Expect "Real War" in South Carolina Senate Race

Columbia, SC, State ^ | 06-24-2004 | Bandy, Lee

[Theodore R.]

People who say "education" is the main issue will likely be for Tenenbaum because such voters believe that more spending is always the "solution" to educational defects.

[jmaroneps37]

Jim will win by the biggest margin a Republican has gotten in the South since Reconstruction.

[Theodore R.]

Not possible, I believe that K.B. Hutchison got over 85 percent of the vote in TX in 2000.

[JohnnyZ]

Swing voters are mainly suburbanites who don’t identify with either political party. They are highly educated, tend to be economic conservatives Sounds like DeMint voters Also, they are disproportionately women, concentrated mostly in the Midlands. Sounds like Inez voters

[jmaroneps37]

I stand corrected.

[SC Swamp Fox]

SC Ping

FReepmail me if you want on or off this list.

[SC Swamp Fox]

“The swing vote is critical,” Francis Marion University political scientist Neal Thigpen says. “You’ve got to have them. They hold the balance of power.”

This same guy is quoted in almost every article The State does on political matters. Don't any of the other state universities have Poli-Sci departments?

It wouldn't be so bad if he had something meaningful to say. I am sure it's a real shock to us that the swing voters, those that don't identify themselves as either rats or republicans, are important.

Hey, Neal! What about the base? What happens if either party's base stays home? Do you think John F'n Kerry or Inez Tenenbaum are going to really motivate the rat base?

[visualops]

The people often quoted on various subjects, these "professional opinions", are usually people who seek out the press rather than the other way around. As an example:

...in our media-saturated culture, nothing confers as much prestige as being the go-to person in your field of expertise. Being a reliable source of timely information for busy editors and reporters...

The process of becoming a spokesperson in the media happens in increments, but the basis of it is making esoteric knowledge accessible... Once someone's name is associated with solid, useful information in print (or on the Internet, television or radio) it validates his or her authority and becomes a credential. Reporters are likely to ask for background or a quote when more input is needed to clarify a point or give a future story heft or color."

People who like to be the quoted "expert" often get help from media consultants or the like in establishing a relationship with the press.

[SSR1]

My wife and I are teachers here in SC. My wife is a swing voter. Since 98 or so I have turned Republican. Neither one of us likes Inez because we don't agreee with what she has done as head of the department of Education. I think DeMint has an opening there as well.

[Palmetto]

This same guy is quoted in almost every article The State does on political matters. Don't any of the other state universities have Poli-Sci departments?

Clemson's PolySci Professor David Woodward is widely considered the state's best political guru.

Unfortunately, he is a rabid conservative, so the media doesn't give him a microphone much anymore.

When I was there, he offered the class taught by then Rep. Gingrich via television, which later got Newt in a little bit of trouble.

[ken5050]

Two questions, if I may....

First, what is/are "the Midlands" as the term is used in the article?....is it a geographic, economic, or racial catagorization?

Second, how does Inez compare to the the guy that Graham beat last time out, as far as being "liberal" and other positions? As I recall, vaguely, up until the election, he was touted as being able to make it a close race....didn't pan out..

Thanks..

[gunnedah]

It doesnt take much to motivate the RAT base just a piece of cheese on a string and a motivated Liberal so called "Mainstream Media".

[gunnedah]

I would as soon vote for the Devil as a Democrat above the local landscape but Republicans take too much for granite and truly don't have enough backbone for me.
A few years back I donated to the Republican Party and Lindsay Graham also over a promise I made to Graham for standing up against Clinton and a corrupt Congress. I kept my word.
Since then I have been flooded with request for donations.
Since then I have had two issues that came up and I contacted my members of Congress.On each occasion I did not get a reply from Hollings or Graham but John Spratt contacted me and advised on each. On one of the issues he disagreed with me and gave his explanation and I still disagree with him. But saying that he did respond and address it up front. I have never voted for or donated to John Spratt and most probably will never donate to him as long as the Liberals control the Democrat Party but if I cant vote for him I will certainly not vote against him after being treated this way by Graham.</p I am an Independant and consider myself to be moderate to conservative. I would vote for another party if I thought they had a chance because America's problem lies in Congress and they all sleep in the same bed when it comes to self!

[wardaddy]

Tenebaum?

The movie or the song one?

[visualops]

The Midlands are the Columbia area. Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry and Richland counties are considered the "midlands".
In 2002 Graham beat Alex Sanders, whose anti-death penalty ("capital punishment is contrary to the will of God") yet pro-choice ("abortion is a legitimate choice that a woman makes") stance is typical of the Left's moral relativism.

[ken5050]

Thanks for the info....I was aware of Sanders' positions....my point was that up until the lection, the Dems were all saying he had a great chance to win.."they lied"..how does INEZ compare to Alex?

[Voter 2004]

Inez Tennenbaum is the true conservative in that she believes that the government should stay out of people's private lives. And nothing is more private than a woman's right to decide whether and when to bear children, free from the heavy hand of government.

DeMint on the other hand advocates the ultimate type of government intrusion by trying to strip away a woman's most basic right to reproductive freedom. People in South Carolina don't like the idea of their rights being taken away which is exactly what DeMint wants to do by forcing women to risk their lives in filthy, back alley abortions because he wants to outlaw a woman's right to choose safe, legal reproductive services. DeMint's hypocrisy is glaring in that he wants the government to interfere with womens' wombs by outlawing our most basic right to receive safe, medical abortion services but yet claims to advocate "limited government". It is truly sickening by how he wants the government to interfere with our private lives like this. This is the ultimate example of government intrusion into people's private lives. DeMint is no conservative because of his radical views on this issue.

Furthermore, Inez Tennenbaum is the "true" conservative because she advocates the death penalty for evil murderers and opposes same sex-marriage unlike DeMint's flip-flops on true "conservatism" (by how he opposes reproductive choice). Additionally, the fact that Inez Tennenbaum has accomplished so much in improving South Carolina's education system through her work as superintendent is something that South Carolinians truly value. She is highly respected statewide because of her fantastic accomplishments. Ms. Tennenbaum will win this race because South Carolinians understand that she is more in tune with their practical everyday needs and values than the alternative.

[loveitor..]

troll..troll..troll...conservatives value life, you liberals are pro-death, why can't one of you admit it?

[safeasthebanks]

Can you liberals EVER argue in good faith? Oh, that's right, YOU'RE A LIBERAL! (Oh yeah, pro-abortion is a real conservative position).

Wait, didn't I see in an early post that Inez is AGAINST PBA? I guess her "conservatism" only goes so far!

Go away, twerp!

[Admin Moderator]

Oooooh, a true conservative!

See ya.