“He’s 32 years old, the youngest Senator in South Carolina and he’s ready to Shake Up Columbia. We’re talking about Edgefield’s Shane Massey.
He’s only walked through the State House doors for a week, the youngest man in the South Carolina Senate.”
Governor uses new approach on themes such as economy, environment, quality of life
Gov. Mark Sanford evoked images of a 5-year-old victim of a drunken driver, the racist reign of an early S.C. politician and a father’s love for his handicapped son Wednesday to advance an agenda for change and government reform in South Carolina.
The second-term Republican hit on few new themes in his sixth State of the State address but used a different twist to try to rally support from a legislature he has repeatedly clashed with since taking office in 2003.
Relying on videos and slides throughout the speech, Sanford urged lawmakers to implement programs he said would improve South Carolina’s economy, protect its environment and enhance its overall quality of life.
He favors tax cuts, government reform, school choice and limits on state spending in the face of what he called a looming national recession.
“Our challenge will lie in whether or not we take action,” the governor told a joint session of the General Assembly and a statewide television audience.
To promote his agenda, Sanford:
• Retold the story of Sullivan Spradley to push for tougher laws against drunken driving. The 5-year-old Kershaw County boy died on Father’s Day 2005 after a man with a drunken driving charge on his record ran into the child as he and his father rode bicycles.
“We can’t bring Sullivan back, but what we can do is prevent (other families) from going through that same sort of unimaginable pain,” Sanford said.
Sanford did not propose a specific change beyond action in the next month. Critics say the current law is full of loopholes. A bill passed last year by the House, and now before the Senate, would tie the alcohol level in an accused driver’s blood — and the number of prior offenses — to the severity of the penalty.
• Blasted the racist ways of Ben Tillman, the turn-of-the century governor and U.S. senator, to illustrate the need to restructure South Carolina’s “plantation” government.
Tillman fought to prevent African Americans from gaining a voice in government, Sanford said, which is why the state’s constitution, originally crafted in 1895, makes it hard to get anything done. Sanford wants the legislature to give the governor’s office more authority.
“The Tillman model has held South Carolina back for more than a century,” he said.
• Used a video and the story of a handicapped Massachusetts man to show lawmakers that South Carolina can accomplish change if its leaders want to.
Rick Hoyt was brain-damaged at birth and unable to control his hands. But his positive attitude inspired his father to begin entering marathons. Today, father Dick Hoyt pushes his son in a wheelchair when he runs marathons and pulls him in a raft when he swims competitively.
Rep. John Scott, D-Richland, said Sanford’s speech did not reflect Scott’s priorities for improving education in South Carolina or answer questions about how to fund more college scholarships for high school students.
“We have an education system that is broke,” Scott said.
Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, also was unimpressed. He said his constituents tell him, “Don’t you dare give this governor more power.”
But Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said he liked Sanford’s themes — and his approach.
The presentation was “the first high-tech State of the State I’ve seen,” McConnell said. “It was innovative. He should get high marks for that.”
SAMMY FRETWELL AND TIM FLACH
1/20/08
Quote of the Week:
“…we need to pass Sen. Ritchie’s [immigration] reform bill requiring more businesses to document the citizenship status of their workers.” - Governor Mark Sanford - State of the State Address - January 16, 2008
English-only, Constitutional Convention, DNA Database
The Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston) Chairman, held its first meeting of the 2008 session Tuesday, January 15. The agenda included: (S. 856) a call for a Constitutional Convention to allow local enforcement of federal immigration laws; (S. 857) legislation requiring state agencies to provide services only in English, except where otherwise instructed by federal law; and (S. 890) a bill creating a DNA database. This important crime-fighting tool allows DNA samples to be taken from persons arrested for felonies that carry a sentence of five-years or more. All of the bills were passed out of the committee and will go before the full Senate for further debate. Read the rest of this entry »
Senator Glenn McConnell talks about the Governor’s State of the State address.
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