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Electorate is impatient, malleable … or not

That something odd is going on with the South Carolina electorate isn’t a controversial statement. But trying to peg what actually is happening is more difficult.

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Let’s learn from the Civil War to move forward

APRIL 9, 2010 -- One hundred and forty nine years ago on Monday, Confederate troops bombarded Fort Sumter to open a national gash that oozed for more than a century. By the time the bloodiest of American wars ended in 1865, more than 662,000 Americans lay dead. While the total number of Union troops killed was greater (364,511), the South’s wound cut deeper because the estimated 258,000 Confederate dead came from a smaller regional population. One in four white Southern males between the age of 15 and 40 died in “The Lost Cause.”

Asides

• NEW INSIDERADVANTAGE/STATEHOUSE REPORT POLL: Despite allegations that GOP Rep. Nikki Haley had an extramarital affair with a blogger, she commands a 10-point lead over her three male challengers in the Republican race for governor.  State Sen. Vincent Sheheen of Camden has a 9-point lead over state Superintendent Jim Rex in the Democratic primary race.  To look at the full results of the special poll, visit StatehouseReport.com.  (If you like what you see, sign up for free.) #
• YUCK:  Guess you could say that I didn't like the new Spoleto poster.  (See new column at LikeTheDew.com).  Oh well, neither did many others.  About the best thing that can be said for it is that it has got people talking about the Festival ... and maybe that's the point.  But the poster is gross. #
• ON THE RADIO:  "The Big Picture" on SCETV Radio interviewed me about what was going on with the state Democratic gubernatorial candidates.  In a month, voters will go to the polls to elect the party's nominee.  Click this link to listen to the radio audio (it can be found around the 12:36 minute mark of the broadcast.) #
• IN STATE PAPERS:  In an editorial roundup that was published in papers across the state, the Florence Morning News mentioned my recent column that was a letter to the governor to not veto an approved cigarette tax:  "As state political analyst Andy Brack said, the "user fee" on smokers would generate monies to help pay down some of the high costs they generate in the health care system. Raising the cigarette tax by 50 cents will generate about $120 million in revenue that will help bring in another $360 million in federal matching monies to help defray health care increases and keep Medicaid programs going.  Read more in the Charlotte Observer. #
• VIGOROUS ELECTIONS:  The State newspaper interviewed me on what was going on with the state Democratic Party for a story that appeared on April 27.  More than anything, I noted that Democrats needed to work hard to create more competitive districts in reapportionment after the 2010 Census:  "You want a vigorous two-party system to encourage gentlemanly debate about issues," said Andy Brack, publisher of statehousereport.com, who unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat in the 2000 1st congressional district race. "The best ideas often come out of the compromise. That's what the framers of the Constitution had in mind."  More. #