Bobby Harrell Is No Ray Kinsella, Pt. II

By FITSNews || Last year, when it was becoming increasingly clear that hydrogen fuel cell research was a complete and total bust (at least as far as the private sector is concerned), Gov. Mark Sanford’s office fired off a pretty nice dig at House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who along with University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides has been one of the technology’s leading proponents.

“‘If you build it, they will come,’ worked pretty well in Field of Dreams,” then-Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said, “but it isn’t panning out so well for things like Innovista and Clemson’s submarine campus in Charleston.”

Of course, Sawyer has since left Sanford’s office – and the scandal-neutered governor is now “performing peanut” on Harrell in an effort to get one of the more pointless components of his restructuring plan passed – but the “Ray Kinsella” reference was (and is) perfect.

“Innovista,” as FITS readers are well aware, is the botched University of South Carolina research campus that promised “thousands of high-paying jobs” based in large part on hydrogen fuel cells.  After tens of millions of tax dollars, though, the project has produced nothing but empty buildings and a few hundred (taxpayer-funded) positions.

Similarly, Clemson’s “Hunley Campus” in Charleston, S.C. has provided a miserable return on the taxpayers’ investment.

“Higher education?” Yeah … only if you’re high …

Anyway, a recent 60 Minutes special report on a new (non-hydrogen) fuel cell called the “Bloom Box” featured a line that caught our attention.

Here’s the video clip (courtesy of CBS) …

And here’s the line that should make your skin crawl if you’re a South Carolina taxpayer …

Many past fuel cells failed because they needed expensive pure hydrogen …

Hmmm … “failed” and “expensive” are certainly two words that “Innovista” supporters are familiar with, aren’t they? Ahh, the impracticality of hydrogen fuel cells rears its ugly head once again.

Bobby Harrell … he’s definitely no Ray Kinsella.  He “built it” (with your money) … the jobs just didn’t come.

UPDATE: And yes, Sic Willie would “absof*ckinglutely” go there with Leslie Stahl, people! Come on!