Until last night, President Obama's 2008 Wisconsin win (by 13 points) led most strategists to skip over this heartland as a potential state in play. Today, with the "fall of the recall" the game has changed. A new GOP "message" frontier for other states like Pennsylvania, Colorado, Ohio, and Nevada, each of which Obama won…
Read more
Is it worth the money for Romney to associate himself with a birther? Will this help or hurt Romney’s campaign?
Discerning eyes should be on former governor Romney's beliefs not on fundraiser attendees. To win the White House, former Governor Romney must raise money to bring his message to the independent voter at play in this critical election. President Obama's campaign recently reached a billion dollars in donations through fundraisers like that of the People's…
Read more
Is Obama right to want to eliminate tax loopholes?
Though sources differ on the scrivener of “You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong” it is generally accepted that Reverend William Boetcker’s collection of ten maxims underscore the failures associated with an overzealous government. Whether they are the ideas of the Minnesota governor or President Obama, the reality is that the success or…
Read more
Does Santorum have a shot at being the GOP standard-bearer?
In one of my final official duties as chair of the South Carolina Republican Party, I had the honor of hosting the FOX News-sponsored First in the South, Republican Presidential Primary Debate last month in Greenville, SC. As I watched the debate, I was struck by how Rick Santorum’s words connected with the audience. At…
Read more
Is President Obama using a “school uniforms” approach in creating policy?
As I read this morning’s question, I immediately thought about a book published in 2010 titled, “Switch, How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.” Though the authors, Chip and David Heath, are better known for the bestseller, “Made to Stick,” the premise of this book is how to affect transformative change through “little bite-size…
Read more
Latest Scandals Are a Reflection of Character
Last week, Americans watched in astonishment as scandal after scandal involving well-respected government institutions (the Secret Service, the GSA, the U.S. military) unfolded, and each new revelation just angered us more. The Secret Service scandal prompted Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and Congressman Carolyn Maroney (D-NY) to…
Read more
Discuss the Foreign Policy of the GOP Candidates
Voters are looking for more than words. They want a clear vision backed up by a discernable plan. Vague platitudes like, “America must continue to lead …” or “We must have resolve to do what is necessary …” will not cut it. For instance, on the issue of taxes and spending, what has traction right now…
Read more
A Thousand Cuts
‘One of Margaret Thatcher’s defining characteristics as a politician was a need for enemies. To fuel the aggression that drove her career she had to find new antagonists all the time to be successfully demonized, confronted and defeated.” John Campbell in his book The Iron Lady devotes an entire chapter to this unusual premise. In simple terms,…
Read more
School Choice: A Tale of Two Sons, Two Schools
I am the product of public education: from Irmo Elementary School to a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Likewise our identical twin sons have received excellent educations in public schools from Pine Street Elementary School to the Freshman Academy at Spartanburg High School. I can point to seminal teachers…
Read more
Is Snowe’s departure a sign that the center is truly crumbling in Congress? And will her retirement hurt the GOP’s chances of a Senate majority?
For many Republican women, Senator Snowe’s departure is not about speculating on whether the “center is crumbling” in Congress or whether the Senator’s retirement will hurt the republican Senate majority. For many, these questions are rhetorical in nature. Any time a long-term member of congress retires, power structure is shaken and the same “sky is…
Read more