Where Does Vida Miller's Money Come From?

Published in the July 28, 2010 edition of the Georgetown Times:

It is always interesting to find out who is contributing to re-election campaigns of our elected representatives, especially in an election year, to see if our representatives are actually representing their constituents or other entities.

According to a recent media report, Democratic state Rep. Vida Miller has raised about $22,000 for her re-election campaign.

A review of her campaign finance report is revealing as to where the money is not coming from – the constituents she represents.

In the eighteen month period since the last election, Miller has managed to get financial contributions from only eight individuals she actually represents, totaling just $1,000 or less than five percent of total contributions for the election cycle.

Where did the rest of the money come from?

Outside special interests, big corporations, and other politicians. Almost a third of Miller’s money came from healthcare insurers Blue Cross and Select Health of SC (an HMO), healthcare related PACs, and drug maker Bristol Myers Squibb. Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Time Warner, Phillip Morris, and Coca-Cola Bottling are also helping fund Miller’s re-election.

PACs representing the interests of payday lenders, manufactured housing, alcoholic beverages, trucking, and car dealers have all given money to Miller.

Liberal Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn even gave Miller the maximum contribution allowed by law presumably because Clyburn wants Miller re-elected because she stands with Clyburn and the Obama administration on policy.

Miller’s campaign financing is symptomatic of what ails politics today. An entrenched long-serving incumbent that in reality is beholden to interests well beyond her constituents.

Linda Caswell
Pawleys Island

http://www.gtowntimes.com/letters/Letters--July-28--2010

Georgetown County GOP $22,000 ahead of Democrats

Click here for an article from the July 22nd edition of the Pawleys Island Coastal Observer.

Georgetown GOP begins recruiting, where are Dems?

A July 17th post from former Georgetown County Democrat Party Chairman Jamie Sanderson on his blog "The Politics of Jamie Sanderson":

The Waccamaw Neck Republican Club is sponsoring a campaign volunteer recruitment meeting this Monday. My first thought when I saw this is was where are the Georgetown Dems?

The Waccamaw area is going to be crucial to keeping State Rep. Vida Miller in her seat this November. In 2008, Miller only won one Pawleys Island precinct.

So, here I am waiting on news from the local Dems to publish so that we can see an active Party in the county, get information out in full and do our best to bring people in to volunteer.

http://thepoliticsofjamiesanderson.blogspot.com/2010/07/georgetown-gop-begins-recruting-where.html

GOP recruits volunteers to help win elections in November

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 11, 2010
Contact: Jim Jerow (843) 237-9456

PAWLEYS ISLAND- The Waccamaw Neck Republican Club is sponsoring a campaign volunteer recruitment meeting at 6:30 pm on Monday, July 19th at the Pawleys Island Library. People who are interested in actively helping Republicans win this November are invited to attend. Door prizes will be given away. Contact Jim Jerow at (843) 237-9456 for more information.

Whistling Dixie

Myrtle Beach Sun News Editorial- July 2, 2010

The S.C. Republican Party's quarterly meeting passed last weekend with barely a mention of repercussions against state Sen. Jake Knotts for his noxious ethnic slur, and committee member Jill Kelso of Georgetown makes no effort to hide her frustration.

"To me, we missed an opportunity," said Kelso, who represents the Georgetown County Republican Party in the state organization. "At this point, we as a party basically said it's OK to call a gubernatorial candidate a 'raghead,' and to me that's disheartening."

To be fair, the party hasn't completely left Knotts' shameful treatment of state Rep. Nikki Haley and President Obama unaddressed. After Knotts referred to both of them with the offensive term on an Internet political show, S.C. GOP Chairwoman Karen Floyd swiftly issued a statement that the state party "condemns any use of racial or religious slurs" and demanded an apology of Knotts.

Further, it could be argued that South Carolina Republicans rebuked both Knotts and his public bigotry in the June 22 primary runoff, when they chose Haley as their nominee and Tim Scott to be the 1st District Congressional candidate by roughly two-thirds majorities over well-qualfiied opponents.

With regard to Knotts, however, many Republicans accross the state felt a more direct repudiation was needed. His home party in Lexington County asked for his resignation, and Greenville County GOP Chair Patrick Haddon said Knotts should be expelled from the party.

Locally, the Georgetown County Republican Party courageously echoed Lexington County's censure and call for Knotts' resignation. Georgetown GOP Chairman Tom Swatzel explained that Knotts' slurs were obviously wrong and also counterproductive for the party.

"We're at a point in time when the party is really trying to make inroads with diversity," Swatzel said. "It really stymies our efforts when we have a state senator making these comments."

The lack of any action at the state level this weekend thus came as some surprise. Joel Sawyer, the party's executive director, said the issue was raised within the meetings' Resolutions committee, but party members there decided that Floyd's condemnation of Knotts sufficed, and that moving forward was more important. Even so, party leaders still expected a motion regarding Knotts from the floor during the broader meeting, but none came, Sawyer said.

In the end, it remains unclear why a rebuke of Knotts failed to materialize, but it appears the party's desire to "move on" past the scandal trumped the desire to do the right thing. Last year, the party's censure of Gov. Mark Sanford noted that his conduct was not in accordance with the party's core beliefs, fell beneath its standards and undermined his ability to serve - all of which could easily be said about Knotts.

"A formal admonishment by the South Carolina Republican Party is appropriate and necessary and, barring further revelations, will be the Party's last word on the matter," the Sanford resolution concluded. Knotts' bigotry is arguably more damaging to the reputation of South Carolinians and to Republicans than Mark Sanford's affair, so it is disappointing that S.C. Republicans chose to leave the official party view of the matter an open question.

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/07/02/1565375/whistling-dixie.html