Out-of-state funds pursue change

As the June 9 primary approached in South Carolina, "outside groups" were seen to "ratchet up the heat" with mail and advertisements. What seemed to tie many of them together was a steady stream of funding coming from outside the state, a "hit list" that may or may not have been adopted or promoted by the governor's office, and front groups that pay for the political ads but aren't obligated to reveal their donors.

Office-seekers are having their past and present business practices criticized. Political newcomers are being attacked as puppets of special interest groups. And many incumbents (and their consultants) say they're fighting hidden agendas to radically alter the education system in South Carolina and a concentrated effort to oust them, an effort tied to the Governor's Office.
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South Carolinians for Responsible Government, or SCRG, has issued several cookie-cutter mailers attacking incumbent Reps. Keith Kelly and Bob Walker. Kelly faces engineer Roger Nutt in House District 35. Walker faces journalist Joey Millwood in House District 38. SCRG, a group partially funded by New York millionaire Howard Rich, is tied to several like-minded groups, like the S.C. Club for Growth and Conservatives in Action.

"The usual suspects seem to be behind every one of these attacks," consultant Terry Sullivan said. "Josh Gross is infamous for untrue and misleading attacks. Club for Growth has repeatedly done it. It's not about the issues for a lot of these groups, it's about personalities and petty politics."
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His firm was hired by the new group "South Carolinians for Truth," headed by outgoing Rep. Bill Cotty, R-Columbia, to fight back - a fight that has included automated calls attacking Kelly's challenger, Roger Nutt, and Forrester's opponent, Ken Roach. Critics, including those aligned with SCRG, say the calls aren't legal.
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"Whenever you hear the pig squeal, you know you're getting its attention," Cotty said. "We have an immigration problem in South Carolina that the bill we passed didn't handle: The immigration of out-of-state dollars by rich special interests who are trying to buy our state election by election, issue by issue, without revealing who they really are, where they're really from and what they're really about."
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Nutt also says it's misleading for critics to categorize him as a puppet of "out-of-state interests" when a relatively small amount of his direct campaign contributions come from people affiliated with Rich, while not categorizing his opponent, Kelly, as a puppet for receiving a relatively large percentage of contributions from political action committees and attorneys.

Campaign turns nasty - Primary is Tuesday: Outside groups ratchet up the heat
Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC) - June 5, 2008

And was there a "hit list," or wasn't there? A newspaper reported rumors of one, and finally published what was reported to be one, but Governor Mark Sanford's office denied its involvement in one.

Kelly, Walker, Cotty and others were on a long-rumored hit list that Gov. Mark Sanford was said to be targeting this election cycle. Its existence was regarded as an urban legend, though such a list eventually surfaced in a Columbia newspaper.

"As much as reporters like to advance that theory, we're in the position of not being able to prove a negative," Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said. "The governor said from the very beginning that he was not targeting anyone, but as he saw people who decided to run on their own to run against people who haven't always been the most supportive of his agenda that he may get involved in a few races."

Sanford will publicly lend his support to Nutt in an advertisement that debuts today on GoUpstate.com.

When Kelly was told about this, he said, "The governor's upset with me because I do not favor school consolidation for Spartanburg County. He wants one school district per county. And, he favors school choices - vouchers and credits. But the governor and I agree on 95 percent of all issues. I have voted to sustain a number of vetoes this week. We agree on less taxes. We agree on less spending. I voted for caps on spending. We disagree on schools. Spartanburg County has excellent schools. I will not vote for vouchers or credits that take money out of public education."