McClatchy DC Logo

Commentary: Political lunacy makes S.C. tough to love | McClatchy Washington Bureau

×
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Subscriber Services

    • All White House
    • Russia
    • All Congress
    • Budget
    • All Justice
    • Supreme Court
    • DOJ
    • Criminal Justice
    • All Elections
    • Campaigns
    • Midterms
    • The Influencer Series
    • All Policy
    • National Security
    • Guantanamo
    • Environment
    • Climate
    • Energy
    • Water Rights
    • Guns
    • Poverty
    • Health Care
    • Immigration
    • Trade
    • Civil Rights
    • Agriculture
    • Technology
    • Cybersecurity
    • All Nation & World
    • National
    • Regional
    • The East
    • The West
    • The Midwest
    • The South
    • World
    • Diplomacy
    • Latin America
    • Investigations
  • Podcasts
    • All Opinion
    • Political Cartoons

  • Our Newsrooms

Opinion

Commentary: Political lunacy makes S.C. tough to love

Tommy Tomlinson - The Charlotte Observer

    ORDER REPRINT →

June 08, 2010 01:26 PM

So let's pretend for a second. Go back to 1861, when Confederate forces fired on the Union base at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. As you know, those became the first shots of the Civil War.

Let's say, though, that the Union replied by drawing a line around South Carolina and saying: We'll fight for the rest of the South, but, boys, you can have this part.

The question is this: Would South Carolina politics be any nuttier than it is now?

You should know that the person who came up with this idea is my editor, who has lived in the Palmetto State for many years. I've lived in South Carolina myself — two different times — and I've got kinfolk around the state. I love the place. But man, sometimes it makes itself hard to love.

SIGN UP

If you plan to vote in Tuesday's primary for governor, be sure to arrive at the polling place with steel-toed boots and a jug of Purell.

Two S.C. political operatives have announced that they've had affairs with Republican front-runner Nikki Haley, who is married with two kids. One operative, Larry Marchant, happened to be a consultant for the campaign of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who's running against Haley. Marchant resigned from Bauer's campaign. Makes sense. His work is done here.

Haley is also the daughter of immigrants from India, which is where another Bauer supporter — state Sen. Jake Knotts — comes in. Knotts, speaking on an Internet talk show, called her a "raghead." (He called President Barack Obama the same thing, completing an Idiot's Daily Double.)

This is probably a good place to note that Haley is a Clemson graduate, on the board of Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington, and married to a member of the National Guard.

When you call a person like that a "raghead," you have three real options:

A. Claim that you downed 17 Jager bombs before going on the air.

B. Admit that you're so dumb, your aides tap you on the shoulder to remind you to breathe.

C. Apologize so profusely that BP ends up hiring you as a company spokesman.

To read the complete column, visit www.charlotteobserver.com.

  Comments  

Videos

“It’s not mine,” Pompeo says of New York Times op-ed

Trump and Putin shake hands at G20 Summit

View More Video

Trending Stories

Cell signal puts Cohen outside Prague around time of purported Russian meeting

December 27, 2018 10:36 AM

Ted Cruz’s anti-Obamacare crusade continues with few allies

December 24, 2018 10:33 AM

With no agreement on wall, partial federal shutdown likely to continue until 2019

December 21, 2018 03:02 PM

Sources: Mueller has evidence Cohen was in Prague in 2016, confirming part of dossier

April 13, 2018 06:08 PM

California Republicans fear even bigger trouble ahead for their wounded party

December 27, 2018 09:37 AM

Read Next

This is not what Vladimir Putin wanted for Christmas

Opinion

This is not what Vladimir Putin wanted for Christmas

By Markos Kounalakis

    ORDER REPRINT →

December 20, 2018 05:12 PM

Orthodox Christian religious leaders worldwide are weakening an important institution that gave the Russian president outsize power and legitimacy.

KEEP READING

MORE OPINION

The solution to the juvenile delinquency problem in our nation’s politics

Opinion

The solution to the juvenile delinquency problem in our nation’s politics

December 18, 2018 06:00 AM
High-flying U.S. car execs often crash when when they run into foreign laws

Opinion

High-flying U.S. car execs often crash when when they run into foreign laws

December 13, 2018 06:09 PM
Putin wants to divide the West. Can Trump thwart his plan?

Opinion

Putin wants to divide the West. Can Trump thwart his plan?

December 11, 2018 06:00 AM
George H.W. Bush, Pearl Harbor and America’s other fallen

Opinion

George H.W. Bush, Pearl Harbor and America’s other fallen

December 07, 2018 03:42 AM
George H.W. Bush’s secret legacy: his little-known kind gestures to many

Opinion

George H.W. Bush’s secret legacy: his little-known kind gestures to many

December 04, 2018 06:00 AM
Nicaragua’s ‘House of Cards’ stars another corrupt and powerful couple

Opinion

Nicaragua’s ‘House of Cards’ stars another corrupt and powerful couple

November 29, 2018 07:50 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

McClatchy Washington Bureau App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Newsletters
Learn More
  • Customer Service
  • Securely Share News Tips
  • Contact Us
Advertising
  • Advertise With Us
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story