(03-07-2013 03:44 PM)DrTorch Wrote: For those of us who aren't intimiate w/ SC politics, you'll have to provide a few more details.
Lindsey Graham's support in SC comes from doing the better part of 3 times better as a Republican among Democrats than would otherwise be typical. Graham knows this well, and he actively cultivates this support when challenged from the right. The primary suggested competitors for Graham are Tom Davis and Mark Sanford. For sh*ts and giggles PPP added Tim Scott heads up. Graham trounced them all in the PPP polling. He beat Tim Scott by 10 points. He beat former Congressman and former term limited Governor Mark "Argentinian Tail" Sanford by 30 points (!!!). While Sanford took his dings from that, his policy work remains quite popular in SC. I'd vote for him. Tom Davis is THE Tea Party guy in SC. He is a state senator from Beaufort ... he takes classes at the Ludwig von Mises Insitute. He spoke at Ron Paul's events in SC and his event before the RNC where he famously called Bernanke a traitor. He's a firebrand and a great orator. And he was one of three SC Senators to endorse Ron Paul in the GOP Primary. And Graham is up 50 points (!!!!!!!!!!!) on Tom Davis in the PPP poll. Alot of that is name recognition, but still, Graham was hitting 66% against Davis and was over 50% against anybody PPP could think of polling against him.
On Nikki Haley .....
Nikki Haley was a tea party darling. First minority SC governor. First Indian (subcontinent) governor in the country I think. Endorsed by Palin, etc. Knocks against her:
1) She took big time Mittens bucks early on. She endorsed Mittens in SC. Mittens is decidedly not popular in SC.
2) She dropped 6 figures on the taxpayer for a junket to the Paris Air Show, purportedly to schmooze for Boeing.
3) No reforms of merit. She was elected a reformer for getting roll call voting on the books. Previously in SC more than half the votes were by voice and off the record. Now anything spending tax dollars is roll call vote. She pushed that bill and was stripped of all leadership/committee positions by RINO leaders because of that. We raised such hell about it it passed anyway -- miraculously by a unanimous vote after all the hostility toward it.
4) Biggest budget in SC history.
5) She has long time big pharma connections. We're fighting like hell to keep ObamaCare out of SC... but she's drifting towards pushing back.
