By Andy Brack
A drone’s view of what’s happening in the world today shows a South Carolina and United States caught between crazy and scary. We’re in a new political territory that seems to sink lower almost every day. Just look at this week’s scorecard:
Crazy No. 1: Congressman Ralph Norman, a newly minted Republican lemming for governor, revealed a shocking display of spectatorship, not leadership, with a lazy proposal calling for South Carolina to redistrict. In a state where at least 40% of voters cast ballots for people other than Republicans, the GOP already has six of seven congressional seats (86%). Manipulating one more would be ridiculous and discriminatory – and undermine democracy.
Crazy No. 2: Another Republican gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of the Lowcountry, keeps yammering about anything under the sun to get noticed, proving the political adage that one of the most dangerous places in the country is between a craven politician and a television camera. In just the last few days, she’s spewed on about trying to ban child gender-related medical procedures (what is it with this obsession?) to politicizing the case of an abused dog to score points.
Crazy No. 3: Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod became the first Democrat to announce he was running for governor this week, only to find himself on the quick receiving end of a painfully negative story about a May arrest for disorderly conduct. Any politico with a lick of sense could see that the full story, only lightly reported before the campaign announcement, would expand when he entered the race. Worse: Upon a media request, police released a video that showed an unforgettable incoherent rant in the back of a cop car in which McLeod spewed all sorts of venom. Nevertheless, he says he was unlawfully arrested and he’s in the race, but he’ll have trouble wiggling out of what voters saw.
Crazy No. 4: That video spurred the state Democratic Party to do something not expected – to encourage McLeod to drop out of the governor’s race. While it’s understandable party leaders are embarrassed and irritated by the turn of events, actively getting involved in dissing a candidate is unorthodox, perhaps indicating they’re worried that voters might forgive and forget as they did when the nation elected a convicted felon to be president.
Crazy No. 5: R.J. May of Lexington County, a firebrand conservative Statehouse Republican indicted in June on 10 counts of distributing child sexual abuse material, finally resigned from his seat while sitting in jail. What is it with Republicans and sex? (Recall that Mace in February accused her ex-fiance and three other men of rape, sex trafficking and other sex crimes. The matter is mired in lawsuits.)
On top of all of this, the nation seems to be spiraling downward out of control – even though the stock market hasn’t (yet) tanked as many feared with the addition of punitive tariffs on foreign goods that are paid by American consumers.
- There’s a blatant power war by the GOP in Texas to redraw congressional maps to nab more U.S. House seats and a counter-offensive in California to keep that from happening.
- President Trump, being savaged by many in the MAGA world as well as liberals for whatever is damning in the Epstein files, is lobbing distractions hither and yon to shift America’s focus. Examples: a summit with Russian bromance partner Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and the completely feckless federalization of law enforcement in Washington, D.C. — the kind of action he didn’t take when a rabid coterie of 2,000 right-wing nutcases attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
- And then there’s U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s demoralizing anti-vaccine campaign that has already led to increases in measles cases and threatens to make America sicker in more ways than one.
South Carolina, like America, is sorely missing responsible, strong leadership with integrity. If people stay on their sofas and don’t stand up to stupid politics and neo-fascism, the days of the republic are numbered.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@statehousereport.com.
