Showing posts with label year in review 09. Show all posts
Showing posts with label year in review 09. Show all posts

335 postings in 365 days: A look back at 2009

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2009 was a busy, busy year in the Blogland. Not as busy as the year past, as it was an off-year and there was a lot of other things going on, but we thought we'd look back at some of the Blogland's more notable moments:

The Inside Interview series was busy this year, featuring House Speaker Bobby Harrell, Senators Tom Davis and Larry Martin, Representatives Boyd Brown, Anton Gunn and Murrell Smith and state judicial candidates Deborah Brooks Durden and Maite Murphy. Look for more of these looks inside Palmetto State government in the new year.

We challenged the GOP to get serious about its long under-supported minority development efforts.

As yours truly works in the human resources field, ongoing discussions about workplace immigration crackdowns and E-verify came up throughout the year.

While the Governor's crowd couldn't get it right about the ESC and Workforce Boards, we still talked about it and invited legislators to breakfast with the Trident Workforce Board to get the straight scoop.

We were able to separate the smart from the stupid, based on which politicos actually took the Earl Capps for SCGOP Chair campaign seriously. But it was quite flattering to win a readers' poll 300-79.

All three County GOP Chair candidates endorsed by the Blogland - Tim Callanan in Berkeley, Moye Graham in Clarendon, and LaDonna Ryggs in Spartanburg - won handily.

In July, the Blogland uncovered a series of potential scandals in state politics, telling you things no other blog or website would dare touch. Later that month, I risked unleasing some skeletons of my own when I attended the 20th reunion of the James Island High School Class of 1989 - but everyone was nice and forgiving there.

The Blogland paid tribute to John Hughes, the movie producer who best captured the 80s.

Richard Eckstrom was the first 2010 endorsement.

In addition to my teaching work, I did a guest lecturing stint at UNC-Greensboro, another with Kelly Payne's "IT Kids" at Dutch Fork High School, and taught communication development classes at the SCFRW convention.

We busted Jim Rex using state email to conduct his gubernatorial campaign, and reminded our readers that one of his big supporters was making another bid for Superintendent of Education - as a Republican?

There were a lot more moments that took place over the last year, and Blogland readers were right there - and we appreciate all of you who tuned in. Here's to hoping the Blogland continues to deliver in 2010.

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Joe Wilson - the Blogland's Righteous Dude of the Year

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Aside from the Mark Sanford mess, few moments or individuals in South Carolina politics managed to get much of the spotlight in 2009, especially in a positive manner.

When the Blogland asked around about someone who did something effective in 2009, the two names that we kept hearing were "Boeing" and "Joe Wilson".

While we believe the Boeing decision will one day rank along with BMW and the creation of Santee-Cooper as one of the biggest economic tranformers of modern-day South Carolina, that potential has yet to be realized. As such, Joe Wilson is the hands-down winner of the Blogland's "Righteous Dude" recognition for 2009, for his proven ability to acheive success in super-charging his 2010 re-election bid with two words: "You Lie".

The impact of this incident upon fundraising for both Wilson and Rob Miller, his probable Democratic challenger, was quite profund as millions of dollars of donations poured into both campaigns. When the fall FEC disclosures were filed, Wilson won the fundraising race, with about 2.7 million raised to Miller's 1.7 million.

While three of the other four S.C. House members seeking re-election face tough fights - Henry Brown, Bob Inglis, and John Spratt - Wilson ends 2009 in what seems a solid position: a million dollar fundraising lead over his challenger, reports of continued strong fundraising success, his district's Republican lean boosted by a rising tide of GOP support, as well as his new role as a sought-after fundraiser for other Republicans around the country. While opinions are mixed over Wilson's outburst, the outcome of the controversy seems to have been a net gain for his profile in state politics.

For this, Joe Wilson is the Blogland's Righteous Dude of the Year for 2009.

For a comparative measure of what is considered respective legislative conduct, we'd like to show two clips. First, Joe Wilson's "You Lie" statement, and then a short bit of a recent Prime Minister's Questions session from British parliament. In comparing them, Wilson doesn't look quite as bad:





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