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Article published Jun 6, 2004
Political nirvana shattered
ROBERT W.
DALTON
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA -- It should have been a
no-brainer, a recipe for unbridled success.Republican governor.
Republican-controlled state House and Senate. Political nirvana.Not quite.When
the session ended Thursday, Gov. Mark Sanford went home with most of his top
priorities still in his pocket; the Senate, like a black hole, had collapsed
upon itself; and the House walked away feeling like the obedient but
under-appreciated stepchild.Sanford's stormy two-year relationship with the
General Assembly reached Hurricane Hugo proportions on May 27, when he carried a
pair of pigs into the Statehouse to jab the House for overriding 105 of his 106
budget vetoes in 99 minutes. The stunt played well with the public, but left
many legislators going home questioning their ability to work with the governor
in the future."I'm very concerned that the governor's ability to be effective in
the General Assembly has been permanently damaged," said Sen. Jim Ritchie,
R-Spartanburg.In addition to quashing the vetoes, the House also passed 14 of
the 16 items on Sanford's "Checklist forChange," including his top item, an
income tax reduction plan. That's what stung representatives most about the
piggy caper, said House Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg."It's
important for the public to recognize that the things he felt were important,
the House passed," Smith said. "That's why it's difficult to understand why the
governor chose to bring piglets to our door to make his point."Rep. Bob Walker,
R-Landrum, said the pig incident was disrespectful and that he didn't agree with
all of Sanford's policies. But, he said, he's not ready to write off the
governor just yet."All we're asking is for him to come to the table and try to
compromise," Walker said. "We can't work without each other."Sanford spokesman
Will Folks said the governor has been more than willing to compromise. Sanford
campaigned on eliminating the state's income tax, but the plan he's put forth
would reduce it to 4.75 percent, Folks said.Among the items on Sanford's
checklist that the House pushed through were a Medicaid reform package, a
charter school reform bill and a tort reform proposal. All of them died,
however, in a Senate bottleneck.The Senate spent most of the first half of the
year locked in a filibuster over a stronger seat belt law. Sen. Glenn McConnell,
R-Charleston, and his supporters eventually wore down those who favored giving
law enforcement the right to pull over motorists who were not wearing their seat
belts, and the bill died without ever coming to a vote.Even at its glacial pace,
the Senate passed three of Sanford's priorities: The Fiscal Discipline Act, a
small business regulatory relief plan and the Teacher Protection Act.Sanford's
income tax plan, however, died in a filibuster by Senate Democrats when several
attempts to force a vote came up three votes shy. And when a filibuster to block
a Sanford appointment to the S.C. Worker's Compensation Commission consumed the
final day of the session, frustrated senators battled each other and bemoaned
the body's antiquated rules."Part of the problem is the rules, and another part
is having the discipline to work through difficult issues rather than putting
off the tough votes to the end," Ritchie said. "People expect us to take on the
hard issues and use our best judgment. Putting off votes is a disservice."Sen.
Glenn Reese, D-Boiling Springs, said that the ability to filibuster is a useful
tool and that the rules don't need to be overhauled."When the people back home
are saying we need you to filibuster, the people who are crying now will be the
same ones saying to do whatever you need to do to hold things up," Reese said.
"It's a chess game, and you play it."Sanford called the Senate process
"dysfunctional." He said its antiquated rules prevented supporters of his tax
plan from getting the chance to vote on it.The governor said he plans to take
his case to the people over the summer."A lot of what I need to do is let people
know how important these things are in people's lives," Sanford said. "I'm going
to spend some time in some people's districts."Folks said Sanford counts Ritchie
and Smith among his friends in the General Assembly. He said the governor hopes
any past differences can stay there."I think the governor is more than willing
to work with them and other friends in the General Assembly, particularly if
some of the rules in the Senate are changed, to get those core agenda items
passed," Folks said. "None of this is about personalities to the governor. It's
about the merits of the issues and his fundamental belief that somebody has got
to stand up for the taxpayers of this state."Ritchie said the Senate would spend
the summer examining its rules.He, too, hopes that everyone can move forward and
forge a new working relationship. But, he said, it's going to "require a
consistency from the Governor's Office in his dealings with the Senate.""If we
support 80 percent of his agenda, we are not his enemy 20 percent of the time,"
Ritchie said.Smith, who has been one of the governor's strongest supporters, was
less forgiving. He said Sanford is going to have to convince the House
Republican caucus that "he's not running against it.""It's one thing to be a
populist. It's another to be an effective leader," Smith said.Reese said he
expects everything to have blown over by the time the Legislature returns in
January."He's got two more years, and we assume he's going to run again," Reese
said. "I look for the governor to take advantage of those last two years and
work with the House and Senate to try to do some very positive things."Robert W.
Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.