{"id":3308,"date":"2012-11-08T11:40:29","date_gmt":"2012-11-08T16:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/?p=3308"},"modified":"2012-11-08T11:40:29","modified_gmt":"2012-11-08T16:40:29","slug":"speaker-harrells-pac-donated-30000-to-members-of-house-republican-ethics-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/08\/speaker-harrells-pac-donated-30000-to-members-of-house-republican-ethics-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker Harrell’s PAC donated $30,000 to members of House Republican Ethics Committee"},"content":{"rendered":"

The SC Progressive Network<\/a> submitted these written comments to the Republican Caucus Ethics Committee, which met this morning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Money \u2014 rather than good ideas \u2014 fuels South Carolina\u2019s politics. Ninety percent of the candidates who spend the most money win. An incumbent who spends the most money has a 98 percent chance of being elected. While state ethics laws limit campaign contributions to House races at $1000, a proliferation of political action committees (PACs) allow deep-pocket donors to get around the limit.<\/p>\n

Webster\u2019s defines ethics as \u201cthe principles of conduct governing an individual or a group.\u201d We urge this committee to consider that while the House rules of conduct, when followed, may be legal, they are not necessarily ethical.<\/p>\n

For example, the Palmetto Leadership Council<\/a> is a PAC headed by the SC House Speaker Bobby Harrell. Membership in his Leadership PAC cost $3,500. Harrell says on the PAC\u2019s web site, \u201cWe are building a unique coalition between leaders in the private sector and those of us engaged in public service.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Harrell, or a corporation like AT&T, can only make a $1000 donation to a House candidate, AT&T can make a $3,500 donation to Harrell\u2019s Leadership PAC, which can then make another $1,000 donation to the same candidate.<\/p>\n

Harrell\u2019s PAC has raised nearly $1 million since its founding in 2004, with 98.7 percent going to Republican candidates (79 percent incumbents). More than 89 percent of the candidates backed by Harrell\u2019s PAC won election.<\/p>\n

Harrell\u2019s largest donations were $100,000 checks written to the state Republican Party. The party can then make a $5,000 contribution to the same candidate that received the $1,000 maximum from Harrell\u2019s PAC.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a way around campaign finance laws. It\u2019s legal but ethically suspect. We urge the Committee to follow the Senate\u2019s lead and eliminate leadership PAC\u2019s that allow the \u201cbundling\u201d of campaign donations that violate the spirit of campaign finance laws.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Donations from Palmetto Leadership Council to members of the Republican Caucus Ethics Committee<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter<\/strong>
\n(803) 734-3042 MurrellSmith@schouse.gov
\n$5000 (2004-2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Rita Allison, R-Lyman<\/strong>
\n(803) 212-6788 RitaAllison@schouse.gov
\n$3000 (2008-2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Derham Cole, R-Spartanburg<\/strong>
\n(803) 212-6790 DerhamCole@schouse.gov
\n$3000 (2008-2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Joe Daning, R-Goose Creek<\/strong>
\n(803) 734-2951 JoeDaning@schouse.gov
\n$3000 (2008-2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Phyllis Henderson, R-Greer<\/strong>
\n(803) 212-6883 PhyllisHenderson@schouse.gov
\n$1000 (2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Jenny Horne, R-Dorchester<\/strong>
\n(803) 212-6871 JennyHorne@schouse.gov
\n$3000 (2008-2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Andy Patrick, R-Hilton Head<\/strong>
\n(803) 212-6928 AndyPatrick@schouse.gov
\n$2000 (2010-2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Tommy Pope, R-York<\/strong>
\n(803) 212-6895 TommyPope@schouse.gov
\n$2000 (2010-2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Rick Quinn, R-Lexington<\/strong>
\n(803) 212-6897 RickQuinn@schouse.gov
\n$3000 (2004-2012)<\/p>\n

Rep. Roland Smith, R-Warrenville<\/strong>
\n(803) 734-3114 RolandSmith@schouse.gov
\n$5000 (2004-2012)<\/p>\n

TOTAL: $30,000<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The SC Progressive Network submitted these written comments to the Republican Caucus Ethics Committee, which met this morning. Money \u2014 rather than good ideas \u2014 fuels South Carolina\u2019s politics. Ninety percent of the candidates who spend the most money win. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,12,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-newscommentary","category-network-newsevents","category-sc-newscommentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3308"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3309,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3308\/revisions\/3309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}