I have been interested in politics and history since the 2000 farce between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor, George W. Bush. At the time, I didn't quite grasp the idea that the Supreme Court of these United States could overrule the voice of the people and I still don't really get it. Either way, it was that day which made me want to understand our history and our politics.
In getting to know that history, one thing has become very clear: If there is one state that takes pride in looking at progress and shouting "stop (or 'You Lie!)," it has been South Carolina. It is an unsettling history that should shame those responsible for it.
All that knowledge makes the news in the South Carolina gubernatorial race seem like a normal day in politics for those living in the Palmetto State. South Carolina State Senator and Gubernatorial candidate, Jake Knotts made the following statement about his Tea Party-backed Republican primary opponent, Nikki Haley, who is a Christian of Indian Sikh descent:
"We already got one raghead in Washington; we don't need another raghead in the governor's mansion."
Knotts also says he believed Haley has been set up by a network of Sikhs and was programmed to run for governor of South Carolina by outside influences in foreign countries. He claims she is hiding her religion and he wants the voters to know about it.
It would be extremely shameful if it weren't so disturbingly common for South Carolina politicians to say things of this nature and to constantly incite this kind of hatred like Mr. Knotts has just decided to do. And no matter what party Mrs. Haley is part of or how far out of mainstream her views may be, someone like State Senator Knotts doesn't deserve to even hold the door for her, much less the President of the United States who he verbally slurred as well with this comment.
Alone, this comment is uncalled for. But when thrown into the history this state has, it is simply shameful; not just because it is often racially charged, but because in every instance, it involves a politician who cares more about politics than about working to get things done. This all, of course, is true without even having to mention the infidelity of the man these two candidates are running to replace, Governor Mark Sanford.
It can all be dated back to George H. W. Bush's 1988 campaign for the Presidency when South Carolina native Lee Atwater masterminded the famous "Willie Horton" television ad which led to the collapse of the Michael Dukakis campaign for President. It was not until Atwater was on his deathbed that he regretted the brutality of his career. But it is doubtful that even a deathbed conversion would lead him to believe that South Carolina would live up to his legacy in unimaginable ways.
In 1990, a Republican political consultant Rod Shealy decided to pander to the 'anti-black' white voters which surely exist in a state like South Carolina by recruiting a black candidate to run against his candidate in the primary. This, as Shealy had anticipated, paid off and benefited his own candidate.
During the 2000 Presidential Republican Primary in South Carolina between John McCain and George W. Bush, rumors trying to bring down the McCain campaign circulated that John McCain fathered an illegitimate black child. It was one of the dirtiest primary contests in our history.
Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina decided to shout at the President during his State of the Union address this year. Obviously Southern manners weren't being implemented that night.
Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina proves almost on a weekly basis that his job isn't to serve his country, but instead it is to serve his political interests and his Republican Party; the party that has been taken over by extremists with no regard for reality or problem-solving. His fight to destroy Obama in the healthcare debate because it would've been "Obama's Waterloo" shows that he had no intention of solving what was our broken healthcare system, but instead his goal was to take down the man in the White House for political purposes.
And so with Jake Knotts, the sad legacy of South Carolina continues. If you want to know what is wrong with our politics just take a look at the 'leaders' from the Palmetto state and you should have a pretty good understanding of what is wrong with it. It is sad that in 2010 in the United States of America, a country that has come so far, South Carolina continues to produce leaders that talk and conduct themselves as if it were still the 1960's.
It is with that legacy that we can come to a single conclusion: South Carolina is quickly becoming the stain of American politics.
(Sources: Yahoo! News, wltx.com)
