Thumbs up
Better than nothing. We hope Gov. Nikki Haley will sign a roads bill finally approved by the legislature this week, even though it is only an 8 percent solution as columnist Andy Brack writes in today’s column.
Lucas. Congratulations to House Speaker Jay Lucas for verbally spanking the Senate and Haley for inaction on the roads bill. His rant led to the bill finally being approved.
S.C. State. The General Assembly passed a bill to forgive a $12 million loan to S.C. State, which should keep it out of trouble with college accreditation authorities. Let’s hope this helps get the school back on the right path.
Graham. We’re not surprised, given all of the heated rhetoric and verbal swipes, that U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is giving a pass to this year’s GOP presidential convention. More.
In the middle
Moped law. While it’s good there’s a new moped law requiring registration of moped riders and more, we really want them — and golf carts — off the state’s highways. Push for more reform.
Haley. While we think the governor has more than enough work to do instead of interfering with local politics, we understand what she’s doing — trying to get more like-minded (narrow-thinking) senators in office. We do, however, appreciate recent comments on furling the Citadel chapel’s Confederate flag.
Thumbs down
Ethics reform. Yes, there’s still a little time to get the job done to require income disclosure and independent oversight of the legislature. But, really, lawmakers? You have been working on this for four years. You should have finished by now.
Guns. Lawmakers need to do more to restrict guns, not expand laws to allow reciprocity from other states.
FOIA. It’s a shame that lawmakers couldn’t reform the state’s freedom of information laws. More.
QUOTE: Pen is mightier than sword, still
“Attacking the press for unfair coverage has long been a bipartisan pursuit. Sometimes it works. I am happy to say that more often it doesn’t. But Trump’s brand of vituperation is particularly personal and vicious. It carries with it the drumbeats of threatening violence. It cannot be left unanswered.”
— Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather in a June 1 Facebook post on the need for good journalism in a campaign season that he says will get only worse. Read the full post.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!