endorsements? not really my thing.

well, it's come time for the primary. Tuesday, June 8th to be exact. I'm taking a rare opportunity to discuss my thoughts on the four contenders for our nomination as the Republican Candidate for Governor of South Carolina. This is a private blog, so I feel that I can do this freely without reflecting upon anyone else I may work for and who is staying out of said race. But I feel compelled to share my thoughts.

You might say I've "given it a little thought" since there have been more than half a dozen opportunities to listen to debates, here individual stump speeches, hear private reception messaging, etc. And to be 'above the fray' in terms of not really having a direct attachment to any one particular camp is nice. One fellow politico said to me recently, "It must be really nice to watch all of this from where you sit right now. You're like Switzerland. Everybody loves y'all." (I don't know about the Switzerland analogy, but yes, we are well liked, thank you.)

So, here is my impression. Completely unabashed. I kind of feel like I'm holding my nose and jumping in the deep end, and hoping to bounce back up on June 23rd with some great story of adventure. Here it goes.


McMaster: Our current Attorney General. Kind of has the McCain camp, establishment wing folks in his arena. He has the lawyers and judicial branch pretty well wrapped up. He's got a legal background about as old as the state. That said, people do feel very solidly either for or against him. I don't have a whole lot of 'mud' to sling in his regard, but I do have concerns about his career not really relating well to the small business entreprenuers. Bottom-line, the guy is in his sixties and has never held a job in the private sector. That's kind of important to me.


Bauer: He's had quite the opportunity to prove himself as Lt. Governor, and has done some decent things (like clean up the Office on Aging, and incidentally has the little-old-lady crowd eating out of his hand), but he's also acted like a stooge one too many times. Remember the 110mph on I-26 incident, or the plane crash, or the "our state's poor are like stray animals" comment? Anyway, he's nice enough, but he has very little depth in my opinion, and hasn't wowed me. Ever. Great sign waver, I hear.


Haley: She's definitely the renegade with the fiery endorsements (i.e. Jenny Sanford, Sarah Palin). She talks about transparency in government, which my boss wants more of too. But the fact is, our state's Governor is actually a fairly 'weak' office in many regards. So there are a lot of promises on the campaign trail that can be made, but she won't exactly get to tell those 'good-old-boys' in the legislature to sign on her dotted line and expect it to be done that way. She's had some scathing criticism from some elected officials, who have pretty much vowed to work against her. I'm fine with healthy competition, and I'm not one to shy away from controversy, but creating unnecessary drama isn't my gig. This campaign has been well run. I've heard her speak a dozen times, and honestly, it's so scripted I could dress up like her and give the speech on SNL. She's impressive on the stump, and very polished. I will absolutely give her that. And, I'm all about female leadership. But I know enough about SC politics to know you can't throw out all of the boys in the Statehouse in one fell swoop and expect to start from scratch. And there are some good honest legislators down there. That's my concern.


Barrett: Well, i guess from my glowing remarks above, you might imagine that he is my pick. Why, you ask? Well, it's not because he's had the smoothest run campaign - because honestly, from the outside, there are a few things i would have done differently. It's not because he voted for TARP, because even I called his office to express concern before that vote in '08. And it's not because he's from the Upstate - although after having a Governor from Sullivan's Island, I wouldn't mind the fact that Barrett is indeed an Upstate guy.
The reasons I'm voting for him is because I have seen him working as a Congressman for the 3rd district for 7.5 years, and have witnessed character and integrity that most resembles Carroll Campbell, Jim DeMint, Ronald Reagan. He is genuine, he is approachable, he has a heart for South Carolina. And behind those 'feel-good' qualities, he knows the issues, he knows the dynamics of SC politics, and he knows both the State and Federal challenges facing our nation right now. You might have noticed in his latest commercial that Jim DeMint has called him "principled, and a true conservative leader". And that's true. He's got a wife of 30 years, and she's a 1st grade teacher. His family has a furniture business in Westminster, SC. Nothing fancy, but he's who I'm voting for, and those are my reasons. I don't know if he's gonna win, but i really think he's a good choice.