South Carolina has a history of being a big deal in presidential primaries. You might remember Barack Obama’s stunningly dominant performance there in 2008 that prompted Bill Clinton to compare him to Jesse Jackson and inspire a big backlash. Or you might remember that John McCain solidified himself as the frontrunner after winning the Palmetto State in 2008. And who can forget the incredibly nasty campaign George W. Bush waged in the state against McCain in 2000? Winning South Carolina stopped McCain’s momentum cold, and started a quick march to the nomination for the younger Bush. Even going back to 1980, a thumping win by Ronald Reagan in South Carolina signaled his strength as a candidate and the race was never close thereafter.
Although next year’s nomination schedule is still in flux, South Carolina is expected to be the second primary (after New Hampshire) and either the third of fourth contest overall (Iowa and Nevada caucuses). With Romney expected to win Nevada easily, all the focus after New Hampshire should be on South Carolina. They can expect a lot of press coverage, a lot of advertising, and a lot of tourism dollars. Nonetheless, the state’s Republican governor has decided that the event is not important enough to fund.
…Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, a conservative who has been making a name for herself nationally, insists that taxpayer funds be used only for what she calls core functions. She told lawmakers earlier this year that those functions don’t include primaries.
“Political parties have sufficient fundraising ability to offset the costs of partisan presidential preference primaries, and in a budget year like this one, it is my ask that we do not dedicate taxpayer dollars to something I believe does not rise to the level of a core function of government,” she wrote in a letter in March.
The Democrats don’t care, but the Republicans will now have to use their own money to pay for an election. The price tag will be in excess of a million dollars and will presumably have to be paid by the state party which currently has $137,000 cash on hand. It’s hard to believe that Gov. Haley could be so destructive to her own party. It’s not like the people of South Carolina were clamoring for the state’s GOP to pay for a primary that will bring buckets of money to the state.
But, hey, I’m not complaining. Let the GOP screw themselves for a change.
