Charleston Currents – Andy Brack

Andy Brack

BRACK: On Sanford, unemployment, airport parking, bike lane and Trump

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A bunch of headlines — some good, some not — scream out for some kind of commentary, so let’s dive right in.

Our congressman, Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, offered a self-serving opinion piece/lecture of Aug. 15 in The New York Times that urged his party’s presidential standard bearer, Donald Trump, to release his federal income tax returns.

He’s right, particularly to suggest that Trump’s “obstinacy” in releasing returns would have dramatic impacts in down-ballot elections and in future elections because others wouldn’t feel they had to be as transparent as candidates in the past.

by Andy Brack · 08/22/2016 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views

Winter, center, at a Mississippi church service. Images courtesy of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation.

BRACK: We need more inspirational leaders like William Winter

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Whenever there’s a letter or card in the mail from Mississippi, it’s bound to be inspirational. And it’s bound to be from a guy you might not have heard of but should know more about.

Meet former Mississippi Gov. William F. Winter, a public sector healer whose decency, goodness and vision for a better South gently motivates people to be kinder and more accepting of each other.

by Andy Brack · 08/15/2016 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Red or blue? How will S.C. vote in the fall?

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Improbable as it may seem, there’s a slim chance South Carolina could vote blue in November and send its nine electoral votes to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

There’s no way we could ever have written that sentence a year ago — heck, even two months ago. But with the campaign of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in a political free fall of biblical proportions, anything seems possible as moderate Republicans and independents are finding it harder to stomach Trump’s hubris, arrogance and fear-mongering.

by Andy Brack · 08/08/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Sales tax holiday gimmick is here again

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Pens, pencils and paper. Blankets, bed spreads and shower curtains. Adult diapers, bonnets, bridal gowns, corsets, costumes, earmuffs, ice skates, ski boots and tuxedos.

All are among the 100-plus exempt items that can be purchased Aug. 5-7 without paying the 6 percent state sales tax during South Carolina’s 17th sales tax holiday. Consumers will save an estimated $2.25 million in the state tax plus any local sales tax that may apply.

by Andy Brack · 08/01/2016 · 2 comments · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Trump’s rise rooted in S.C. politics

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Turn the pages of South Carolina history to about 50 years ago if you want to better understand the rise of Donald Trump, the current GOP presidential candidate who is fueling rage across America.

Back in 1968, America was changing. African Americans, long disenfranchised across the South, had won major civil rights victories. They were voting, going to integrated schools and starting to move into “white” neighborhoods. It was a big change for the white South.

A key Republican Party strategist at the time, Harry S. Dent Sr. from South Carolina, recognized how the political playing field was shifting and translated it for impact. He became a major architect of Republican Richard Nixon’s so-called “Southern strategy,” which successfully sought to win white votes in the solid Democratic South by appealing to fears and prejudices of white Southern voters upset by changes caused by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

by Andy Brack · 07/25/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: The recoil of hope

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Some of the most welcoming places I’ve ever been are Southern black churches on Sunday mornings — halls of worship filled with bright eyes, toothy smiles and genuine warmth.

They have been places where the bonds of close-knit communities seem tangible, where voices lift to shake rafters and where a spirit of togetherness provides palpable strength to those in the room.

by Andy Brack · 07/17/2016 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: South Carolina played critical role in American independence

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | While many visitors to South Carolina focus on its part in the Civil War, they might be surprised to realize that without the Palmetto State’s leading role in American independence, our nation might not have been formed at all.

Not only was South Carolina home to the first major patriot victory on June 28, 1776 at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, but South Carolina had more battles and skirmishes during the Revolutionary War — some 254 engagements — than any other state. From a tactical standpoint, all of those conflicts had a draining impact on the patriots’ foes, the British. They were forced to battle on two fronts — the South and the North — which extended supply lines and sapped strength.

by Andy Brack · 07/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Start now to fix gerrymandering’s ills

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A visitor argued during breakfast this week about how politics could change dramatically in the South if progressive politicians spread messages of economic populism to communicate how the current system is stacked against them.

Won’t work, I explained, until South Carolina and neighboring states deal with the scourge of gerrymandering — the intentional manipulation of electoral district lines for political advantage.

by Andy Brack · 06/27/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: The time to do nothing on guns has passed

By Andy Brack | The glut of guns solely made for killing people — handguns and assault rifles — is changing America into a country where fearful people feel they need more and bigger guns to protect themselves. They respond to patronizing rhetoric from groups like the National Rifle Association who taunt that the federal government is going to take away people’s guns. Throughout the seven years of President Obama’s term, we’ve heard such chants time and time again, yet Obama hasn’t taken away guns.

by Andy Brack · 06/20/2016 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views

Dozens of bouquets lined a sidewalk last year outside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

BRACK: The remarkable story of forgiveness in Charleston

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Almost a year later, the remarkable words of family members in pain still ring in our ears.

“I forgive you,” one said in a crowded courtroom. “May God have mercy on you,” another added. “Hate won’t win,” said a third.

One after another, five people squeezed by turmoil forgave an accused killer, who stood pancake-faced in shackles in a separate room and watched his bond hearing on a television screen.

by Andy Brack · 06/13/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views