CHARLESTON, S.C. - South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin said Friday he doesn't agree with Howard Dean's comment about the makeup of the Republican Party but said it won't hurt Democrats to have Dean visit the state this month.

Dean recently described the GOP as "pretty much a white, Christian party" and said many Republicans "never made an honest living."

"I did tell him in a note that the comment about white Christians and Republicans concerned me," Erwin said.

"I'm trying to recruit white Christians for the Democrat Party, and we are recruiting - white Christians and African-American Christians and people of all faiths and races," he said. "We don't need to ostracize anybody."

Dean will attend a party fundraiser June 29 in Columbia.

"I don't think it hurts because the people who will turn out are activist Democrats who are fans of Howard Dean," Erwin said.

He expects Republicans to counter with press releases "trying to lump Howard Dean in with liberalism" and said he might even call Republicans to thank them for such promotional help "because that's going to get more people to our fund-raiser."

In fact, state Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson has been sending out comments about Dean daily since finding out he plans to visit Columbia. "The Democrats just don't get it. Their failures at the ballot box are not because of Republican public policy but rather their unwillingness to propose any solutions to solve America's challenges," Dawson's news release said Friday.

However, Erwin said Dean's appearance should not harm party recruitment efforts.

"I don't think it's hurtful," Erwin said. "We are South Carolina Democrats confident of our value system. We're in a more conservative state. Howard Dean knows that, you know that, and I know that."

He said the same applies to Republicans.

"If they bring in Jerry Falwell does it hurt their party, that they bring in someone from the religious right? I doubt it," he said.

Erwin held Friday's news conference to criticize what he said was a lack of leadership by GOP Gov. Mark Sanford during the recent legislative session.

South Carolina has one of the highest unemployment rates and one of the slowest wage growth rates in the nation, Erwin said. Three years ago, under a Democratic governor, South Carolina was growing in employment and in personal income, he said.

"We are going the wrong way, and it's because of the policies of our governor," Erwin said.

"We all know people who blame everyone else for their problems," he said. "Unfortunately, we have a governor in Mark Sanford who wants to blame his problems - the lack of ability to get any of his significant legislative policies enacted - on the Legislature, on the media, on the voters."

"Saying the governor has not shown leadership is just simply ridiculous. The people know it, lawmakers know it, and Joe Erwin knows it," said the governor's spokesman Chris Drummond.

Drummond said Sanford motivated lawmakers to reduce the state's small business income tax rate to 5 percent from 7 percent and make changes in the judicial system to limit lawsuits for medical malpractice and business cases.

He also pointed out Sanford worked with the Legislature to pay back more than $100 million siphoned from trust and reserve funds to balance the state budget in past years.