MCCAIN CHANGES SCHEDULE TO MEET WITH JINDAL

Readers of The Palmetto Scoop are going to be completely shocked when they read this because we all totally thought Gov. Mark Sanford was going to be GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s running mate, but it looks like there’s a new frontrunner in the Republican veepstakes.

McCain will divert his week-long schedule to battleground states and make an impromptu stop in Louisiana Wednesday where he will meet with Gov. Bobby Jindal, who sources say is being “seriously considered” as a vice presidential choice.

If McCain picked Jindal, it would have several immediate echoes in the race.

First, McCain would essentially cede one of the main pillars of his argument against Obama: experience. Jindal is a nearly a decade younger than Obama and, although he served in Congress before being elected governor, his foreign policy resume is at least as thin as Obama’s.

Second, and more positively for McCain, naming Jindal would be a major symbolic step in fundamentally re-branding the Republican party. Jindal, an Indian-American, would put a whole new face on a party that is widely seen by voters as controlled by old white men.

A Jindal pick is the definition of unorthodox. But, in an election cycle where the Republican brand is as badly tarnished as at any time in recent memory, a “Hail Mary” (or “Hail Bobby”) may be warranted. [Washington Post]

Dammit. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride! Can’t a South Carolina governor who made absolutely no effort to help McCain and has done just about everything possible to emaciate his chances at being veep get a little love?

Oh well, someone cue up The Eagles’ “New Kid in Town.”

MCCAIN, GRAHAM UP BIG, 2010 GUBERNATORIAL RACE CLOSE

Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh, NC based firm, has released a new survey of South Carolina voters that deals not only with the presidential election, but also two major statewide races.

In the poll of 542 likely voters taken between July 9 and 11, Republican John McCain held a 45 to 39 lead over Democrat Barack Obama, with Libertarian Bob Barr picking up 5 percent of the vote.

PPP noted in its results that Obama leads 77-10 with black voters, and 54-32 with voters between the ages of 18 and 29. McCain leads almost every other demographic group.

“It would take an exceptional turnout from young voters and black voters, as well as a lot of disaffected conservatives voting for Bob Barr, to make a win in South Carolina possible for Barack Obama,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “He does seem likely to outperform John Kerry, but a victory in the Palmetto State is still a long shot.”

In the race for U.S. Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham is well on his way to re-election. With former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride now out of the race, Graham has a 54-32 advantage over Democrat Bob Conley.

And Public Policy Polling even took a very early look at the 2010 race to replace Gov. Mark Sanford. Henry McMaster tied Democrats Jim Rex and Inez Tenenbaum in possible matches, while Rep. Gresham Barrett trailed Rex but had a small lead over Tenenbaum. But roughly one-quarter of of those polled in all contests were undecided.

The firm didn’t poll the primary matchups directly, but among those who called themselves Republicans, McMaster had a double-digit lead over Barrett — suggesting the attorney general is by far the strongest candidate in the likely GOP primary field.

LOBBYIST/CONSULTANT GIVES TO DEMOCRATS WHILE ON RETAINER WITH REPUBLICANS

During the 1998 gubernatorial campaign, Columbia political consultant Warren Tompkins was leading former Gov. David Beasley’s re-election bid while lobbying for the video poker industry, which spent millions to defeat him. Beasley would lose that election with 45 percent of the vote.

Supporters and clients of Tompkins looked the other way on that unethical action, hoping he would reform his ways and not inflict upon them a similar fate.

But once again, Tompkins is playing both sides — only this time, the victim is the entire state Senate.

The Palmetto Scoop has learned that Tompkins, who has been on retainer with the Senate Republican Caucus for direct mail, web design, and general consulting for more than a year now, gave $5,000, the maximum allowed by law, to the Senate Democratic Caucus on June 27 of this year.

While the contract with Republicans is with his consulting firm First Tuesday Strategies and the money given to Democrats came from his lobbying firm, those actions still conflict with each other; His political arm being paid to increase Republicans in the Senate while handing money to Democrats with his lobbying arm.

Since the Republican Caucus pays Tompkins from its operating account and those disclosures are not published under state ethics law, it is difficult to know for certain how much he has made.

But the caucus did transfer $275,000 from its campaign account — which is public record — to its operating account in the last quarter, suggesting Tompkins took in between $27,000 and $42,000 since April for the industry standard 10 to 15 percent commission.

So if you happen to be wondering the halls of the Statehouse this January and hear a fiddle, you’ll know who’s playing it. The only question is, which song will he be playing?

GOVERNOR TAKES TO CNN TO DO MISS TEEN SC IMPRESSION

Long lost anonymous blogger “Not Very Bright” returned today to post the above clip of Gov. Mark Sanford trying like hell to get some national media love as a vice presidential prospect. Since the geniuses at CNN are about as lost in the woods as the governor himself, they haven’t quite accepted the fact that Republican presidential nominee John McCain will never in a million years pick this guy as his running mate.

So hopefully CNN and other news outlets learned their lesson this morning when Sanford was on “Late Edition” with host Wolf Blitzer and proceeded to do his best impersonation of former Miss Teen South Carolina, Lauren Caitlin Upton.

When shown Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama’s latest radio ad and asked if there are any significant differences between what the Bush administration’s economic plan and McCain’s proposal, Sanford froze up and did everything but declare a map shortage.

“Yes. I mean, for instance, take, you know — take, for instance, the issue of — I’m drawing a blank, and I hate it when I do that, particularly on television,” Sanford said before sputtering off something completely unrelated about NAFTA.

Blitzer tried to bring Sanford back the question at hand, but the governor continued babbling and said, “No, I was going to go to a point — I was going to go to a point which is, what you would want is consistency with regard to that position.”

All of this came, of course, only seconds after CNN ran a graphic at the bottom of the screen that read, all too ironically, “A ‘Mental Recession.’” Folks, I rest my case.

SC REPUBLICANS BUILDING MOMENTUM FOR OFFSHORE DRILLING

With gas prices soaring to more than $4 per gallon and the price of oil hitting a record high $147 per barrel, the topic of offshore drilling in the United States has gained unparalleled momentum.

In South Carolina, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint along with Rep. Joe Wilson led the charge last month by publicly supporting the exploration of oil off South Carolina’s coast.

And on Wednesday, Katon Dawson grabbed headlines by becoming the first State Republican Party Chair to endorse the “Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.” campaign.

“We can shore up our country’s energy security, economic security and national security by breaking our country’s addiction to foreign oil,” said Dawson. “If we take the bold step to cultivate energy resources here at home, we will not only break our dependence on foreign oil, we will also bring meaningful relief to hardworking families who are experiencing unprecedented pain at the pump as gas prices continue to skyrocket.”

The following day, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer joined Dawson and encouraged Congress to act immediately to approve offshore drilling, among other proposals to access oil in the United States.

Bauer said that, “escalating gas prices are hurting our seniors each and every day. The Office on Aging works closely with seniors on fixed incomes who tell me of their hardships endured by the escalating costs of fuel, which directly impacts the increased costs of food and health care.”

And now both the Tennessee and Alabama Republican Party heads have followed Dawson’s lead and backed the offshore drilling movement.

Chairman Robin Smith of Tennessee called it “an absolute travesty” that Democrats have opposed the idea that he said would “supply thousands of American jobs.” Alabama’s party chief Mike Hubbard echoed that sentiment, noting “Democrats who are obstructing this legislation need to understand that those cries grow louder everyday.”

The “Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.” campaign, led by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions, has already collected more than 1 million signatures.

FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR DEAD AT 53

America is mourning the loss of a great man today. Former White House Press Secretary and FOX News Anchor Tony Snow has died at the age of 53 after battling colon cancer.

President Bush noted that Snow was “a gifted speechwriter who served in my father’s Administration” and that “America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character.”

Snow truly reinvented the role of the president’s chief spokesman because of the way he combined his insight as both a journalist and public relations guru to command the message while making reporters love him. The video of his final day at the White House above is particularly telling of how those who knew him felt about him.

South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson said Snow was “a gentleman who brought an unmatched enthusiasm and love to everything he did.

“He understood the importance and power of honesty and humor whether it be as a writer, commentator, or public servant,” Wilson said. “Throughout all his accomplishments, his wit and professionalism defined his character and his career.”

By all accounts, Snow remained positive to the very end, encouraging everyone to enjoy life to the fullest. Perhaps that was truly his most important message.

PHILANTHROPIST JOINS SCGOP CHAIR TO DISPEL MYTHS

SCHotline is in the process of posting about a million YouTube clips of New York philanthropist Howard Rich meeting with South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson. Above is the first question where Rich cuts through the media spin and introduces himself.

If you’re unfamiliar with Rich, then you have a life and don’t spend time reading blogs all day. For those of you who meet that description, he is a millionaire from New York who has helped fund the school choice effort in South Carolina, aiming to improve our state’s lackluster education system.

But there is a cadre of “corruptionists” (my word) bent on destroying out of state well-wishers in order to protect their clients’ in-state special interest cash cows. I won’t name names — cough, cough — but I will say that they’re protecting in-state groups that directly benefit from giving special interest money to lawmakers (a process known as “rent-seeking”) while attacking a group that gains only the knowledge that they are improving education in this state.

So Rich joined Dawson at his home in Columbia to sit down and discuss the bogus rumors put out by these folks and promote the cause he cares deeply about. And I wish him the best because we sure as hell need all the help we can get to improve our schools.

To watch all of the videos, hop on over to SCHotline’s YouTube page.

CORPORATION ENDS POLITICKING, CUTS PRESS CREDENTIALS AT ‘TRACK TOO TOUGH TO TAME,’ OTHERS

Political candidates looking to pick up support and major media attention by campaigning at the annual NASCAR race held in Darlington every May — which draws upwards of 100,000 fans and international coverage — will have to look elsewhere.

Officials from the International Speedway Corporation, which owns Darlington and nearly a dozen other race tracks across the country, have revoked press credentials for political reporters and banned candidates from politicking at their facilities, according to Campaign’s and Elections.

Politics was informed of the policy after a credentialing request had been denied to cover an unofficial appearance in Daytona by Libertarian Party presidential nominee, Bob Barr. ISC officials explained that credentialing a political reporter would, in their view, constitute the facilitation of a campaign event, in sharp violation of their policy.

The officials declined to provide details of the policy, and offered only a vague explanation of when the policy had gone into effect. But they expressed a belief that fans attending events at their speedways are sensitive to what might be construed as intrusive political activity.

“The policy has been more formalized recently, but it’s been a standing policy for some time,” said Cheryl Coxwell, a lobbyist in ISC’s Government Affairs department. “If you’re familiar with our events, we don’t typically have signs, or folks handing out campaign buttons. That type of thing is not done on our property.”

But as recently as this past January, just prior to the Florida Republican presidential primary, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani campaigned at the Daytona Speedway, waving from the passenger seat of his bus, which was emblazoned with the proclamation “Florida is Rudy country” as it sped around the track to the uplifting theme music from the film “Rudy.” [DOUG DANIELS - Campaigns and Elections]

This appears to be not so much a ban on campaigning in NASCAR, but more likely an ad hoch speed limit designed to put the brakes on Bob Barr and every Tom, Dick, and Harry who runs as a third party candidate.

The marriage between NASCAR and politicians at Darlington is not a recent one. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and candidates Bob Dole and Mike Huckabee have all campaigned at the Track Too Tough To Tame.

“The purpose of a politician going to [a NASCAR race] is to say ‘yes, I am a red blooded, gun toting, God fearing, pickup truck driving American’ with a simple yell of ‘gentlemen start your engines,’” a source close to both the raceway and numerous SC politicos said. “It’s almost become a part of the campaign cycle.”

For South Carolina candidates this year alone, NASCAR has played a major role in campaigns. Just last month, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer held a fundraiser at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte. And in State Senate District 13, Shane Martin knocked off incumbent Sen. Jim Ritchie due in no small part to NASCAR money.