By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Mention the word “Confederate” these days and you sound like you’re itching for an argument. It shouldn’t be that way.
For months across the South, there have been calls to remove Confederate monuments or to rename buildings or streets honoring long dead Confederate soldiers. At the same time, others have said to leave the statues and names alone.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | State lawmakers have the power to alter the way the legislature works to make it more representative of all South Carolina and, in turn, boost the potential for compromise and better outcomes for taxpayers.
But to do so, they’ll have to do something that’s very hard – hold their egos and political futures in check by redrawing district lines that are more competitive and less self-serving.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The passenger window was cracked about two inches on a hazy Charleston morning. It wasn’t too hot yet, but the mercury was already 80 degrees.
A little white lap dog panted as it sat on the front seat of the late-model Volvo SUV with Virginia plates. Where was the owner, I wondered. Why is the dog in the car?
Also: An excerpt from a column about S.C.’s “policy Einsteins”
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Ten years ago, South Carolina was littered with real-life hate groups – 43, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama. These days, the number is down to a dozen.
At one point, South Carolina had the highest per capita number of hate groups in the United States, according to Heidi Beirich, intelligence policy director at the Center.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | After mentioning the lieutenant governor was probably going to jump into the 2018 race for governor, the guy – a well-educated professional with at least two college degrees – asked, “Who’s the lieutenant governor?”
“Kevin Bryant,” I replied.
“Then who’s the governor?” he asked.
“Henry McMaster.”
“O.K. I’ve heard of him.”
Therein lies the challenge for the growing field of Republicans with gubernatorial aspirations: McMaster, while not brimming with strength, has buckets of name recognition earned from three decades in state politics, including eight years as attorney general, eight years as head of the state GOP, and statewide campaigns for U.S. Senate, lieutenant governor and governor.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | In today’s media-saturated culture that focuses on appealing to individuals through greed and ego, the notion of “common good” may seem as charming and antiquated as the horse and buggy.
It is, however, fundamental to our nation, as highlighted in preamble of the U.S. Constitution, which listed our values in forming a more perfect union: to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
“Welfare” in this case doesn’t mean handouts by the government to people who are down on their luck. It means people in towns and villages across the country working together to accomplish common goals, or goods, to make their areas better for all.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Are congressional Republicans in Washington reaching a tipping point over the continuing political theater and water-tortured presidency of Donald Trump?
If recent public comments by prominent South Carolina Republicans are any indication of the diminishing stature and respect in which Trump is held in Washington, then the president should be worried. Despite his party’s control of Congress, the hyper-sensitive, Twitter-impaired Trump can’t seem to climb out of a Washington swamp of his own making to be a player in promoting his agenda. For the first time in my lifetime, the president seems like a B-team sideline player watching a game being played on a muddy field in the rain. None of it is pretty.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Summer’s bounty of everything from juicy red tomatoes to eggplants, squashes and corn fill farm stands and grocery stores across the state. At this time of year, you’ve never seen so much good fresh food.
But its availability belies a cold, hard fact: South Carolina is hungry despite decades of food assistance programs. But without them, things would be way, way worse.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | With all of the big news in late June about $1 billion in new foreign investment in South Carolina, it’s time for the state to pay more attention to the little guy and small businesses.
The new state budget includes $40 million as a “closing fund” to seal deals with big new companies such as Samsung, which announced a $380 million investment this week in Newberry County that will create 950 new jobs. Also in recent days, BMW announced it would invest $600 million more in its Upstate car plant, which will add 1,000 more jobs by 2021.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Boy, listening to the talking heads and sputtering pundits, you’d almost think the world was ending for Democrats after narrow losses in two special U.S. House elections in South Carolina and Georgia.
But the world’s not ending. In fact, Republicans should be a little worried.
Yes, the Democrats lost again. But they lost in safe, strong GOP districts – contests for which most people never thought Democrats could get so close.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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