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Date Published: January 15, 2004
2 parties, one message
State’s top political leaders urge residents to register,
vote
Bruz Crowson / The Item
Joe Erwin, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic
Party, center, talks with Greater Sumter Chamber of
Commerce President Grier Blackwelder, left, and Earl
Wilson before the Red Carpet Breakfast on Wednesday at
Central Carolina Technical College.
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By BRADEN BUNCH
Item Staff Writer
bradenb@theitem.com
Two of the state’s top political party leaders had a
brief moment of unity in Sumter early Wednesday
morning.
Speaking at the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce
Red Carpet Breakfast at Central Carolina Technical College, both Joe
Erwin, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, and Luke
Byars, executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party,
urged the public to register to vote for upcoming elections, while
also admitting that sometimes legislators can become too partisan in
their actions.
“We don’t always realize how critical it is
that we are citizen patriots,” Erwin said.
The Democrat later
said too often both sides forget that they often have nearly
identical goals for the state.
“I don’t think of Republicans
as the enemy. They’re my opponent, but not the enemy,” Erwin
said.
“Sometimes the will of the people is blocked by
over-partisanship,” Byars concurred.
The consensus didn’t
keep the two from taking the occasional political jab at one another
shortly thereafter.
After Erwin said Democrats are working to
rebuild the party on the grassroots level and that a news conference
was scheduled for later in the day to announce that the party had
reached the funding levels necessary to run the primary, Byars
granted a backhanded compliment saying, “It’s hard to raise money,
especially after losing eight of 10 statewide
races.”
Undeterred, Erwin went on to say the Democrats had
come close to lining up the volunteers they needed to open polls in
all 1,956 precincts in the state, making sure the party would be
ready for any type of election result.
“We don’t want a
Florida in South Carolina,” Erwin said, referring to the
controversial result in that state in the 2000 presidential
election.
For the upcoming presidential race, however, both
Byars and Erwin recognized that President Bush has to be considered
the favorite for re-election, especially in South
Carolina.
Byars said that doesn’t mean Republicans shouldn’t
be ready for a difficult campaign.
“You have to prepare for
running a race like you’re 10 points down,” the Republican
said.
Erwin, meanwhile, acknowledged that the capture of
Saddam Hussein and an apparently improving economy make Bush
difficult to defeat in November.
“You can’t be in la-la land
in my position,” Erwin said.
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February 6, 2004 
