The Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry is dubbed “Clean, Old Fashioned Hate,” but here in the Palmetto state the coach of the three-time reigning rivalry champs doesn’t want his fans hating on anybody.
“I hope our fans have come to the conclusion that to beat your rival, hating them is not the answer,” University of South Carolina head [...]
Smack Talk Time
SC Lawmakers Draw Few Challengers
By FITSNews || Despite widespread voter dissatisfaction with South Carolina’s chronic lack of leadership, nearly half of all S.C. House members are facing no opposition from a major party candidate in 2010 – noteworthy for an election year that was supposed to be brutal for incumbents at all levels of government.
Talk about a wasted opportunity [...]
Inside The (Anonymous) Cigarette Tax Vote
By FITSNews || For all of S.C. Speaker Bobby Harrell’s talk of transparency in government, his S.C. House of Representatives voted to raise the cigarette tax anonymously this week.
That’s right … there was no recorded vote by lawmakers on the section of the state budget that included a 30-cent-per-pack hike on cigarettes.
Fortunately, lawmakers were forced [...]
Fiscal Conservatism: Up In Smoke
By FITSNews || Led by Speaker Bobby Harrell (RINO-Charleston), the “Republican” controlled South Carolina House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to raise the state’s cigarette tax by 30 cents – with no corresponding decrease. Lawmakers estimate that this tax hike will put an estimated $88 million a year into the state’s $21.1 billion budget – [...]
SC Club For Growth Scorecards Released
Stop the presses …
South Carolina’s “Republican-controlled” General Assembly includes only a handful of lawmakers who actually vote in keeping with the GOP’s fiscally-conservative rhetoric – one reason state government has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade while the Palmetto State’s economy remains stuck in neutral.
If you’re new to FITS, that news might [...]
Steinberger: Fair Tax = Jobs!
By John Steinberger | Is anyone pleased that South Carolina has a 12.1% unemployment rate? Can anyone point to economic measures in place which will lead to robust job creation?
To the contrary, there are federal measures which will likely increase the ranks of the unemployed. If the federal health care legislation passes in [...]
Lanny Littlejohn: Another RINO Retiring
S.C. Rep. Lanny Littlejohn (RINO – Spartanburg) – a reliable supporter of the big government machinations of S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell (RINO – Charleston) – will not seek reelection in 2010.
Littlejohn,67, made the announcement Monday night following a meeting of the Spartanburg County legislative delegation – an assemblage he took control of five months [...]
SC Court Rules On Delegation Flap
The S.C. Supreme Court has ruled that local legislative delegations must use a simple majority vote count – not a weighted vote count – when electing their chairpersons, a ruling that formally elevates Rep. Lanny Littlejohn (RINO – Spartanburg) to the head of the powerful Spartanburg County delegation.
Ho-hum, right? Wrong.
In South Carolina, local legislative delegations [...]
The Banana Republicans Are Back!
Hide your daughters and bury the silverware, Columbia, S.C. residents … the “Banana Republicans” are back in town.
The S.C. General Assembly – a.k.a. the “Tyranny of the Legislature,” a.k.a. the “Bubba Branch” of S.C. government – makes its anti-climactic return to the Capital City today to override a few of S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford’s vetoes [...]
Harrell, McConnell Already Eyeing District Lines
South Carolina is still years away from its once-a-decade fight over legislative redistricting, but sources tell FITS that S.C. Senate President Glenn McConnell and House Speaker Bobby Harrell are already scheming as to how they can use the redrawing of the state’s political borders to their advantage.
And while you’d think the state’s two most powerful [...]
Bill Would Strengthen Sentences For Child Abuse Homicides
Twenty years in jail is not enough time for parents who kill their children by abuse or neglect, one South Carolina lawmaker says.
State Rep. Joey Millwood (R-Spartanburg) and over 40 legislative co-sponsors will file a bill tomorrow giving judges two options in sentencing parents found guilty of killing their children – life in prison (without [...]
Leaders Join Reformers On Key Transparency Legislation
The Speaker of the S.C. House of Representatives and Majority Leader of the State Senate have joined fiscal conservative reformers in supporting a key transparency initiative – the creation of an online checkbook that would track all taxpayer expenditures over $100.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler have signed on as co-sponsors [...]
