REPS. HALEY, BALLENTINE SOUGHT COMBINED $1.44 MILLION IN HIDDEN EARMARKS

In the battle for open government in South Carolina, few individuals have been more visible advocates than State Reps. Nikki Haley (R-Lexington) and Nathan Ballentine (R-Lexington). From press releases to blog posts to statewide tours, Haley and Ballentine have aggressively used transparency to inflate their statewide stature.

But the Haley/Ballentine brand of transparency may apply only to others and not to themselves, according to documents obtained by The Palmetto Scoop.

Signed letters from the Budget and Control Board show Haley and Ballentine requested a combined $1.44 million in competitive grants between 2006 and 2008.

The now-defunct competitive grants program allowed legislators to secretly sponsor earmarks and anonymously flood the budget with pork barrel spending — something that would seem to contradict the transparency rhetoric coming from both Haley and Ballentine over the last six months.

Haley told SCHotline.com in an August 2008 interview, “What I need is for the public to go to their legislators and say ‘we want [roll call voting], we want to see how you’re spending taxpayer dollars, and we know that you want this so that you can go on the record and show us how you’re trying to spend it wisely and not blow it away like everybody says.’”

Yet, only months before that interview, Haley requested a $69,274 earmark for the Orchestra Association of S.C. to launch a marketing campaign welcoming its new director. She also asked for a two earmarks totaling $30,000 for the Lexington County Museum, $85,500 for a nonprofit advertising campaign, and $60,000 for a Columbia College business group.

And those were just her 2008 earmark requests.

Haley’s most paradoxical competitive grant applications were in 2006 and 2007 when she secretly requested $90,000 for Lexington Fun Fest, $25,000 for Lexington Festivals, Inc., and $3,500 for Lexington Community Fun Day. This came prior to her 2008 re-election campaign in which she railed against competitive grants for festivals – including the Gilbert Peach Festival.

All total, Haley sought $668,689 in earmarks, none of which was made available to the public unless they knew the right person to ask.

But Ballentine put Haley to shame when it came to siphoning the surreptitious pork barrel cash. The Irmo Republican requested $775,871 in competitive grant earmarks during the life of the program.

Like Haley, Ballentine’s actions appear to conflict with his recent transparency tirades.

“While everyone has a right to anonymity, I prefer and respect those that say what they mean, mean what they say, and have the courage to be honest and straightforward instead of spinning and covering their tracks,” Ballentine wrote on his blog, mere months after his clandestine, two-year, quarter-million-dollar competitive grant binge.

“Representative Haley and I will continue to stay focused on policy,” he added. “Good policy like open government, transparency, accountability, campaign finance reform, on-line check registries and much more.”

Ballentine’s requests – which have apparently avoided the sunlight he supposedly seeks on his blog – included $100,445 for Project Pet to help homeless pets, $81,119 for office space at the Lutheran Homes of S.C., and $27,485 for water quality monitoring on behalf of the Lake Murray Association.

He also applied for two grants for HOPE Worldwide totaling $400,000 and $91,500 for the Columbia Soccer Club.

Until now, none of these requests have been made readily available to the public.

To view the signed competitive grant application letters, click here [pdf].

SAWYER ‘DEPRIVED MAN OF RIGHT TO NOT HAVE ASS KICKED BY COPS’

Three months after one South Carolina trooper was acquitted for using excessive force on a fleeing criminal, another has plead guilty.

Ex-Highway Patrol officer John B. Sawyer pleaded guilty Monday to depriving a man of his right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, according to U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins. In other words, the guy was caught red handed (screen cap above) kicking a dude in the head for no reason.

Sawyer was indicted in July after the Department of Public Safety released a video that showed him kicking a man in the head after a 2006 highway chase. The video released after media requests was one of several showing South Carolina troopers acting aggressively.

Sawyer was placed on leave and later resigned from the highway patrol. Sawyer had pleaded not guilty in July. He’ll be sentenced later. [AP]

If I were Sawyer, I would just say I was practicing for the big family reunion football game. His colleagues would have probably make fun of him for being the kicker, but it sure as hell would have beat prison. Especially when you’re a cop. I hear all the stuff from the movies is true.

GOVERNOR TO BE INVOLVED IN RACE TO REPLACE HIM, MCMASTER MOST LIKELY TO WIN ENDORSEMENT

The blossoming friendship between Gov. Mark Sanford and Attorney General Henry McMaster has almost cost me my lunch on a few occasions, so reading John O’Connor’s piece in The State today about the 2010 governor’s race truly tripped my gag reflex.

That’ because Sanford said he will be actively involved in the campaign to choose his predecessor. The governor told O’Connor it’s “very, very important” who succeeds him.

As if that weren’t bad enough, O’Connor points out that Sanford has good reason to not endorse three of the four Republican candidates.

Sanford has history with two of the candidates — [Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer] and [Carroll Campbell III], the son of the late Republican governor — that suggests he will not support them. Last year, Sanford removed Campbell from the S.C. State Ports Authority board, prompting Campbell to sue. The lawsuit later was dropped.

O’Connor further noted that Congressman Gresham Barrett has been very critical of Sanford. That leaves McMaster as the most likely candidate to win Sanford’s endorsement, and it leaves me wishing I had never gotten out of bed this morning.

RNC CHAIR HOPEFUL INKS ENDORSEMENTS FROM TWO MORE DELEGATES

Just prior to Christmas, South Carolina GOP Chair Katon Dawson landed a big endorsement from New Mexico chairman Allen E. Weh in his bid to lead the Republican National Committee. And while the rest of us were enjoying the holidays, he added a few more.

Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard and North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Linda Daves both said they would vote for Dawson when the RNC members vote on Jan. 29.

By my count, that’s nearly a dozen confirmed votes for Dawson from all over the country. And with a crowded field of candidates squabbling over only 168 votes, every one of those endorsements is vital.

With these endorsements, Dawson now has a majority of the delegates from three states — the threshold for getting on the RNC chair ballot. At least two of the three voting members of the RNC from South Carolina, North Carolina, and Iowa have announced their support of Dawson.

Rivals Ken Blackwell and Saul Anuzis have also put together a strong list of supporters.

WBF LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR JAN. 24 EVENT

In just three short weeks, beer drinkers from all over the world will descend on Columbia for the World Beer Festival.

A celebration of all things frothy goodness, this Jan. 24 event will feature two sessions at which participants can sample beers from all over the world — coupled with music and food — for between $45 and $75. But if that price is a bit much for you, then you can volunteer to help out at the festival.

Why volunteer?
You’ll help a good cause - a portion of the proceeds from the WBF go to support two Columbia non-profits, Columbia Opportunity Resource (COR) and The River Alliance.

You’ll make new friends – work in a fun, friendly environment with great people.

You’ll build your wardrobe – every volunteer gets a cool t-shirt.

You’ll enjoy good beer – though you can’t drink beer while working at the festival, volunteers are treated to a volunteer-only party about a week after the event that includes sampling of beers from the festival, tasty food, and a raffle for lots of neat beer stuff.

You’ll learn more about beer – every volunteer receives a complimentary three-issue subscription to All About Beer magazine.

What do volunteers do?
Most volunteers serve as pourers during the festival, pouring samples for festival guests. Some volunteers also work at the entry gates, taking tickets and welcoming guests.

What is required?
You must be at least 21 years of age to volunteer. Volunteers are required to attend an hour-long training session during the week before the event, and work during at least one of the two festival sessions. Besides that, you just need to smile and enjoy!

If you’re interested in signing up, just click this link. Then just sit back, crack a cold one, and start counting down to

SOUTH CAROLINA DEFEATS NO. 19 BAYLOR ON THE ROAD, 85-84

University of South Carolina head basketball coach Darrin Horn must have read The Palmetto Scoop earlier this week when I noted that he needed to turn things around — and fast — because that’s exactly what he did tonight.

The Gamecocks defeated No. 19 Baylor on the road 85-84 in a season-changing upset that propelled the school to 10-2 on the season.

Led by Devan Downey’s 23 points, the Gamecocks trailed for the entire game until getting its first lead midway through the second half. The game went back and forth from there, with Baylor grabbing a one-point lead with with 12.9 seconds left.

South Carolina battled down court and guard Zam Fredrick scored the game’s final field goal with five seconds left to put the Gamecocks ahead for good.

All five South Carolina starters scored double-digit points. The Gamecocks face Wofford on Monday at 7 p.m. in Columbia.

CONGRESSMAN WILL GIVE PAY RAISE TO CHARITY… NO WORD ON BILLIONS IN BAILOUT PORK

While millions of Americans are out of work at the height of one of the worst economic periods in U.S. history, Congress has decided that it deserves a pay raise for all that nothing they do on a regular basis.

Lawmakers voted to allow an automatic pay raise to take effect for this session which increased salaries by nearly $5,000. For Rep. Gresham Barrett though, this made for a wonderful opportunity to save a little face after flip-flopping all over the Congressional bailout bills.

Members of Congress are now slated to receive salaries of roughly $170,000 in 2009, up from not quite $140,000 ten years ago. Meanwhile, Barrett is making his opposition to the pay raise clear by giving all $4,700 of his salary increase to charity.

“I will continue to press for repeal of automatic pay raises, and this year I will be donating my salary increase to Anderson Interfaith Ministries,” Barrett said. “AIM is an organization made up of churches and individuals that provides assistance to the needy while guiding the people it serves to live independently within their own resources.” [Upstate Today]

Well, isn’t that just lovely. He’s going to give his extra cash to the starving children. But why stop here? What about some of the billions of dollars in pork that were stuffed into the previous bailout bills Barrett voted against, then for, then against again? Or, hell, how about giving away some of the rest of that posh Congressional salary?

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA BOTH FALL IN NEW YEAR’S DAY BOWLS

The first day of 2009 wasn’t very kind to the two schools from South Carolina competing in New Year’s Day bowl games. Both Clemson and South Carolina were defeated to begin the year and end their season.

The Gamecocks faced Iowa in Tampa, Fla., in the Outback Bowl where they quickly found themselves down 14-0. Things only got worse from there as the Hawkeyes delivered South Carolina their third straight loss by a final of 31-10.

Following the game, Defensive End Eric Norwood and Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn both announced that they would join safety Emanuel Cook in entering the NFL draft. Tight end Jared Cook said he is also considering going pro.

A couple hours later and only a few miles down the road in Jacksonville, Fla., Clemson found themselves in a close matchup with Nebraska. The Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the Gator Bowl, but the Cornhuskers fought back from down eleven points in the second half to win 26-21.

Both Clemson and South Carolina finished the season with a 7-6 record.

(Photo: Reuters)

WELCOME TO 2009, MAY IT BE BETTER THAN EVER

If you’re like me, you’re probably out with friends and family right now reflecting on the year that was and toasting all the wonderful things to come in 2009. Also if you’re like me, you’re glad that this will mercifully end the plethora of Holiday Season television marathons.

Anyway, I was going to sit here and wait and write a post at midnight, but the allure of free champagne and noisemakers was too much to resist. So you’re going to have to settle for this prerecorded post with the video above from earlier when the good folks in Sydney, Australia rang in the new year.

I was also going to do another “Year in Posts” post like I did for 2007, but one of my New Year’s resolutions is to look toward the future more and I wanted o get an early start. Actually, that’s just an excuse for me being busy.

But whatever you’re doing right now, and whenever you’re reading this, I wish you a very happy New Year.

And I also thank you for making The Palmetto Scoop your home for South Carolina news. I quite obviously couldn’t do it without you.

CLEMSON WHOOPS UP ON USC BASKETBALL, 98-87

To call University of South Carolina head basketball coach Darrin Horn’s first season disappointing is probably a bit premature, but 11 games into the season and that appears to be where things are headed.

With a disgraceful early loss to the College of Charleston and close wins over far inferior teams, Horn has struggled to keep the Gamecocks afloat. And the real competition is yet to come as SEC play begins Jan. 10.

Tonight the team notched its second loss of the year, falling to arch-rival Clemson 98-87. That score may seem close on paper, but after the first ten minutes of the game, South Carolina just stopped playing.

By the second half, the Tigers had amassed an 18 point lead and en route to steamrolling the Gamecocks. Even guard Devan Downey’s career-high 37 points weren’t enough to keep the Cocks competative against the unbeaten Tigers.

South Carolina will play No. 20 Baylor on Friday while Clemson looks to go 14-0 when they take on East Carolina Saturday.

S.C. POLICY COUNCIL: BAUER’S SENIOR SHIELD PROGRAM MAY INTERFERE WITH PRIVATE SECTOR

The Senior Shield program created by Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer came come under heavy fire last month for improperly using state funds. And one of the most damning condemnations was published Sunday by South Carolina Policy Council Communications Director Bryan Cox in the Myrtle Beach Sun News.

Cox noted that, at best, the program “raises many questions regarding government entanglement with the private sector.” At worst, it’s illegal.

The Better Business Bureau has highlighted this concern by pointing out Senior Shield will duplicate many of the services it provides as well as those of Angie’s List and other businesses. Senior Shield also poses serious civil liberties concerns by empowering government to run background checks on citizens with no suspicion of wrongdoing. Businesses can choose whether to participate, but employees of those companies risk losing their jobs if they refuse to submit to this government check.

The lieutenant governor’s office glosses over this concern by arguing Senior Shield background checks will help identify fraud before it occurs. However, rather than help existing businesses address these concerns the government has instead chosen to compete with them. This is not the proper role of government in a free society. Instead, the lieutenant governor should encourage the Better Business Bureau and others to expand its range of services. That would accomplish the goal of protecting more seniors while also alleviating civil liberties and government encroachment concerns. [...]

The Senior Shield program also raises specific financial concerns. Silver Nation, a for-profit company based just outside Washington, D.C., works for the lieutenant governor’s office to conduct the background checks and shares in the profits. The state gets $50 of the roughly $200 collected annually from businesses and $1 of every $50 paid for criminal background checks on employees.

By earning money off the program, the state now has a vested interest in conducting as many background checks as possible. This removes government from its proper role as a neutral arbiter and instead gives it a financial stake in the process. Without an unbiased role it is impossible for government to regulate the program with any credibility.

This whole mess is due entirely to the departure of former Office on Aging Director Curtis Loftis and the arrival of former Secretary of State Jim Miles as Bauer’s chief of staff. Loftis is a class act who actually does the right thing, while Miles has driven the lieutenant governor’s office into the ground.

But hey, as long as little Andre gets to play Santa Claus with his used possessions, all is well in the Kingdom of Bauer.

GOVERNOR MAKES DRUDGE REPORT FOR DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

It’s been a goal of mine for a while now to get The Palmetto Scoop onto the massively influential Drudge Report. TPS has been linked to by practically every other important news site, but Drudge eludes me.

So imagine my disappointment when Gov. Mark Sanford was on Drudge this morning for literally doing nothing. What the hell?

Sandwiched between links to stories about the “Kill flu,” the Philadelphia mayor’s battle with libraries, and President-elect Barack Obama’s Hawaii golf outing was a picture of Sanford and a link to a WIS story about the governor refusing to sign federal loan papers to help pay unemployment benefits.

Sanford says a request for federal aid to pay benefits to out-of-work residents will be signed as soon as unemployment officials agree to certain conditions.

Employment Security Commission board members and staff were meeting Monday to discuss the governor’s demands.

Sanford has some things he wants first before he signs the request, such as an independent, third-party audit to review operations and performance of the commission.

Among other things, Sanford wants to have unemployment insurance data collected, Details like reasons for getting unemployment and dates of employment benefits, and quarterly employment numbers and wages.

Additionally the Governor wants information about companies that close, like when they shut down and where they’re located.

“I cannot provide information that I don’t collect and this is what’s being asked,” Ted Halley, executive director of the commission, said.

Specifically, Halley says his agency doesn’t collect specifics about why people are out of work.

Unemployment officials say without the $146 million loan, the state’s trust fund to pay jobless benefits will run out of money by Wednesday. The state already has borrowed $15 million to pay benefits through the end of this year.

“We’re paying out more money than we’re taking in to the trust fund and you do the arithmetic,” Halley said.

The main concern is the people that will suffer if the loan is not approved.

“This is the only source of income that they have. This is the difference between an individual paying rent, buying groceries making car payments buying fuel to heat their homes. This is the only source of income they have,” Halley said.

In a memo to Sanford, Halley agrees to some but not all the Governor’s requests. [WIS]

Drudge called it “bold,” which is one way of looking at it. After all, you do have to be pretty “bold” to throw 77,000 of your state’s residents under the bus in order to turn a $146 million loan into a political football.

So what if they starve? Sanford gets to look like an ideological hero and make it on Drudge for once again not doing a damn thing.

If he’s not remembered as South Carolina’s do-nothing governor, he should certainly go down in history as our ironic governor.