STATEHOUSE REPORT | ISSUE 21.37 | SEPT. 16, 2022
NEWS BRIEFS: Graham’s 15-week abortion ban shakes up GOP
LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Hateful jerks
COMMENTARY, Brack: Tear down South’s silos to stop culture of victimization
SPOTLIGHT: Charleston Animal Society
MY TURN, James: Let’s manage growth and keep coast’s character
FEEDBACK: Reader complains about column on Weaver
MYSTERY PHOTO: Tumbling water
Graham’s 15-week abortion ban shakes up national GOP
Staff reports | U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Tuesday proposed a sweeping federal ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, reigniting a firestorm of debate on the contentious issue ahead of the midterm elections in November. It’s a political flip-flop: After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade federal protection of abortion in June, Graham said the issue should be left to states.
While observers say there is no way the bill will see the light of day before the election, the proposal has split Republicans, apparently stunning some who have had trouble confronting the thorny issue. According to this CNN analysis, the fight over abortion now is all over the place.
In New Hampshire, for example, conservative Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc is facing an incumbent Democrat and he is trying to distance himself from Graham’s proposal, according to the Associated Press: “It doesn’t make sense,” he told Fox News, adding that abortion laws are better left to each individual state. “Women on both sides of the issue will get a better voice at the state level.”
In related news, the S.C. House of Representatives is scheduled to meet Sept. 27 to discuss last week’s Senate changes to another abortion ban. Two weeks ago, the House passed a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy with exceptions for the mother’s life and rape or incest up to 12 weeks.
But last week after the Senate couldn’t get support for that measure, it passed a measure that would toughen a current law, which is a six-week ban, based on when cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, with limited exceptions.
In other headlines:
Matthews vows to stay in U.S. Senate race. Two-term Democratic S.C. Rep. Krystle Matthews of Ladson, who is facing calls to withdraw from a bid challenging GOP U.S. Sen. Tim Scott over remarks described as disparaging, says she won’t step away after a leaked recording by a conservative activist group. “I have no biases toward a certain ethnic group,” Matthews said recently. “I expressed my disgust for Black legislators who exhibit the same hypocrisy as MAGA Republicans. This is why I am challenging MAGA’s favorite Black legislator, Tim Scott.” Scott, who has millions of dollars of campaign cash in the bank, said last week that he thought Matthews should apologize, not step away from the race. Meanwhile Sunday, Scott told national reporters that he was excited about GOP Senate candidates across the country as national leaders try to reboot expectations following recent Democratic surges.
Governor, prison director challenge ruling on executions. Gov. Henry McMaster and S.C. Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling this week said they planned to appeal a Richland County judge’s ruling from last week that called the state’s two execution methods — firing squad and electric chair — unconstitutional.
Records show McMaster’s income dropped since he became governor. A review of McMaster’s tax filings shows that he and his wife earned about $352,000 in 2020 — about $200,000 less thanin 2017, which was his first year as governor.
New S.C. House committee to study economic development. South Carolina’s House announced a new ad-hoc committee that will focus on the economic development of the state and how to attract industry.
S.C. House Judiciary chairman says he’s getting help for alcohol abuse. Rep. Chris Murphy, a Dorchester County Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, says he’s getting help for alcohol abuse and hopes to return to the chamber in 2023.
Beach/river sweep is Saturday. Volunteers across the state will span the coast by boat and by foot Saturday to pick up litter from beaches, debris in marshes or floating trash along waterways. It’s time for the state’s annual Beach Sweep/River Sweep. Last year, 2,225 volunteers picked up more than 20,000 pounds of debris along beaches and rivers statewide. The event is held in partnership with the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium the state Department of Natural Resources.
Crisis call volume up after 988 launch. The volume of calls in S.C. has reached an all-time high after the nation launched the 988 suicide lifeline in July. The Greenville center is now answering calls, texts and chats.
DHEC reports 8,443 new Covid cases, 6 deaths. The latest weekly Covid update shows cases are still dropping in South Carolina.
Hateful jerks
Cartoonist Robert Ariail often interprets things a little differently, but always has an interesting take on what’s going on in South Carolina. Love the cartoon? Hate it? What do you think: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Tear down South’s silos to stop culture of victimization
By Andy Brack | Results from a new Winthrop Poll of more than 2,200 Southerners should make you sigh. And it’s not results on abortion or former President Trump or about the Confederate flag or memorials.
Look at the results about discrimination and you’ll find a boatload of people feel discriminated against, including more than half of White people – the very people who have controlled things in the South for generations.
It appears we’ve become a region of victims.
It’s not particularly surprising that just about everybody agrees Black Southerners face discrimination. Three-quarters of respondents said they faced some or a lot of discrimination, including 71 percent of White respondents and 94 percent of Black respondents. From the days of chattel slavery through Jim Crow and civil rights protests in the 1960s, Blacks have been treated as less than equal across the South. In a system stacked against Blacks, it’s taken decades for Black leaders to attain some power to make real differences in Southern cities and counties. But you still don’t see Black governors here.
“Whites and Blacks see a very different landscape when looking at discrimination,” said Winthrop pollster Scott Huffmon. “Black Southerners are two and a third times more likely to believe Blacks face ‘a lot’ of discrimination. They are also more likely than Whites to believe Hispanics and Asians face ‘a lot’ of discrimination.”
And the reason: They still do. About three-fourths of all respondents believe Hispanics and Asians face some or a lot of discrimination, according to the poll.
But what’s bamboozling is half of all respondents believed White people face some or a lot of discrimination. Most telling: 57% of White respondents said they face some or a lot of discrimination, while 38% of Blacks in the poll said Whites faced no discrimination.
Interestingly, the poll also showed that two-thirds of White respondents said they had not been discriminated against in the last year, while 40% of Blacks said they were.
That’s a clear disconnect. Lots of White people believe they face discrimination, even though they admit they haven’t actually been discriminated against. About all we can figure is that too many White people are believing the narrow perspectives they hear on Fox television and from autocratic politicians who are still using fear to divide Americans.
Huffmon said people in the poll spoke about sensitive or racial topics, even though there were cases where they said they were afraid to speak out because they feared harassment.
“To me, this indicates that we are talking in echo chambers and living in silos where we only interact – and I mean truly interact – with like-minded people,” he said. “Just like research has shown that exposure to people of other traces reduces racism and exposure to LGBTQ folks reduces prejudice, the only solution to increasing polarization is exposure to, and the humanizing of, the ‘other side.’
“Unfortunately, technology and modern life are making it easier to thicken the walls of our silos rather than break through them.”
As a region and as a nation, we need to stop succumbing to divisive, discriminatory rhetoric and realize that we’re all in this together – and if we work together and don’t turn on each other, we can lift up everyone.
The new Winthrop Poll had more interesting results. Three quarters of all who took the poll said gays, lesbians and Muslims faced some or a lot of discrimination. Two in three said woman and Jews faced some or a lot of discrimination. Half said Christians and Southerners faced some or a lot of discrimination. And 41% said men faced some or a lot of discrimination.
Let’s not be a region of victims. Let’s tear down our silos. Let’s take responsibility, work together and get along, not succumb to tribalism that too many politicians want to steer you toward.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Charleston Animal Society
We’re pleased today to shine our spotlight on the Charleston Animal Society, leader in the effort to make Charleston County a safe place for animals. Now the society is working to expand its Charleston success statewide to energize the state to reshape its 300-plus shelters and animal organizations into a no-kill network that stretches from Walhalla to Little River to Daufuskie Island.
Safe and healthy communities, neighborhoods and families don’t just happen – they’re built. “No Kill – No Harm – No More” shines a spotlight on animal abuse and family violence, which are often perceived and treated as separate issues. However, animal abuse is often the tip of the iceberg to larger issues in the home, such as child abuse, elder abuse or domestic violence.
- South Carolina’s most honored charity four years in a row
- National model for success
- Southeast’s only AAHA-accredited combined clinic and shelter
- Focused on solving problems rather than reacting to them year after year
- Publishes Carolina Tails, the largest pet magazine in S.C.
- No Kill. No Harm. No More. is a “movement” comprised of two major initiatives: No Kill Charleston and No Kill South Carolina.
- Learn more about the Charleston Animal Society and its work to create a network of humane network for the animals that bring joy to our lives.
James: Let’s manage growth and keep coast’s character
EDITOR’S NOTE: These are excerpted remarks made Sept. 14, 2022, by Faith Rivers James, the new executive director of the Coastal Conservation League.
By Faith Rivers James | I’m a Charleston native, and like many others who grew up here, I always knew I would return. After all, Dorothy was right – there’s no place like home!
In coastal South Carolina, our lives and communities are inextricably linked to nature. Like many of you, I grew up playing in the fields, running through the woods, and riding bikes on quiet country roads, waving to everyone you saw along the way.
My family lived four miles away from the village of Mount Pleasant. The Olive Branch AME Church was the center of community. And my mother and grandmother, both teachers, made sure that education was the primary focus of my childhood.
By economic standards, we didn’t have much. But we enjoyed a rich heritage of love, community and oneness with the serene landscapes of our beloved Lowcountry. Jonathan Greene’s print, entitled “Seeking,” exemplifies that oneness of love of God, appreciation of nature, respect for the legacy of our ancestors and the interminable quest to reach new, higher heights. Every day, it will inspire me in my office here at the Coastal Conservation League.
Perry [my husband] and I just built a house along Clouter Creek on Daniel Island and we’re blessed to be the fifth generation of the Rivers family who call that special place home.
Here, along the Carolina coast, our roots run deep in soft beach sand and pluff mud. And whether we’ve been here for generations, decades or even a few precious seasons, we choose to live here because of our shared appreciation for our coastal landscape and our common commitment to leave this place a little better than we found it.
Serving as the executive director of the Conservation League has brought me full circle because it allows me to use all of my past experiences in one place. As a student of government, a practitioner of legislative process, a property law professor and a land use advocate, I’ve researched and written about these issues; and I bring a wealth of lessons from the experiences of my family and friends who are navigating the land use process and growth pressures along the coast.
I am inspired by this community’s collaborative commitment of time, talent, treasure and your legacy to the conservation cause. With your helping hands, the Conservation League will continue to protect our natural resources, as this organization has done for the past 33 years. We won’t stop advocating for our coast and its beautiful landscapes. And we will take on new challenges as they arise. From protecting interior freshwater wetlands to Carolina Bays and saltwater marshes, we will continue working on long-term projects for Wadmalaw, in Cainhoy and on the North Coast.
We will continue the clarion call to combat climate change, looking for ways to stem flooding, enhance our energy efficiency and reduce our waste footprint. And we will expand our work with local communities and farmers, helping them to thrive in place so we can thwart burgeoning development.
From empowering the Phillips Community to combat new roads and to pursue greenbelt spaces, and supporting the Gullah Farmers Cooperative by enrolling them as suppliers to our GrowFood Carolina program, we are helping people remain on their land and helping rural communities to prosper.
We are protecting downtown neighborhoods from cruise ships, celebrating conservation outcomes for Captain Sam’s Spit, and promoting alternative traffic routes to ease congestion without the community disruption and displacement that could occur from an extension of Interstate 526 into the solace of our sea islands.
If you want to see an example of the damage an interstate can do, just look at what happened in my home community at the other end of I-526. I-526 landed where Mr. Solly Mazyck stood on his property fence line every day. One by one, families disbanded, seeking the peace and calm we once enjoyed along Old Georgetown Highway.
I-526 was the beginning of the end of life as we knew it in Four Mile. Now, only a few houses remain in what was once a thriving historic settlement community. And it will never be the same.
And so it is my mission – and our charge – to seek creative solutions that enable us to meet growth challenges without losing our coastal character. It is a tall order, but we are up to the task.
Together we will conserve our natural resources, protect our coastal and rural landscapes, and preserve the communities that are the core of our existence. The Book of Proverbs tells us, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” We owe it not only to our own children but to everybody’s children to leave them a rich inheritance here along the South Carolina coastal plain.
- Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Reader complains about column on Weaver
To the editor:
I know you have been around the Statehouse for a long time. So have I – about 30 years for me. I also know, that you know, that [neither] the State Election Commission nor the State GOP wouldn’t place Ellen Weaver on the ballot IF she was not qualified for the job, upon day one of service, should she be chosen in the general election to serve as our S.C. Superintendent of Education.
It does not serve the public to keep asking questions about her ability to be on the ballot when you know full well that the State Election Commission would not allow her on any ballot if she was unable to meet the qualifications for office she seeks. [NOTE TO READER: See response below.]
The law clearly states that any candidate must hold a master’s degree in education in order to be eligible to serve as state superintendent of education. You know this. Why do you continue to falsely place doubt of the legitimacy of her candidacy? Gross deception is actually lying. I would never want to own that reputation. Ellen Weaver is in her master’s program and will obtain it before the election therefore; if this is acceptable to the State Election Board, why is it not acceptable to you? She will be duly qualified to serve in the office for which she is running on day one!.
It does not serve the citizens of South Carolina for news people like yourself to perpetuate falsehoods about candidates. I ask you to stop this behavior, it simply compromises your own work and integrity. Should there be some minuscule chance that Ellen Weaver, with her vast knowledge of the S.C. public education system through her years of chairing the state’s Education Oversight Committee, somehow fails to obtain her master’s, I do believe the Election Commission will not place her name on the ballot in November.
The people of South Carolina deserve to know the true story. Why don’t you tell them? Ellen Weaver has more state policy experience than the last three superintendents, two whom I knew well. Her experience was not in a classroom but at the policy table. Policy always drives your operations. You know this as well or perhaps you don’t know that the Education Oversight Committee does. The work and knowledge of this committee is invaluable to any person who pursues the leadership of our public education system.
Your questions are meant to mislead the public about Ellen Weaver’s and demean her candidacy. You know this is wrong, but do it anyway. This says more about you than the race of which you write.
– Terrye Seckinger, Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Editor’s reply: Thank you for your letter. The S.C. Election Commission, however, relies on parties, not its board members, to certify candidates. The commission’s hands essentially are tied when a party certifies someone to be on the ballot. See a recent attorney general’s opinion and the law. Furthermore, there are other inaccuracies in your letter, particularly about the specific qualifications for superintendent candidates. Voters deserve to know BEFORE the election how far along Ms. Weaver is in attaining the required degree – not just a promise from her campaign or supporters.
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Have a comment? Send your letters or comments to: feedback@statehousereport.com. Make sure to provide your contact details (name, hometown and phone number for verification. Letters are limited to 150 words.
Tumbling water
You can almost hear the water tumbling along the face of these rocks. Where and what is it? Send your guess – and your name and hometown – to feedback@statehousereport.com.
Last week’s image of “Rusty metal,” which was provided by faithful reader Barry Wingard of Florence, showed a Sept. 11 monument in Florence at its Veterans Park.
Reader David Lupo of Mount Pleasant shared, “The park contains a number of memorials, including this one dedicated on Sept. 11, 2011. A marker states, ‘This monument contains limestone damaged in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was recovered from the west facade of the Pentagon and is placed in remembrance of the 2,977 individuals killed in the attacks on our homeland.’”
Others correctly identifying the memorial were Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Will Bradley of Las Vegas, Nevada; Jay Altman and Elizabeth Jones, both of Columbia; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Jacie Godfrey of Florence and Pat Keadle of Wagener.
>> Send us a mystery picture. If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
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