SCNewDems Blog

DeMint continues to block TSA chief

Despite approval by two Senate committees and terror attack investigations hanging in the balance, Senator Jim DeMint continues to block Senate approval of the prospective Transportation Security Administration appointee Errol Southers, a former FBI agent and counter-terrorism expert tapped by President Obama to head the executive agency.  Instead, DeMint is resorting to ad homenim attacks turning the fight to protect American citizens traveling to and within the US into a political fight over labor unions.

The Washington Post has the story:

An alleged attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration -- if there were one.

Instead, the post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has held up President Obama's nominee in an effort to prevent TSA workers from joining a labor union.

DeMint, in a statement, said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's alleged attempted attack in Detroit "is a perfect example of why the Obama administration should not unionize the TSA." 

One expert is all but laying last week's attempted attack on DeMint's doorstep, according the the LA Times:

Bruce Hoffman, a professor at Georgetown University and expert on security matters, said he wouldn't lay the blame for the Detroit incident entirely on the TSA. But he said the agency can better respond with a confirmed leader in charge.

"We will suffer by not having a leader," he said.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) calls the move "insanity."

Call Jim DeMint today and ask him why he is putting politics over national security and ask him to remove his hold on TSA nominee Errol Southers.

Roland Burris rings in the holidays

Check out Senator Roland Burris' (D-IL) rendition of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," performed live on the Senate floor earlier this morning.

Looks like Burris might be giving poet-laureate and Fmr. VP Al Gore a run for his money...

UPDATED: Where's the Jobs?

UPDATE:  Just a couple hours after this post was published, the SCGOP deleted their blog post AND video joking about South Carolina unemployment, blaming the President of the United States for the state's record unemployment numbers, inconveniently released just 1 day after the SCGOP's latest foray into political humor.

It looks like we're not the only ones who realize that South Carolina is suffering from a lack of leadership on the issues that really matter.  Denying SC-ers unemployment benefits and property tax cuts on second homes, all while only paying lip-service to the real issues--its all one big joke to the SCGOP.

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For a couple weeks now, the SC Republican Party has had been taking cheap political shots at Barack Obama, asking him, personally, "Where's [sic] the jobs?"  Well, we thought maybe they knew something we didn't there for a while there, but today's unemployment numbers show otherwise.

In November, South Carolina's unemployment rate rose for the fourth month in a row, reaching a new record high of 12.3%, trailing only Michigan and Rhode Island to give SC the third-highest unemployment in the United States.  So, Bobby Harrell, Glenn McConnell, the rest of the State House leadership, and the SCGOP:  'Where are those jobs?'

From The State:

Unemployment rose for the fourth straight month, adding .3 of a percentage point from the revised October rate of 12 percent.

The state's rate was tied for third-highest in the nation, trailing only Michigan's 14.7 percent and Rhode Island's 12.7 percent. South Carolina's rate tied with Nevada and California.

The number of unemployed passed an all-time high, rising by 5,896 last month to 266,330, according to preliminary calculations.

Just so you know we're not making this stuff up, here's the SCGOP jokin' about jobs:

DeMint: Gay marriage "religious issue" wants court ruling... or does he?

And the chips continue to fall...

Not satisfied to leave gay marriage as merely "behavior that has been proven to be destructive to our society", Sen Jim DeMint went further during an interview with religious commentator Janet Porter, in the same sentence calling for a court ruling on the constitutionality of gay marriage, then ruling out judicial action on what he calls a "religious issue" (for more background on Ms. Porter, see "You cannot be a Christian and vote for Obama").

Here's the interview:

Anytime the people get a chance to vote on it, even if it is in California or Maine, they want to maintain traditional marriage because people realize how foundational it is to our country, our freedoms, our prosperity and the government has no business redefining marriage.  It's a religious institution.  I think we need to make a constitutional case of it. The federal government and our courts have no business redefining marriage and even at the state level, the courts have no business  telling us what marriage means. So we need to fight this, because this is not about equal rights. This is about the government legitimizing and promoting behavior that culturally we have always considered wrong.  And this is not something that we should give up on.

Aside from the blatantly inflammatory statement that gay marriage is something "we have always considered wrong," even we don't know how to interpret this one...

If a court ruling is required to legitimize or strike down the constitutionality of gay marriage, we are unclear in which court DeMint would like to bring his case, since the ones we're familiar with are operated by local, state, and federal governments, which "have no business telling us what marriage means."

Any ideas?

Audio originally posted by People for the American Way

UPDATED: DeMint: Gay marriage "destructive to our society"

In an interview out today with Bloomberg, US Senator Jim DeMint outlines his plans to abolish Medicare, privatize Social Security, and extols the virtue of  personal freedom, right up until the point where it makes him personally uncomfortable:

“Marriage is a religious institution. The federal government has no business redefining what it is,” DeMint says. This is one issue where he doesn’t support states’ rights; state government shouldn’t have the right to permit gay marriage: “Governments should not be in the business of promoting a behavior that’s proven to be destructive to our society.”

He cringes at the notion of a gay or lesbian president: “It would be bothersome to me just personally because I consider it immoral."

UPDATE: Sam Stein over at HuffPost recalls that in '04, DeMint also spoke out in support of banning openly gay teachers from teaching in public schools.

SC in spotlight (again) on SNL

Saturday Night Live once again throws South Carolina into the media spotlight during the show's opening bit with an impersonation of Gov. Mark Sanford, Fmr. Sen. John Edwards, and Sen. John Ensign hosting a mock news conference lamenting the media's coverage of Tiger Woods instead of their own tabloid fodder.

Morning Round-up - Home sales up, nuclear waste to ship out

Some good news today on the economic front.

SC home sales surge in November - Post and Courier

Statewide, home sales up 80% over last November ahead of the original expiration date of the federal home-buyer's tax credit.

Myrtle Beach seeing a revival in real estate as well - MB Sun News

Up 60% over last November, capping off three consecutive months of gains.

Foreclosures drop in Charleston area - Charleston Regional Business Journal

Though still up over last November, home foreclosures dropped from October to November in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties.

Manufacturing retains prominent place in SC economy - Charleston Regional Business Journal

Despite making up les than 5% of SC businesses, manufacturers pay more than 20% of all wages in the state and comprise nearly 15% of the state's jobs. The State also ran the story.

After months of negotiations and controversy, thousands of barrels of low-level nuclear waste will be shipped from SC to Utah for disposal (From The State.)

The State takes editorial board takes on cockfighting

"It's not that state and local police and prosecutors don't understand the need to combat this gateway crime... They understand it very well, and are working with federal officials on this latest investigation.

"But the Legislature has tied their hands, by refusing to treat cockfighting the same way it treats dogfighting, bear-bating and other bloodcrimes... The penalties still are light, and the crime still is classified as a misdemeanor; federal prison sentences are five times as long and fines 25 times as high."

And as you may have already heard, First Lady Jenny Sanford has filed for divorce from her husband.

Polls show senate race wide open

In two polls released today, Public Policy Polling and Rasmussen polling organizations both showed US Senator Jim DeMint as a vulnerable seat up for grabs in next year's election.

Though surging in media attention and working hard to raise his name recognition nationally, DeMint garnered less than 50% of the vote when Public Policy Polling (PPP) asked South Carolina voters to indicate their preference between Senator DeMint and an unnamed Democrat in the 2010 election.  PPP noted that the 50% mark is generally regarded as a "safe" benchmark for incumbents seeking reelection.  Click here to see the full results.

DeMint's poor performance in the generic ballot test shows that South Carolinians are looking for more than just lip service on the issues that affect their everyday lives.  They're ready for big ideas and prompt action to address the big issues head on.  For more on SC New Democrat's big ideas, click here.

Interestingly, Rasmussen showed DeMint's numbers comparable to the state's senior senator, Lindsey Graham, despite increased pressure from right-wing conservatives and industry front groups that spun the perception that Graham was taking damage for coming to the table to take action on climate change.  Despite all the money spent on statewide network TV targeting Graham (including claims that have since been debunked), their approval ratings are close enough to be within the margin of error:  DeMint at 63%, Graham at 60%. Click here to see the Rasmussen poll.

n.b.-Normally, polling done nearly a year before election would be taken with a large grain of salt by anyone.  But with both polls, conducted during the same period, showing similar numbers for DeMint and Graham, they do seem to reinforce each other.

Keeping our waterways clean

Today's The State has a concise forewarning for cities and localities across South Carolina: It's time to take seriously the environmental impacts of seemingly-routine public utilities on ecosystems around our state.  The deluge that Hurricane Ida brought to the Columbia area a few weeks ago caused low-level failures in waste water treatment system. 

Though the cleanup was quick and effective, after years of repeated incidents of spills and intentional dumping have gone unchecked by the polluters in question, what will SC's lawmakers do to take steps to get serious about keeping our waterways clean?

Fortunately, utility operators didn't delay in notifying the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, which quickly dispatched workers to assess the spills. Signs were posted warning people not to swim or use kayaks or canoes on the Saluda, Congaree and Broad rivers. It's good to know the process worked - which means that DHEC did its job, something that didn't occur nearly a year and a half ago, when there was a troublesome delay in alerting the public about a major spill at Alpine Utilities on the Saluda River.

It's critical that steps be taken to keep our rivers clean not only for environmental and recreational purposes, but for economic and development reasons as well. The entire Midlands - every county and municipality as well as the University of South Carolina, private investors and citizens - is betting on the integrity of the rivers to help drive the local economy.

What are we waiting on to take more decisive steps? Yet another reminder?

Click here to find and contact your state elected officials.

Energy Secretary Chu visits Upstate to promote $45M stimulus grant

Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu stopped in the Upstate today to promote the recent announcement of $45 million in stimulus money heading for North Charleston to jumpstart a massive research effort by Clemson University to look into development of ocean-based wind turbines for electricity generation for South Carolina families.

Once the project is off the ground and leads to new developments in the generation of electricity, it stands to become the beginning of America's offshore wind industry.  Chu also stopped by Clemson's ICAR automotive facility as well as a biomass-powered electrical generating facility being redeveloped from an old coal plant in Aiken.

Here's the Dept of Energy's press release:

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the selection of Clemson University to receive up to $45 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for a wind energy test facility that will enhance the performance, durability, and reliability of utility-scale wind turbines. This investment will support jobs and strengthen American leadership in wind energy technology by supporting the testing of next-generation wind turbine designs. 

“Wind power holds tremendous potential to help create new jobs and reduce carbon pollution,” said Secretary Chu. “We are at the beginning of a new Industrial Revolution when it comes to clean energy and projects like these will help us get there faster.”

The new facility will be located at the Charleston Naval Complex, a former Navy base in North Charleston, S.C. and will be a part of the Clemson University Restoration Institute campus.  The test facility will operate as a non-profit organization with a business model designed for sustainability while providing ongoing state-of-the-art testing to wind turbine manufacturers.

For more, check out the story over at the Post and Courier.