Palmetto Public Square

by Bill Connor, guest blogger
The often controversial Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston recently announced that he will run for governor in 2010 on a platform centered on bringing back video poker.

Sen. Ford has said that his gubernatorial bid would be different because he believes bringing back and taxing video poker will provide South Carolina with the money it needs to serve the state’s neediest while keeping taxes low.

Sen. Ford claims video poker will solve South Carolina’s woeful financial situation, generating $750 million by taxing the industry that was outlawed here nearly a decade ago. After reviewing Sen. Ford’s appeal for video poker, I had to ask myself: How can a State Senator be so passionate about a quick, yet ultimately detrimental, short-term gimmick? Leadership means looking beyond the “now” of the superficial gains to the “future” of second and third order effects. This includes economic leadership. 

As Henry Hazlitt put it best: “The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy.”

A true leader will not stay lost in a forest, looking to cut down the next tree to claim “progress.” A true leader climbs a tree to see the whole forest, develops a vision for getting out, and leads people toward that long-term vision. 

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“I am deeply disappointed in the decision to rescind the policy forbidding organizations from using federal funding to perform or promote abortions.  These organizations are not accountable to the American people, and yet they will have the authority to use taxpayer dollars for this type of activity.  Every human life is precious, and we should be doing all we can to protect and defend it.”

-U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC, 2nd District)

Read more…

Several weeks ago I reported on some of the Bad and Ugly legislation that had been introduced for the new legislative session that began January 13. I promised at that time that I would shortly provide some Good News.

Then, two of the Good pieces of legislation started to move and we needed your help with them:

Read more…

Thanks to the strong leadership of Rep. Greg Delleney (Chester) the bill changing South Carolina’s abortion reflection period from ONE HOUR to TWENTY-FOUR HOURS cleared an important hurdle yesterday.

After an hour or so of debate, the SC House Judiciary Committee passed H.3245 on a voice vote without amendment.

The debate was not without fireworks, as freshman pro-life Rep. Wendy Nanney (Greenville) stood tall for the bill in the face of cross-examination by pro-abortion Rep. Todd Rutherford (Richland).

The legislation now moves to the House floor, where it will be up for a vote soon.

Please watch for instructions from Palmetto Family Alliance on how you can help with that key roll call.

If you made a call or sent an email, thank you! If you didn’t, we will need you on the next vote.

Note: At ONE HOUR, South Carolina’s reflection period is the shortest in the country among states with waiting periods. TWENTY-FOUR hours is the national standard.

A quick review of the prefile list for 2009 reveals some great ideas…and some really poor ones.

Part I: The Bad

Every other year about this time, legislators “prefile” bills. That means they put a few ideas in the hopper in advance of the legislature’s actual meeting so they will have some work to do the first few weeks of the session.

A Senator from Charleston gets the prize this year for really bad proposals. His list of prefiles reads like a propaganda tract for those who want to radically change South Carolina’s family friendly culture.

South Carolina would be a very different place if the Senator from District 42 were to get his way:

• People of the same gender would be getting married (“civil unions”);
• Hotels, hospitals and employers would be giving special protection based on a person’s “actual or perceived” sexual identity;
  video poker would back on every corner;
• Riverboat casinos would operate along the coast; and
• Local governments would be prevented from restricting Sunday alcohol sales.

You can be assured that Palmetto Family Council and our legislative action arm, Palmetto Family Alliance will be watching these bills closely.

If any of this legislation shows any sign of life at all, we will contact you immediately with an email like the one at the top of this post called “Call to Action.” Please watch for it.

Together, we can keep South Carolina the best place in the world to live and raise a family!

P.S. To stand with us through your financial partnership as we continue the legislative battle for truth, you can make a donation HERE.

Note: To be fair, in the Senator’s world there would also be no baggy pants, no public profanity, sex offenders would be monitored via GPS, and car title lending would be regulated. Our analysis here is on the preponderance of his oeuvre.

The days immediately following Christmas are generally a contemplative time. As we leave the tinsel and lights behind and face the New Year, it is a time for both recovery and preparation.

Apparently, this is not only the case for the Christian, but for the unbeliever as well.

In two unlikely articles published last week, two self-described atheists took time to consider the positive impact that a belief in God has upon the world.

In one of the articles, John Tierney of the New York Times asks:

If I’m serious about keeping my New Year’s resolutions in 2009, should I add another one? Should the to-do list include, “Start going to church”?

He follows this up with:

This is an awkward question for a heathen to contemplate, but I felt obliged to raise it with Michael McCullough after reading his report in the upcoming issue of the Psychological Bulletin. He and a fellow psychologist at the University of Miami, Brian Willoughby, have reviewed eight decades of research and concluded that religious belief and piety promote self-control.

The article goes on to explain that researchers around the world have repeatedly found that devoutly religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages and are generally happier.

Read more…

The Blessing of Morning Prayer

“From the unity it has attained the whole day takes its order and discipline. This unity must be sought and found in morning prayer and will prove itself in work. Prayer in the early morning is crucial for the whole day. Wasted time of which we are ashamed, temptations to which we succumb, feebleness and lethargy at work, disorder and indiscipline in our thoughts and in our intercourse with other people - these more often than not have their cause in the neglect of morning prayer.

The ordering and arrangement of our time will be more positive when it is the outcome of prayer. Temptations which the working day brings with it will be conquered if there has been a real encounter with God. Decisions demanded by our work will come more easily and readily when they are made not in the fear of men but simply before the face of God. “And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23). Even mechanical tasks will be carried out with greater patience, when they are recognised as tasks laid on us by God. Increased energy for work will be ours when we have asked God to give us today the strength our work requires.”

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Incumbent Senator Ralph Anderson (D-Greenville), the deciding vote to kill the ill-fated Catawba Indian Casino two years ago, has been re-nominated and is expected to win against token Republican opposition in November.

Congratulations Senator on defeating three challengers!

The DUI charge against Senator Randy Scott (R-Dorchester) clearly hurt his re-election chances.

This Senate seat continues to be a revolving door as Mike Rose defeats Randy Scott who defeated Bill Branton who defeated Mike Rose.

Mike Rose 52%
Randy Scott (i) 48%

Mark Bennett, the Republican nominee for SC Senate District 17 (Chester et al.) may not have a chance against Creighton Coleman in the General Election, that it yet to be determined.

But it is good in any event to see a conservative Republican defeat a liberal one.

Mark Bennett / 631 votes / 59% [C]
Joanie Winters / 444 votes / 41% [L]