We have all heard the saying “nice guys finish last.” Why is that exactly? It seems to me that nice guys only finish last if we let them.

In this coming election year, we have the chance to get some nice guys (and ladies) elected.

Over the past few years, the establishment GOP has become bloated, corrupt, greedy, inept, licentious, devoid of ideas, and weak. It has passed legislation to grow government while talking about cutting it. Its leaders have excoriated the lobbyist culture while lining their pockets. It has bungled campaigns and strategy to block Barack Obama’s legislation. The problems extend from Washington into the states.

This year, the story the media is not covering is the rise of the GOP grassroots against the GOP establishment. From Florida with Marco Rubio, to Texas with Michael Williams, to California with Chuck DeVore, and to Pennsylvania with Pat Toomey, we the conservative grassroots have a chance to defeat the GOP Establishment that has led us from a majority to a minority, from 55 Senate seats to 40, from a small government to a large one.

But it is not just at the federal level. We have an obligation, regardless of where we live, to help at the state level too. We must make sure the nice guys who fight with us are successful across the board.

That requires us, whether we live in South Carolina or not, to help Nikki Haley.

There are several good people running in South Carolina, but all of them are products of the Republican Establishment. They are men who talk of smaller government without actually fighting for it. They are men who talk of less regulation while regulating. They are men of good will who mean well, speak well, but will not government well.

Then there is Nikki Haley. She worked in her parents’ small business. She knows first hand the way government screws the little guy. She is not a big business supporter, but an entrepreneur’s best friend. Nikki Haley is worth supporting.

We have until the end of this month to make a serious impact for her. I want December to be Nikki Haley month at RedState. The whole nation is talking about Marco Rubio because of what we have done. Same with Michael Williams. Same with Chuck DeVore. Now let us help Nikki Haley in the same way.

We must help within the states too — if the federalist experiment is to survive, it must be supported inside the states, not just at the federal level. Supporting Nikki Haley does just that.

Nikki Haley is one of us. Now we need to stick up for her and fund her. If you have money, give it. If you have time, give it. If you have prayers, offer them up. Let’s pray for her, fund her campaign, and work to get Nikki Haley elected as the next Governor South Carolina.

From the diaries, by Erick

The act of terrorism at Fort Hood reminds us all that regardless of what the Obama/Pelosi Team or the elite media call it we are at war with Islamic fascism. Americans must rise up and remind our elected officials, Republican and Democrat, that we will not sit idly by while they bow at the altar of political correctness. Americans must, because President Obama and Nancy Pelosi will not, demand that outrages such as the massacre at Fort Hood be labeled for what they are and treated for what they are—acts of terrorism in the war that radical Islam is waging on the United States.

The emerging facts of the Fort Hood case indicate that Major Hasan is a jihadist bent on killing Americans, particularly American service personnel, in the name of his religion. Reports have indicated that Hasan told colleagues at Walter Reed Hospital that non-Muslims are infidels condemned to hell who should be set on fire. We know Hesan communicated many times with radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki who is tied to Al-Qaeda, and repeatedly exclaimed “Allahu Akbar” as he carried out his brutal attacks.

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James Galyean is a former federal prosecutor and former counsel on the US Senate Judiciary Committee. He helped draft both the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 and the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which dealt with the detention, interrogation, and trial of Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees. He is currently running for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District of South Carolina.
———————–

The administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in federal criminal court in New York shows that President Obama is not serious about our national security. 


KSM conceived, planned, and launched the attacks that killed thousands of American citizens in a war that he and other terrorists declared. He is an avowed enemy of the United States. The criminal justice system is not the proper place to determine his fate. Our criminal courts provide protections to our citizens that should not be provided to a terrorist, and may actually damage national security.


Just think about the discovery requirements that could be placed on prosecutors. For instance, in the trial of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers, prosecutors were required to turn over to defense lawyers a large amount of intelligence information. Documents from that discovery production, which were never supposed to be provided to anyone outside the defense team, were later found in an al-Qaeda hideout. Let me say that again, confidential documents from a trial in New York were later found in the hands of al-Qaeda. 



Now consider that KSM was captured in a lightening raid in Pakistan. The intelligence that led to that capture has been the subject of a number of reports. However, al-Qaeda would love to know for sure where that information came from and how it was obtained. In addition to that, they may be able to learn a number of other things from discovery in this trial.


Consider for a moment the constitutional strictures regarding coerced confessions. Think a liberal judge might want to explore whether waterboarding is too coercive? Or being held in one of the CIA’s black prisons? 



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We won the big statewide races yesterday, and now it’s back to work trying to win some more. The California Senate primary may not be until June, but when we’re faced with an entrenched incumbent like Barbara Boxer, we need all the lead time we can get.

Up until now, the DC types have all been supporting Carly Fiorina in our primary, even though she had not yet declared her candidacy, and had yet shown either an inability or an unwillingness to campaign to the Republican voters of this state. Thus, that early support had failed to move any dials as Assemblyman Chuck DeVore has raised money well, gained loyal grass roots support, and ran ahead of Fiorina against Boxer in polls. But now, with the fallout of Dede Scozzafava’s blowup spreading nationwide, events are moving more quickly.

The NRSC is conceding its positions in primaries, pulling a crutch out from under Fiorina’s already-limping campaign. Conservative DC types are taking advantage of the new neutrality, too, starting with Senator Jim DeMint endorsing DeVore, while Fiorina has the backing of South Carolina’s other Senator, Lindsey Graham.

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James Galyean is a candidate running for South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. Prior to that time, Galyean was an Assistant United States Attorney and also has some pretty direct connections to the War on Terror.

It was Galyean who helped helped write both the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 and the Military Commissions Act of 2006. As a result, he has a bed of knowledge and massive amounts of contacts that others do not. And his contacts are telling him that, protestations to the contrary from the Pentagon, Barack Obama has every intention of sending GTMO terrorists to the Charleston, SC Naval Weapons Station.

After all, South Carolina did not vote for Obama, so he sees no fall out in sticking terrorists there. But Galyean makes some pretty convincing points that this is a bad idea.

In August 2007, a sharp Berkeley County Sheriff’s Deputy, James Blakely, pulled over two Egyptian men not far from the station. With the guns and explosive materials found in their car, they could have killed any number of people. And the brig isn’t the only possible target at the station. There are others, both programs and personnel.

SPAWAR is a naval project headquartered at the station that provides classified engineering and other support for overseas projects. Because of that mission and others at the station, over 10,000 people pass through the station’s gates each day. Think those cars would be attractive targets during a terrorist’s military trial at the station? With the media hordes camped outside the gates? What about a nearby daycare center used by the station’s families? Think that couldn’t happen? Google “Beslan.”

There’s also a nuclear fuel transshipment facility and a jet fuel storage tank farm inside the fence. You could throw a rock from any of them and hit the brig. Did I mention there’s over 600 million pounds of explosives stored there too? And reportedly a few nuclear weapons. Anyone want to risk an inbound Gulfstream?

Unlike a lot of the kids in the Obama administration, Galyean knows what he is talking about.

This is of note for two reasons:

Republicans in Laurens and Newberry counties will host the state’s first gubernatorial debate for the 2010 GOP nomination. The debate will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Newberry Opera House.

Expected to attend are all the announced and likely Republican candidates to replace term-limited Gov. Mark Sanford. They are 3rd Congressional District Rep. Gresham Barrett, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, state Sen. Larry Grooms of Bonneau, state Rep. Nikki Haley of Columbia and S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster.

First, obviously, it’s of interest because it’ll include Rep. Nikki Haley, who was of course one of our best-received candidates at the RedState Gathering. Check out the video at the link - or check out the one below:

Why Nikki? from David Thompson on Vimeo.

…and if you like that, here’s Nikki Haley’s donation page.

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Joe Wilson’s son Alan Wilson is running for Attorney General in South Carolina.

I know nothing about Alan Wilson, but he’s Joe’s son and he’s coming under a withering attack because of what his father did.

Shortly after the revolution, colonials would abuse and often punish the sons of tories, those who had supported King George. When the Constitution was written, the Founders prohibited punishment in treason that would “work Corruption of Blood,” or punishment extended to descendants.

It is a natural tendency in the corruption of man to punish the children of those who did things wrong or perceived to have done things wrong. It’s like my neighbor heckling my 3 year old solely because she is related to me. It is part of the baser parts of human nature. And it is not right.

I don’t know Alan Wilson, but I’m willing to help him if only on the principle that neither a son nor daughter should be punished for the acts of a parent. And the hate he is getting because of his dad is wrong.

The left has made a lot of hay over Joe Wilson’s opponent’s stellar fundraising since last Wednesday. But what about Joe and what about his district?

I’m told that Wilson now has collected just under $2 million dollars online and has “mountains” of mail to be opened with lots of checks there. As I said the other day, a lot of the people who’d be most inclined to give money to Joe are people like my sister and the secretary at her church — they are ‘thank you note’ and stamp activists who’ll send Joe a nice note and check in the mail.

Those notes are just showing up and the pile of mail is flooding Joe Wilson’s office. They can’t keep up from what I hear.

But what about Joe Wilson’s district? It’s one thing to make hay out of his opponent’s fundraising, but looking at the Almanac of American Politics, it appears leftists are wasting their money.

The voters of the 2nd Congressional District have returned Joe to Congress regularly with over 60% of the vote except in 2008, which was a terrible year for Republicans. Even then, Joe Wilson beat his opponent 54% to 46%.

His opponent in 2008 was Rob Miller, who is his opponent this time too. This happened for Joe in 2004 and 2006 when his opponent was Michael Ray Ellisor.

For leftists who think they can get closer in 2010 than in 2008, consider the trend in the 2nd Congressional District. In 2000, then Congressman Floyd Spence still received 54% of the vote. In big election years, which 2000 and 2008 both were, the Republican drops to the mid-50’s in the 2nd, but still wins.

The 2nd Congressional District of South Carolina has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of Republican +9. The leftists may have lined Rob Miller’s pockets, but conservatives across American are keeping Wilson flush with cash.

Wilson will only grow in popularity in his district and will now have gobs of money to throw to other campaigns — a generosity that Wilson is known for among the Republican Conference.

This is very well done. The South Carolina Republican Party has put together the video below. It launches tomorrow throughout the state.

I know a lot of you have all sorts of ideas for advertising for the GOP. I know because many of you email these things to me. It looks like the South Carolina Republican Party has been getting the same stuff, because this ad campaign is right in line with what a lot of you send me.

The cool thing is that this will only be the start. They are going to roll out some serious new technological tools, harness the internet, and work like crazy to grow the party. It is well done and I wish them luck.

To find out more, go to SCGOP.com. Of course, you might wait till tomorrow, because the video below is part of a roll out that starts tomorrow. But we’re RedState, so we have it for you today.

I’m a Republican from SCGOP on Vimeo.

All I can say about Nikki Haley is WOW. The story of her rise in politics, and her willingness to take on the Republican establishment in South Carolina is compelling. She capped off the presentations in Atlanta, like the cherry on top of the cake.

She is running for Governor of South Carolina next year. Regardless of the success of her campaign, she is clearly going to be a strong voice for conservatives in the future.

Just watch.

Nikki Haley from David Thompson on Vimeo.

Another quick interview, this time with Nikki Haley. She’s another candidate that I’ve been following, and I’m very pleased that she was able to attend the Gathering. As mentioned earlier, footage of her actual comments and question-and-answer session will be made available later.

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

I’ve meant, for a while, to comment on Stephen Gordon’s post from back in May about the GOP needing libertarians more than libertarians needs the GOP.

I think he has some merit to his argument, but I would say that libertarians and conservatives both need the GOP and need each other. They are not always going to agree. There will be fights over the drug war, marriage, etc. But at the end of the day, both conservatives and libertarians are, or at least must be, committed to smaller government.

I bring this up to point out Nikki Haley. She’s unapologetically pro-life, but she is first and foremost known as a fiscal conservative. She is the type of candidate conservatives claim they want. She is also the type of candidate libertarians claim to want.

While she won’t please everyone — the only candidate who ever tried is now in the White House making everyone mad — she gets checks in all the major boxes: life, tax cutting, government cutting, honesty, and uncompromising on the need to reform.

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Recently, the Smosska Corporation swooped into Florence, South Carolina promising to instantly create some 400 new jobs with an assurance of 3,000 before next year is out. For an area that needs jobs this seemed like welcome news.

Last week a job fair was held in Florence by the new company at which free health care was offered those that would be hired. At that time an aptitude test was taken by applicants if, that is, they had the $40 fee to pay to take the thing. The company claimed this “fee” would be used to pay for drug tests if they were hired. This fee, however, made some people curious.

The fee and several other curious characteristics of this company caused suspicions to be raised about its legitimacy. It turns out, there is not yet an actual building in which this Smosska Corporation is housed, there don’t seem to be too many current employees, and there doesn’t seem to have been any actual products created by Smosska in the past — though the corporation is supposed to have been formed in 2001. Even the original email address given out was a Yahoo account, not an official corporate web host address.

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You may remember South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley from a previous interview that she did with RedState; she’s recently been profiled in Politico as one of the GOP’s potential stars of the 2010 election cycle…

The daughter of two immigrants, Haley knocked off South Carolina’s then-longest-serving incumbent to become the first Indian-American Republican elected to a state Legislature. After that upset victory, she again caught the attention of the state’s political establishment last summer by successfully moving to limit voice votes and force state lawmakers to vote on the record, an unpopular move with many of her state House colleagues.

Her socially and fiscally conservative credentials are burnished with strong ratings from the National Rifle Association and the state chapter of the Club for Growth and by her role earlier this year as one of Sanford’s lone legislative allies in trying to reject some federal stimulus funds.

…and you can also listen to a recent radio interview that Nikki did here on the topics of South Carolina politics, the need for fiscal conservatism, and - unsurprisingly, alas - Governor Sanford.

If either the article or the interview leaves you interested in hearing more: I am pleased to be able to tell you that she’ll be coming to the RS Gathering. I’ll let Erick give the full details, but for right now suffice it to say that she’ll be accessible to attendees.

Hope to see you all there!

Moe Lane

Well, what I wrote yesterday was wrong. Sanford’s lies spread through his office and out to the rest of us.

The left is linking to yesterday’s post to laugh at it. What they are missing is that most of us tend to give people the benefit of the doubt — even people like John Edwards.

We live in a fallen world and we ourselves are fallen. I am disappointed in Sanford, but not angry. The default for politicians seems to be unchaste. All we can do is work for ideas and try to find men of good character to fight for those ideas.

I think one thing I have noticed in the past five years is that Democrats and Republicans tend to elevate politicians to such a level that there is no accountability. It is insular. There is no support group, no small group of friends, and no authority that can guide, admonish, and correct politicians privately.

We have each other. I’m off in a bit to hang out with friends from my Bible Study. Sanford probably has none of that. I’m sure John Edwards did not. Nor Bill Clinton. Nor John Ensign.

What Mark Sanford did was wrong. He needs to go in a dark hole somewhere where no one can see him or hear him and rehabilitate himself. On the bright side, I doubt his indiscretions will affect the FisCon movement. The left is going to spend the next week making Sanford into the second coming of James Dobson to smear real marriage advocates and social conservatives — positions Sanford was rarely vocal on.

Blessed is the Lord God Jehovah who brings forth bread from heaven, water from rocks, and men like Mark Sanford from the dust of the earth. His will be done.

Consider this an open thread.

First, we need to be clear on the facts — not the media speculation:

• Sanford did tell his staff and family where he was going.
• Because he was traveling without a security detail, it was in his best interests that no one knew he was gone.
• His political enemies — Republicans at that — ginned up the media story.
• When confronted by a pestering media, things went downhill.
• Again though, at all times there was no doubt that Sanford’s staff and family knew where he was.

Now, here is all you need to know about this whole entire story — the reaction from the erstwhile Republicans angry at Sanford for not being a fiscal squish and from the media all go back to their core belief that without Sanford manning the barricades of government at all times, the government will collapse and people will starve, die, and forget how to read and write.

That’s it.

But that did not happen. Life in South Carolina went on. The world did not end. Government did not go off the rails. That the media and politicians would react as they did says more about their world view than anything else.

It is refreshing that Mark Sanford is secure enough in himself and the people of South Carolina that he does not view himself as an indispensable man.

Sanford’s lies spread through his office and out to the rest of us.

The left is linking to this post to laugh at it. What they are missing is that most of us tend to give people the benefit of the doubt — even people like John Edwards.

We live in a fallen world and we ourselves are fallen. I am disappointed in Sanford, but not angry. The default for politicians seems to be unchaste. All we can do is work for ideas and try to find men of good character to fight for those ideas.

I think one thing I have noticed in the past five years is that Democrats and Republicans tend to elevate politicians to such a level that there is no accountability. It is insular. There is no support group, no small group of friends, and no authority that can guide, admonish, and correct politicians privately.

We have each other. I’m off in a bit to hang out with friends from my Bible Study. Sanford probably has none of that. I’m sure John Edwards did not. Nor Bill Clinton. Nor John Ensign.

What Mark Sanford did was wrong. He needs to go in a dark hole somewhere where no one can see him or hear him and rehabilitate himself. On the bright side, I doubt his indiscretions will affect the FisCon movement. The left is going to spend the next week making Sanford into the second coming of James Dobson to smear real marriage advocates and social conservatives — positions Sanford was rarely vocal on.

Blessed is the Lord God Jehovah who brings forth bread from heaven, water from rocks, and men like Mark Sanford from the dust of the earth. His will be done.

With all the reports of a missing Governor Mark Sanford whose staff and wife allegedly have no idea where he is and have not heard from him, I figured it was worth checking in with his office. His Communications Director sent us this statement:

The governor put in a lot of time during this last legislative session, and after the session winds down it’s not uncommon for him to go out of pocket for a few days at a time to clear his head. Obviously, that’s going to be somewhat out of the question this time given the attention this particular absence has gotten. Before leaving last week, he let staff know his whereabouts and that he’d be difficult to reach. Should any emergencies arise between the times in which he checks in, our staff would obviously be in contact with other state officials as the situation warrants before making any decisions.

For the record, Governor Sanford is hiking part of the Appalachian Trail.

Last week, I led a group of Republican senators that wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to immediately relist North Korea as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and we also introduced an amendment to force the Obama Administration into action.
 
Yesterday on ABC’s This Week, I was pleased to hear Secretary Clinton’s response that they are now considering relisting North Korea. This is a very important step that I hope President Obama will agree to.
 
However, just days before Secretary Clinton’s statement, her spokesman bluntly claimed the State Department doesn’t believe there are any recent acts by North Korea that can be defined as supporting terrorism:
 

REPORTER: A group of Republican senators has written a letter to the Secretary urging her to relist North Korea on the terror list. They specify certain unnamed ongoing terrorist activities. Do you share that assessment, and where do you want to go with that?

STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN PHILIP CROWLEY: …As for North Korea, I think we’re aware of that letter. But as far as I know, firing off missiles and over-heated rhetoric is unwise and unhelpful, but does not meet the legal definition of terrorism.

REPORTER: They seem to say – but they don’t refer to those tests as a terrorist activity – to say that other ones are ongoing, that those are — Is there anything else that you’re aware of?

MR. CROWLEY: To list a country on the terrorism list, there’s a legal requirement there. And what we’ve seen so far, I don’t think meets that legal test.
 

Based on this statement, I eagerly await the State Department to certify:
 

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I had the opportunity to speak with South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley the other day. Rather than subject you to my stammering and verbal tics, I’ve summarized the call below, with transcribed quotes as appropriate, and three longer ones highlighted.

Bottom line: State Representative Haley is a candidate that anyone interested in fiscal reform should take a good look at. The interview did not go overly into social issues, but her views on life and family issues appear solid. Her donation page is here; Facebook group, here; and official stance on issues, here.

On her background:

Nikki Haley was born and raised in Bamberg, a small (population 2,500) town in South Carolina: “we learned accountability & responsibility early, because the second we thought about doing something wrong, someone was already calling and telling our mom.” She’s a second-generation Indian-American with a public school education and an accounting degree from Clemson University, which she later used to help improve and expand her parents’ family business. She is married, with two children: her husband is in the Army National Guard.

“I am the daughter of two immigrant parents who came here with eight dollars in their pocket that never let us forget what a blessing it is to live in this country: I’m the sister of a man who fought in Desert Storm and I remember what it was like to wonder if he would come home; I’m the wife of a husband in the military who loves his job; I’m the mother of two children who attend public schools and I wonder what their lives are going to be like when they grow up; and I’m a legislator who knows what good government can look like, and I want people to know what it feels like.”

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