FOCUS: Visionary Whipper has made good things happen COMMENTARY, Brack: Trump on Russia makes S.C. GOP leaders squirm IN THE SPOTLIGHT: SCIWAY GOOD NEWS: New Charleston Waterfront Pass debuts WHAT WE LOVE: Tell us what you love FEEDBACK: Teaching kids to swim makes a difference MYSTERY PHOTO: Extreme close-up S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Sassafras Mountain CALENDAR, July 23+: Sales tax free weekend […]
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | In more ways than one, South Carolina’s fall gubernatorial election will hinge on age.
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who nabbed a primary runoff victory in an election much closer than expected, is 71. His Democratic opponent, longtime state Rep. James Smith of Columbia, is a generation younger at age 50.
In the months ahead, expect to hear both talking about experienced leadership, but in different ways.
IN THIS ISSUE | July 2, 2018
FOCUS, Palm: I-526 extension is a zombie highway project
COMMENTARY, Brack: Age, Trump will drive fall gubernatorial election
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Titan Termite & Pest Control
GOOD NEWS: Busy airport, teacher pay hike, book drive
WHAT WE LOVE: Tell us what you love about the Lowcountry
FEEDBACK: City on a Hill commentary draws reactions
MYSTERY PHOTO: Something is under construction, but what?
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Elmore v. Rice
CALENDAR, July 2+: Lots of activities for your Fourth of July
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | More than 100,000 South Carolinians may have bought a pig in a poke in the recent GOP primary. They voted for Greenville businessman John Warren, a political neophyte who joined the state’s gubernatorial race just a few months back and who reportedly has pumped $3 million of his own money into winning.
He is, if you didn’t know, a Marine. That’s about all we really know about him, as he repeatedly says in television ads.
The term “pig in a poke” is an English idiom from the Middle Ages, a time when meat often was scarce. Tricksters would offer suckling pig in a closed bag to customers. Many times, however, the bag contained the meat of some other animal.
IN THIS ISSUE | June 18, 2018
FOCUS, Group calls for Tuesday passage of slavery apology resolution
COMMENTARY, Brack: Is S.C. ready for a political pig in a poke?
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Charleston Gaillard Center
MONEY, Morris: Prepaid tuition 529 plans offer flexibility over 529 savings plans
WHAT WE LOVE, Burkel: Charleston brings out the best in us
FEEDBACK: On ferries, Michaux mural and governor’s race
MYSTERY PHOTO: A house that may look familiar
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Peaches, our state fruit
CALENDAR, June 18+: Portrait unveiling, jazz, yoga, book sale
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Don’t look for too many surprises Tuesday in what’s been a pretty lame set of gubernatorial primaries.
Unless something surprising happens before the June 12 Republican and Democratic primaries, incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster will lead four challengers and be forced into a runoff while Democratic state Rep. James Smith of Columbia may just muster enough votes to win the party’s nomination outright.
IN THIS ISSUE of Charleston Currents #10.31 | June 11, 2018
FOCUS, Palm: Local business leaders need to step up now
COMMENTARY, Brack: Governor’s races pit establishment versus grenade-throwers
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Morris Financial Concepts
PHOTO ESSAY, Bledsoe: Alaskan cruise
WHAT WE LOVE: Long, languid weeks of summer
FEEDBACK: On Wentworth’s authentic wisdom, ferries and bridges
MYSTERY PHOTO: A gazebo or maybe something else?
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: South Carolina’s governors
CALENDAR, June 11+: Primary elections, jazz, yoga, more
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | With the Martin Luther King holiday still fresh in our minds, it’s a good time to look at how South Carolina influenced King – and how he influenced the Palmetto State.
Many people don’t realize South Carolina provided sanctuary for King and his supporters. He used Penn Center on St. Helena Island as a retreat to think and compose. While state officials in many parts of the South interfered with King, his South Carolina base for reflection helped usher in the civil rights movement.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Gov. Henry McMaster made a strategic political decision this week. Whether it’s good or bad remains to be seen, but it certainly surprised the establishment in Columbia.
McMaster announced a political neophyte, Ohio native Pamela Evette – a Travelers Rest business executive who moved to South Carolina in 2005 – would be his running mate in next year’s gubernatorial race.
That is, if he wins the GOP party nomination. Three other political animals – Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant of Anderson, former Lt. Gov. Yancey McGill of Kingstree and former agency head Catherine Templeton of Mount Pleasant (who also has never held elected office) – want to be the Republican standard bearer at the top of the 2018 ticket.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The S.C. General Assembly is far different than 27 years ago when Operation Lost Trust blew open the cozy culture of the Statehouse with federal charges against 28 legislators and lobbyists in a cash-for-votes sting.
People went to jail. Some avoided it. Ethics rules were changed to become some of the toughest in the nation as it became virtually impossible for people to buy a cup of coffee legally for a friend in the legislature.
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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