The State -- Endorsements / Election Commentary

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09/17/10--05:40: When politicians don’t pay taxes on time (chan 1615410)

IT?S A WELL-established practice for newspapers to write about politicians who don?t pay their taxes. The most familiar local example was Columbia City Councilman E.W. Cromartie, who had a well-worn…

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09/18/10--21:00: Bolton: Cayce’s choice (chan 1615410)

TWO YEARS after rejecting the old establishment and electing political novice Elise Partin as the city?s first female mayor, Cayce voters face another pivotal decision in the November election.

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09/25/10--21:00: Scoppe: What the Chamber knows about the candidates for governor (chan 1615410)

I FINALLY GOT around to reading the jobs plans that Rep. Nikki Haley and Sen. Vincent Sheheen rolled out last month. I was uninspired, which I?m sure has a lot…

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09/28/10--21:00: Scoppe: The Haley bills (chan 1615410)

The one bill Rep. Nikki Haley has introduced since she was elected in 2004 to become law was a 2008 measure to allow people to shampoo your hair in a…

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09/28/10--21:01: Scoppe: Measuring governor candidates by what they’ve done (chan 1615410)

JUDGING LEGISLATORS by their records isn?t as easy as it should be since, as Rep. Nikki Haley correctly points out (although with trumped-up numbers), too few legislative votes are recorded.

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09/28/10--21:01: Scoppe: The Sheheen bills (chan 1615410)

What follows is a list of about two-thirds of the bills Sen. Vincent Sheheen has sponsored since he was elected to the House in 2000. Most of those that did…

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09/29/10--21:00: Scoppe: Business as usual (chan 1615410)

IT USED TO be commonplace, Sen. Jack Lindsay once told me, for young lawyers to run for the Legislature in order to build their law practices. If they lost, they…

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10/05/10--21:00: Scoppe: South Carolina’s stimulus fight (chan 1615410)

REP. NIKKI Haley?s flip-flop on federal stimulus funding has been portrayed, by Republican and Democratic opponents alike, as an example of hypocrisy, her decision to flip cited as proof that…

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10/07/10--06:26: Bolton: In defense of the penny transportation tax (chan 1615410)

IF VOTERS APPROVE A penny-on-the-dollar increase in the sales tax in Richland County, transit officials won’t have to worry year after year about whether elected bodies commiserating over their own…

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10/07/10--21:00: Bolton: The case against the transportation penny (chan 1615410)

Richland County citizens are split over a proposal to increase the sales tax by a penny to keep the public bus system operating and fund transportation-related projects such as road…

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10/09/10--21:00: Scoppe: Why we don’t have more recorded votes (chan 1615410)

REP. NIKKI Haley made recorded voting in the Legislature an issue voters care about, and the modest improvements we saw over the past couple of years came about largely because…

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10/14/10--21:00: Scoppe: The truth about taxes (chan 1615410)

If the economy recovers enough in the next four years, the Legislature will resume its tax-cutting behavior, whether the governor is Rep. Nikki Haley or Sen. Vincent Sheheen. And if…

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10/16/10--21:00: Scoppe: The can-do candidate (chan 1615410)

A FEW DAYS before Mick Zais announced that he was running for state superintendent of education, the media relations office at Newberry College sent me an op-ed submission from the…

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10/16/10--21:00: Zais would energize education improvement (chan 1615410)

THE MAIN candidates for state education superintendent bring valuable experience to the race, along with a sincere commitment to public service and to improving the educational opportunities our state provides…

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10/18/10--21:00: Wilson has potential to be good attorney general (chan 1615410)

THE MOST striking thing about this year?s race for attorney general is how much less prepared the candidates are for the job than previous attorneys general. Republican Alan Wilson and…

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10/19/10--21:00: Bolton: The payday way (chan 1615410)

IT’S HARDLY A coincidence that payday lenders who won big when Rep. Nikki Haley’s subcommittee helped torpedo a strong anti-payday lending bill in 2008 later donated to a hospital foundation…

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10/20/10--21:00: Scoppe: A breath of fresh air (chan 1615410)

DISCLAIMER: I might not be nearly so impressed by Ken Ard if he were running for an important position. The candidates for attorney general, for instance, both seem to be…

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10/21/10--05:58: Ard’s pragmatism best suited for lieutenant governor (chan 1615410)

LAST YEAR, South Carolina got an unfortunate reminder of the one reason we elect a lieutenant governor. It was more unfortunate still because the purpose of the office was defeated…

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10/21/10--21:00: Scoppe: The problem with Sheheen (chan 1615410)

I GOT A CALL last week from a Republican friend who shares many of my concerns about the way government in our state works. I don?t take issue with anything…

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10/23/10--21:00: Vision, integrity, record make Sheheen best choice (chan 1615410)

THE CHOICE between Sen. Vincent Sheheen and Rep. Nikki Haley would be obvious under any circumstances. In the dysfunctional governmental system of South Carolina, it is even clearer that Mr.

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10/23/10--21:00: Scoppe: What makes Haley different (chan 1615410)

ONE OF THE most striking things about the Republican candidates for attorney general, education superintendent and lieutenant governor ? all of whom our editorial board chose to endorse over their…

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10/26/10--21:00: Scoppe: The ‘80 percent’ claim (chan 1615410)

IN MONDAY?S debate on ETV, Rep. Nikki Haley charged that ?I have watched the good senator spend eighty percent of his advertising dollars attacking me on things that just aren?t…

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10/26/10--21:00: Union provision doesn’t belong in constitution (chan 1615410)

IF SOMEONE tried to add language to our state constitution granting workers the right to hold religious services on the job site rather than doing the jobs they?re being paid…

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10/27/10--11:16: Hunting amendment an invitation to lawsuits (chan 1615410)

THERE ARE some states where animal-rights groups are taken seriously by state lawmakers, and hunters have reason to worry that hunting could be severely restricted or even outlawed.

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10/27/10--21:00: Scoppe: What Mark Sanford taught me (chan 1615410)

I WAS SO EXCITED when Mark Sanford was elected governor. Finally, it seemed, we had a governor who looked systematically at the state?s problems and proposed solutions he thought would…

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10/27/10--21:00: One budget amendment makes sense, one doesn’t (chan 1615410)

SMART STATE budgeting is in the eyes of the beholder. Some say the state should spend whatever it takes to avoid reducing school funding. Some feel that way about Medicaid.

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10/28/10--21:00: Say ‘yes’ to transportation sales tax (chan 1615410)

THERE ARE legitimate reasons to support or oppose a penny-on-the-dollar sales tax increase to fund the public bus system and other transportation projects in Richland County.

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10/30/10--21:00: Bolton: Governor must have Carolina on mind, heart (chan 1615410)

ALTHOUGH SOUTH Carolina might have the weakest governor in the country, the position is still one of considerable influence; the governor can — and must — play a critical role in helping direct our state in its attempt to address its greatest problems.




11/01/10--21:00: A recap of ‘The State’s endorsements (chan 1615410)

TODAY, WE PICK a new governor, attorney general, education superintendent and lieutenant governor. We decide whether to retain or replace members of the Congress and the Legislature and county councils,

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11/03/10--21:00: Difficult work ahead for Haley (chan 1615410)

WHATEVER anyone might think about how Rep. Nikki Haley got to this point, there was nothing any reasonable person could find offensive about her first words to us as our…

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11/03/10--21:00: Scoppe: Dum spiro spero (chan 1615410)

I SPEAK for nearly half of South Carolina?s voters when I say that Nikki Haley was not my choice for governor. I speak for all of South Carolina?s voters ?

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11/04/10--21:00: Scoppe: The right road to diversity (chan 1615410)

THERE?S A bunch of white guys around our state today who are surprised to find themselves feeling smug for having elected South Carolina?s first female governor.

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11/06/10--21:00: Bolton: A novel idea (chan 1615410)

IT SHOULDN?T BE a big surprise that Richland County voters defeated a proposed penny-on-the-dollar sales tax increase.

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11/06/10--21:00: Fund buses now, consider all options for later (chan 1615410)

SUPPORTERS OF a sales tax increase to keep buses operating and pay for other transportation projects see the measure?s demise by the slimmest of margins as a missed opportunity.

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12/27/11--21:00: Bachmann: Time to lead (chan 1615410)

In 1980 Ronald Reagan famously asked if we were better off than we were four years earlier. The country had endured four years of “malaise,” as President Carter himself admitted, which had led to an economy in distress, a weakened military and an erosion of American pride. Today our republic is even more in jeopardy, and sadly the answer today to Reagan’s question is widely obvious. We have strayed from the Founders’ vision of limited governance, and the 2012 election may be our last opportunity to reclaim independence from a government that is too powerful, too big to work, but not too big to fail.




12/27/11--21:00: Perry: Only Washington outsider can restore America (chan 1615410)

America’s problems can be diagrammed on a map, with a straight line connecting Washington and Wall Street.




12/28/11--05:46: Scoppe: Looking for President Right (chan 1615410)

I WAITED lackadaisically through the fall for that bolt of lightening that would make it clear which Republican candidate was best suited for the presidency. But the days between now and Jan. 21 began to dwindle, and still nothing more than a general feeling.




12/28/11--21:00: Paul: Strength through austerity (chan 1615410)

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said the national debt is the greatest threat to our national security. I agree with Mr. Gates, and I fear my fellow Republican presidential candidates do not share this concern.




12/29/11--05:26: Huntsman: Restoring trust (chan 1615410)

The 2012 presidential election offers the American people a choice between two distinct visions for our nation’s future. We can stay on the path championed by Barack Obama and continue to feed a bloated bureaucracy that has been captured by swarms of lobbyists and influence-peddlers, or we can return to a limited government that unleashes free enterprise and creates a level playing field of opportunity for all our citizens.




12/29/11--21:00: Romney: Return America to its greatness (chan 1615410)

I am running for president to help restore the greatness of America, with prosperity and good jobs at home and respect for our country abroad.




12/30/11--05:37: Gingrich: Rebuilding the America we love (chan 1615410)

South Carolinians are hurting. For nearly three years, more than one in 10 have been without a job. Last month, fewer South Carolinians went to work than in November 2007, four years earlier.




01/12/12--21:00: Santorum: Bold solutions for America’s families (chan 1615410)

I am excited about America and her future. In this election the American people have an opportunity to restore her greatness and to focus once again on protecting liberty and…

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01/13/12--21:00: Scoppe: The most important candidate in the 2012 field (chan 1615410)

ON THE SURFACE, Jon Huntsman’s prescription for righting the nation’s fiscal woes is standard Republican fare: cut spending, rein in entitlements, reform the tax code and pass a balanced-budget amendment.

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01/14/12--21:00: Huntsman could bring us back together (chan 1615410)

AFTER MONTHS of flirting with candidates who considered inexperience an asset, obstinance and vitriol a virtue and extremism ? even flakiness ? a job requirement, Republican voters seem to be…

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01/14/12--21:00: Scoppe: Why endorse a long shot? (chan 1615410)

I HAD BEEN dreading the presidential endorsement for months. Yes, we endorsed Joe Lieberman in the 2004 Democratic primary even though there was no way he was going to win,

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01/14/12--21:00: Huntsman could bring us back together (chan 1615410)

AFTER MONTHS of flirting with candidates who considered inexperience an asset, obstinance and vitriol a virtue and extremism ? even flakiness ? a job requirement, Republican voters seem to be…

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01/17/12--21:00: Scoppe: If you care who our next president is, vote Saturday (chan 1615410)

UPWARDS of half the people who cast ballots in the New Hampshire primary were independents. They mainly supported Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, which serves as a reminder that ?independent?

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01/18/12--21:00: Scoppe: On evolution and pragmatic flexibility (chan 1615410)

IN NEARLY 15 years of writing political endorsements, I’ve found two questions that do more than all the others combined to gauge how candidates measure up against our editorial board’s…

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01/18/12--21:00: Editorial: Romney has capacity to build bridges (chan 1615410)

MITT ROMNEY was not our first choice for the Republican nomination for president of the United States, but he was one of two candidates who stood head and shoulders above…

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01/25/12--21:00: Scoppe: Who we are, and who the nation thinks we are (chan 1615410)

THE NATION LOOKS to South Carolina every four years to see what we have to say about the presidential race. I look to the presidential race to see what it…

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