C. Republican gubernatorial candidates closely over the last few months, we’ve reached the following conclusion:

The GOP is in serious trouble, people.

The four “Republican” candidates vying to replace disgraced Gov. Mark Sanford have all failed to impress in their own underwhelming way, proposing little to nothing in the way of substantive reforms and demonstrating a glaring lack of political acumen.

In the process, each has failed to pick up the flag of the state’s sputtering reform movement – wasting a golden opportunity to rally Republican and independent voters who are furious with the state’s failed status quo.

Seriously … what have Republicans done over the last six years other than bicker and argue with each other?

That’s precisely the lack of leadership that will be on display Thursday night in Charleston, S.C., where the state’s political class is gathering for what we have no doubt will be yet another ho-hum Republican gubernatorial debate – one long on sound bites but short on solutions.

In anticipation of the event, here’s our thumbnail assessment of the four “Republican” goobernatorial campaigns so far …

GRESHAM BARRETT: In any other GOP primary, this glad-handing goober would be ridiculed for his intellectual bankruptcy and obvious allegiance to South Carolina’s failed RINO establishment … of course, in this primary he comes off as a friggin’ mental giant, which is all you need to know about the “strength” of this goobernatorial field. Barrett’s flip-flop on the TARP bailout continues to hurt him with fiscal conservatives, and his recently unveiled “jobs” plan seems more focused on creating new government positions than letting the free market go to work. Survey says? Bzzzzzzz. GRADE: D-

ANDRE BAUER: We continue to be amazed at the lack of substantive policy coming out of the Bauer campaign … to say nothing of the Lt. Governor’s crazy comments comparing poor children to stray animals. Bauer was smart to try and tap into voter disgust with government handouts, but he couldn’t have picked a dumber way to do it. His “foot-in-mouth” disease is unlikely to hurt him in a GOP primary, but still … where’s the substance? GRADE: D

NIKKI HALEY: Easily the most fiscally-conservative candidate in the field, Haley would no doubt be the front-runner in the race right now were it not for S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford and his wayward penis.  Yet while her campaign appears to be on the upswing, Haley hasn’t articulated the sort of comprehensive reforms that we expect from the so-called “reform candidate.” She’s also struggled on the fund-raising side of the ledger, which bodes poorly for the least well-known candidate in the field. GRADE: C

HENRY McMASTER: (Hum along with the “Dragnet” theme if you want) Dumb dumb dumb dumb … dumb dumb dumb dumb DUMB! Seriously, we’ve met bricks smarter than this mint-julep sipping moron.  GRADE: F

Obviously, Bauer’s controversial comments are likely to generate plenty of attention at the debate, which is too bad because if there was a state in desperate need of a substantive – not a superficial – discussion, it’s this one.

One Democratic candidate, incidentally, has come up with a clever plan to exploit Bauer’s misstep.  Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod will hold a food drive for underprivileged children on Thursday afternoon just down the street from the debate.

It’s nakedly opportunistic … and absolutely brilliant!

If you want to watch these illustrious proceedings for yourself, Thursday night’s debate will be televised statewide by WCBD TV 2 (NBC – Charleston, S.C.) at 8:00 p.m. EST.  To access the live video stream, click here …