Tenenbaum’s decision has Democrats reeling

The South Carolina Democratic Party is in a sorry fix, and it might take decades to repair.

Inez Tenenbaum’s decision not to seek re-election in 2006 as state superintendent of education shocked the party, left it gasping for air.

Experts stop short of declaring the party dead, but they don’t hold out much hope for recovery any time soon.

“The outlook certainly is not bright,” says College of Charleston political scientist Bill Moore.

When one looks down the road, things don’t look that promising for the Democrats. They have no reserves. In fact, they have no starting lineup to speak of. The bench is empty. And they have no star. Tenenbaum was it.

This certainly bodes ill for the party as it gears up for the 2006 and 2008 elections. Somehow, some way S.C. Democrats need to be perceived as winners again.

Until that happens, the Democrats are going to have a difficult time recruiting quality candidates to run for office.

State Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin has proposed rebuilding the party from the bottom up by concentrating on winning smaller victories at the grass-roots level, like county councils and local school boards.

“That’s a long process, but it’s not impossible,” says Francis Marion University professor Neal Thigpen, a Republican activist.

Democrats start this election cycle with one hand tied behind their backs. The latest campaign reports showed the state party nearly $48,000 in debt and fighting to stay alive.

Some leaders fear the Democrats might not be able to field a complete ticket in 2006. Right now, with Tenenbaum bowing out of the race, State Treasurer Grady Patterson, 81, is the only Democrat in a constitutional office running for another term.

Granted, Patterson has a low-profile job among the state’s constitutional offices. But if he is the only Democrat to win statewide election, that will be enough to earn him the title of titular head of the Democratic Party.

That sends shivers through some of younger party members who are interested in attracting new blood.

Right now, one would have to say the South Carolina Democratic Party is in full retreat.

Tenenbaum was not just the top Democrat. She was the only one with any chance of pulling off a high-profile statewide victory and giving the party the psychological lift it needs.

“She was the shining light for the Democratic Party over the last few years,” Moore says.

The Democratic Party has had a difficult time recruiting candidates to run for statewide office primarily because its candidates have been unsuccessful at the ballot box. The last Democrat to run for governor and win was Jim Hodges in 1998. And Democrats — including Tenenbaum in 2004 — were unable to win or even come close in the last two U.S. Senate contests.

The Democrats may have to rely on a misstep by Republicans for any breakthrough next year. That’s always a possibility. Who knows what can happen between now and Election Day 2006?

The GOP is having its own problems and internal conflicts.

Gov. Mark Sanford and the Republican-controlled General Assembly don’t like each other. Many leaders in the business community have soured on the governor, and some GOP members are threatening to wage a challenge against Sanford in the primary next year.

But Democrats can’t sit back and count on the GOP to fumble the ball back to them. Republicans have a way of uniting when it counts.