Lieutenant governor should just hail a cab

October 15, 2003

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer agreed to a plea bargain on his May 6 traffic charges this week, and will pay just over $311 for driving too fast for conditions and disregarding a traffic signal, according to published reports.

The original reckless driving charge was reduced, not an unusual occurrence according to attorneys, which may have just saved Mr. Bauer’s license. The two charges that stuck carry six points; reckless driving would have carried an equal number. A license is suspended if the driver carries 12 points on his or her record.

The reports did not indicate the status of Mr. Bauer’s points, if any, at present, but he might be cutting it pretty close.
Readers might recall (unless they have been stranded on Pearl Island with the Survivor cast) that Mr. Bauer, late for the opening of the legislative session that day, drove a teensy bit too fast through downtown Columbia during the lunch hour, as well as ignoring a couple of traffic signals, one of which was a bright red light, one most of us learn in elementary school safety class means "stop."

When he finally stopped his vehicle after police pursuit, the officer, believing he was being approached in an "aggressive manner" by an "unsub" (he didn’t recognize Mr. Bauer as a state official), pulled his weapon.

Mr. Bauer later asked for a jury trial on the charges, an action he had every right to take as a citizen of this state. Yet he had previously admitted, according to his attorney, running two red lights (all the while claiming one was yellow) and speeding (clocked at 60 mph in a 35-mph zone) but — and we’re quoting here — "he doesn’t think he was driving recklessly." The jury trial was, we presume, to keep that reckless driving charge off his record, probably because of that pesky losing-one’s-license thing.

We’ve covered Mr. Bauer’s history of traffic mishaps in the past (his license has already been suspended once), but suffice to say he’s not the best judge of what "reckless" means with regard to the process of driving a motor vehicle. And as best we recall, yellow means "prepare to stop," not "step on it, fella."

Mr. Bauer, who publicly apologized for the events the following day, had put up $415 on the reckless driving charge and will thus get a refund now that the case has concluded. He might want to save the extra money for taxi fares, just in case.

His performance on the road is well known; his performance as lieutenant governor, a largely ceremonial position at best, is not so clear. In fact, the most high-profile act to date, other than the obvious problems on proper operation of a motor vehicle and respect for the laws of the state he is supposed to serve, has been asking for additions to his office budget.
This was at the same time he was repeatedly calling for other departments, such as education, public safety, health care and prisons, to cut their costs.

In another little bit of irony, he said the extra funding was needed to deal with increased constituent calls regarding unemployment, which has had a big effect on the state budget overall, not just personal budgets.

He has also been said to have issues with anger management, although he has insisted that an incident during his campaign, resulting in a broken bone in his hand, was because he was "aggravated, not angry."

Let’s hope he keeps both his aggravation level and his anger under control as he undertakes his first real duty, a nine-day economic development mission to Taiwan.

And for the sake of Taiwan-South Carolina relations, we hope nobody on the trip even suggests that Mr. Bauer take the wheel. He should just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Copyright 2003, Anderson Independent Mail. All Rights Reserved.