Ballentine will not seek votes, but does not rule out run

June 29, 2007 | Filed Under Thomas Ravenel, Top Shelf News | Leave a Comment

The Shot has received a copy of A following letter sent from Representative Nathan Ballentine to members of the State House and Senate. Representative Ballentine does not rule a run for State Treasurer in the future, but he does say that he will not seek votes at this time because no office has been vacated. He says seeking votes at this time is inappropriate. One has to wonder if this is a small slap at Representative Converse Chellis who is currently seeking votes.

Here’s the letter:

Dear *—–,

First Round

June 29, 2007 | Filed Under The Shot | Leave a Comment

NEW MEDIA

THE STATE

GREENVILLE NEWS

POST & COURIER

SHJ

OTHER NEWS

2008 | REPUBLICANS

2008 | DEMOCRATS

EXCLUSIVE: Draft Katon Movement has Started

June 28, 2007 | Filed Under The Chaser, Top Shelf News | 19 Comments

We have heard from multiple sources that high level state and national Republican leaders are currently in the process of recruiting SCGOP Chairman Katon Dawson to run against Sen. Lindsey Graham in next year’s Republican Primary.

Many of these leaders are currently unhappy with Sen. Graham’s stances on several key issues including immigration. Most of these same people were pinning their hopes on State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, but after he was recently indicated on cocaine charges they began to search for a new candidate. It now appears that candidate is Katon Dawson.

Katon is extremely popular with the party’s base. His successful efforts to turnaround the SCGOP’s debt left behind by the poor management of Henry McMaster along with his recent well publicized policy positions has turned him into a favorite among the party faithful. Dawson would not have to give up his chairmanship if he ran against Graham, which would allow him to garner the necessary level of earned media most fringe candidates would struggle to get.

More to come soon…..

Graham’s loss makes DeMint a hero

June 28, 2007 | Filed Under State Politics, The Chaser | 7 Comments

Listen, we like Senator Lindsey Graham and we’ve always been very kind to him on our site. Senator Graham votes with his heart and works tirelessly for South Carolina. His back story is impressive – a young boy who came from nothing becomes a United States Senator. Only a good man and a hard worker could accomplish the things Senator Graham has accomplished. And sometimes to his detriment, Senator Graham votes for what he thinks is right…and what we think is wrong.

Senator Graham worked hard for the immigration bill and his good friend John McCain. Luckily for us, Graham couldn’t pull it off and John McCain lost his dangerous game of presidential Russian roulette…a shot his campaign won’t survive.

While Graham watches his friend’s campaign die he must come back home to rebuild his own popularity. His biggest problem…he must now do so in the shadows of the Republican Party’s new hero – Senator Jim DeMint.

A consistent conservative, Jim DeMint has become an outspoken leader on the Hill. He made national news earlier this year for leading a movement to put sunshine on the earmarking process. Fighting projects like the Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere catapulted DeMint to the chairmanship of the Senate Steering Committee where he now leads the creation of conservative policy in the Senate.

Today South Carolina should be proud that we have two United States Senators who fight for what they believe in. Although they may be on opposing sides, our two Senators do what they think is right for South Carolina and the United States of America.

Unfortunately for Graham, his loss has made DeMint a hero and he will be ridiculed by many while watching his colleague glorified. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on Graham just yet. Graham went after Bill Clinton hard…and it made us proud. We are certain he will make us proud again. Until then, we thank God for Jim DeMint’s conservative leadership in the fight against this horrible amnesty bill.

Senator DeMint – you done good sir.

Palmetto Scoop in Hot Water over DeMint Articles

June 28, 2007 | Filed Under The Chaser, Top Shelf News | 5 Comments

A recent smear campaign against Sen. Jim DeMint conducted by the anonymous blog Palmetto Scoop, which is operated out of the RQ&A/McCain S.C. Headquarters, has infuriated one of the nation’s most widely read bloggers. Erick Erickson, owner and operator of Redstate.com, is outraged over the Scoop’s attempts to cast Sen. DeMint in negative light. Erickson believes this smear campaign was executed in order to damage DeMint’s credibility on the issue of immigration. Sen. DeMint has been opposed to the Senate immigration bill since its introduction, which failed today by a vote of 43-56.

Erickson had this to say about the attacks:

By the way, it should be noted that Senator DeMint has been repeated attacked by anonymous folks lately. These folks, we can tell, have close connections to both Lindsey Graham and John McCain. That’s troubling and we should rally behind Senator DeMint.

In another post Erickson added:

Villains have to include John McCain and Lindsey Graham for their tag team efforts in South Carolina to personally smear Jim DeMint. They can deny it, but lots of us know what happened and shame on them.

The attacks Erickson is referring to comes in the form of a several blog entries on the Palmetto Scoop, and one in particular that was posted yesterday. The piece was titled “DeMint has gone too far: Senator seeks to undercut President Bush”

In the article the Scoop compares Sen. DeMint to Rev. Al Sharpton (Editor’s Note: In the original post it was spelled Shapton). The Scoop then proceeds to use backwards logic to claim that DeMint’s criticism of President Bush on the issue of immigration will endanger our troops overseas, and then calls our Senator’s actions “DeMinted” He also says that DeMint “ought to be ashamed of himself” and “He owes a lot of people, including President Bush, an apology.” In the comment section of the piece “the Editor” had this to say “This isn’t about DeMint being ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ anything. This is about a REPUBLICAN Senator acting like a spoiled, whiny DEMOCRAT”

Others are outraged as well. At the time of this posting, Palmetto Scoop’s “DeMint has gone to far” has received fifty-one comments. Most of the comments chastise the Scoop’s accusations against our state’s conservative Senator Jim DeMint.

Here are some excerpts from the comment section:

To the Editor:
You say that Jim DeMint is “acting like a spoiled, whiny DEMOCRAT”. Why, because he’s not rubber stamping this POS AMNESTY bill? I’m happy that we have at least 1 Senator here in SC that is looking out for the will of the people.

Obviously you need to go back to school for reading comprehension….DeMint didn’t ever talk about cutting anything off of the President…..he said that the Pres. went out on a limb with this legislation and that they were going to cut off that limb. In other words, for those of you who are semantically challenged, it’s like cutting out the rotten piece of an apple - get rid of the rotten legislation before it becomes law and kills us all.

-L. Tarducci

The author of this article has been out of touch with the majority of South Carolinians. We have been supportive of the decision Bush made on Iraq Pakistan and Afghanistan and South Carolinians support our troops. After these items, Bush goes down hill real fast in popularity. Senator Demint is voicing the sentiments of his constituency unlike his fellow Senator who is controlled by those politicians who are buttering their own agenda.

-Gordo

Kudos to Jim Demint. Unlike Lindsey Graham, he gets it.

-George Zimmer
How DARE the editor of this paper compare Senator DeMint to Al Sharpton? Senator DeMint, in my opinion, didn’t go far enough. This paper has no idea just how incensed a majority (yes, I’d go so far as to declare a majority) of the people in this state are with regard to President Bush and Senator Graham’s LACK of regard with respect to ‘comprehensive immigration reform’….As far as a ‘nation at war’, DeMint does no harm here. His comments are to SECURE this country’s national security, not to weaken it as the President’s (and Senator Graham’s) bill does.

-Mickgrindstone

Senator Demint is correct and should be applauded for his efforts. President Bush put himself out on that limb - a limb that should be sawed off in an effort to protect our Democracy. Proud to call Senator DeMint my Senator, ashamed to admit that Lindsey Graham is from South Carolina

-Jim Hicks

Jim DeMint is South Carolina’s only conservative Senator. Whoever wrote this post is a clueless bozo.
I’m glad to see all these folks point out that The Editor is a raving moron. Go back to your little McCain headquarters and take a chill pill. The guys over at The Shot may get annoying at times with their anti-McCain ramblings, but they are dead on about The Editor.
He is a paid McCain staffer.
GOD BLESS JIM DEMINT!!!
-Ready to rumble

First, he said that the President was out on a limb and that they would cut the tree limb. You morphed it into some threat of physical violence by cutting off the President’s leg or arm. Come on…such hyperbole. You really are stretching it. The faux moral outrage is palpable. You guys are smarter than this. You over played your hand by trying to sound like you had one foot on the ledge.

Or are you morally outraged by my suggesting that you might be thinking about suicide?

-Dane

I personally believe that the Palmetto Scoop owes a lot of people an apology, including Senator DeMint, and I think a lot of people would agree.

Immigration Bill Gets Killed (Must Read Update)

June 28, 2007 | Filed Under The Chaser, Top Shelf News | 1 Comment

As a South Carolina transplant and a native Georgian, I was glad to see that my two home state Senators, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, did an about face and voted against the immigration bill they once supported. I would also like to thank Sen. Jim DeMint for the hard work he put in to prevent this bill from passing

Another fellow Georgian, Erick Erickson of Redstate, has been leading the netroots effort to stop this poorly written piece of legislation from passing. Erickson had this to say about today’s success:

Heroes include Jim DeMint and Jeff Sessions for leading the fight against this bill.

Villains have to include John McCain and Lindsey Graham for their tag team efforts in South Carolina to personally smear Jim DeMint. They can deny it, but lots of us know what happened and shame on them.

The bill was killed on a motion to evoke cloture on debate which failed by a vote of by a vote of 46-53.

The tag team efforts Erickson is referring to were spearhead by the anonymous RQ&A/McCain blog Palmetto Scoop. More to come on this later.

UPDATE:

Sen. Jim DeMint’s Statement

“When the U.S. Senate brought the Amnesty bill back up this week, they declared war on the American people. This act created a crisis of confidence in their government. Thankfully, the American people won today,” said Senator DeMint. “This is remarkable because it shows that Americans are engaged and they care deeply about their country. They care enough for their country to get mad and to fight for it, and that’s the most important thing of all. Americans made phone calls and sent letters, and convinced the Senate to stop this bill.”

“The Senate rejected this bill and the heavy-handed tactics used to ram it through. Americans do not want more of the same – amnesty and broken promises on the border. Americans want legislation to be written in public – not in secret – and they want Congress to engage in an open and fair debate.”

“There is a better way forward without this bill. The President has said that the border security measures can be implemented over the next 18 months, and they can be done under current law. Now the Administration needs to prove it and stop holding border security hostage for amnesty.”

“Once we have secured the border and restored trust with the American people, we can begin to take additional steps.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Statement

“Several months ago, I met with President Bush at the White House to discuss our out-of-control problems with illegal immigration. He asked me if I would help him push immigration reform through Congress and I gave him my word I would. I support President Bush and admire his leadership. I will be forever grateful for his work to try and solve this difficult problem.

“President Bush and I made it clear we would not compromise on our guiding principle that securing our nation’s borders must be our first priority. Our plan made unprecedented efforts and provided over $4.4 billion in funding to secure our nation’s borders and deal with immigration in a comprehensive manner.

“The legislation first and foremost secured our border. It also established a new comprehensive employee verification system for all workers to ensure people are in the country legally and eligible to work. We were going to break the cycle of chain migration and institute a new merit-based immigration system to attract the best and brightest from around the world. And we were instituting a temporary guest worker program to meet our nation’s labor needs.

“If the bill’s failing leads to Congress finding a better solution, then the American people will have won. If the status quo and broken immigration system continue to go unaddressed, then the American people lost. I do fear our failure to act will only allow the problem of illegal immigration to grow worse and the anger felt by some Americans will grow more intense.

“I worry that local and state governments will begin to act more aggressively and create a hodge-podge of laws. While the President’s legislation was not perfect, it was honest, realistic and an improvement over current law. Secretary of Homeland Security Chertoff, who is responsible for enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, made it clear that in some cases the tools he needs to control illegal immigration are either non-existent or very weak. I’m disappointed some of the tools he wanted and desperately needed to control illegal immigration were left on the Senate floor.

“The American people have a historically low view of Congress. We seem unable to do the public’s business and find consensus on difficult issues.

“Finally, I want to say a few words about my friend and colleague Jim DeMint. We found ourselves in an unusual situation. While we usually agree, President Bush and I have very different views from Jim on the best way to address this contentious issue. Jim held firm to his beliefs and was a very strong advocate for his position.”

Sen. John McCain’s Statement

“I am disappointed that the Senate was unable to conclude its debate on comprehensive immigration reform,” the GOP presidential hopeful said in a statement. “However, the American people will not settle for the status quo – de facto amnesty and broken borders.”
“I am hopeful that we will have another chance to address this critical national security issue that affects people throughout our country,” he added. “In the meantime, we must keep working to secure our borders while we continue fighting to reform our unenforceable immigration laws.”

Mitt Romney Statement

”The immigration bill failed because the politicians in Washington are out of touch with the American people. The voice of the people is loud and clear – secure the border, enforce the law and no special deal for permanent residency or citizenship for illegals. America will always welcome legal immigration, but as a nation we also insist on the rule of law.”

Rudy Giuliani’s Statement

“Today a majority in the Senate made clear this bill shortchanged the American people by failing to end illegal immigration and failing to secure our borders. The bill did not deserve to move forward.

“As I have said before, this bill – which I believed was based more on compromise than on principle – failed to do several basic things, including: securing our borders, creating a uniform tamper-proof ID card for all foreign workers and students, establishing a single nationwide database of foreigners, and mandating the full implementation of a biometric ‘check in-check out’ system.

“The legislation was a hodgepodge at best, and I believe it would have ultimately made our country less secure.

“I urge the President to use the authority and funds at his disposal to do everything possible to end illegal immigration and secure our borders

Sen. Sam Brownback’s Statement

“I voted against the Senate immigration bill because I am not convinced it would fix our broken immigration system and it would most likely repeat the mistakes of the 1986 reform”

We will continue to update this page as we receive each press releases.

Second Round

June 28, 2007 | Filed Under The Shot | Leave a Comment

Immigration Bill sleeps with the fishes

June 28, 2007 | Filed Under The Chaser, Top Shelf News | Leave a Comment

It seems that Senator DeMint, among others were successful in killing the bill on a cloture vote late this morning. This effectively kills the bill for this session. So basically, its all over but the shouting, anger, hurt feeling, and possible political retribution. Basically all the fun stuff. Seriously though, with Congress having one of the lowest approval ratings in history, even lower than the President’s rating, is anyone surprised at the public outrage and mistrust. Is it so out of left field that the people would not trust Congress to properly handle such a massive and critical issue?

The issue of immigration should be broken down and handled in its logical parts. First, security and law enforcement, then handle the issue of employing illegals, then tackle how to handle those that are in this country. Lumping it all into 1,000 page document just plain scare the beejeezus out of us.

We said earlier that Jim DeMint was a leader on stopping the cloture vote, partly because of the video we posted earlier and also because major news outlets are saying it to:

While Menendez and a few other Democrats may oppose the bill, the main opponents have been Bush’s fellow sunbelt Republicans. GOP Sens. David Vitter of Louisiana, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama led the charge, often backed by Texan John Cornyn.

Late Wednesday, they applauded the Senate’s refusal to reject a fairly low-key amendment that, because of parliamentary rules, left leaders no choice but to halt action until today’s showdown vote.

“They tried to railroad this through today, but we derailed the train,” DeMint said. Asked if he was poised to kill the bill today, DeMint replied, “we hope to.” The bill’s bipartisan supporters, including liberals such as Kennedy and conservatives such as Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said they would push hard to survive today’s vote. But they were frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm shown by many in the president’s party.

Read about it here.

It remains to be seen what the fallout will be for Senator Graham who was quoted today in the NY Times saying:

“There’s racism in this debate,” Mr. Graham said. “Nobody likes to talk about it, but a very small percentage of people involved in this debate really have racial and bigoted remarks. The tone that we create around these debates, whether it be rhetoric in a union hall or rhetoric on talk radio, it can take people who are on the fence and push them over emotionally.”

In all fairness, he was referring to some folks who have been contacting his office. We don;t know what they said, but he should be careful. Most of the people out here in his backyard reject it because it was a bad bill and we don’t trust Congress to take on the whole enchilada at once (pun intended). Anyway, it is done for now. To be continued?