Town Hall Meetings in South Carolina 3rd Congressional District
February 28, 2010 by comrex
Filed under Federal, South Carolina
TOWN HALL MEETING SCHEDULE
Date: March 1, 2010 Monday
Location: Smith Hazel Center, 400 Kershaw St NE, Aiken, SC
Time: 6:00 P.M. EST
Date: March 4, 2010 Thursday
Location: Amelia Fish & Chicken, 318-A Augusta Rd, Edgefield SC
Time: 6:00 P.M. EST
Date: March 8, 2010 Monday
Location: TBA – McCormick , SC
Time: 6:00 P.M. EST
Date: March 11, 2010 Thursday
Location: T.W. Boons, 405 Main St., Greenwood, SC
Time: 6:00 P.M. EST
Topics: Jobs, Healthcare, Education, Trade Agreements, Public Safety
- All other county dates to be announce for town hall meetings. There will be
a town hall meeting in each county. Please add announcement to your calendar.
Open Letter to Candidate Dyer 2nd Request to Debate
February 28, 2010 by comrex
Filed under Federal, South Carolina
February 24, 2010
Jane Dyer
Candidate for US Congress
P.O. Box 1000
Easley, SC 29641
Via US Certified Mail and Email
SECOND AND FINAL NOTICE
Open Letter to Candidate Jane Dyer
Dear Candidate Dyer:
I am writing requesting that we hold democratic debates in all ten (10) counties, so that the people’s voices can be heard, concerning the issues that are affecting their families the most.
It is so important that we as democratic candidates act differently than the last fifteen years of representation the people of the 3rd congressional district has received.
Our district has suffered over at least the last ten (10) years, because they didn’t have a voice in Washington. I am concern that the people must have a voice in Washington and promise to give them one.
Our district has suffered over the last ten (10) years because the people didn’t have a voice in Washington with the republicans who represent them.
Please feel free to contact me at the number listed below. I would like to start the debates by the 22nd of this month. I would be more than happy to help find locations to hold them at.
Best Regards,
Brian Doyle for Congress
“Giving the 3rd district a voice in Washington”
Brian “Ryan B” Doyle,
Candidate for US Congress
Doyle Expected to Run in 2010 US Congress Race South Carolina
December 28, 2009 by comrex
Filed under Federal, South Carolina, US
Doyle for Congress
Doyle Expected to Run in 2010
“He is what the 3rd Congressional District Needs”
The 3rd Congressional District has suffered greatly over the past ten (10) years. This District includes the counties of Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick and Oconee, Pickens, Saluda and approximately half of Aiken County.
The District is mostly rural. However much of the District’s economy revolves around the manufacturing centers in the Anderson, Aiken and Greenwood areas.
Historically, the District was a Democratic stronghold and Democrats continued to hold most of the local offices well into 1990. The United States Congress seat turned Republican in 1994 and has remained Republican since. Doyle wants to change that.
As a result of the many manufacturing jobs sent overseas and to Mexico, the counties represented in the 3rd Congressional District have experienced a drastic decline in their businesses and incomes. “We must review the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in order to start restoring jobs to South Carolina and go to green jobs. We must have real change that affects everyone, not just a select few”. Doyle said
Doyle believes the 3rd District must move from the minority to the majority. We must improve the status of our children’s education, jobs and business climate. We must progress as a district without losing our moral values. By working together we can make that happen in the District’s ten counties said Doyle.
Doyle has yet to decide if he will run as a Democrat or Independent. “I’m a little concerned with a lot of the business of the Democrats in Washington right now,” Doyle said. “However, I understand the 3rd Congressional District must get out of the minority and into the majority and get the peoples’ business in our state done for the betterment of all.” Doyle announced that he has two months to decide and pay his filing fee.
Q: How do you feel about small business opportunity?
A: Small businesses have suffered throughout the state but have been hit hard in the 3rd District. The 3rd Congressional District has the ability to rebound. However, we must lower taxes for the small businesses and offer more tax breaks and I would like to propose some plans and action to help reopen some of our closed plants and restore manufacturing jobs,
Some of these businesses can receive federal assistance to help produce green jobs and our State government can cap out-of-state well connected contractors from getting so much of our business and direct it to locally owned businesses.
I will place this item on the table my first day on the job and will not stop until we review and fix it. This CAFTA and NAFTA have hurt many states including ours. I would like to see small businesses with gross incomes of $3,000,000.00 or be allowed take advantage of a plan that would give them a 40% tax break on the gross salary of all rehabilitated former convicts hired. This could reduce our crime rate by 24.5%, making our communities safer and give the economy a read stimulus.
Q: how do you feel about the bail-out of the private sector?
A: I see much disappointment in the Federal Government’s bail-out of banks and private sector corporations. I believe we must put forward more and stricter regulations over our banking industry as they have been allowed and encouraged to take advantage of us for too long. We need better elected officials watching over the tax payers’ money and voting for the people and not for the powerful big business interests that pay them so well.
I’m against giving away the American taxpayers’ money to offer undeserved and unearned obscenely large bonuses to executives. The government should have never have literally given away our money with no real controls or benefits for the people. Too many people have lost everything due to the greed and non-concern of their so called elected officials.
Q: Will you vote as a Republican or a Democrat?
A: I don’t believe it is about parties anymore. I believe it is about getting the right things done for the people in the 3rd Congressional District and other sections of our state.
I also believe it is about giving our young people a chance to stay home and not have to move away looking for jobs, and it is about giving small business owners an opportunity to hire workers and make a living.
Q: Do you believe there has been much change in Washington?
A: If there has been I have not seen it. I see the same old people telling the same old stories taking the same money from the same big corporations ignoring what the people who elected them want and laughing all the way to the bank. The same old way of doing business must change if the American people are going to have any faith in their government.
Q: How do you feel about Healthcare Reform?
A: I do believe we need some form of reform in this area. However, I do not believe in socialism or government run healthcare. I would like to see a single payer system or an extended state government program similar to the Medicaid plan for the un-insured that will allow those with pre-existing conditions to become insured.
I further believe a federally funded state plan would help the small business owner and the un-insured get the care they need. I don’t support limited options or government run healthcare with our economy and debt today.
Q: How do you propose to fix outsourcing and the Central and North American Free Trade Agreements?
A: Congress and President Obama must first understand this form of business is not working for the American people in providing jobs and isn’t helping the American economy. Therefore, we must pass laws that limit the amount of outsourcing American companies can do and the amount of tax breaks received for outsourcing.
I also feel the United States must limit the amount of goods allowed in from China and other places that use underpaid or virtually slave cheap labor.
We heard so much about this problem during the presidential election and now it has gone away. I will not let it die again and I believe the government should offer loans to manufacturing plants closed by the failure of the congress and the Senate to protect America and allow them to re-open and provide green jobs.
Q: How can we improve thing for our veterans in South Carolina and America?
A: I am very concerned about the veterans and especially those here in South Carolina and I believe we must increase funding for the disabled and put an end to the bureaucratic boondoggles that are only designed to prevent them from obtaining their dearly earned benefits.
I also think there is room for another VA Hospital in our state within the 3rd Congressional District.
This would certainly benefit the veterans and create jobs in South Carolina. I would like to see the facility placed in the Greenwood or Anderson area. This would help those injured returning from the wars.
Q: You talked about true change for all the American people, please explain?
A: I believe millions of Republicans and Democrats were excited about making a change in Washington. However, I just personally do not believe we’ve made that much change.
We must look beyond family members, friends and colleagues in order to bring change to the American people. Just research some of the deals made in South Carolina and observe who is getting contracts and who isn’t. Then look at some of the elected officials family members or close friends.
I believe we cannot build a strong economy when those types of deals limit the jobs and limit how monies flow through the state.
Q: How can we control spending in the Federal Government?
A: I believe we need a hiring freeze on federal jobs until we can gain control over the economy. I know for a fact there are thousands of federal employees who have the time but not the age to retire.
I believe Congress should lower the age for Federal workers allowing them to retire early which could reduce government size and spending by 19.7%.
We can save billions of dollars which we continue to spend wastefully in Washington.
Q: What are your thoughts on the way education is provided in South Carolina and America?
A: First, I believe education begins at home and we must ensure that parents and family members spend quality time understanding the importance of a good education. Secondly, we must employ the most qualified people to teach our children and provide the resources they need to do the job.
It is my feeling that the system must provide access to computers and internet service both at school and home and we must provide funding to those schools in rural communities. I plan to work with South Carolina State Superintendent of Schools to make sure my ten counties are receiving the necessary funding to provide a good education to our children. I would like to see laptops in the hands of all our students in the district from Grades 7 through 12 immediately.
Q: how do you respond to the belief by some that you are too liberal and unfair?
A: It is about the people of the 3rd Congressional District, no about me or my personal wishes. It is about doing the business of the people. I do no believe one should get more or receive more because of who they know.
If feel others should not have to take care of those who are unwilling to better their lives or conditions and I don’t believe in socialism or government control of every aspect of our lives.
Q: How do you feel about gun control?
A: I believe every citizen has the right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment Rights and those rights must be protected by Congress and I will support and protect them to the fullest.
Q: What is your view on abortions?
A: This is a very sensitive area for me as my faith believes you should not kill. I am personally against abortion but I do not believe in such a deeply personal area that I should be allowed to impose my beliefs on others. I must respect, defend and protect a woman’s right to control her own life. I may argue and lead by example but I do not believe that the government has any place in people’s bedrooms or their personal private lives. By better education and giving better opportunities for mothers to successfully raise their children in a decent environment we can remove the factors which make some women believe that abortion is their only option.
Q: what can be done to improve agricultural conditions in South Carolina?
A: I believe Congress must make more funding available to farmers and especially in South Carolina because of our climate and land mass. We have a great opportunity to move towards an energy saving state. We can produce large amounts of food in our state. But without funding from Congress our farmers will not be able to compete with foreign producers and large federally funded agribusinesses.
These things can only happen by making the right choice for South Carolina in 2010.
“I want to give control of the 3rd Congressional District back to the people of the District. So I’m asking for your help and support in moving our district forward again”. Doyle said
Letter to President Obama from Candidate for Congress
Candidate for Congress SC
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
FROM BRIAN “RYAN B” DOYLE for Congress
November 30, 2009
Hon. President Barack Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20006
Fax and Mailed
RE: Suspending Payroll Taxes and Requiring Banks to make Loan to Small Business Owners
Hon. President Obama:
I am writing on behalf of the America people and small business owners across the country in need.
I am a candidate for Congress for the 3rd Congressional District of South Carolina. My district was hit hard due to the North American and Central Trade Agreements. We have lost thousands of jobs and small businesses are closing their doors. I believe it’s now time to review both agreements and make the necessary changes to save the few American jobs we have left in South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Mississippi and Pennsylvania.
As a democratic candidate I am asking you Mr. President to order our treasury Secretary, Hon. Timothy F. Geithner to suspend payroll taxes as of Dec 31, 2009 for six months to help Americans and small business owners.
I believe this will help bail-out the real people who are suffering the tax payers. This will help simulate our economy and help our GDP. I know that you have been working hard to fix our financial crisis that you inherited. We need your help and support now more than ever.
I remember my two radio interview with you as an syndicated radio talk show host and you said “we have to get American back on the right track”.
I am also asking the administration to require banks and leading institutions that received government assistance to start lending money to small business owners. I believe it would only be fair to audit and confirm that banks loan or make available at least 25% of the monies they received from the tax payers.
In order to move forward and out of this financial crisis we can no longer allow the banks to use tax payer’s money to provide lavish bonuses nor buy or merge with other failing companies. We must demand real growth into our economy. Banks have failed to earn their bailouts and live up to the expectations of the American people.
I am working hard to bring more jobs and better opportunity to the people of the 3rd congressional district of South Carolina. I believe truly in my heart you want the best for all Americans and not only for large corporations and rich bankers. Now is the time to bail-out the American people and small businesses.
Please help me help the people of South Carolina and Americans. Please suspend payroll taxes for six months and give Americans and small businesses a chance to get back on their feet. God Bless you, your family and the United States of America.
Best Regards,
Brian “Ryan B” Doyle for Congress
Brian Doyle,
Candidate for Congress
3rd Congressional District South Carolina
Senate confirms Tenenbaum
June 22, 2009 by comrex
Filed under Metro, South Carolina
Inez Tenenbaum
Saturday, Jun. 20, 2009
Senate confirms Tenenbaum
Former S.C. schools chief will lead Consumer Product Safety Commission
By JAMES ROSEN – jrosen@mcclatchydc.com
WASHINGTON – The Senate on Friday unanimously confirmed Inez Tenenbaum as chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission in unusually swift action on a top nominee of President Barack Obama.
Tenenbaum, in her first public comments since Obama chose her last month, said her first major task will be overseeing implementation of a sweeping consumer-safety law Congress passed last year.
“I’m looking forward to being the consumer advocate for the people and for the children of the United States,” she said in an interview shortly after the Senate voice vote.
- Inez Tenenbaum
About the newly confirmed head of Consumer Product Safety Commission
Age: 58
Family: Husband, Sam Tenenbaum
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Georgia; law degree, University of South Carolina
Professional experience: Attorney, McNair Law Firm; attorney, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd (1986-92)
Political experience: S.C. superintendent of education, 1998-2006; ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1994 and for U.S. Senate in 2004
The CPSC
About the Consumer Product Safety Commission
Headquarters: Agency operates out of Bethesda, Md., and has 430 employees
Duties: Oversees safety of 15,000 products, from toys and cribs to ATVs and toasters, focusing on products that pose fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard or can injure children
Authority: Can compel manufacturers to recall products that pose serious risk of injury or death
Outlook: President Obama is seeking $107 million for the agency in 2009-10 fiscal year, 3.4 percent more than current funding.
On deck
President Barack Obama has tapped two more appointees with South Carolina ties who must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Mignon Clyburn, Federal Communications Commission
Clyburn, of Charleston, is a member of the state’s Public Service Commission. She is the daughter of U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a Columbia Democrat. If confirmed, Mignon Clyburn will be one of the commissioners of the federal agency that regulates mass media such as television and radio.
Charles Bolden, NASA
Bolden, a Columbia native and former astronaut who now lives in Houston, has been nominated to head the nation’s space agency. If confirmed, Bolden will be in charge of the $18 billion agency.
U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, who defeated the then-South Carolina public schools superintendent in their 2004 U.S. Senate race, congratulated Tenenbaum.
“I’m confident she has the determination and skills to lead this important commission,” DeMint said. “I look forward to working with her to ensure our nation continues to have the safest products in the world.”
DeMint, a Greenville Republican, had introduced Tenenbaum to other members of the Senate Commerce Committee at her confirmation hearing Tuesday.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Seneca Republican, also applauded Tenenbaum.
“I know Inez and am confident she will hit the ground running,” Graham said. “She will look out for American consumers and provide the agency with the leadership it needs.”
Congressional and Obama administration sources said Tenenbaum could be sworn into office as early as next week to take the helm of a demoralized agency that saw its staff and budget cut under President George W. Bush.
Tenenbaum, 58, said Obama or Vice President Joe Biden likely would swear her into the post, which carries an annual salary of about $149,000.
Reached at the weekend – and eventual retirement – home she and her husband, Sam, have near Caesars Head State Park in the Upstate, Tenenbaum said she planned to leave for Washington early Monday to shop for furniture for her new home outside the nation’s capital.
The Senate confirmed Tenenbaum in near-record time, approving her scarcely a week after getting her formal nomination papers.
Among 166 Obama administration nominees to date that require Senate confirmation, only three others have been affirmed as quickly, congressional and Obama administration sources said.
“There are a great number of challenges facing the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but the good thing is that Congress voted last year to revitalize the agency in light of the surge of imports and the fact that we live in a global economy,” Tenenbaum said.
Two-thirds of the products the commission regulates come from overseas, most of them from China.
China’s communist government has drawn the ire of consumer advocates because of health and safety problems caused by toys with lead paint, defective drywall and other products.
“One of the important challenges is to address the issue of Chinese drywall to determine what it is that’s corroding electrical wiring within the walls and also causing considerable respiratory problems to people who live in homes that use the drywall,” Tenenbaum said Friday.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires tracking labels for all children’s toys and third-party certification of imported goods.
Rosen covers Washington for McClatchy Newspapers in South Carolina.
South Carolina Governor, missing since Thursday, reportedly located
June 22, 2009 by comrex
Filed under South Carolina, State
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford
Monday, Jun. 22, 2009
Sanford, missing since Thursday, reportedly located
By John O’Connor and Clif LeBlanc
The whereabouts of Gov. Mark Sanford was unknown for nearly four days, and some state leaders question who was in charge of the executive office.
But Sanford’s office told the lieutenant governor’s office Monday afternoon that Sanford has been reached and he is fine, said Frank Adams, head of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer’s office on aging.
Neither the governor’s office nor the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for governors, had been able to reach Sanford after he left the mansion Thursday in a black SLED Suburban SUV, said Sen. Jake Knotts and three others familiar with the situation but declined to be identified.
Sanford’s last known whereabouts had been near Atlanta because a mobile telephone tower picked up a signal from his phone, authorities said. His office now knows where he is, Adams said.
First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press earlier Monday her husband has been gone for several days and she did not know where.
She said she was not concerned.
The governor’s state and personal phones had been turned off and he had not responded to phone or text messages since at least the weekend, a source familiar with the situation said.
Most mobile phones cannot be tracked if they are turned off.
Jenny Sanford said the governor said he needed time away from their children to write something.
The governor’s office issued a statement Monday afternoon: “Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside. We are not going to discuss the specifics of his travel arrangements or his security arrangements.”
One official familiar with the situation said there was no indication that foul play might have been involved because Sanford occasionally makes trips without his security detail.
Knotts, a longtime Sanford critic, said he contacted SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd Saturday after he heard reports the governor could not be reached.
“Chief Lloyd confirmed that my information is legitimate,” Knotts said. “He shared my concerns” about succession of power in Sanford’s absence, the Lexington Republican said. Lloyd could not be reached immediately on Monday.
“I was recently made aware that Governor Sanford has frequently been eluding SLED agents and disappearing at odd times,” Knotts said. Previously, Sanford has not been out of all contact – including with his own office – for this long before, a source, who insisted on anonymity, said.
Knotts said the state’s chief executive should never be unreachable.
“As the head of our state, in the unfortunate event of a state of emergency or homeland security situation, Governor Sanford should be available at all times to the Chief of SLED,” the senator said.
“If for any reason, including the unknown whereabouts of the Governor, he is unable to perform the duties of his office the Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor assumes the position of governor.
“I want to know immediately who is running the executive branch in the governor’s absence,” Knotts said.
The question of succession came just after Sanford became governor in 2003.
He joined the Air Force Reserve and was sent to Alabama for two week’s training with his unit, the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron based in Charleston. Sanford did not transfer power to Bauer at the time, saying he would be in regular contact with his office.
Sanford said then he would transfer authority in writing to the lieutenant governor only if he were called to active duty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Reach Clif LeBlanc at cleblanc@thestate.com and John O’Connor at joconnor@thestate.com
