Attacks on Tim Scott overlook the facts
As speculation grows over who will be appointed to replace the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jim DeMint, a number of activists have decided to attack First District Congressman Tim Scott, who is considered one of those most likely to be appointed to the seat by Governor Haley.
Instead of taking these attacks at face value, the Blogland decided to obtain the Congressional ratings and voting scorecards kept by seven groups, three conservative and four liberal. In looking at these scorecards, the claims that Scott is liberal don't seem very credible. In fact, scorecards issued by three of the more noted conservative groups out there, including the long-running American Conservative Union, give Tim very high ratings:
- American Conservative Union: 96 - Lifetime score
- National Club for Growth: 92
- Americans for Prosperity: A
In a very strong contrast, Scott received very low scores from four liberal scorecards:
- AFL-CIO: Voted with them on just one out of 20 votes in 2012 and received a zero score in 2011.
- AFSCME: Zero score
- ACLU: Voted against their position on all bills, no score assigned
- SEIU: Voted against their position on 8 out of 9 bills, no score assigned
But it seems that even these facts won't stop some from attempting to tear Scott down.
Among the most vocal of Scott's critics are Talbert Black, a past Ron Paul supporter and John Steinberger, a FairTax activist who ran two disastrous legislative campaigns this year in the Lowcountry, first getting 37 votes in the GOP special primary for a State Senate seat and then getting just sixteen percent of the vote as a petition candidate against House Speaker Bobby Harrell. As shown in the screen captures, they've criticized Scott for supporting Harrell's re-election bid (understandably, Steinberger must not have liked nearly tying the Green Party candidate for last place).
Black doesn't do much better at gathering political support for his ventures, as we've identified his single-person scorecard crusade. He also asked his Facebook readers to:
Remember where Scott came from... the SC House of Representatives. He was a representative while Harrell was speaker. Scott knows exactly who Harrell is and what kind of person he is. The fact that Scott would endorse Harrell speaks volumes to me about Scott's character and how he will act in the future.
From where we see things, the recommendation of Scott by the Chair of the American Conservative Union (see the above score) carries far more weight than the aforementioned criticisms:
On behalf of the American Conservative Union, I urge South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to make history and appoint Representative Tim Scott to the United States Senate. A strong conservative leader, Rep. Scott has an ACU rating of 96 and was elected as one of two members chosen by his colleagues to represent the 85 member Republican freshmen class at the leadership table.
These endorsements from well-respected national conservatives, along with scorecard data, seems to say plenty about what kind of Senator Scott would make. For that matter, Republicans should feel confident that any of the state's four Republican sophomore House members - three of which have received varying degrees of support from GOP activists - would serve as conservative members of the U.S. Senate.
It's not the intention of the Blogland to endorse any single candidate for this appointment, thus Republicans are encouraged to take the high road by getting the facts from credible and objective sources, speaking out in favor of the candidate of their choice, and refusing to allow vendettas and ill-informed attacks to muddy the Senate appointment process.
It's not the intention of the Blogland to endorse any single candidate for this appointment, thus Republicans are encouraged to take the high road by getting the facts from credible and objective sources, speaking out in favor of the candidate of their choice, and refusing to allow vendettas and ill-informed attacks to muddy the Senate appointment process.
To Anonymous #2: how Scott in the senate do better at recruiting minorities to the GOP than Scott in the house? (And shouldn't the appointment be to the best person, not the best politically-correct/political campaign benefit?)
To Anonymous #3: If Harrell bought it, please show us the evidence - a source of some kind.
To Anonymous #4: What role did Bennett play? And in what, exactly - the election of Harrell or Scott? Or something else?
I'm not making snide attempts to discredit your comments or say that they're 100% wrong (and I assume all the comments I refer to are from the same Anonymous); I would love to know they're all correct, and just want to know these details.
Tim Scott is one of those people. His credentials, personal drive and reputation is beyond reproach. As far as his conservatism, doubters, get a life! If Tim is your idea of a "Rino" there are no true conservatives in this country. You do not have to be a fear monger, fall off the right edge of the earth extremist to be a good conservative Republican.
Now for those brave souls who have to pen their comments as
"Anonymous"....cowards one and all.
If you are man or woman enough to complain and cast innuendos, be man or woman enough to take the credit for your statements.
Oh, btw, Merry Christmas!