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First of all, I apologize for the title pun, but the race is almost over, and somebody had to do it.

Secondly, I know we are all election-weary.  So I admit, I attended the Tempel - McCoy Forum last night thankful that it was putting us all one step closer to that #!@&! election.

I've been writing about SC House 115 incumbent Peter McCoy for a few weeks now, but have never seen the man; after all, he was unable to drive all the way to Johns Island to attend the first Forum.  Let me admit that I had a bad attitude going in, but then let me add about the following, as Dave Barry would say, "I am not making this up."

Peter McCoy began his introductory statement by striding around the podium and to the front of the room, where he paced back and forth, much like a young Perry Mason, the better to impress the jury with his opening arguments.  Because he is a very young man, and since his idol, Newt Gingrich, lost the bid for the Republican nomination, he has shorn his whiskers, he lacked the presence that he seemed to so desire.

And when he addressed a particular friend in the audience to indicate to all that he knows that Joe or Ted or whoever he was wants to be able to choose where his children go to school, he was trying way to hard to mimic the now popular use by candidates of real people to seem to be in touch.

That said, I'd like to talk about a couple of the issues.

Peter McCoy stated that he is a proud recipient of the Peas and Carrots Award for both years that he was a legislator.  Hrmph.  Call me a cynic, but I am not impressed by a cute name.  So I did a little research and was taken aback to learn that The Citizens for Sound Conservation, who sponsor the award, is actually a pro-business, pro-drilling, anti-environmental organization!  Imagine that.  Along the way, I found a great website called Barbecue & Politics, which sadly exists no longer, but their take on this fake environmental group is well worth the read.

Let's talk a little about roads, bridges, traffic and 526.

You might wonder, as did I, why in two years the only contribution McCoy has made to the traffic situation on James Island is to add those big, ugly and no doubt expensive street signs -- you know, the ones that tell you what street you're approaching before you get there, and those humungous stop signs and the like -- to nearly every intersection.  Because, for example, you may be driving up Camp Road approaching Folly, like you do every day, and forget that it's Folly Road, or that there is a light ahead.

Well, this is just my opinion, but I believe that the reason all those simple solutions to traffic congestion, like adding a right-turn lane at a traffic light, didn't get done on Peter's watch is because they would improve traffic.

Confused?  Hear me out.

If traffic improves, then the residents will be less likely to accept the need for the 526 extension.  After all, why destroy part of James Island County Park if a new street light or a turn lane eases traffic congestion?  It wasn't discussed last night, but let me guess that Peter McCoy has also not supported improved public transportation, no doubt because of the cost and despite the fact that it would ease traffic and help those who cannot afford the cost of a car or the high price of gas.

Peter McCoy, also a proud friend of big business as well as peas and carrots (am I being redundant here?) totally supports Route 526, coming to your town soon if McCoy is re-elected.

Speaking of big business, McCoy last night brought up his support for the new Michelin Tire plant that would bring hundreds of new jobs upstate.  Mm-hm.  What he failed to mention, besides the fact that these would be lower-paying manufacturing jobs and that they would be upstate, is that once again he and fellow legislators have given away the store, or, to be precise, $9.1 million worth of incentives.  That's our tax dollars at work, folks, going to those big guys at Michelin so that they can get cheap labor in South Carolina.

By the way, Peter was insulted when Tempel questioned his part in the bizarre redistricting lines that have cut out parts of James Island and added the way-far-away lands of Kiawah and Seabrook to SC House 115.  How could she imply that he had anything to do with that?  After all, there were forums, and committees, and he is just one person.

The first absurd thing about the protestation is this:

Try to imagine the folks at Kiawah and Seabrook insisting that the best way they could be represented would be to be grouped with two towns that are 40 minutes away.

And if that sounds ridiculous, ask yourself why your representative would not have fought for lines that brought together a community, instead of isolating groups of constituents.

I hate to say it, because I like all y'all from Kiawah and Seabrook, but it occurs to me that cutting out a couple of African-American neighborhoods and adding in a couple of well-to-do areas, no matter where they are, might have seemed like good business to Peter McCoy.

Not that he was able to take on this bizarre redistricting  scheme all by himself.  I am sure he had help from others in his corrupt House of Representatives.

No, not his House of Representatives.  These guys may think it belongs to them, but it is our House of Representatives.

That's why we need to get out and vote for Carol Tempel on November 6.  We need a candidate who will not be controlled by big business.  $9.1 million to Michelin while teachers have been furloughed?  Cut a highway through our County Park?  It may be peas and carrots to Peter McCoy, but for the rest of us it's the quality of our life.

That's why you don't need to get out and vote for Carol Tempel on November 6.  

You need to get yourself and a friend and a neighbor and a co-worker out to vote.  And I know you know someone who is planning on voting up until November 6 when they decide it's probably not that important so they'll just skip it.

It is that important.  Our children, our parks, our roads, and yes, our jobs, are at stake.  So let's get out and support Carol Tempel on November 6.

Carol Tempel
Petition Candidate
SC House 115

 
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Our old friend, Peter McCoy, Republican and friend of the Charleston Tea Party, has been revving up for Halloween early by trying to scare voters.

Actually, he's not saying it himself, because he is a nice guy, and he knows well enough that here in the Lowcountry attacking your opponent is just not the polite thing to do.

So Webmaster at Charleston GOP did McCoy's dirty work.  Or he thinks he did.

This anonymous writer described Peter's opponent, Carol Tempel as (I kid you not):  "...the most liberal candidate for office in the state..." and sends out a challenge to GOP faithful:

All you Conservatives out there need to send questions to [email protected] to ensure that the debate remains on the issues that matter to our state and highlights the major differences between the very conservative McCoy and the very liberal Tempel.

It appears that it's time for the grown-ups in the room to take this silliness down a notch or two.  I can't imagine what the "most liberal" candidate in the state would be like, but she sure isn't someone who is going to come along and snatch your children's education dollars out from under them, for example, by trying to sell you parents a tax deduction that would give you $280 to fund your kids' education while at the same time weakening our public schools.

The "most liberal candidate in the state" wouldn't plan on cutting budgets for teachers, fire fighters and police in order to line the pockets of big corporate interests here in South Carolina.  And she would not support privatizing important government services, so that your taxes are paying for corporations to make profits first, and for those important services, second.

Carol Tempel may not be the "most liberal candidate in the state", but she knows that only by investing in the education of all South Carolina's children will we be able to grow the leaders of tomorrow.  Good education leads to good jobs.  Children who go to good schools, and know that they will be able to go to good colleges or career training programs, will have the confidence to be good citizens.

The poverty and unemployment that continues to wreak havoc on this state can only be turned around by wise investment of our citizens' tax dollars, including making the best use of our federal tax dollars.

I don't really think you would call someone a conservative who would spend money poorly, by protecting the wealth of some, and leaving the rest to fend for themselves.  This path leads to increased dropout rates and crime, greater rates of teen pregnancy, and more lives of poverty and hopelessness.  For those who have worked hard throughout their lives, but have hit a rough patch, McCoy would not offer a safety net, even one that our hard work and tax dollars should have ensured us.

Keeping the money flowing upward is the real scary prospect.  It hasn't worked up till now, and it won't ever work.  Carol Tempel will fight for equal opportunity, so that South Carolina can begin a true and long overdue renewal.

So by all means, all y'all, liberal, conservative and anywhere in between, bring your hard questions to the debate.  Carol Tempel would love to answer those questions.  She is not as scared of having a real exchange of ideas as her opponent appears to be.

The debate will be on Thursday, October 25th, from 7-8, at the James Island Town Hall.

Carol Tempel
Petition Candidate
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.
 
Monday, October 1
7:00 p.m.
at
Berkeley Electric Co-op
3351 Maybank Highway
Johns Island
Here's why it's important --


Carol Tempel needs your support.  She needs to have us all stand behind her on Monday, October 1, when she answers questions about the issues that are important to residents of SC House District 115, Charleston, and the entire state.


Her opponent has declined this important invitation to speak, and to hear the concerns of the voters.


So be there, and bring your family, friends and neighbors.  This is an opportunity to get to know Carol.  And it's an opportunity for those of us who know her, and know how important her candidacy is to us, to show her we're behind her.

Carol Temple
Petition Candidate
SC House 115

 
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Carol Tempel, who is running as a Petition Candidate for SC House 115, wants to hear your opinions.  She also wants you to know where she stands on issues like education, jobs, social security, health care, and public safety.  That is why she will be appearing at a Candidate Forum on Monday, October 1.

Sadly, her opponent, Peter McCoy, who has held the seat for two years, has turned down the invitation to appear at this event.  Perhaps he doesn't think voters need to know where he stands.  Maybe he would like to avoid defending his voting record of the past two years.

Apparently, he has excused himself from this event stating that the location, the Berkeley County Electric Co-op at 3351 Maybank Highway on Johns Island is not home to his constituents.  In fact, it is just about halfway between the voters on Kiawah and Seabrook Islands and those on James Island -- equally convenient to both.

So Carol has decided to accept the invitation of the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women to tell voters about herself.

We need to get out on Monday and show our support for this great candidate.  Bring family, friends and neighbors out to meet Carol and hear her views.  Let's show her we care about our representation in Columbia as much as she does!

And as for Peter McCoy, let's just assume that he will be represented at this forum, too...

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by jodimullenfondell.blogspot.com
Tempel Town Hall Meeting
Monday, October 1,  7 :00  -  8:00 pm 
Berkeley County Electric Co-Op
3351  Maybank Highway on Johns  Island, SC
next to the fire station