I Wish This Guy Was Running For President

If Ron Paul takes South Carolina, rumor has it that Governor No, is on the top of Congressman Paul's list of potential running mates.

Note the hostile slant of this GreenvilleNewsOnline article towards Governor Sanford. And why does it exist? Because Mr. Sanford has had the audacity to put his local constituents and his principles before his National Party.

Sanford's chief of staff, Tom Davis, sent out an e-mail 10 days ago putting the arm on recipients for money, not for Sanford, who can't run again, but for the governor's new toy, Reform SC. It was created, Davis said, to "mobilize the people of South Carolina to send Columbia politicians a powerful message."

He went on to refer to "television, direct mailings, radio, etc." aimed at making change happen, "to inform the voters of the disconnect between their legislators' conservative campaign promises and the way they actually vote." In his P.S., Davis cited the need for a grass-roots campaign, saying, "There are also far too many who campaigned for election on a conservative platform and then failed to follow through on their promises." 'Bad position'

After reading the Davis/Reform SC e-mail, Dawson noted, "It certainly would put us in bad position because we don't get involved in primaries."

Chip Felkel, a Greenville businessman with extensive experience in Republican politics, is among those who view Reform SC as a thinly veiled effort to raise money to replace hostile Republican legislators with Sanford-friendly ones.

"Reading the note that came from Tom Davis and subsequent discussion, it'd be hard to think there were any other targets than those who were not up to the governor's standard," Felkel said.

A look at Reform SC's Web site leaves little doubt, generically and specifically, about its generic targets:

"Legislators grow government 40 percent over three years."

"Legislators spend, educators pay."

Then there's the dummied photo of Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, as a puppet master manipulating the strings of former Rep. Converse Chellis, newly elected as state treasurer, courtesy of his former legislative pals.