Gov. Mark Sanford's third State of the State address laid out an ambitious agenda for change. Reaction to the speech shows that he'll have a hard time getting some of that change pushed through the legislature.

Spartanburg Democratic Sen. Glenn Reese is especially upset about the governor's Put Parents In Charge proposal, which would give state tax credits to middle- and low-income families to send their kids to another public school, a private school or home school.

"It's basically geared at destroying public education at the expense of creating a privileged private school system in this state," Sen. Reese said after the speech. "That's what he's determined to do and position himself to run for president in 2008."

Even the governor's fellow Republican, Sen. Hugh Leatherman of Florence, said, "Right now, I'm lukewarm on Put Parents In Charge." He says he needs to learn more about it first.

The governor also called for lawmakers to pass his plan to cut the state's top income tax rate from 7 percent to 4.75 percent. Democrats say that would benefit only the wealthiest families at the expense of the poor, and that the state couldn't afford the plan's $959 million price tag when it's fully implemented after ten years.

But House budget-writing committee chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, says, "Can the state not afford to be competitive economically with the rest of the country and the rest of the world for jobs? Six years ago we had among the lowest unemployment in the country, third or fourth lowest unemployment in the country. Today, we're in the top ten in unemployment." 

The governor says cutting the top income tax rate would help small businesses create jobs, as well as attract more businesses and retirees. Large corporations now pay 5 percent income tax, while small businesses pay 7 percent.

The governor admits that he's asking for a lot of changes from a General Assembly that, by nature, is resistant to change. But House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, says, "I think we can get a lot done. It was uplifting. It wasn't anything new, though. It was the general theme of how do we make South Carolina more competitive in a global economy."