FORT MILL -- Experience at the table with
the leaders of America and the world. Bridge builder between the
political parties. More than 20 years of constituent service.
A familiar political face touted these familiar themes before more
than 100 supporters at Baxter Village in Fort Mill on Wednesday as
Democrat John Spratt officially kicked off his re-election bid for
Congress. York's Spratt was first elected to represent the 5th
Congressional District in 1982 and has worked his way up to ranking
Democrat of the Budget Committee and second Democrat on the Armed
Services Committee.
"I've climbed the ladder, rung by rung, till I stand near the top,"
Spratt said.
Spratt said he is running again because he has the seniority needed
in Congress as the country faces a mounting budget deficit, problems in
Iraq and a looming crisis dealing with retiring baby boomers.
"There is so much at stake," Spratt said. "I have the skills to help
with the solutions."
Budget experience
Spratt is not just politicking when it comes to budgets. He was one
of four in Congress to shape a bipartisan 1997 balanced budget that put
the country in the black three years later for the first time in
decades.
Spratt said he believes Democrats will regain control of the House in
November's election and he would be in a position to take over as the
Budget Committee chair.
Spratt touted his work to get South Carolina's fair share of federal
taxes for roads for the first time in years, but also "reaching across
the aisle" to work with Republicans on crucial issues like the war and
the budget.
"That's what you can do with seniority," Spratt said.
Acknowledging he was "tired of the bickering" that plagues
Washington, Spratt offered that he is instead a "constructive critic" of
the Republican controlled White House and Congress.
The budget deficit since President Bush took office in 2001 is the
largest ever, and the Republican-controlled Congress has since voted
four times to allow the cap to rise, Spratt said. He admitted that his
slamming of Bush's economic policies in Congress and in the media has
made him a "target" of the national Republicans.
"I have told the brutal truth about the administration's budgets to
anyone who will listen," Spratt said.
His challenger in November, Republican freshman state Rep. Ralph
Norman of Rock Hill, was handpicked by the White House. Vice President
Dick Cheney was in Rock Hill on Friday stumping and raising cash for
Norman.
The loudest applause Wednesday came when Spratt took a jab at Cheney,
who has taken a lot of heat recently for accidentally shooting a hunting
buddy in Texas.
"I didn't give much attention to being targeted until I heard Dick
Cheney was coming," Spratt said. "So last Friday when he was here, I was
in Gaffney."
Cheney himself joked about the hunting mishap Friday.
Experience matters
Spratt supporters Wednesday talked mainly of Spratt's vast experience
as an edge over Norman.
"John Spratt is a good, honest man," said Waddell Gibson of Fort
Mill, a Town Council member. "We need more John Spratts in Washington,
not less."
Although some applaud Spratt's record and experience as reflective of
what the 5th District needs, Norman will hammer Spratt on his role as
assistant to Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi of California.
Republicans call Pelosi a "liberal" out of touch with South Carolina
values.
"Twenty-three years of experience on the wrong side of the aisle is
not the representation the 5th District needs," said Nathan Hollifield,
Norman's campaign manager. "The time has come for the voters of the 5th
District to have a representative who reflects their values. In 2006,
the choice is clear: Do they want a congressman whose first vote in the
next Congress could be for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, or do
they want a representative who shares their ideals?"
The other half of Spratt's job is constituent service to people and
communities, he said. Citing his work on the 1993 settlement of a
Catawba Indian land claim that allowed the Baxter Village area to be
developed and working to bring in federal grants for York Technical
College, Spratt said he has delivered for York County.
Spratt paraded out three area mayors and a former mayor to show local
bipartisan support, including Republican Bob Runde of Tega Cay.
'"I haven't brought Dick Cheney and Karl Rove," Spratt said, "But I
have something better."
Runde, Fort Mill Mayor Charlie Powers, Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols
and former Rock Hill Mayor Betty Jo Rhea all touted Spratt's leadership,
experience, statesmanship and personal resolve in looking after York
County's needs.
Spratt is a conservative who believes in a strong national defense,
low taxes, a pro-business economic climate and individual freedoms,
Runde said.
Reaching out to new residents
The choice of Baxter Village -- which didn't exist the last time
Spratt faced serious opposition in 2000 -- wasn't an accident. Even
Spratt supporters acknowledge Spratt has to reach out to new voters who
have come to booming growth areas such as Baxter because many of those
voters are conservative.
Spratt thumped Republican novice challenger Albert Spencer in 2004,
easily winning all 14 5th District counties. However, Spencer barely
campaigned, raised almost no money and still got 37 percent of the vote
in the increasingly conservative-tilting district.
Spratt held events in Hartsville and Camden later Wednesday and has
another today in Sumter.
Andrew Dys • 329-4065
adys@heraldonline.com
