Not that it really matters or that it is really Earth shattering news but it appears South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has picked a winner to replace Senator Jim DeMint. Now it will be Lindsay Graham who will become the Senior U.S. Senator in South Carolina.
And the winner is...
Congressman Tim Scott!
http://www.nytimes.com/...
WASHINGTON — Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina on Monday selected Representative Tim Scott to replace Jim DeMint in the United States Senate, an appointment that will make Mr. Scott the first black senator from the South since the late 19th century.
Representative Tim Scott spoke at the Republican National Convention in August.
“It is a historic day in South Carolina,” Ms. Haley said, announcing her decision at the Capitol in Columbia with Mr. Scott at her side. She added, “He earned this seat for what I know he is going to do to make South Carolina and our country proud.”
You got it Governor Haley! Congressman Scott is definitely going to make this country proud! His Republican National Convention speech moved hearts and minds, even those who were disaffected Obama supporters from 2008. Even Artur Davis was moved!
The governor said that she chose Mr. Scott for his business vision and commitment to conservative principles. She said that he “will fly through 2014,” when he faces election to the Senate seat.
Fly, like Superman?
Mr. Scott, who is expected to be sworn in on Jan. 3 with the rest of the freshman class of senators, led a moment of silence for the victims of the Connecticut school shooting before he accepted the position. He praised his mother, a hard-working single woman, who he said “understood that love sometimes comes at the end of a switch.”
He offered a glimpse into his conservative fiscal philosophy, saying, “If you have a problem with spending, there’s not enough revenue to make up for it.” He noted that he had a steep learning curve ahead and praised his predecessor, saying: “There is no way to fill his shoes. There is no way to have another Jim DeMint in America.”
No way to have another Jim DeMint in America eh? Wait a minute, how dare Congressman Scott say this! Jim DeMint will still be living in America, right? Isn't he an American citizen?
Actually, Congressman Scott, I think you are a lot like Jim DeMint. Don't kid yourself here:
http://thinkprogress.org/...
BOOM!
Floated impeaching Obama over the debt ceiling. As the debt ceiling debate raged in the summer of 2011 because of the intransigence of Tea Party freshmen like Scott, the nation inched perilously close to defaulting on its obligations. One option discussed by some officials to avoid that scenario was for the president to assert that the debt ceiling itself was an unconstitutional infringement on the 14th Amendment. However, Tim Scott told a South Carolina Tea Party group that if Obama were to go this route, it would be an “impeachable act.”
KABAM!
Proposed a bill to cut off food stamps for entire families if one member went on strike. One of the most anti-union members of Congress, Scott proposed a bill two months after entering Congress in 2011 to kick families off food stamps if one adult were participating in a strike. Scott’s legislation made no exception for children or other dependents.
POW!
Wanted to spend an unlimited amount of money to display Ten Commandments outside county building. When Scott was on the Charleston County Council, one of his primary issues was displaying the Ten Commandments outside the Council building. According to the Augusta Chronicle, Scott said the display “would remind council members and speakers the moral absolutes they should follow.” When he was sued for violating the Constitution and a Circuit Judge’s orders, Scott was nonplussed: “Whatever it costs in the pursuit of this goal (of displaying the Commandments) is worth it.”
ZAP!
Helped slash South Carolina’s HIV/AIDS budget. As a state representative, Scott backed a proposal to cut the state’s entire HIV/AIDS budget, despite the fact that South Carolina ranks in the top-third of reported AIDS cases. The cuts were ultimately included in the state’s budget, impacting more than 2,000 HIV-positive South Carolinians who needed help paying for their medication.
Quite a resume there Congressman, ain't it?
The governor seriously considered a number of potential contenders, particularly Jenny Sanford, the ex-wife of former Gov. Mark Sanford, who supported Ms. Haley in her race two years ago. But in choosing Mr. Scott, the governor selected a lawmaker with a strong conservative voting record during his two years in Congress.
Mr. Scott, 47, also offers a unique story and background, one that is in scant supply in the Republican Party right now. He was, by his account, a lost child who struggled with school and with life until a Chick-fil-A franchise owner took him on as a protégé and schooled him in conservative principles.
Check, that, OUT! He got schooled by a franchise owner of the Chick-Fil-A franchise. No, he didn't get the chics (aka the women). He got the attention of a franchise owner. Isn't it amazing how you struggle throughout life only to get attracted by a franchise owner of the one company whose owners donated to anti-gay marriage groups?
“Coming from a single-parent household and almost flunking out of high school,” Mr. Scott said in 2010, during his bid for the House, “my hope is I will take that experience and help people bring out the best that they can be.”
Before he was elected to Congress, Mr. Scott served for 13 years on the Charleston County Council and for 2 in the South Carolina House.
He served 13 years on the Charleston Country Council and 2 in the South Carolina House! Great work Congressman Scott! Now what exactly did you accomplish then? :)
Although the Republicans have far fewer minorities and women in Congress than the Democrats, the party, with Monday’s announcement, will now be able to claim the only current black member of the Senate, as well as two of the three Latino senators.
Mr. DeMint disclosed this month that he would retire two years into his second Senate term to run the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group based in Washington. He attended the announcement and offered his praise to Mr. Scott.
“I can walk away from the Senate knowing that someone is in the seat who is better than I am and will carry the voice of conservatism to the whole country, which is something I couldn’t do,” Mr. DeMint said. He added, “Our country needs those positive optimistic voices.”
Positive, optimistic voices eh? Give it up for the retiring Senator Jim DeMint!
Oh wait, where are my manners? It's Congressman Tim Scott we're celebrating?
“This is a proud moment for both Tim and for South Carolina,” Jeff Duncan, a fellow South Carolina freshman, said in a statement, “and his arrival in the Senate couldn’t have happened at a more pivotal time. With Tim’s appointment, South Carolina’s federal delegation will continue to be the most collaborative and team-oriented delegation in the country. I’m looking forward to working with him to champion the cause of defending the Constitution, and advocating for limited government, free markets and individual liberties.”
Wait, did Congressman Duncan say limited government or no government? I forget!
Are any of you fellow Kossacks and Democrats ready for 2014? Turn South Carolina purple!
And it looks like we have none other than Edith Childs who can help us.