GOP Takes Unprecedented 10-Point Lead on Generic Ballot

From Gallup- August 30, 2010:

Republicans also maintain wide gap in enthusiasm about voting

by Frank Newport

PRINCETON, NJ -- Republicans lead by 51% to 41% among registered voters in Gallup weekly tracking of 2010 congressional voting preferences. The 10-percentage-point lead is the GOP's largest so far this year and is its largest in Gallup's history of tracking the midterm generic ballot for Congress.

Read more here: http://www.gallup.com/poll/142718/GOP-Unprecedented-Lead-Generic-Ballot.aspx

Alvin Greene Campaign Worker Tries to Stop Coverage

RYAN POSTS REAL-TIME CAMPAIGN FINANCE RECORDS ONLINE- CHALLENGES MILLER TO POST HER RECORDS

For Immediate Release: August 16, 2010
Contact: Kevin Ryan
kevin@ryanforhouse.com
(843) 385-1242

PAWLEYS ISLAND-- Kevin Ryan, Republican candidate for State House District 108, has posted all of his campaign's financial information online at ryanforhouse.com in an effort to provide complete financial transparency. The campaign has pledged to post records of all contributions and expenditures online within 24-hours of receiving or expending the funds.

"I call on my opponent, Vida Miller, to join me in providing the same transparency of campaign finances during this election cycle," said Ryan. "The people of District 108 deserve to see who contributes to our campaigns and how we spend those funds on a real-time basis, not just once per quarter as required by state ethics laws."

In addition to providing this real-time financial reporting, Ryan has agreed to post the names of all campaign contributors, even those who contribute less than $100. State law requires that campaigns record the name and address of these contributors, but not report their names on quarterly campaign disclosure reports.

If elected, Ryan plans to introduce legislation which would require real-time reporting of campaign financial information for all candidates.

Kevin Ryan is the Republican candidate for S.C. State House District 108. He faces fourteen-year incumbent Democrat Vida Miller in the November general election.

Click here for Ryan's current campaign finance information

Jim DeMint: The Pelosi-Reid Economy

Democrats haven’t stimulated the economy. They’ve tranquilized it.

Published in the August 9th edition of the Georgetown Times

By U.S. Senator Jim DeMint

In January 2007, when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid took control of Congress, the unemployment rate was 4.6% and the national debt was $8.6 trillion. Today, unemployment is 9.6% and the nation is $13 trillion in debt.

Pelosi and Reid have tried to convince voters they inherited all the debt from President Bush, but it was their bailouts, takeovers and power grabs that have blown the budget for years to come. These bills were written by Democrats and made law with Democrat votes.

Read more here: http://www.gtowntimes.com/Opinion/Jim-DeMint--The-Pelosi-Reid-Economy

REP. MILLER RETURNS HMO CONTRIBUTION

PAWLEYS ISLAND S.C. — State Rep. Vida Miller is returning a campaign contribution she received from an HMO after local Republicans alleged the company had given more money than allowed by law in this election cycle.

Read more at this Georgetown Times link: http://www.gtowntimes.com/local/Rep--Miller-returns-HMO-contribution-

Filing for School Board seats underway

Filing is underway for anyone interested in seeking a seat on the Georgetown County School Board.
See this story from the Georgetown Times:
http://www.gtowntimes.com/local/Filing-for-School-Board-seats-begins-today

GOP calls on Miller to return illegal campaign contributions from HMO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 2, 2010
Contact: Tom Swatzel (843) 222-7456

GEORGETOWN--The Georgetown County Republican Party today called on Democrat state Rep. Vida Miller to return campaign contributions from an HMO that violate the limits set by state law.

"We know that Rep. Miller is beholden to a lot of special interests that contribute to her campaign, but she cannot be above the law. It's wrong to take campaign contributions from a big HMO that by far exceed the lawful limits. We call on Miller to obey the law and return the money as soon as possible," Georgetown County Republican Party Chairman Tom Swatzel said.

According to campaign finance reports filed by Miller with the state Ethics Commission for the current election cycle, she accepted a total of $1,500 in financial contributions, $1,000 and $500 in April 2009 and 2010 respectively, from Select Health of SC, a Charleston based HMO owned by AmeriHealth Mercy, a national managed healthcare company.

The contribution limit for individuals and businesses is $1,000 for the election cycle.

"Should Rep. Miller refuse to promptly return the money to the HMO, the Georgetown GOP is prepared to file a complaint with the House Ethics Committee," Swatzel said.

This is not the first time concerns have been publicly raised about financial contributions to Miller's campaigns.

A 2007 Washington Post article questioned the intent of contributions from then U.S. Senator Joe Biden's political action committee (PAC) to state legislators who endorsed him for president, specifically mentioning Miller as an example of a legislator who benefited from a PAC contribution and then endorsed Biden later that year.

According to the article Miller received a $500 contribution from Unite Our States, a leadership PAC that was controlled by Biden. The article stated that while it is not unusual for U.S. Senators to use their PACs to support state legislators, it is unusual for those contributions to continue after someone has announced their candidacy for president.

Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, said in the article "the perception created is that leadership PACs are "political slush funds." When you see someone using a leadership PAC this way, where there is a financial reward for an endorsement, it makes the public roll their eyes."

Miller is running in November against Republican Kevin Ryan for the House District- 108 seat.