The Greenville Tea Party is hosting a candidate forum for the four “Republicans” seeking the office of South Carolina secretary of state.
Ordinarily this race would be the definition of a down-ballot snoozer, but in this election cycle the stars have aligned to provide us with some serious entertainment.
Which is frankly all this office is good for …
We’ve got an incumbent (Mark Hammond) who is almost too stupid to breathe, one challenger (Kerry Wood) whose life has been the proverbial political soap opera and another challenger (Nelson Faerber) whose candidacy could very well be part of his wife’s plan for world domination.
Or at the very least a reality television gig …
Fun times, huh?
We’re honestly waiting on the fourth candidate in this race – state representative Joshua Putnam – to spontaneously combust. Or be exposed as a robot. Or reptile. Or maybe a reptilian robot (preferably one who breathes fire).
Because at this point he’s looking far too normal compared to the rest of the field …
“It’s a clown car,” one Midlands-based GOP strategist told us. “Which is fitting for this office.”
That’s true …
(Click to view)
(Via: iStock)
We referred to the secretary of state’s office last week as “so utterly insignificant it should have been folded into a slightly-less-inconsequential bureaucracy decades ago.”
Which is a charitable description …
Basically, we are talking about a glorified file cabinet for corporate incorporation papers. Nothing more, nothing less. And honestly … with an annual budget of only $3.2 million (out of a state budget that’s careened past the $30 billion mark), it’s not like there’s much damage to be done here.
Cutting it would be almost as pointless as keeping it …
A decade ago we argued the office ought to be given some actual power – i.e. enforcement over the state’s election and ethics laws – although at this point we’re leaning toward keeping those functions independent. Furthermore, if you have to justify an office’s existence – or give its occupant things to do – that’s probably a good sign it ought to be done away with.
Certainly the office’s current occupant needs to be put out to pasture …
Anyway, Greenville residents eager to hear the candidates’ “visions” for the weighty responsibilities associated with being the next South Carolina secretary of state should stop by Zen (924 S. Main Street, Greenville S.C. 29601) at 6:30 p.m. EDT on Monday night (March 12).
Given the way this race is shaping up, you never know what to expect …
Filing for this spring’s partisan primary elections opens at 12:00 p.m. EDT on March 16 (Friday) and closes at the same time two weeks later. Primary elections will be held on June 12, with runoffs slated for June 26 (if necessary). In other words we get to spend the next three months (at least) trailing this “clown car.”
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