COLUMBIA--Sen. Robert Ford was not trying to stir up another racial controversy -- honest.

But some lawmakers are quite miffed at the Charleston Democrat anyway after the normally outspoken Ford took the well of the Senate Thursday to suggest that there was a slight problem with the new legislative manual's tribute to former Sen. Strom Thurmond.

After complimenting the mature portrait of Thurmond on the cover, Ford explained that some people might have a problem with the photos on the back of the manual, all of which were from the first half of Thurmond's life. He said that "I love the new Strom," but some people might see honoring the young Strom as misplaced praise.

He didn't get any more specific than to compare it to "honoring (Georgia segregationist governor) Lester Maddox before he changed."

Of course, the reference was to Thurmond's political past as a Dixiecrat and segregationist. The last guy who mentioned that unpleasant chapter of history, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, lost his job. Republicans were incensed, especially Sen. John Courson, who only moments before had had a warm conversation with Ford in the Senate anteroom.

Courson said that he was "tired of people making Strom Thurmond the whipping boy for our state" and other Republicans had trouble concealing their anger at Ford.

Trouble was, this wasn't Ford's doing. Ford had only seen the new manual moments before. Ford was approached by other black lawmakers who were upset by the loving collage to Thurmond's early years on the manual (Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Columbia, said he could not send out the manuals to his constituents). Collectively, black caucus members asked Ford to talk to the Republicans for them.

The reason Ford was drafted is that he is one of those rare lawmakers who moves effortlessly through all factions, parties and caucuses. He is closer to Republicans than any other member of the Senate Black Caucus, going so far as to call President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell -- the leader of the Republicans -- his best friend.

Ford's gentle nudge -- he didn't ask for new manuals, just an increased awareness of sensitive topics -- set off a bitter debate that stretched past adjournment Thursday.

Often the Senate is the state's biggest focus group on race relations, debating sensitive issues after session with what occasionally rises to the level of admirable effort. More often than not, Ford is in the middle of the debate, even facilitating it.

On Thursday, the usual suspects gathered in the Senate well after the session to try and hash this out, to little avail. Once again, Ford was in the middle of it all.

But he didn't want to be.

NOT PAUL NEWMAN

One amusing fact came from the Thurmond debate. Courson mentioned the Thurmond portrait hanging in the Senate chamber and recalled the day the selection committee chose it. He said Thurmond had commissioned a portrait himself, that "looked like Paul Newman."

"But we got one that was more realistic," Courson said.

RETIRING INCOME TAX

A group of small-business owners from around the state rallied around Gov. Mark Sanford's plan to reduce the state income tax in exchange for a cigarette tax hike. There were pizza parlor owners, mattress salesmen, real estate agents and plumbers represented on the south steps of the Statehouse on a very warm Tuesday afternoon.

Sanford, managing to touch all the bases in a single swoop, said that beyond the potential for economic growth that would result from his plan, it would also bring in more relocating retirees -- a growing segment of South Carolina's population.

"They may not buy much pizza, but they need mattresses and will occasionally need their plumbing fixed," the governor said.

DISSING THE CHICKS

When the Dixie Chicks came to Greenville last week to open their U.S. tour -- their first show on American soil since bashing President Bush in March -- some folks around the Statehouse were reminded that the group also snubbed them.

In March, the House passed Rep. Catherine Ceips' resolution requesting that, as an apology, the Chicks play a free show for the state's military personnel. Ceips, R-Beaufort, said the resolution was sent to the band's management, but the House got no reply.

"That's the end of it," Ceips said, shrugging it off. "We were just exercising our freedom of speech."

Other lawmakers were less charitable than Ceips. Some called the group "The Dixie Twits" and others "The Ditzy Chicks."

SMART ACT

State Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-James Island, is one of the primary sponsors of a bill that would allow for more flexibility in education spending. The bill, dubbed the "Streamlined Management and Accountable Resources for Teaching act -- what an acronym -- would set up six categories that have to be funded in all K-12 schools, but would allow for a single allocation that each local district could spend "in areas it determines best achieve its objectives and enhance its accountability."

Scarborough will try to move the bill through the House Ways and Means Committee in coming weeks.

TAX-CUT DECAF

There has been a plethora of ideas on ways to overhaul South Carolina's tax structure, many of them coming from lawmakers who, like many, found this session to be just a bit dull. Rep. John Graham Altman III, R-West Ashley, thinks some people are tinkering a tad too much.

So, he has offered his own idea, dubbed the "Altman 18" plan.

"The plan is, just wait 18 months and everything will be all right," Altman said. "These people need to slow down, switch to decaf and read their history books. Economies are cyclical. It'll turn around."

BUDGET PRELUDE

This week, all attention will be focused on the Senate and the pending floor debate over the budget. Senators may try to sort through the myriad tax plans before they actually get down to number-crunching on the budget bill. Of course, this is just Act II, a prelude to the coming House/Senate conference committee on the budget.

Contact Brian Hicks at (843) 937-5561 or bhicks@postandcourier.com.