No wonder we think we’re headed in wrong direction
To the editor:
Recently, South Carolinians, when asked what was the most important problem facing the U.S., responded:
#1: Terrorism, ISIS
#2: Politicians, government
#3: Economy.
67.4 percent also said the U.S. was heading in the wrong direction.
[There’s] only 1 percent difference in the survey between the number identifying problem #1 and problem #2! No wonder more than two-thirds of us believe our nation is going in the wrong direction!
If people don’t see the connection between #2 and everything else, they are not paying attention!
— Jim Rex, Americanpartysc.com, Great Falls, S.C.
Why independent ethics investigations are needed
EDITOR’S NOTE: The League of Women Voters of South Carolina’s Lynn Shuler Teague recently published an op-ed on a companion site, govt.statehousereport.com, that outlines the importance of having an independent investigation of ethics complaints about state legislators. Here’s an excerpt:
“In the Rankin scheme [to weaken a Senate ethics proposal], four out of nine commissioners are sitting legislators. The only possible reason to insist so strongly on having this provision is the belief that the decisions of such a commission would differ from the decisions of an independent commission without legislators. Why should this be the case? The law is the same for all. There is no special campaign finance subtlety that is unique to legislators. There is no legal difference between a legislator and a mayor using an official position for personal gain. Why do our legislators require a layer of protection not needed by any other officials, including those who are elected in vigorous campaigns for offices that might generate partisan attacks? There is no sound reason that that legislators need this protection, but some of them apparently find that extra layer of padding between themselves and the law very important.”
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!