Gresh hurt himself when he voted against TARP the 1st time, then voted for TARP the 2nd time. And his opponents aren’t going to let anybody forget about it. That said, he’s still the most conservative guy running so far. I voted for him in my precinct straw poll.
I don't want to get into a flame war over it, but I am one of those opponents based on the TARP vote and his responses to me concerning that vote.
The first time it (TARP) came up, Barrett voted against it exactly as he should have. But after the bill had gone back and been "porked up" with billions more, he voted for it.
I immediately fired off and angry email. When I eventually received a response, Rep. Barrett indicated that he had bought into the "We're going over a cliff" mentality. Nowhere did he adequately explain how the version that was full of pork would save our economy any more than the one that wasn't. Later, when the auto bailout was becoming a possibility, I wrote again to encourage him to vote against it, reminding him of his previous mistake. He wrote back saying that he intended to vote against the auto bailout, but went on and on justifying the TARP vote.
Now we know that the TARP was just these clowns sucking on the hose that leads to our wallets in order to get the siphon effect started.(Some of us had that figured out way back then.) I look at Barrett's vote for the TARP no differently than I see the votes of Specter, Snowe, and Collins on the stimulus. I don't personally care what REPUBLICANS do anymore, but I expect those who claim to be CONSERVATIVE to act, and vote like it.
So, yeah, I am one of those South Carolinians who will be against Barrett until it is evident that he has educated himself to what all of these bailouts are about and what the democrats and rino republicans are up to. I don't want a Governor who is as gullible, and wrong headed on the economy as Barrett was on TARP. I will actively work against his campaign, just like I did, and will do again against Lindsay.
I fully realize that there are folks here on FR who are more interested in the success of the Republican Party than they are in the success of the Conservative Agenda, and they will take umbrage with my opinions. Well, it's my time, my money, and MY VOTE...
...at least for now.