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Maybe but until this cycle he was known as a Democrat that voted Republican and he seemed to be able to keep his political career intact despite the conservative leanings of his constituents. Starting in 2008 he voted as liberal as anyone in congress and had his hat handed to him. What was he thinking?
It's possible that lots of his constituents changed their mind about his performance since the last election cycle. However, one thing that has definitely changed is the infusion of new residents, as I mentioned above. Could both play a role? Absolutely. But the idea that transplants are going to necessarily vote Democrat as a sole explanatory factor for Democratic support in SC isn't well-supported.
We can lay the "transplants are all Democrats" myth to rest for good. Several SC counties that were transplant heavy went more strongly Republican this time around, while some counties that have not grown significantly in terms of transplants over the past decade voted more strongly for Democrats verses 2008 and 2006 results. There is no correlation between having moved from out of state and voting for a specific party.
Are you suggesting that DeMint is not an embarrassment? I'm embarrassed everytime he makes a public statement. IMO, anyone interested in the future of our country should be insulted by DeMint's presence. On the contrary, I think Greene's presence would have been a refreshing change from what currently makes up most of DC. Neither party would have known how to deal with him.
I am many times more embarrassed by Lindsey Graham and what he says than I am what Jim DeMint says. Not even close.
I imagine Lindsey Graham is hoping Mark Sanford moves to Argentina when he leaves the mansion. I think Sanford could easily take Graham's seat in 2014 if he wants it.
Maybe but until this cycle he was known as a Democrat that voted Republican and he seemed to be able to keep his political career intact despite the conservative leanings of his constituents. Starting in 2008 he voted as liberal as anyone in congress and had his hat handed to him. What was he thinking?
Well, the ACU gives him a lifetime rating of 21.63. All of the other reps in SC (besides Clyburn) have ratings in the 90s. So while he isn't Barney Frank, he's not exactly "voting Republican". What he WAS doing was relying on constituent service and delivery of federal money/attention to his district to keep himself propped up. He wasn't "Spratt the Democrat". He was "Spratt, the guy who was keeping Shaw funded". And for many voters in the district, it didn't REALLY matter that he was a Democrat until this particularly polarized election. Many of those voters may have been residents of his district all along. All I'm saying is that some of them were probably people who weren't affected by his history of casework, and voted him out based on his party alone.
After all, if the residents of the 5th District had wanted someone who "voted Republican", they had over a dozen chances to pick one over Spratt. They didn't until this election.
I mean, of course, that they were the party of note in SC for generations. This was pre-Civil Rights, but Republican dominance in SC is a few decades old, at best.
Well, you're a transplant who votes Republican. I'm NOT a transplant, and I (usually) vote Democrat. As do lots of the people I know who are also not transplants. Furthermore, some of the most transplant-heavy areas were among the strongest areas for Republicans this go-round.
Spratt's election is a good example. Many residents of his district voted for him in across party lines for years. One of the key elements that acted against him, according to many reports, was the massive growth of York County in the last few years. Many of these new residents were more interested in voting for a party than for a specific candidate, so out goes the incumbent because he has the wrong letter next to his name.
So, in short, transplants schmanplants.
No, massive growth of York County had nothing to do with Spratt losing his seat. I was born and raised in the 5th Congressional District and like you said, people would vote across party lines for Spratt. But no more, he abandoned the 5th Congressional District.
He is Chairman of the House Budget Committee and in 2006 said “if you can't budget, you can't govern.” Yet he failed to get a budget as he was to busy grinding numbers for Pelosi. He voted with Pelosi 98% of the time ignoring emails, phone calls and letters from his constituents. He could not campaign on what he had done for the 5th Congressional district in the last two years because conservative John Spratt was gone.
In April, Spratt and the President flew into Charlotte on Air Force one, they didn't step one foot into the 5th Congressional District. The entire trip was spent in North Carolina.
In the last two years Spratt stopped listening or even communicating with the people in the 5th District. I think he heard us Tuesday.
I can give President Obama, Pelosi and Reid credit for one thing, they have woke up America.
South Carolinas' next mission should be sending RINO Lindsey Graham back to Greer SC in 2012.
Last edited by CarolinaWoman; 11-05-2010 at 10:17 PM..
I imagine Lindsey Graham is hoping Mark Sanford moves to Argentina when he leaves the mansion. I think Sanford could easily take Graham's seat in 2014 if he wants it.
Huh??? You think Mark Sanford stands a shot in hell of ever getting elected in SC again??? I doubt he would ever make it out of another primary. My money is on either a) Demint pushing Barrett for the seat in 2014 or b) Tim Scott becomes the conservative darling and has the path cleared for him. Although those are not mutually exclusive.
And Demint pretty much only cares about conservatives and the upstate. His lack of support for the Ports or any business or research growth in the lowcountry give me nightmares. I'm not Grahamnesty's biggest fan but at least he does make decisions with the health of the entire state in mind.
And for the record- it now appears that all the Yankee transplants in Horry county provide Haley with most of her margin of victory. And Spratt is far from the most liberal member of congress. But if voting anything other than 'no' makes you a flaming lib then I guess he is in your eyes. It will be interestign to see how our new house reps represent the state since 3 of the 6 have no seniority and are also free to be a blank slate on most issues. I'll put money on Scott being the member of this class that goes the farthest (including the state office holders.)
I for one am not at all embarrassed by Senator Jim DeMint. You are obviously an extremely vocal liberal and have therefore decided not to agree with any of his conservative actions, while I agree with him most of the time and support him for his decency and steadfast representation of my home state.
I'm curious: do you agree with DeMint that gays and unwed mothers should not be teachers?
I'm curious: do you agree with DeMint that gays and unwed mothers should not be teachers?
No, but I don't need to agree with every one of his own opinions to willingly support him as a U.S. Senator from my home state. Let me know when he tries to write that particular opinion into law and then we'll discuss it further. Again, I agree with most of his political actions. He would probably not be in office if he attempted to transfer all of his own opinions to public policy.
No, but I don't need to agree with every one of his own opinions to willingly support him as a U.S. Senator from my home state. Let me know when he tries to write that particular opinion into law and then we'll discuss it further. Again, I agree with most of his political actions. He would probably not be in office if he attempted to transfer all of his own opinions to public policy.
OK; I just asked because you said you agreed with him most of the time. No biggie. For a lot of people (not all) who tend to support the policies he proposes, they have similar social views as he does so I just thought I'd ask.
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