(Ex Governor) Beasley bid for Senate expected (Beasley WILL Run For Hollings' Seat!)

Charlotte Observer ^ | Jan. 14, 2004 | HENRY EICHEL

[Moose4]

Ping. Mr. David "Profiles in Spinelessness" Weaseley is getting ready to run...

}:-)4

[Moose4]

Maybe, but probably not. The Rats OWN the black vote in South Carolina, lock, stock, and bullwhip. Beasley got exactly zero political capital in the 1998 governor's race for his flag stand. Instead, his conservative flag-supporting base, and people who didn't like the flip-flop, deserted him and either stayed home or went third-party (as did I). That handed the race to a weak Democrat candidate, Jim Hodges.

Beasley decided to go along with the original request of the NAACP to pull the flag off the top of the Statehouse dome and move it to the Confederate Soldiers' Monument on the Statehouse grounds. That's fine and dandy. (If he'd come out for that in the first place, I wouldn't have had a problem with it personally--it's the sudden finger-in-the-wind flipflop that turned me off.) As soon as he said he'd go along with that, the black leadership down here started screaming that that wasn't good enough, the flag at a soldiers' memorial was not appropriate and it had to be banished from the Statehouse grounds *entirely*, and because he didn't support that, Beasley was still an evil white racist Republican. Uncle Jim Hodges got 90%+ of the black vote, same as always, and ol' Dave lost the votes of hardcore flag supporters.

Net result: Weaseley flip-flopped himself into unemployment.

He will get no residual affection from blacks in SC for his flag stand. None. Jim Hodges got all the credit for getting the flag off the dome, because it came down during his term in office. And to the race pimps, the fact that it flies over a monument to tens of thousands of dead Confederate soldiers means that there *was* no "brave stand," to them it's still unfinished business.

Beasley may win, and I may hold my nose and vote for him. But I'll do it reluctantly, and only after hearing if he's learned anything about really "taking a stand" from his 1998 disaster.

}:-)4

[republicanwizard]

Well, I might imply that your ancestors might have been confederate veterans. As a Pennsylvanian, I have quite a different opinion, but this is a political, not a historical discussion.

Was there anything else Beasley did wrong? As late as the summer of 1998, I recall he was regarded as safe.

[Moose4]

I don't know if my ancestors were Confederate veterans or not, actually. I'd like to think they were. No, I grew up 25 miles from Appomattox, so that's colored my views on things a bit. :)

I moved to South Carolina in mid-1997, so I was only here for the last year and a half of his governorship. I don't know that much about the guy other than (a) his flag reversal that cost him a second term, and (b) the fact that for some reason, that I can't place, he gives off a Clinton vibe to me. Too slick, not sincere, too blow-dryed and, well, political. It's not logical, but I can't deny the gut feel I get when I hear the guy.

One thing, though--the governor's office in South Carolina is actually quite weak. The real power is in the General Assembly. We have more elected executive officials than anybody--we elect officials that most states let their governors appoint--and a maze of bureaus and agencies that are not truly answerable to the chief executive. It's difficult to look at a track record for a SC governor because they really can't do all that much without being able to sway the General Assembly. Jim Hodges got nothing done in four years except passing a state lottery, because a Republican-dominated House jammed him every step of the way.

I just hope, honestly, that Beasley has figured out that compromising just so people will like him doesn't work. If he'd stuck to his guns on the flag, or even if he'd come up with a more compromise position to begin with instead of going from "hell no it's not coming down" to "yup, we'll pull it down ASAP", he would've gotten re-elected.

And I do think he'll beat Tenenbaum in November if he wins the primary. Only here in SC could the school superintendent (an elected position, which is why she's a Dem and everybody else in the executive branch is an R) preside over these bad schools, have them get no better on her watch, and be seen as the strongest Democratic candidate for a Senate seat.

}:-)4

[republicanwizard]

Well, thank you for your extensive analysis. I can only hope that Pennsylvania will also deliver for us in the Senate race.

[zbigreddogz]

This is what I was wondering. Might not a new face be better?

[JohnnyZ]

(a) his flag reversal that cost him a second term

For all the talk of flip-flopping, Beasley claims that he simply changed his mind, and decided moving the flag was the right thing to do. (I think people should have that perogative, as long as they don't do it often, or in a very bad direction.) He say he knew it would be unpopular; he can't have seen it as a political winner, surely? I give people more leeway on switching when they take unpopular stands.

(b) the fact that for some reason, that I can't place, he gives off a Clinton vibe to me. Too slick, not sincere, too blow-dryed and, well, political. It's not logical, but I can't deny the gut feel I get when I hear the guy.

I'm not one to dismiss a gut feeling. That's largely the reason I'm supporting Bill Cobey in North Carolina's guv primary. Although two people can meet the same politician and end up with radically different impressions of him.

[Zack Nguyen]

My understanding is that Beasley was beaten specifically because Christian conservatives abandoned him in his re-election. I don't live in SC, so maybe you could tell me if this is true, and if the abandonment was justified.

[Agamemnon]

...or went third-party (as did I). That handed the race to a weak Democrat candidate,...."

Listen to yourself. Just another lesson demonstrating what happens when the good becomes the victim of the perfect.

[jagrmeister]

I thought DeMint was the White House's choice for this race. He has raised serious money for this race. This could be a bloody primary- money goes down the drain and the Republicans pander to their base, making it harder to win the general. This could get ugly and end up squandering the opportunity.

[Pubbie]

"This could be a bloody primary"

Not really, Beasley will win the Nomination comfortably.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Not really, Beasley will win the Nomination comfortably.

Not where I live. A late to the show candidate with no good buzz talk would be a hard win for anybody. All he's doing in this race is just showing up. Most of us are looking at Condon or Demint.

[Moose4]

For all the talk of flip-flopping, Beasley claims that he simply changed his mind, and decided moving the flag was the right thing to do. (I think people should have that perogative, as long as they don't do it often, or in a very bad direction.) He say he knew it would be unpopular; he can't have seen it as a political winner, surely? I give people more leeway on switching when they take unpopular stands.

From what I heard after moving down here in '97, his switch on the flag was very sudden and unexpected. He was foursquare for keeping it on the dome, and then, bang, he was for taking it down. If he did have a sincere change of heart, then, well, that's his right. I hope he wasn't politically naive enough to think that switching positions on the flag would actually get him any votes (except possibly from businessmen running scared from the NAACP "boycott"--and the NAACP "boycotted" us anyway despite Beasley's switch). I'll say this--from living down here for six and a half years, I can tell you that South Carolinians have a very, very low tolerance for people who don't keep their word.

Beasley's other vulnerability in '98 was education. Our public schools suck, there's no getting around it. Jim Hodges came along and chanted the mantra of "education lottery"--in fact, that's its official name, the South Carolina Education Lottery. (All the money, by the way, goes to colleges and universities, not K-12 education as promised.) He managed to find hundreds of creative ways to string together the words "education" and "lottery" and used them to hammer Beasley over and over on SC's schools. And, Hodges was backed by a whale of a lot of money from Fred Collins and other video poker machine company owners who were furious at Beasley for backing a ban on video gambling in SC. Hodges got elected, and Tenenbaum got elected as our chief publik skrool educator. In 2002, she was only one of two Democrats to win out of nine statewide offices, and the only one who won re-election.

This race is going to be really interesting whoever the Republican candidate is. The schools in SC have not really improved very much in the past six years, so you wouldn't think Tenenbaum has much to run on. But she has a trump card--she can turn to the camera and pout, "the General Assembly hasn't given me enough money, elect me and I'll get us some from Washington!" And, indeed, the legislature has had to cut school funding because of budget shortfalls.

Beasley may have high positives, but he does have high negatives still. We Southerners are not known for letting go of grudges easily. :)

}:-)4

[Moose4]

Listen to yourself. Just another lesson demonstrating what happens when the good becomes the victim of the perfect.

Yup, I know. In retrospect it was not a tremendously smart thing to do, but sometimes, principle rears its ugly head. If it had been any other Democrat than the relatively inoffensive, ineffective Hodges, I might've pulled the lever for Beasley anyway, but I just couldn't.

}:-)4

[Clintonfatigued]

Do you have any idea what that remark sounds like? The name is Condon, with an "n". LOL

[Clintonfatigued]

Actually, he got 45% to 53% for his 'Rat opponent in 1998.

[Pubbie]

oops - my mistake!

[jagrmeister]

DeMint has already raised nearly $2 million. He has had "encouraging" talks with the White House. Beasley has already been "fired" by the state's voters- not a good sign. And he hasn't exactly held his word or abided by conservative principles:

--
Incumbent Gov. David Beasley (R) of South Carolina was seeking re-election in one of the most Republican states in America. During his first term, Beasley had reversed his stands on several issues important to conservatives. His campaign was in jeopardy early because the conservatives mistrusted the incumbent who had broken several campaign promises during the first term. As the campaign heated up, Beasley made the worst possible mistake; he reversed himself on yet another issue the lottery. This further disillusioned and disappointed the conservatives. The result was a very suppressed conservative voter turnout and a victory for Democratic challenger Jim Hodges.

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m2519/1_20/53889308/p2/article.jhtml?term=

[Kuksool]

Beasley , the favorite of relgious conservatives? I doubt that. Charlie Condon would probably wrap up the religious conservative vote. However, with so many GOP candidates running, the primary has turned into a free for all.

[Republican Wildcat]

Beasley is a RHINO

What does RHINO stand for?