SC

TB Politics, Part Deux

We wrote recently regarding the shameless political posturing of a trio of South Carolina Senators – Joel Lourie, Brad Hutto and Vincent Sheheen – each of whom participated in last week’s so-called “hearing” on the Greenwood, S.C. tuberculosis epidemic, which has infected dozens of people (mostly children) in this semi-rural…

We wrote recently regarding the shameless political posturing of a trio of South Carolina Senators – Joel Lourie, Brad Hutto and Vincent Sheheen – each of whom participated in last week’s so-called “hearing” on the Greenwood, S.C. tuberculosis epidemic, which has infected dozens of people (mostly children) in this semi-rural community.

Why do we say “shameless?” Because these three Senators weren’t even remotely interested in conducting a legitimate investigation. They knew what caused the epidemic, but they proceeded to ignore it in an effort to score political points – all while covering up the failure of the local government-run school district to follow the law.

Why would they do that? According to Lourie, Hutto and Sheheen, the Palmetto State’s government-run schools can do no wrong – which is why they give these schools $10 billion a year to continue condemning generations of South Carolina school children to second-class status via galling across-the-boards incompetence.

Oh … and that “galling incompetence” now includes exposing them to potentially deadly and highly contagious airborne diseases, apparently.

Anyway …  despite indisputable evidence documenting the local school district’s failure to follow state law regarding tuberculosis testing for its new employees, these three status quo Senators went gunning for the head of the director of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), Catherine Templeton. Why? Because Templeton is a high-profile appointee of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, and they believed implicating her  in connection to the scandal would have tied the whole thing around Haley’s neck.

There are several problems with that narrative, though. For starters, Templeton is the one who exposed the scandal in the first place. She’s also the one who has worked tirelessly over the last four months to get the people affected by it the help they need.

Now don’t get us wrong, Templeton’s agency isn’t necessarily some “white knight” in this mess. In fact the coverup culture which has existed at SCDHEC for years was alive and well in this incident – which is why the epidemic was only discovered when Templeton made an unannounced visit to Greenwood’s SCDHEC office in May of this year (two month’s after the identification of the contagious school district employee).

In light of this, it baffles us that former Haley staffer Jamie Shuster – one of Templeton’s top lieutenants at SCDHEC – hasn’t been fired for failing to blow the whistle on this epidemic when she first learned of it in mid-April.

But headhunting at SCDHEC isn’t the only reason Lourie, Hutto and Sheheen are on the warpath. Nor is the (largely unsuccessful) effort to implicate Haley in this scandal.

According to our sources on the S.C. Senate Medical Affairs committee, Sheheen’s primary objective has been to use the tuberculosis scandal to audition for a seat on this influential legislative panel. Specifically, we’re told he has been angling for the committee slot vacated by disgraced S.C. Sen. Robert Ford – who resigned from the Senate earlier this year amid an ethics probe.

“Vincent knows he’s not going to be elected governor,” one Senator told FITS. “So he’s moving to solidify his power within the chamber.”

In addition to Sheheen’s palace intrigue, FITS has uncovered several additional self-serving motivations on the part of the Democrats investigating this scandal. Stay tuned for those reports …

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25 comments

GreenvilleLwyr August 12, 2013 at 12:43 pm

So you’re back to helping Nikki out, apparently…

Reply
sweepin August 12, 2013 at 12:47 pm

Instead of a “kiss and tell” the new book will be a “shill and make-up.” When I see Fits use the terms “hack” or “galling” I laugh out loud.

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Frank Pytel August 12, 2013 at 12:47 pm

Tricki Nikki’s problems are her own. No help offered here. Simply shinning a little light into a dark corner. Nothing wrong with that.

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Spoon to Stir Pot August 12, 2013 at 2:14 pm

Sounds like Pytel is Fits

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GreenvilleLwyr August 12, 2013 at 12:43 pm

So you’re back to helping Nikki out, apparently…

Reply
sweepin August 12, 2013 at 12:47 pm

Instead of a “kiss and tell” the new book will be a “shill and make-up.” When I see Fits use the terms “hack” or “galling” I laugh out loud.

Reply
Frank Pytel August 12, 2013 at 12:47 pm

Tricki Nikki’s problems are her own. No help offered here. Simply shinning a little light into a dark corner. Nothing wrong with that.

Reply
Spoon to Stir Pot August 12, 2013 at 2:14 pm

Sounds like Pytel is Fits

Reply
ImCallingBS August 12, 2013 at 1:10 pm

Don’t be so quick to defend Ms. Templeton for saving the day. She has culpability in this situation. (1) She dismantled the processes that were in place previously that would have ensured that she was notified of the details of such an outbreak. (2) She put someone in charge of public health that had absolutely no experience in managing a large public health entity, and who failed to recognize the impact of (1) above. (3) Worst of all, she’s protecting Ms. Shuster by not holding her accountable for her part in this mess.

There’s one of two scenarios: Either Ms. Shuster knew details and didn’t tell Ms. Templeton, in which case Ms. Shuster should be fired, or Ms. Shuster did tell Ms. Templeton, and Ms. Templeton failed to react quickly enough, in which case Ms. Templeton should be fired.

There are two things that just aren’t believable. One is that Ms. Templeton just happened to visit Greenwood at the exact time that an unprecedented school TB outbreak was occurring. The other is that the two of them rode in a car together from Columbia to Greenwood for the visit and that the topic never came up.

Yes, the school district is at fault. But DHEC isn’t blameless….not by a long shot. Ms. Templeton and Ms. Shuster have been over their heads and treading water since the day they walked in the door. This will not be the last time that there is suffering as a result of their poor decision making abilities.

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beenthere August 12, 2013 at 7:34 pm

Nikki dismantled the DHEC Board to get the Georgia Port its way and to get rid of CON. Templeton was just helping her

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ImCallingBS August 12, 2013 at 1:10 pm

Don’t be so quick to defend Ms. Templeton for saving the day. She has culpability in this situation. (1) She dismantled the processes that were in place previously that would have ensured that she was notified of the details of such an outbreak. (2) She put someone in charge of public health that had absolutely no experience in managing a large public health entity, and who failed to recognize the impact of (1) above. (3) Worst of all, she’s protecting Ms. Shuster by not holding her accountable for her part in this mess.

There’s one of two scenarios: Either Ms. Shuster knew details and didn’t tell Ms. Templeton, in which case Ms. Shuster should be fired, or Ms. Shuster did tell Ms. Templeton, and Ms. Templeton failed to react quickly enough, in which case Ms. Templeton should be fired.

There are two things that just aren’t believable. One is that Ms. Templeton just happened to visit Greenwood at the exact time that an unprecedented school TB outbreak was occurring. The other is that the two of them rode in a car together from Columbia to Greenwood for the visit and that the topic never came up.

Yes, the school district is at fault. But DHEC isn’t blameless….not by a long shot. Ms. Templeton and Ms. Shuster have been over their heads and treading water since the day they walked in the door. This will not be the last time that there is suffering as a result of their poor decision making abilities.

Reply
beenthere August 12, 2013 at 7:34 pm

Nikki dismantled the DHEC Board to get the Georgia Port its way and to get rid of CON. Templeton was just helping her

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GrandTango August 12, 2013 at 2:10 pm

LMAO: The volume of traffic (or comment) has dropped significantly since I decided to abandon this democrat @$$-Kisser, who was as corrupt as they come when his legacy, gravy-train ridin’ @$$ was on the dole…
Like I suspected, I was the only content on here, honest and worth reading…
I wonder if the ghost-funders will prop this idiot up, and for how long…before most figure out what I told you about this low-rent, juvenile-brained, left-lean, liberal-tarian…????
Mace is Toast because she is synonymos w/ FITS…and Haley will waltz back in, while this DA just sinks lower…again: LMAO….
Don’t worry: Sanford will spoon-feed this infant-intellect, and the SCDP will be sure to pony-up. they have no one else to give their money to…

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Caller Outer August 12, 2013 at 2:15 pm

Abandoned yet here you are – FITS

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John Boy August 12, 2013 at 5:32 pm

If traffic is down, it’s due to you NOT COMMENTING the same inane dribble on every fucking post. Why don’t you tell us how gay Obama is or something else crazy as Palin.

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CNSYD August 12, 2013 at 2:25 pm

I tell you there has never, never I say, ever been a single problem, academic, abuse or otherwise, in a private (you understand of course that also means parochial) school in the nation. Just let some of that filthy government lucre into a school and everything goes to hell.

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CNSYD August 12, 2013 at 2:25 pm

I tell you there has never, never I say, ever been a single problem, academic, abuse or otherwise, in a private (you understand of course that also means parochial) school in the nation. Just let some of that filthy government lucre into a school and everything goes to hell.

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The Spanish Inquisition August 12, 2013 at 6:24 pm

Someone bring us Templeton. We’ll hump the truth out of her, and then hump her some more for confessing.

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The Spanish Inquisition August 12, 2013 at 6:24 pm

Someone bring us Templeton. We’ll hump the truth out of her, and then hump her some more for confessing.

Reply
Worth Repeating August 12, 2013 at 7:27 pm

” the coverup culture which has existed at SCDHEC for years ”

Worth repeating.
Worth remembering.

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Worth Repeating August 12, 2013 at 7:27 pm

” the coverup culture which has existed at SCDHEC for years ”

Worth repeating.
Worth remembering.

Reply
Seriously August 12, 2013 at 9:09 pm

You seem to be trying desperately to either defend Templeton or deflect any blame from her and/or Haley. Is that why you failed to report on the Mark Kelly case? Even the MSM picked it up –

http://www.thestate.com/2013/08/01/2895689/ex-state-worker-paid-120000-in.html

Can you explain why you covered him being fired but not him being paid 120K in taxpayer money to settle his lawsuit?

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Seriously August 12, 2013 at 9:09 pm

You seem to be trying desperately to either defend Templeton or deflect any blame from her and/or Haley. Is that why you failed to report on the Mark Kelly case? Even the MSM picked it up –

http://www.thestate.com/2013/08/01/2895689/ex-state-worker-paid-120000-in.html

Can you explain why you covered him being fired but not him being paid 120K in taxpayer money to settle his lawsuit?

Reply

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