Moe Lane

Expect an all-out war in the Republican primary to replace now-Senator Tim Scott.  Via Jim Geraghty comes this list:

On the GOP side, potential candidates include former Gov. Mark Sanford and his ex-wife, former first lady Jenny Sanford; state Sens. Chip Campsen and Larry Grooms; state Reps. Chip Limehouse, Peter McCoy, Jim Merrill and Andy Patrick; Charleston County Councilman Elliott Summey; Dorchester County Councilman Jay Byars; Charleston City Councilman Mike Seekings; Mount Pleasant Town Councilman Ken Glasson; former state Sen. John Kuhn; former Charleston County School Board member Larry Kabrovsky; former Charleston County Council members Curtis Bostic and Joe McKeown; and Lowcountry businessmen Keith Blandford, Carroll Campbell, Mark Lutz, Bob Menges and Teddy Turner.

(more…)

A bit of a rhetorical question, there: reports are saying that South Carolina governor Nikki Haley will be appointing Tim Scott to replace Jim Demint as Senator. Works for me: Tim’s a good guy, good conservative, and he’s already demonstrated an ability to win re-election. A term or two there and he might even be ready for the governorship itself.

…And I really do feel sorry for what the man is about to go through. It’s going to get vile out there, on the Left.

The worst prejudices and preconceived notions are the ones that you don’t even realize you have.  Take this story about African-American Republican candidates in 2010 – particularly Tim Scott, who is well on his way to winning his district in South Carolina handily.  A feel-good kind of tale, right?  See if you think that after you read this section:

With black unemployment at 15.6 percent, African-Americans are questioning what Democrats have done for them. What’s more, this year’s black Republican candidates were far from being upper-middle-class racial mascots. Scott grew up in a poor Charleston neighborhood with a divorced mother who worked double shifts as a nurse’s assistant. Vernon Parker (who lost his August primary) was born to a single mother in Houston, and grew up in California with his grandmother, a housekeeper.

Still, black Republicans will have to face four decades of skepticism about GOP bona fides on race, not to mention the opposition of a Democratic party with the first African-American president as its head.

Why the heck should anybody expect candidates like Scott to have to deal with that? (more…)

…almost vexed me, what with the casual racism, even more casual anti-Southern bigotry, generally condescending attitude and deep ignorance of elementary economics found within; but then I realized what Milbank’s true message was (H/T: Hot Air Headlines).

A black man will be in federal office next year.  A BLACK MAN THAT I, DANA MILBANK, WILL HAVE NO POWER OVER.  As a liberal Democratic pundit, this alarms me.

Once I realized that, my vexation vanished.  Yup, Milbank.  Look at the scary Republican.  The scary Republican who you can’t control…

Moe Lane

PS: Tim Scott does have a general election race to win, mind you.  Same for Allen West.

Tim is the front-runner in the GOP primary runoff for SC-01, and he took the time to talk with us about the state of the race and why he’s running.

Tim’s site is here: he’s a state representative and former Charleston County official. The runoff is June 22nd. There’s been a good deal of interest among RedState’s readers about this race thus far, and I expect that said interest will continue…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.