Florida State and American culture

For thirty-four years, Bobby Bowden has been the head football coach of Florida State. Along the way, Bowden racked up 12 conference titles, two national championships and 321 victories. Bowden’s 388 coaching wins overall is second only to Penn State’s Joe Paterno.

Simply put, Bobby Bowden built Florida State football. Before Bowden, Florida State football was a joke around the South. A former all female school, Florida State was everyone’s favorite homecoming opponent. Then Bowden took over. Under Bowden, the football team flourished, the stadium was expanded, and the university got a name around the nation, attracting athletes and scholars alike.

What did Bobby Bowden get for creating such a program? He got the choice to retire or be figurehead. ESPN reports that Bowden will retire. Frankly, if those are his choices, VUI hopes Bowden retires. The man who built Florida State should not suffer the indignity of being a figurehead.

Such is how the “baby boomer” generation and the so called “generation X” people treat those who actually created what they live off of. What is happening at Florida State is happening all over the nation. The old guy who created the business or the organization is treated like a child. “Thanks, old man,” the blow dried hair guy in the Men’s Wearhouse suit says, “You go retire now so I can refinance the business with debt and get paid my bonus.”

What happens in American athletics is reflective of American life. There is no concern about the future. There is no respect given in American business to the people who made America great. Loyalty to those who built what we have is not to be found, be it to the football coach or the businessman. Instead, people in cheap suits wrap themselves around their degrees and hire who looks the best, tells them what they want to hear and is politically correct. Then, people stand in amazement as a bunch of colorless, well dressed, self centered blowhards are unable to compete against China and the rest of the world.

Sitting and being judged by such people has to be hard for a man like Bowden. Like Bowden or not, he has accomplished more in his life than the people who sit and patronize him ever will. But, that is America now. We elected a President who did little, but “spoke the language” of success. We churn out graduates from business schools who learn more about how to speak to one another than to achieve long term success. Being loyal, appreciative and able to compete are almost taboo in our current culture. Indeed, we are a culture that is more concerned about Tiger Woods’s automobile accident than about war policy. We are a society that is more worried about who snuck into a White House dinner than what the President and the guest of honor discussed and agreed upon.

And, we are the society in which old men who built it are pushed aside unceremoniously and patronized. Who wouldn’t walk away from such nonsense? Florida State is doing what is the new American norm. Some will applaud Florida State. VUI will not. Because, every time one of those old guys who created American institutions and businesses are unappreciated, it hurts us all.

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VUI cartoons

VUI is reaching out to all those aspiring political cartoonists out there and asking for submissions. The first submission we received was from the cartoonists known as M and S. Their cartoon is an interesting take on President's Obama's agenda. Enjoy. Submit your cartoons to rbmccarty@gmail.com for posting on VUI.

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Top 9 reasons why Clemson lost to South Carolina

South Carolina scored a big win over the Clemson Tigers on Saturday, but Clemson fans have been filled with all sorts of excuses as to why it happened. Very few among them congratulate the Gamecocks on the win, instead, they reach for excuses. VUI has came up with the Top 9 excuses as to why Clemson lost to South Carolina:

9) Turf toe, turf toe, turf toe!

8) Hey, we Tigers are going to be the ACC Champions, why do we have to beat Carolina? Losing to Carolina is part of the greater scheme to fool Georgia Tech.

7) Dabo was forced, by the super secret society of Gamecocks in government, to throw the game.

6) Ric Flair helped the Gamecocks cheat. Why do you think they came out to 2001?!

5) Somehow, some way, former President George W. Bush is to blame.

4) How does anyone expect playas to be up by noon, much less ready to play football?

3) Nike is to blame. They made Clemson wear white pants.

2)Dabo tried to call Danny Ford at halftime, but all Dabo got was voicemail. Tiger fans say George Rogers stole Danny's mobile phone.

1) Clemson fans claim Spurrier sold his soul to himself to get the win.

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The 4th Annual Thanksgiving Awards

Happy Thanksgiving. First, thank you for reading and commenting on Voting under the Influence. It is has been a great year for this blog, and all involved with it have you, the readers, to to thank for that.

That said, on to the 4th Annual Voting Under the Influence Thanksgiving political awards.

The winner of the Cornbread Dressing Award for career achievement goes to outgoing Columbia Mayor Bob Coble. Though Coble has had his problems as Mayor of Columbia, Coble's vision to revitalize the Vista region of the city became reality.

The winner of the Cranberry Sauce Award for outstanding local government achievement goes to Laurens County Council and related Laurens County officials who brought in the Clemson related project manufacturing plant while Anderson and Greenville County governments were distracted by investigations and the like.

The next two awards the nominees will be listed.

For political Turkey of the Year, the nominees are:

Governor Mark Sanford. Governor Sanford's Presidential hopes went away in less time than one can boil an egg when he admittedto secretly visiting his Argentine lover on, of all weekends, Father's Day weekend. Then came droning interviews and more ethical hypocrisies related to his traveling and his campaign fund.

The political group ACORN. ACORN went from claiming credit in electing President Obama to having Democrats in Congress strip them of federal funding. Let that sink in. You know you have had a bad year when Democrats want to not spend money on you.

Congressman Joe Wilson. Joe Wilson went from "Mr. Lexington" to "Mr. You lie!" Wilson turned what would have been a yawner of a Congressional race into one with national attention. Further, he got his son, Alan Wilson, off message for a few weeks in his Attorney Generals race. (Wilson did rebound, as discussed further on.)

The Howard Rich crowd in South Carolina. A lot of money was invested in their guy Mark Sanford. With 7 years of Mark Sanford as Governor, well funded organizations and blogs, they have almost nothing to show for other than an embattled Governor.

The Atlantic Beach, SC local government. Recent developments about a town council race being overturned add to the indicted Mayor and Police Chief arrested for public intoxication. Things just continue to unravel in that small South Carolina town.

The winner of the Turkey of the Year award is: Governor Mark Sanford. While words like "clueless" and "selfish" have been attributed to Governor Sanford by readers, perhaps one reader summed it up best when he stated, "Turkey of the Year? Is their anyone who has been a bigger turkey and let people down time and time again this year more than Mark Sanford? Hell no!"

Moving on to the nominations for Golden Drumstick award for best political year.

The "tea party" movement. Say what you will about some of those involved in the tea party movement, but that movement put the brakes on President Obama's health care agenda, something thought unthinkable in January.

State Senator Harvey Peeler. While other Republicans are positioning themselves for higher office or carrying water for what is left of the Sanford agenda, Majority Leader Harvey Peeler has been quietly making the SC State Senate run. One will not find the ego of Glenn McConnell or the anger of Jakie Knotts in Peeler. He just works.

Congressman Joe Wilson. Wilson is the first nominee for both Turkey of the year and the Golden Drumstick. The reason is after his "you lie!" remark made so famous, Wilson raised millions of dollars towards his re-election and began working his district like never before. As a result, after his gaffe, he is right back in the heavily favored column for next November. Further, Wilson is the only Republican running for the United State House who does not have any serious primary opposition.

Steve Benjamin, candidate for Mayor of Columbia. Rarely does a candidate announce his candidacy and it results in the retirement of a longtime incumbent. That is what Benjamin pulled off in Columbia when his candidacy put Bob Coble into retirement.

SC House Speaker Bobby Harrell. Like him or not, Speaker Harrell has positioned himself to perhaps be the most powerful politician in South Carolina state government as he has so far successfully negotiated the political tight rope between being outraged at Governor's Sanford's behavior and being cautious in the Governor's removal from office so that the weakened Governor stays to keep the Speaker strong. Due to that mastery of the political tightrope that has given such a good position this year, the Golden Drumstick goes to Speaker Bobby Harrell. Again, the Golden Drumstick is not about who is most liked or who even did the right thing, it about who has had the best political year.

Two more awards are left and they are coveted.

First, the Holiday Ham award for biggest ego(s) in politics. This year, it goes to Mark and Jenny Sanford. Some will boo the pick of Jenny, but remember Jenny chose to engage the Governor in public interviews and is writing a book on their relationship. Neither the Governor or his wife seem capable of spending much time out of the public spotlight. Neither will be ignored. For that, they win the Holiday Ham award.

The Fruitcake Award is self explanatory. There were several worthy suggestions for this award. They ranged from radio talk show hosts to bloggers. However, Wellford Mayor Sallie Peake earned the Fruitcake Award with her policy of "not foot chasing" by Wellford's police officers, her reversal of that policy, and the incredible interviews she had with WSPA TV regarding both acts. The videos have been posted on VUI before, and it is hard to find anyone that could take the Fruitcake Award from the Wellford Mayor.

Thank you for reading. Congratulations to the winners. May all of you have a great and safe Thanksgiving weekend.

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Oh Henry!

Attorney General Henry McMaster has to be hating what is going on in regards to Mark Sanford right now. As South Carolina's Attorney General, McMaster has the duty of prosecuting Sanford's wrongdoings or turning over such to a special prosecutor.

Prosecuting Sanford on his wrongdoings could alienate important people who might otherwise support McMaster for the office of Governor. Turning over such duties to someone else might make McMaster look weak. In stark political terms, there is is no way McMaster likes what is coming out of the SC Ethics Commission or other stories from the likes of DOT and DSS.

As it stands right now, Henry McMaster is the favorite for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination, which makes him the favorite for the Governor's chair in January, 2011. While McMaster and his people are sizing up their announced political opponents, perhaps their biggest opponent is Governor Mark Sanford. It is Governor Sanford who makes the Attorney General look weak and indecisive. It is Mark Sanford who clings to office to play the role of political albatross around the nominee's neck.

Oh Henry! What do you do? Go after the Governor and elevate one of your opponents, Lt. Governor Andre Bauer to the highest office in the state, or stand by and do nothing and look like a weak foghorn leghorn blowhard. The Sanford mess sure does make a mess of 2010 politics. Oh Henry indeed.

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The Sanford mess continues

it is Thanksgiving week, a time when most people are worried about their annual dinners with family, sporting events, including, of course, Carolina and Clemson facing off on the gridiron. However, Mark Sanford is grabbing headlines again.

Governor Sanford is grabbing headlines this week by being charged with 37, that is right, 37, violations of ethics rules by the South Carolina Ethics Commissions. Among the charges are campaign fund reimbursements from the still active 2006 Sanford for Governor campaign fund that VUI pointed out months ago.

Last week, VUI pointed out some problems with Sanford's handpicked Transportation Secretary. Since that posting, various people have submitted information to VUI about other problems with the Department of Transportation. Over the next week or so, VUI will be chasing down those leads and posting about what we find.

The irony of it all is stunning. Governor Mark Sanford ran twice on making South Carolina government open and accountable. Further, Governor Sanford has been quick to point out how members of the General Assembly did not meet his standards for ethics and fair dealing. Now, the Governor and his have lawyered up and are defending their actions on the very legal technicalities those they attacked used.

The Sanford mess smacks of hypocrisy. Sanford was the family values Governor who cheated on his wife. He was the accountable Governor who went missing for a week and left his sons on Father's Day weekend. Sanford and his associates are the folks who touted a higher ethical standard that now seems to be a smokescreen, especially if the mainstream media digs into the things at the Department of Transportation and the Department of Social Services.

Those hoping for a Sanford rehabilitation have to be disappointed. VUI is. We at VUI wanted to believe Mark Sanford was a sincere and honest man who we disagreed with on a couple of issues. But, as the evidence comes in, the Sanford mess is one of his own doing as the Governor and his lackeys look more like good ole boys out to get theirs than the reformers they claim to be. The question now is will the South Carolina General Assembly act, or will they cower behind their own political plays and fears of their own acts being exposed somehow.

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Top 9 things you don't want to hear at Thanksgiving Dinner

9) “Now, kids, ignore that smell, Uncle Jim has just made a boo boo cake. It’s good for him. Lisa, honey, can you change your man after we say grace?”

8) “No, Bobby, you can’t play with Uncle Earl’s date’s tassels. Besides we ain’t got the money to pay her for that. Earl, can you get your date to cover those things up?”

7) “How am I kin to yall? Well, I am your step neighbor by adultery. Fix me a plate.”

6) “Dad, let’s forget this football stuff, ice skating is on. Real men watch ice skating.”

5) Your auntie’s new beau cries out, “That turkey looks good, but it didn’t get near the stuffin’ your auntie got last night. Thank God for Viagra.”

4) "No, dad, he ain't my baby's daddy, but he loves me anyway. The least you could do is fix him a plate. Hurry up. He has to go be with his wife's people soon."

3) “You people realize you are the reason I am in therapy, don’t you?”

2) “Turkey and dressing, can’t, cough cough, get the flu, eat up.”

1) “When you said you would have wild turkey, I thought it would be from a bottle, not some damn poor bird you shot.”

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Global warming might cause an increase in prostitution and the $300 million dollar woman

Saturday in the fall is sacred to VUI. Someday, when archaeologists look at American culture, they will likely discuss the religion known as college football. However, yesterday some good old fashioned left wing big government stuff was going on as well as football.

Let's start in the Philippines. If you think that Al Gore gets a little melodramatic, meet the United Nations Food Population Fund's Sunesta Mulcherjee of the Philippines. According to the Philippines news website www.gmanews.tv, Mulcherjee stated, " climate change could reduce income from farming and fishing, possibly driving some women into sex work..."

In Southern terms, your mama and your sister could be walking the streets if you keep driving that king cab truck, Bubba. Shoot, if we don't stop this, Santa Claus might be wearing a red "wifebeater" tank top instead of a red suit. Keep that mental image in your mind every time you want to drive somewhere. The left logic does have an upside, though. The next time you have a few too many beers, you can blame it on global warming, " I was just so damn hot from this climate change, I had to keep drinking beer to cool off."

You might need a beer when you learn about the United States Senate's $300 million dollar woman, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. When the procedural vote on health care reform came down to her vote, the Senator from Louisiana demanded the government spend $300 million in her state. The Democratic leadership went along, because, what's $300 million when you are spending a couple of trillion already? Landrieu actually bragged about her $300 million on the Senate floor. So much for being so worried about the health care of people first.

It is not known how much, if any, of the federal spending in Louisiana will go to teach the LSU football coaching staff how to count. Those of you who watched the end of the Ole Miss-LSU game understand. The LSU staff's inability to count and to manage a game can be chuckled at. However, their Senator's ability to count too well the dollars from our government to help her get re-elected is no laughing matter at all. Maybe Landrieu can blame it on global warming.

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Talk of tax increaes ramp up, etc

A few months ago, when VUI noted how the federal deficit and spending were getting hitorically out of hand, we noted that at some point, Democrats would start talking tax increases, or "revenue enhancements" as some big government types like to put such things.

Eight months into the Obama Administration, and such tax increase ideas are bouncing all over the Democratic corridors of Capital Hill. First, there is United States Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, who stated to Bloomberg, "additional income tax to the upper brackets, folks earning more than $200,000 or $250,000 a year, could fund more troops." Levin was talking about the President's long awaited announcement to increase the number of American troops in Afghanistan.

Levin's tax trial ballon rises in the midst of the "revenue enhancements" found in the so called health care reform package making its way through Congress. Such "revenue enhancements" include taxing people on having better than average health insurance coverage and fining people for not paying insurance companies for coverage. The latter is puzzling. If people are uninsured because they can not pay for insurance, than how is fining them for not having coverage going to help them afford insurance? Such is what happens when big government is ran by big business.

All of the above is happening on the release of several unfavorable factors of economic news. First, after both the Bush and Obama Administrations spent over a trillion dollars bailing out the banks on Wall Street and the automovitve industry, 29 states reported an increase in unemployment rates for the month of October. Further, after that money, plus the trillion dollar stimulus package, and Federal Reserve's activist policies, America's record setting debt is drawing concern from China and Europe according to such reputable sources as the Financial Times of London. There will come a time when those folks, using Levin's language, are just going to say no.

Put plainly, the United States ecnomomy is still in a mess. The Democrats seem to think we can tax and spend our way out of the current crisis. Yet, no nation on Earth has ever thrived for a long time on taxing and spending and centraziled control of its economy.

Think of it personal terms. If you ran your own business thinking only of the short term for a long time, wasting profits on superflous spending to the point in which you could not pay your bills, you would be in crisis. Frankly, more people have been in that situation then known. Now, if in that crisis, you borrow money to cover the bills you can not pay and then add more spending, wouldn't a bigger day of reckoning be just around the corner? Wouldn't there come a point in which there was no more money to collect from your customers or borrow from your lenders? Indeed, eventually, you cripple yourself because, no how valuable you think your services are, you can raise prices to the point in which your consumers can not pay. Further, no matter what your credit, you can borrow to the point in which your creditors are tapped out. Thus, there are you, with big spending commitments and less revenue and credit.

Why is it different for the United States government? Increased taxes on the wealthy and health insurance fines on the poor will lead to less revenue. Extended borrowing will tap out credit. Inefficient spending can only be supported so long by such methods.

Eventually, a day of reckoning comes. In personal days of reckoning, individuals can live with a lesson learned via bankruptcy or judgments from creditors. The federal government has no such luxery. When that day comes for the federal government, chaos and rapid inflation will join double digit unemployment. The United States could become Brazil with a world class military.

Preventing that day requires things that the current leadership seems unwilling to do. First, government regulations and capital gains taxes must be cut. Second, we must forget political correctness and tap our vast oil and natural gas reserves so we begin to stop the bleeding of American treasure to foreign nations for our energy needs. Third, our governments, on all levels, must learn to say no to big lobbyists wanting bailouts for their banks or companies or politically correct special interests wanting this and that tax dollar. We must go back to believing in the free market and get out of the people's way.

The way out is simple, but can it happen? Chances are 50-50 at best. Too many people line their pockets for the short term for taxing and spending not to be attactive to them. But, twenty years for now, when your 401(k) won't buy your grocercies and gas for a week, remember how short sighted we all were in 2009.

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High School Friday Nights

Friday night was another playoff night for South Carolina High School League football. The battle to determine who lands on the campus of South Carolina State in Orangeburg for the Class A Division I and II championships has been decided. The final battles to determine who shows up the first weekend in December at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia will be decided next Friday night.

Starting with Class A, Division II, VUI favorite Ware Shoals fell down in Williston Friday night to Williston-Elko. Any doubts about the strength of Williston-Elko, due its weak schedule, were debunked in how the W-E jumped out to a 24-0 lead over the Ware Shoals Hornets in route to a 44-20 victory. It was the second year in a row Ware Shoals dropped the so called upperstate title game to W-E. Williston-Elko gets a shot at revenge next Friday at noon when they face the team that beat them for the state championship last year, Scott's Branch.

In Class A, Division I, the Tanneyhill juggernaut called Chesterfield rolled on to Orangeburg with a win over Calhoun County. The legendary Gamecock quarterback's pupils will go up against Lamar in the second game of Friday after Thanksgiving doubleheader in Orangeburg.

The bigger schools will not determine their state champions until the weekend of December 4th-5th in Williams Brice Stadium. They will be playing semi-final matchups the Friday after Thanksgiving.

In Class AA, the Abbeville Panthers defated Batesburg-Leesville and were rewarded with a hundred mile plus road trip to Pageland-Central to fight for the so called "upperstate" crown of Class AA. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Manning at Dillon game in the Brice.

In Class AAA, the upstate/lower state definitions actually make some geographical sense. In the upperstate, Clinton will travel to D.W. Daniel and in the lowerstate, Marlboro County will travel to Myrtle Beach. The matchup between tne winners of those two games in Brice just might be most interesting game of the Weekend of Champions.

In Class AAAA, Division II, Berkeley defeated Greenwood, moving on to host Goose Creek in what should be a classic lowcountry showdown. In the other semi-final game, South Pointe travels to Northwestern in what should shape up to be a Rock Hill area classic in its own right.

In Class AAAA, Division I, or the Byrnes division as VUI calls it, the Byrnes Rebels rolled on, whipping Mauldin 69-28. Next week, the Rebels will host nearby team Spartanburg in a meeting that will certainly pack 'em in the house.

Also, Gaffney made sure that the division would be an all upstate affair, handing the living legend John Mckissick's Summerville team a 35-28 loss to earn a trip to Dorman in the other semi final matchup.

Though Ware Shoals lost, it was another great Friday night for South Carolina High School Football. (We always root for those little teams) Forget shopping. If you want some real bang for your entertainment dollar, go out and watch one of the high school football matchups next Friday. VUI does not see a turkey among them.

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Obama criticism and the egotists

Voting under the Influence is no fan of the policies of President Obama. Further, it is right and acceptable for people to criticize the President of the United States. However, just as people on the fringe left went too far when they joked about hoping Bush would choke on another pretzel or Cheney's pacemaker would malfunction, so called Christians who "pray" for President Obama by offering a reference to Psalms 109:8 go too far. Their so called prayers are not reflective of conservatives or Christians.

Those promoting the Psalms 109:8 prayer are putting such on t shirts, baseball caps and other items. According to the Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible, Psalms 109:8 states, "May his days be few; may another seize his goods."



Indeed, the 109th Psalm of King David is about David lamenting about his enemies who lied about him and attacked him maliciously. There is an historical context to consider. Verses in it call for David's enemy's wife to become a widow and for David's enemy's children to be fatherless and left destitute. Pastors reading might cringe, but King David was basically saying, "Okay, God, you put me in this job, now help me deal with these people who are full of it and out to get me."

Those who pray for such for President Obama seem to forget the New Covenant that was created through Jesus Christ. Christ did not pray for the personal demise of Herod or the Roman Governor, men who were certainly his political foes at the time. Taking the 109th Psalm of David out of its context and ignoring the teachings of Christ that followed is misguided.

Further, it is misguided for anyone claiming to be Christian or conservative to embrace such a thing. Christian values are about compassion. Conservative political values are about protecting people by giving them freedom. The teachings of Christ and the ideas espoused by the likes of Goldwater and Reagan do not allow for such ignorant and hateful notions.

Barack Obama is the President of the United States. As such, Obama is owed respect due to the office he holds, and owed vigorous thoughtful opposition to his political policies by those who disagree. Barack Obama is also a human being. As a human being, no one who understands what being a Christian, or even just a good person, is about, would pray or wish harm to him or his family. Indeed, conservatives fight daily for people not to be harmed personally or professionally for conservative views in academia or the media.

Anyone who is so opposed to President Obama that they wish the man and his family personal harm does not know what being a Christian or a Conservative is. They are as lost as the far left activists and other extremists. Like those other extremists, the people who pray for Obama's personal demise are egotists.

For years, we have seen the actions of the left egotists. Oppose gay marriage and work in show business and people work to destroy your career and personal life, for example. Now, the right egotists are getting in on the action. Left or right, if you believe that your point of view about things should prevail to the point in which you pray, hope or work for the PERSONAL demise of your opponent and his family, then you have a problem far beyond political wins and losses.

In sum, if you want to criticize the President's political policies and acts, I am with you. If you want to poke fun at the President, I am with you. If you pray for his and his family's personal demise, I am calling you an egotistical nutcase, and demanding you refrain from calling yourself a conservative, Christian or Republican.

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The Sanford "good ole boys?"

Governor Mark Sanford made much ado about the how the previous DOT head was a “good ole gal” and that “good ole boy” favors were being handed out by the SC Department of Transportation Commission. All that was supposed to change with Sanford’s ally, H.B. “Buck” Limehouse as Secretary of Transportation.

There is argument by those who say those before Limehouse did not practice favoritism. Fair enough. But, if Sanford’s ally Limehouse is to be held to the same standard of Sanford’s rhetoric, Sanford has a problem.

On August 20, 2009, the South Carolina Department of Transportation Committee met. The minutes of that meeting are public record. Section 10 of those minutes are presented here as they were published. It is not a riveting read by there are several things that stand out. Here is Section 10:

On motion of Commissioner Stevenson, seconded by
Commissioner Isaac, the Commission passed a motion approving
the recommendation of the staff to proceed forward with a
contract modification with Phillips & Jordan based on the
negotiated cost to complete the US 17 (ACE Basin)improvements in Colleton County as included in the original 2006 RFP to complete the remaining sections of US 17 between Combahee River and SC 64 in Jacksonboro.

It was noted by Commissioners Hooper and Isaac that it was
disclosed in letter form prior to the Commission meeting, that
while the son of Secretary Limehouse is employed by the
contractor, his position with the company is in a capacity that is
totally removed from this project and presents no conflict.

Commissioner Nuckles voted “no” to this motion and stated that it
is important that the Commission take a strong position toward
being transparent, open and above board on any contracts,
especially one that is of one hundred million dollars. She further
stated that, the opportunity for all contractors to bid on a project is
a basic premise of our law of transparency and accountability in
the State of South Carolina and that a contract modification does
not allow that option.

In other words, the staff of the Transportation Department, who works under the Secretary of Transportation, recommended that the Transportation Commission approve, without bid, a contract modification on a project for a firm the Secretary’s son works for.

By the standards set forth by Governor Sanford’s rhetoric, such is not acceptable. Further, the Commission’s noting that the Transportation Secretary’s son held no direct role with the project, thus there was not conflict, is troublesome. One can imagine that if the son in question had been a legislator’s son on a project whose no bid status was determined by that legislator’s staff, the Governor and his supporters would be pointing out how no rational employer would hold accountable or fire an employee whose father’s staff recommended a no bid contract modification. For that matter, there would probably be a press conference held in that legislator's hometown.

Such is the hypocrisy of the Sanford crowd. They talk about transparency and above board dealings in state business. But, apparently, that only applies to their political opponents.

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Reader input on the Thanksgiving Political Awards

In a few days, Voting under the Influence will present its 4th annual Thanksgiving political awards. Since the readers of this blog have made that it possible for VUI to stay around so long, this year VUI is seeking input from its readers.

If you any nominations or ideas about who is deserving of the various awards, comment here, or email your ideas to rbmccarty@gmail.com

Here are the list of awards:

1) Turkey of the Year (given to the politician or political group with the worst year and most boneheaded moves.)

2) Golden Drumstick: (given to the politician or political group with the best year or most influence.)

3) Cornbread Dressing Award for Career Achievement

4) Cranberry Sauce Award for outstanding local government achievement.

5) Holiday Ham Award (given to the politician, blogger, consultant, with the biggest ego.)

6) The Fruitcake Award (self explanatory)

We look forward to your input. The Awards will be announced on Wednesday November 25th.

Thanks for reading and for commenting.

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VUI Video of the week

This week's video, in consideration of our Governor's ethical concerns being addressed yet again due to his traveling for love, is the old country classic by Johnny Lee, "Looking for Love."

Since Don Bobby in the House is going to eschew impeachment against the Governor, even the Governor's folks can laugh when they think about it.

Enjoy.

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What is in the air at the Grand Strand?

The Grand Strand area is becoming famous for elected and public officials having run ins with police. The arrests of the Atlantic Beach Mayor and Police Chief have been widely reported and commented about on VUI.

Now, Myrtle Beach gets in on the action. According to WMBF-TV of Myrtle Beach, political consultant Mike Green was arrested for trespassing after he refused to leave a private party being held by Myrtle Beach Mayoral candidate Mark McBride.

According to the report, Green stated he worked for the firm consulting for incumbent Mayor John Rhodes. Rhodes denied that Green worked for his campaign. Arrests motivated by politics on both sides, (an over eager supporter of candidate versus an all too eager to call the cops supporter of the other candidate), always seem silly and a waste of law enforcement resources.

Whatever happened on Monday night did not help McBride Tuesday, as McBride was denied a return to the Mayor's office, losing to current Mayor Rhodes by a tally of 2469 to 2157.

Maybe there is something in the air down on the Grand Strand causing such run ins with police by officials and political activists. At the least it seems those wanting to get involved in Grand Strand local politics and governments need to know a good bail bondsman.

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