Well, it's finally over. And the crooks and liars actually managed to get out our vote instead of repress it.
Congratulations to Elizabeth Warren. I am so looking forward to watching her kick some butt in D.C. I'm assuming Scott Brown is going to retire his truck and take his Hummer out of storage.
Good to see the back end of this baby.
Also congrats to the women (and men) who turned out to turn out Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin from the halls of Congress. Maybe they'll have time to visit the library and read up on the human body, sex, and science in general.
I worry about South Carolina, though. We may not be as dumb and dirty as Florida, but we do have the governor who spent a fortune of taxpayer dollars to make sure those old folks who have been voting since 1960 show some photo ID, while sleazoids were working to keep potential opponents off the ballot, crooks were robocalling misinformation, and crazies were putting flyers out at Doschers telling people to vote on Wednesday.
Next time we'll need to be more on top of it than we have been. I hate to say it, but that means we need to start now. After Alvin Greene two years ago, and this year's Peas & Carrots, we need to reform our election laws as well as our state Democratic Party, and we mostly need to work to inform the people of South Carolina about the people who represent us.
It's time to retire this blog, but I hope you'll continue to follow me at The Ironic Cherry.
Thanks to those two great women that this blog has followed, Bobbie Rose and Carol Tempel. I'm hoping we hear lots more from them as well.
The Post and Courier featured an article Monday stating that Tim Scott is unavailable for the debate forum for his 1st District US House seat. He's busy. And also they didn't offer him other dates.Paul Gawrych, who doesn't seem to need to follow any rules he doesn't like, has also declined, on the same day, to debate Peter Tecklenburg for the position of Charleston County Auditor, also claiming a prior commitment.And we all know that Peter McCoy was inconvenienced by the invitation to debate Carol Tempel for SC House smack in between the two really far apart areas that he and fellow legislators decided to call District 115. But at least he'll be at the debate on Thursday on James Island. And hey, if you live in Kiawah and Seabrook, come on down and visit your legislator.
So here's the deal:
 Bobbie Rose is running for the US House of Representatives against Tim Scott. Unlike Tim, she wants to talk to the voters in District 1. She'll be at the North Charleston City Hall at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 10/24.If you get there at 7, you'll also be able to meet Peter Tecklenburg, who is running for County Auditor against the conveniently busy Paul Gawrych.
 Carol Tempel is finally going to be debating incumbent Peter McCoy on Thursday, 10/25, at the James Island Town Hall, at 7 p.m. Unlike some candidates, Carol worked hard to collect the required signatures in order to run as a Petition Candidate for SC House 115. She deserves our support. If you know someone who does not know Carol, who may be undecided, take them along with you.
Election Day is November 6
Support
Bobbie Rose US House #1
Peter Tecklenburg County Auditor
Carol Tempel SC House 115
At the Tempel Town Hall, I heard that Tim Scott had also refused to debate his opponent, Bobbie Rose. When I called his campaign office to confirm this, there was no one there, so I left a message. I figured they must all be out meeting with Scott's constituents, you know, to let us know what he's done for us over the past two years, and what we would like him to tackle should he get re-elected. And after all, we know Scott's not in the halls of Congress, as they have just "completed" the shortest work year the House has ever scheduled themselves. But to be safe, I also sent out an email, asking if this rumor was true.
Surprisingly, I did not get a reply. So let's assume that Tim Scott really does not plan on debating Bobbie Rose. It's my opinion that, since his hero Jim DeMint faced all those jeers at his first debate back in 2004 when he said unwed mothers should not be allowed to teach, and Sarah Palin had to field all those unfair questions by Katie Couric just four years ago, many of the radical right have opted to be selective about where and with whom they meet.
I may be wrong.
It may be that Tim Scott is busy doing the People's business.
So let's see what Tim Scott has been up to.
Well, he spoke at the Republican National Convention.
A black man who came up from poverty in South Carolina, he obviously had an important story to tell. They gave him two minutes.
Way back in April he received the Thomas Jefferson Award. This is awarded by the International Distributors Foodservice Association. They honor representatives who fight for "free enterprise". They do this by analyzing the votes of members of Congress. You might want to take a peak at the scores for 2009-2010.
At the very same time, Scott received the Defender of Economic Freedom Award from the Club for Growth. You know these guys; they're the ones who give big dollar support to folks like Tim Scott to cut taxes and regulation, in other words, "defend economic freedom."
Okay, so that was April. What's he done lately? Well, as I reported on a few weeks ago, Tim Scott was smiling at the cameras as he received the Standing Up for Seniors Award from the little known but warm-and-fuzzy-sounding fake-grass-roots group RetireSafe.
It's safe to say that there are people that know where Tim Scott is at all times. They are not us. Tim Scott reports to those who stand to make lots more money by assuring that he votes against the interest of the average worker, student, or senior. And then they give him awards for doing it.
They own PAC's, SuperPACS and those other fund-raising groups that are just known by their numbers, that are all ways of allowing big monied interests to give huge amounts to candidates without having to tell anyone who they are.
So I can see why Representative Tim Scott does not want to bother himself with a debate. Obviously, he is very busy. And it's okay that he doesn't need to sell himself to us, because, to be frank, we couldn't afford him.
If you haven't yet been introduced to FreedomWorks, it's time. Despite it's patriotic sounding name, FreedomWorks is funded by all those right-wing extremists that believe that no tax is a good tax (unless it goes to big corporations), and that money that you don't work for -- like investment income and inheritance -- is more valuable than money earned through actual hard work.
Here in South Carolina, we have lots of notables on the FreedomWorks roster. The lovely Jim DeMint scored a 91% on FreedomWorks' economic scorecard in 2003; he worked tirelessly to end up with a near-perfect 98% for his 2011 voting record (what on earth could that 2% have represented???). Today, though, he out-DeMint's DeMint, with a just-announced perfect score of 100%. "You-lie" class act Joe Wilson and Tim Scott are also reported by FreedomWorks to be "other winners." On that, I must agree. And that is not a compliment.
Tim Scott believes fervently in what these FreedomWorks folks call "school choice". He himself went to public school in South Carolina, and despite his apparent success, he is at the forefront in dismantling public education. In the illogical twists and turns of the FreedomWorks right-wing mind, he has convinced himself that the key to helping children in poor neighborhoods is for businesses to get involved in school programs, without nasty government intervention -- or dollars -- and this will provide quality education for all.
Yes, you heard him right. Tim Scott actually says he believes we can "think our way out of poverty."
Why would a smart man say something so dumb? Because there really is absolutely no defense for killing public education. Businesses will not equitably fund all neighborhoods. Parents may not know which are the best choices for their children, and even if they know, may not find open seats available, or have the means to transport a child to that school. And, guess what, those good schools are not going to be plentiful, and they aren't going to be cheap.
Honestly? In Tim Scott's America, school choice will exist only for those with the most cash, and the means to investigate, apply for, and then get their kids to the "best schools." When we allow Tim Scott and Jim DeMint, and here in the SC House, folks like Peter McCoy to win their war against funding public schools, we will see even worse discrimination between the rich and poor. Oh, and those who will be getting both taxed and slammed will be the middle class, because how else can you pull off this sleight-of-hand?
 Bobbie Rose has a more reality-based and let me say democratic philosophy about education. She knows that the only way to provide good schools for all is for South Carolina to work with the Federal Government to provide the long-overdue investment in our children. This means that folks like Tim Scott and Jim DeMint will have to pay slightly higher taxes so that all children will have the opportunity they deserve. (Sorry, guys, that's how true "freedom works.")
 And let's not forget how important it is to get real pro-education legislators in Columbia to work with the federal government to distribute our tax dollars equitably and sensibly. Carol Tempel, SC House Petition Candidate, knows first hand how to turn education around in South Carolina. She knows, unlike her opponent Peter McCoy, that slash-and-burn tax cuts will never work."School choice" isn't really about choice. But this election truly is about choice. We can choose those folks that talk about freedom while they curtail ours, or we can elect candidates who will represent us, our families, our children, our future.
 Hillary told us that "it takes a village", but for quite a few years now we have been hearing that all it takes is the wealthy, or as they call themselves, the job creators. But, in fact, they haven't been creating a whole lot of jobs, and when they have, they haven't done it alone. And Elizabeth Warren was the first in a long time to say it: "Nobody got rich on his own." And while the likes of Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Scott Brown and Tim Scott continue to vote for those with the deep pockets that are paying for those votes, women like Elizabeth Warren and Bobbie Rose are begging to differ. Fact is, the reason trickle down will never work, the reason tax cuts for the wealthy will not work, is that capitalism doesn't work if people can't afford to buy your product. Unfortunately, that one percent doesn't care. They don't care because their money is safe in offshore accounts, stacked in huge piles where they can come count it whenever they want, like Scrooge McDuck
Yes, Warren is right when she says the game is rigged. And along with dynamic women like Bobbie Rose, she will fight for a living wage for all of us, and will partner government with those businesses which will move us forward, through good and ethical hiring practices as well as industry that will promote 21st century needs for a clean environment and fuel efficiency. She will fight for the quality of our education, as well as the safety of our schools and roads. When Elizabeth Warren and Bobbie Rose vote on financial matters, they will not be voting so that the rich get richer. They will not be voting with a mind to pinching pennies on the middle class so that their wealthy constituents can stack up more profit. They will be voting with the understanding that, for America to succeed, we must all succeed. In many ways, America is still stuck in the 20th Century. We need women with vision like Elizabeth Warren and Bobbie Rose in the US Congress to move this country -- and the people who live in it -- forward.
 It's not even close to Halloween but South Carolina's Representative in Congress, Tim Scott, is sending out those scary emails. After letting us know that he wouldn't be allowed (because of those nasty Democrat regulations) to communicate with us before the election, he proceeds to show us exactly why such a rule, even convoluted as he describes it, exists.The most important message Scott can send out at this time is to, for God's sake, stop those Democrats from getting away with the tax hikes that are going to send us "over the fiscal cliff" at the end of the year.
Well, Bobbie Rose is not afraid of Tim Scott's scary stories. She knows that it was the Bush tax cuts that "sent us over the cliff" as far as the deficit is concerned, and that it will take job security to bring economic health back to the small businesses here in South Carolina. Good and necessary government jobs don't just improve our children's education, but put teachers back on the payroll and off the unemployment rolls. When teachers are back to work, they are able to spend money in their communities. When small businesses increase earnings, they grow, and when they grow, they hire.
We can move forward, with Federal programs to increase fuel efficiency, to create businesses that innovate and strengthen our environment, rather than continue to support the old dirty fuel corporate interests that get Tim Scott's votes. Scott would have us believe that regulation is a dirty word, when in fact, keeping our towns and waterways clean and safe through smart regulation is what is really good for business, and for the people of South Carolina.
So those tax hikes that Tim Scott wants us to run from in horror are actually the fuel that the high earners need to give back to create those good government jobs. That will begin to create the upward spiral that has been stalled by Tea Party fanatics like Scott.
Bobbie Rose is the woman who will fight to get the government working for us again. Teachers, police, firefighters, roads and bridges, schools, power grids, public transportation; this is what we need here in South Carolina to get us growing again.
We need to say no to the message of fearmongering that Representative Tim Scott sends us, and we need to let Bobbie Rose truly bring jobs back to South Carolina.
Visit Bobbie at: bobbierose.us and find out how you can help!
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