By fitsnews – March 10, 2010
By FITSNews || A day after endorsing a bailout-backing “Republican” in South Carolina’s top GOP race, the S.C. Chamber of Communists … err, “Commerce” endorsed a status quo Democrat in the state’s other contested gubernatorial primary.
State Senator Vincent Sheheen received the Chamber’s endorsement via a press release that hailed him as a candidate whose “bipartisan experience” made him “equipped to handle the demands that come from leading the state.”
Ummm … seriously … who the hell is writing this stuff?
First of all, South Carolina governors aren’t “leading” anything. Statutorily, they’re slightly less powerful than South Carolina bloggers … which is pretty pathetic when you stop and think about it. Sadly, that’s just the nature of our 1895 State Constitution, though, which was written post-Reconstruction to ensure that in the event an African-American was elected governor, he would have no power.
And guess what … he doesn’t!
Anyway, the release touted Sheheen’s focus on “small business growth” and his “support of comprehensive tax reform.”
Wait a minute … what Sheheen proposed six years ago may have been “Comprehensive,” but it was nothing more than a tax swap.
In fact, when former S.C. Majority Leader Rick Quinn attempted to include an income tax cut in the proposal (which he co-authored), Sheheen balked. Of course so did S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford, which is one reason your top marginal tax rate is 7 percent today, not 5 percent.
Yeah …
As for Sheheen supporting small business growth? That’s more fiction …
Sheheen received an “F” on last year’s S.C. Club for Growth scorecard, but in fairness he did have the best score of any Democrat in this so-called “deliberative” body. He also earned a better mark than eleven Republicans, including Senate President Glenn McConnell, GOP “Majority” Leader Harvey Peeler and powerful budget writer Hugh Leatherman.
Sadly, though, that’s less a reflection on Sheheen’s fiscal conservatism and more a reflection of how far to the left the “Republican” party has moved in South Carolina.
Anyway, in endorsing Congressman Gresham Barrett (whose “jobs” plan is nothing but a bunch of new bureaucratic positions) and State Senator Vincent Sheheen, the State Chamber is once again showing that it has absolutely no interest in actually improving this state’s business climate and every interest in perpetuating the same government-driven “crony capitalism” that has failed South Carolina so miserably for decades.
Which is what it’s always done.
As a result, expect the 40 percent of our state’s economy that’s controlled by the government to grow (along with our unemployment rate and your tax bill), while small business growth (and your paycheck) continue to shrink.
