Posted on Sun, Aug. 13, 2006

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Ravenel fires back at state board chief

“I think this is incredibly embarrassing for South Carolina workers.”

— Joe Erwin, chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party, complaining about a lack of state-manufactured goods handed out at the recent National Governors Association meeting in Charleston.

State Republicans are sparring again, this time over the state treasurer’s race.

Board of Economic Advisors chairman John Rainey and treasurer candidate Thomas Ravenel publicly sparred over Ravenel’s long-term political plans, including whether he would run for U.S. Senate in two years.

In a Greenville News article last week, Rainey called fellow Republican Ravenel a “dilettante” and said the state needed him to commit long-term to the treasurer’s office, not use the post as a springboard to run against U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC.

Ravenel fired back in an open letter posted Thursday on schotline.com, claiming Rainey was shilling for his Democratic opponent, incumbent Grady Patterson. Ravenel also said that, unlike Rainey, he made his money the old-fashioned way — he earned it.

While The Buzz has no idea which Palmetto millionaire has made more — and how — we were a little amused that Ravenel’s letter never answered Rainey’s central concern.

But if Rainey declines Ravenel’s offer of a free copy of “Economics for Dummies,” which he made in the letter, The Buzz calls dibs. We need all the help we can get.

A BIT OF ATTENTION

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson endorsed fellow Democrat Tommy Moore for governor last week, surprising absolutely no one.

Richardson, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, is chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. He said Moore’s campaign to unseat incumbent Republican Gov. Mark Sanford is on the group’s watch-list as a possible upset.

He did not say, however, if the Democratic group was going to pump some much-needed cash into Moore’s campaign, although that could still happen.

The endorsement did not come off exactly as planned, either.

On Friday, Aug. 4, the S.C. Democratic Party announced Richardson, Moore and state party chairman Joe Erwin would hold a news conference at 9:30 a.m. the following Monday in Charleston.

But when Richardson and company showed up at the designated time and place, a noticeable lack of men or women with cameras or note pads caused a quick scuttling of the event. So the endorsement was announced via press release instead.

But, a Moore spokeswoman said, the sentiment is just as strong: Richardson is an enthusiastic Moore supporter.

THE BEST EVER

Organizers of the Olympic Games used to wait with bated breath to see whether longtime International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch would declare their city’s event the best ever.

Most games got the nod during his tenure, though Atlanta in 1996 was a notable exception.

There were no such pronouncements following the National Governors Association meeting in Charleston. But Gov. Mark Sanford last week thanked the volunteers who helped draw attention and donations to the meeting. Roughly 30 governors and more than 1,000 people attended the program.

The opportunity to show off South Carolina translates into a “whole lot of individual families’ future visits and other investments in our state,” Sanford said.

AMERICA’S MAYOR

With their years of Super Bowl victories long in the past, the title “America’s team” may no longer apply to the Dallas Cowboys.

The titles aren’t all gone, though. Organizers of a GOP fundraiser set for Wednesday have set “America’s mayor” as their headliner.

Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and a potential presidential candidate in 2008, will attend the Charleston event.

Ticket prices range from $100 per person to $2,500 per couple. Proceeds benefit the state party.

A BETTER DEAL

State Republicans had a chance last week to spend more cash. But the headliners — U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint — were familiar faces.

Still, the state party touted the event as one “129 years in the making.” That’s how long it’s been since the state has had two Republican senators.

Had a fundraiser been held then, it would have featured Thomas J. Robertson, who served from 1868-1877, and John J. Patterson, a Pennsylvania native who was criticized as being a carpetbagger and served from 1873-1879.

Tickets for the event with Graham and DeMint were $1,000 for two plus a picture and $2,500 for four tickets and two pictures.