SCNewDems Blog

Join us LIVE during Tuesday's debate

Be sure to join us right here on Tuesday night for a live chat during the first SC gubernatorial debates with all ten candidates from both parties on one stage from Orangeburg, SC.

We'll be here with you, joining the discussion on the issues you hear during the debate and taking your questions. We all know how important it is to get involved and have your voice heard if we're going to make Democratic gains next year, so RSVP now!

Click here to RSVP for the chat RIGHT NOW.

We'll send you the link to the chat on Tuesday before the debate

REMINDER: Take the SC New Dems poll TODAY!

Last week we launched our newest online poll on SC politics and the Obama administration, and since then hundreds of you have signed on and let us know what you think.

Two words:  Thank You!

But its not too late to lend your voice to the poll.

Click here to complete the short poll and let us know what matters to you when you step in the voting booth.

By taking this poll, you'll be making it easier for us to get an up-to-date picture of what's on the minds of South Carolina voters.  The more we know about what matters to voters, the better chance we have to run better campaigns and win in November 2010.

We'll update you on our findings here soon, as well as at a forum near you as we hit the road for the Ready to Lead Tour, coming to a city near you in the few months. More dates to be announced soon, so check back here again!

Sun News: Mysterious contributions reason for campaign finance change?

From the Myrtle Beach Sun News:

The hundreds of mysterious $1,000 donations to local politicians that have caused such stir over the last two weeks are, as The Sun News has reported, both legal and commonplace in South Carolina.

As South Carolina gears up for what's sure to be a heated campaigns season in the lead up to the 2010 governor's election, from this point forward, we'll see more and more money flowing into campaigns around the state.  Candidates are required to disclose who they receive money from--that's not an issue--but unlike 20 other states and the federal government, South Carolina allows corporate contributions requiring only a business name to pass money into a candidate's coffers, up to $3,500.  

What results is a system of untraceable, non-transparent elections in which money can buy results.  The solution?  Here's the Sun News' sugestion:

.The federal government and at least 20 individual states (including North Carolina) all prohibit campaign contributions directly from corporations (they may create "political action committees," but there are strict limits on who may donate into those, and of course, require full disclosure of those donors). We would like to call on our local legislative delegation to support such a change, but at least seven state legislators (Sen. Ray Cleary and Reps. Thad Viers, George Hearn, Alan Clemmons, Nelson Hardwick, Tracy Edge and, to a lesser degree, Liston Barfield) all received the same money.

The State: Don't let voucher fight stand in way of improving education

Today The State issued a call to action to South Carolina lawmakers: we've seen some gains over the past few years, but now is the time to buckle down and get serious about improving SC eduation, and time to end political distractions attempting to pump public funds into private schools.

The [newest] scores demonstrate, yet again, that South Carolina is not "dead last in education." That we are not bad and getting worse, as some are determined to make us believe. That our public schools are not hopeless.

But being in the middle is nothing to celebrate, less still when our scores actually drop, even if by only a fraction of a point. We need to use this latest report card as a wake-up call, as a reminder that we cannot continue to let ourselves be distracted by those who want to start throwing money at the private schools whose (highly varied) quality we never will be able to control. Instead, we need to get back to the task of improving the schools that we do control - and that we have a responsibility to make work.

Check out the full article here, and visit FightHowardRich.org to learn more about what you can do to fight the special interests trying to gut public education.

LA Times: "SC embarassed by politicians"

Even the LA Times is piling on:

Reporting from Columbia, S.C. - It's tough these days being from South Carolina. Ask Dick Harpootlian.

He was in Peru, on a train from Cusco to Machu Picchu, when he and his wife began chatting with another couple. Where, Harpootlian asked, are you from? Rio, came the response, and you? South Carolina, Harpootlian replied. Mark Sanford! the couple exclaimed. Argentina!

"Some of it is the natural hubris of politicians who believe the rules don't apply to them," said Phil Noble, a Democratic strategist in Charleston. "That's not new to America or unique to the South."

Tell us what matters to you

Next November, South Carolina voters will go to the polls to elect their next Governor, US Senator, Congressmen, and state and local reps.  And we know that every election matters, but this year, if SC Democrats are going to make a move, now is our chance.  But to run smart, focused campaigns, candidates across this state need your help.

Can you spare 3 minutes to let us know what matters to you?

Click here to let your voice be heard.  Take our short poll on South Carolina and national politics to let us know what really matters.

We will be releasing the results here on our website as well as presenting the findings at Ready to Lead Tour stops across the state from now through the end of the year.

With your help, we'll be able to make it happen next November.

YOU DID IT!

What a week!

Last Friday, we asked all of you to sign our petition to fight back against the critics reacting to the news of Barack Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Well, you spoke up.  And over 5,000 of you signed the petition.

Here's the email that SC New Dems President Phil Noble just sent:

I have some great news: with help from you and thousands of others across our state, we will meet our goal of 5,000 signatures in support of President Obama following his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize! Together, our voices against the noisy ideologues dead-set against the Obama White House can help Democrats gain the momentum we need to win in South Carolina in 2010. 

If we learned anything from last year's presidential election, it's that, as Democratic voters, we are at our best when WE decide what matters, not the political establishment in Columbia and Washington. We win from grassroots-driven, people-powered efforts to raise awareness and frame the debate, rejecting the politics-as-usual nonsense that has made South Carolina a punching bag for national news networks year after year. 

Your efforts this week were enough to put us over the top. Thanks so much for all your help.

Great news!  Thanks so much for signing on!  And if you haven't had signed on yet, do it now!

New Dems support wind energy

On Wednesday, the SC New Democrats issued a letter of support for aggressive action to bring wind energy production to the waters off the SC coast.

Here's the letter, sent to all members of the Wind Energy Production Farms Feasibility Study Committee:

Dear Chairman Campbell and Study Committee Members,

The SC New Democrats would like to take this opportunity to express our strong support for an aggressive approach to making offshore wind production a reality for South Carolina. The massive potential for job creation, revenue generation, and energy production that would accompany offshore wind development should make this issue a top priority for our state.

We believe that as soon as possible a comprehensive plan should be developed with the ambitious goal of making South Carolina the clear national leader in the development and use of wind energy.

North Carolina recently announced a partnership with Duke Energy for a pilot offshore wind project in Pamlico Sound and the political leadership of that state has been vocal in its support of renewable energy development. If South Carolina is to reap the benefits of a wind industrial cluster within our borders, then we too must begin partnering with our utilities and taking our commitment to offshore wind development to the national and international stage.

Our port facilities, shallow coastal waters, manufacturing base, and coastal population centers make South Carolina an ideal location for wind turbine manufacturing and offshore wind production, but it won’t happen unless we make the necessary changes to our state’s energy policy and demonstrate strong political leadership.

The SC New Democrats are committed to playing a leading and constructive role in all of these areas as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Phil Noble
President
Oct. 12, 2009

New Dems in the press...

SC New Democrats President Phil Noble, quoted on CNN.com today -

When President Obama took office, Democrats stood beside him in unity, but just as soon as Congress got to work, divisions in the party emerged.

Now, nearly a year after the election, Democrats have little to show for this legislative session, despite holding a majority in both chambers of Congress. [...]

Democratic strategist Phil Noble says the tug-of-war among Democrats is just the nature of the party, pointing to a quote by Will Rogers, who said, "I'm not a member of any organized party, I'm a Democrat."

"We are not an authoritarian party. We don't have the tradition of rigid party discipline that Republicans have had," said Noble, who is president of the South Carolina New Democrats.

Click here to read the rest of the story at CNN.com

Sign the petition of support for President Obama!

video credit to WhiteHouse.gov

Over the weekend we all heard lots of chatter about Friday's announcement that President Obama would be awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.  Unfortunately, as is all too often the case, some chose to seize the opportunity as a chance to hurl cheap political attacks at the President.  Well now is your chance to answer the critics.  Sign the SC New Dems' letter of support for President Obama and let him know that South Carolina stands with him.

The petition reads:

As was President Obama, we were surprised at the decision of the Nobel Committee. Like President Obama, we also recognize this award "as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.” The President concluded his acceptance remarks this morning by saying, “That has always been the cause of America. That is why the world has always looked to America. And that's why I believe America will continue to lead."

We the undersigned South Carolinians proudly congratulate President Obama on this award, it is a recognition of the vital role and moral leadership our country has in the world today.

We are also deeply saddened by those politicians and critics in South Carolina and elsewhere who have use the occasion of this high honor to launch cheap, partisan, and petty attacks on the President and our country’s global leadership. Their mindless attacks say more about them and their character than it does about President Obama.

We can best respond to such sordid tactics by quoting President Obama’s words in his Nobel acceptance speech, "We can't allow the differences between peoples to define the way that we see one another, and that's why we must pursue a new beginning among people of different faiths and races and religions; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect."

We agree.

Congratulations Mr President. You make us all proud.

Click here to sign the petition NOW