Prepare to be shocked (not), but the revolving door to South Carolina’s taxpayer-funded political favor factory remains alive and well.
In the latest chapter of this ongoing, infinitely corrupt saga, former S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Secretary Buck Limehouse announced on Monday that he is joining Southern Strategy Group, a national lobbying firm with offices in [...]
Former SCDOT Secretary To Lobby
Richard Eckstrom: “Festivus Maximus”
For those of you new to FITS, we got our first big break in 2007 when we exposed a secret legislative slush fund that was being used by “Republican” leaders in the S.C. General Assembly to effectively bribe their colleagues.
Under the auspices of local “economic development” grants, legislative leaders like Sen. Hugh Leatherman (RINO-Florence) and [...]
SC State House: Youth Is Served (Again)
We’ve frequently referred to the S.C. General Assembly as “taxpayer-funded adult day care” given the maturity level of most of the state’s elected representatives.
We may not be able to do that much longer …
In fact in recent years, it’s becoming more of a frat house.
The latest member? Twenty-two-year-old Joshua Putnam (R-Powdersville) – who was elected [...]
RINO Hired To Lobby
Just as we predicted, outgoing S.C. Ways and Means Chairman Danny Cooper (RINO-Anderson) has been hired as a State House lobbyist.
Well … he’s not a lobbyist yet, he’s a “consultant” in a government relations shop. Technically, he can’t lobby for at least a year, although we all know how that works.
Cooper was hired by Parker [...]
Eleanor Kitzman Resigns
S.C. Budget and Control Board executive director Eleanor Kitzman has resigned from her $174,000-a-year post after just six months on the job, sources tell FITS.
Kitzman – a financial contributor and close confidant of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley – was the governor’s second choice for the position after former Mark Sanford chief of staff Scott English [...]
Danny Cooper And SC’s Corruption Wheel
As was reported first on FITS several months ago, outgoing S.C. Ways and Means Chairman Danny Cooper will step down from his post this summer – presumably to take a position as a lobbyist at the S.C. State House.
While Cooper technically has to wait a year to begin lobbying, this rule is frequently bypassed via [...]
SC: Where One Size (Still) Fits All
By one vote, South Carolina’s “Republican-controlled” House of Representatives killed a universal school choice bill that would have provided expanded academic options for all parents and a lifeline for more than 100,000 children trapped in failing public schools.
The debate took less than half an hour – which is interesting when you consider that lawmakers spent [...]
Brian White Wins, But How Long Will He Last?
S.C. Rep. Brian White (RINO-Anderson) was elected chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means committee on Tuesday, a controversial vote that could give Palmetto state “Republicans” major headaches moving forward – and not just from irate Tea Party members.
While a RINO replacing another RINO at the S.C. State House isn’t a particularly newsworthy event [...]
From The Desk Of Sic Willie
The following letter was emailed Thursday afternoon to several of our state’s most powerful elected officials (and members of their respective staffs) directly from the desk of our intrepid founding editor, the notorious Sic Willie.
As you will soon gather, it involves the ongoing debate over how to best restructure our splintered and dysfunctional assemblage of [...]
SC Exchange Debate: Ratcheting Up
What should South Carolina do about the so-called “state health care exchanges” mandated by U.S. President Barack Obama’s new socialized medicine law? And what should state leaders do with the borrowed millions already flowing into state government agencies as a result of the controversial new law?
It’s the worst possible debate at the worst possible time [...]
