SC: Constitution Party Candidate to Face Off Against Young Republican

From WSPA in South Carolina:

22 year old Joshua Putnam is taking down signs for one campaign and getting ready for another. If elected, the Republican would be the youngest member of the State House. Putnam says, “I think age doesn't matter. It's about maturity.”

Putnam's opponent, 52 year old Dave Ballard, lives in Pelzer in a century old family home. The Constitution party candidate says he wants to bring a new perspective to politics.

Ballard says, “In northern Anderson County, the Republican party has a monopoly on politics. I want to give people a choice.”

Ballard, an architect, is in favor of what he calls a "fair tax" in South Carolina. He says the state could attract more business by getting rid of the income tax and other taxes and replacing them with a sales tax. He says, ‘What that does it takes the taxes off of businesses because businesses don't pay taxes. As much as possible they try to recoup those tax costs when they sell their products or services.” . . .

SC: Councilman's "Independent" Candidacy was Partisan Republican Ruse

From The State:

The upstart independent candidate who edged a veteran of the Lexington County GOP by 32 votes to become a county councilman has declared he is a Republican, five days after an election protest deadline.

Brad Matthews, 24, announced his party affliation at the Dutch Fork Republican Women’s Club’s Nov. 15 meeting. The 34-year-old club has members who live in Council District 7, which Matthews will represent when he takes office in Jan. 4.

SC: Clements (G) Demands that Demint Apologize for Anti-Gay Remarks

From The State:

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint's comments about banning gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools are "bigoted and dangerous" and the S.C. Republican should apologize, said Green Party candidate opponent Tom Clements.

“Jim DeMint’s hateful comments about who should and shouldn’t be a teacher are just repugnant. They reveal the nefarious and bigoted agenda he’s trying to push on all of us – not just here in South Carolina, but across the nation as well." Clements said in a news release.

SC: City Paper Interviews Tom Clements, Green party Candidate for US Senate

From the Columbia City Paper:

The 2010 South Carolina race for the U.S. Senate has left many voters scratching their heads in bewilderment, shrugging their shoulders in apathy, or rubbing their faces in annoyance. Jim DeMint has become the brash new kingmaker of the rightwing Tea Party movement, alienating moderate Republicans and Independents and making progressives consider moving to another state. Alvin Greene, the Democratic candidate, has been a controversial and perplexing figure since his come-from-nowhere defeat of Vic Rawl in the Democratic primary and hasn’t been able to mount a formidable campaign or garner much support even among his own party.

But there is, however, another choice, another party. Enter Tom Clements, the Green Party’s candidate. Clements was kind enough to sit down with me for a few minutes at his office on Sumter St. before heading to a meet and greet at Goatfeathers in Five Points. After meeting him for the first time, I was sure of three things: he’s an intelligent yet down to earth man, he has the knowledge and experience to make him a serious candidate, and he’s looking for a fight.

SC: Longtime Republican Legislator Leaves GOP for Constitution Party

From Fits News, a press release from the SC Constitution Party:

Former South Carolina State Legislator runs for State House, 37th District, as a Constitution Party candidate . . .  Mr. Ralph Davenport, the owner of Davenport Glass Co., a conservative and former member of the South Carolina House, has switched from the Republican Party to the Constitution Party. After serving 22 years in the House as a Republican, he is now running for the SC House on the Constitution Party ticket.

SC: Green candidate for US Senate opens state headquarters, will focus on education, vows to protect Social Security

From Midlands Connect:

Green Party candidate Tom Clements talked briefly on Thursday and answered questions as he opened his new office on Sumter Street next to the Roly Poly sandwich shop. "As a South Carolinian from Georgia, it's always painful to see that we're always close to the bottom," Clements explains. "I'm going to put education at the top of my agenda and healthcare, cutting the debt and protecting social security."

GA: Is Libertarian John Monds Polling 20% Support? Three Cases of Pollster Bias against Third Party Candidates

From Jack Wagner at the Free Independent Sun, via SWGA Politics:

I noticed something quite disturbing when studying recent polling for elections around the country. Rasmussen Reports will include upwards of 6 or 7 candidates in the Democrat and Republican Primaries, sometimes with candidates that only receive 1% of the vote, yet when it comes to the General Election they will only include the two Democrat-Republican candidates despite there being sometime upwards of 3 or 4 other candidates from Third Party Nominations or Independent Nominations. This case is most present and most dangerous in a particular Governor’s election in Georgia, where the African-American Libertarian Candidate John Monds is left out of General Election polls despite having won 33.4% in a statewide election in 2008, and apparently the most likely winner of the 15- 20% of unaccounted votes in Rasmussen Polls.

The Following Images Reveal Irregularities in Rasmussen, and Mainstream, Polling Practices that have an obvious impact on the outcome of Elections and the ability for Third-Party and Independent Candidates to gain support and exposure . . .

The piece goes on to document, in three particular cases, the well known fact that polling organizations show a demonstrable bias against third party and independent candidates. It concludes:

This does Two Major things:

1. This influences elections in favor of Democrat-Republican candidates, in effect, subverting the Democratic Process. This Polling Technique undermines candidates that challenge the Democrat-Republican monopoly on Government, and reinforces the false dogma that only Democrat and Republican candidates can win. In conjunction with unbalanced ballot-registration laws, closed debates and the lack of Instant Run-Off voting, have effectively brought our “democratic system” in par with that of the U.S.S.R. or Communist China.
2. It makes the poll invalid. This poll is not legit, because it is weighed in favor of specific candidates. It is not a scientific evaluation of public opinion, because it manipulates reaction by supplementing “other” for specific candidates names, and irregularly including and excluding candidates based on level of support; all in favor of the two-establishment parties. Rasmussen Reports are a fraud. They are not scientific polls, but instead are propaganda for special interests. Whether the organization is instructed or influenced into conducting its polls in this fashion, or do so on their own accord, these “Reports” are used to maintain exclusive power over government by two partner-private groups.

What You Can Do

Write and Call Rasmussen Reports and Demand that John Monds, LeAlan Jones and Tom Clements be Named in future Polls.

SC: Green Party Senate Candidate Slams Demint on Net Neutrality

A press release sent to TPID by Tom Clements, the Green Party candidate for US Senate in South Carolina:

Senator Jim DeMint and six other Republican senators just introduced legislation that would dramatically limit the Federal Communications Commission's ability to regulate broadband providers.  Tom Clements, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in South Carolina,  believes DeMint is attacking the freedom of average Internet users who take their "virtual independence" seriously and who deserve unregulated access to the Internet.

“His position concerning ‘net neutraility’ clearly reveals that DeMint come downs on the side of big business over individual freedoms,” said Clements.  “He hypocritically claims to stand with the people while at the same time leading the charge against net neutrality.  Jim DeMint is a reliable mouthpiece for big business and the cable lobbyists and is not on the side of working people in South Carolina.  He claims that the government is trying to take over the Internet when actually AT&T and Comcast are trying to take over control of the Internet and he’s helping them.” 

DeMint’s Freedom for Consumer Choice Act, or FCC Act, would curb and narrow the FCC's power over broadband providers and come to resemble the antitrust enforcement power of the Department of Justice. One section lets the FCC define "unfair methods of competition" and levy "requirements" on the industry, but only if marketplace competition is “inadequate.”

If passed, DeMint’s “Big Media Bill” would impose a whole new framework on the FCC so that they can't impose any new rules unless they find that a market failure led to ongoing consumer harm, and not just in the net neutrality context, but in any rule making.

Clements affirmed: “As it is in the best interest of South Carolinians, I support net neutrality and believe that regulations must exist to protect the average Internet users.  Protection means preventing broadband providers from restricting content or prioritizing one type of traffic over another.  I also believe that DeMint’s bill duplicates the jurisdiction and purpose of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, which share antitrust authority.’”

For more information contact the Clements for US Senate Campaign at 803.834.3084, cell 803.240.7268      

Notes:  Clements for Senate website - http://clementsforsenate.com/

SC: Media Belatedly Discover Green Party Candidate Tom Clements

From SC Now:

COLUMBIA -- A recent Rasmussen poll showed Republican Senator Jim DeMint with 58 percent of the vote, Democrat Alvin Greene, 21 percent and "some other candidate" with nine percent of the vote.

Little media attention has been given to the other "unknown" candidate in the race for the U.S. SenateTom Clements, the Green Party candidate who claimed that nine percent as his own in a release last week.

Although history shows little love for Green Party candidates in South Carolina, Clements is confident his chance in this election is as good as any.

SC: Green Party Senate Candidate Sees Opportunity in Democrat Greene's Nomination

From the Post and Courier:

Will the controversial U.S. Senate candidacy of Democrat Alvin Greene open the door for the Green Party? Tom Clements hopes so. Clements decided to enter the race as a Green Party candidate before he knew who the Democrats would put up to face incumbent Republican Sen. Jim DeMint.

And now that the Democrats are so ambivalent about their nominee -- party leaders only discovered after the June 8 primary that Greene is facing a felony pornography charge in Columbia -- Clements sees an opportunity.

"I view it as a Democratic party meltdown and not a meltdown of Alvin Greene," Clements said. "That's when the chance for me to secure more of the vote arose."

Labor Groups Back Green Party Candidates in NY and SC

From Green Party Watch:

Labor activists from throughout New York State have started a committee to support the gubernatorial campaign of Green Party nominee Howie Hawkins. Howie Hawkins is a member of Teamsters Local 317 and active in the national Teamster rank-and-file reform caucus, Teamsters for a Democratic Union. Howie presently works unloading trucks and rail cars at UPS. He is the former Director of CommonWorks, a federation of cooperatives working for an economy that is cooperatively owned, democratically controlled, and ecologically sustainable.

In related news, out of South Carolina, from SC Black News:

The CLC stated that they believe Tom Clements "will best represent the interests of the working people of South Carolina."The Greater Columbia Central Labor Council of the SC AFL-CIO has endorsed Green Party US Senate candidate Tom Clements in his bid against incumbent Republican Senator Jim DeMint and Democratic senatorial nominee Alvin Greene.

SC: Democrats Consider Supporting Green Party Candidate for US Senate

From the Charleston City Paper:

So what are South Carolina Democrats supposed to do now that that the utterly unelectable Sphinx from Manning, Alvin Greene, has won the party's U.S. Senate nomination? A lot of us are looking at the Green Party's Tom Clements. He doesn't have a snowball's chance in July, but Clements does seem to be a worthy candidate for Dems to turn to. That's what the Aiken County Democratic Party seems to be doing on their website. Check out this story from the Aiken Standard: www.aikenstandard.com/Local/0713ACDP

SC: Green Party Candidate for US Senate Prepares for Aggressive Campaign

From Dave Schwab at Green Party Watch:

South Carolina Green Party candidate for US Senate Tom Clements has received a wave of media attention after issuing a press release reminding voters that he is still in the race after Linda Ketner dropped an independent bid. The race is now between Tom Clements, Republican Jim DeMint, and Democrat Alvin Greene. Here are some of the stories covering Clements’ campaign – please post more in the comments as they appear:

•WACH Columbia – Green candidate discusses platform in Senate race
•The Daily Caller – South Carolina’s Green Party hoping to benefit from Alvin Greene
•Charleston City Paper – Remaining third option lobbies for Ketner voters
•South Carolina Radio Network – Green Party candidate says door is open for him in US Senate race

SC: Green Candidate for Governor Pushes Education Reform, Calls for "Year-Round" School Year

From WIS 10:

Political newcomer and the South Carolina Green Party's nominee for governor, Dr. Morgan Bruce Reeves has brought his grassroots campaign to Charleston. . . . One of Reeves' top issues is education reform to help children succeed in the future. He said he wants a major overhaul of the current system, putting kids in school year-round with four breaks during the school year. "The year-round school will eliminate a lot of children going into the streets, becoming gang members, and going to jail," Reeves said.

SC: Green Candidate for Governor Touts Independence

From Live5 News in SC:

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Political newcomer and the South Carolina Green Party's nominee for governor, Dr. Morgan Bruce Reeves has brought his grassroots campaign to Charleston. "The only way we're going to make the Democrat and Republican party respect South Carolina is to vote on an independent like myself to be the next governor," Reeves said.

He said he is ready to take on his opponents, Republican Nikki Haley and Democrat Vincent Sheheen. "Nikki Haley being the governor of South Carolina would be like daffy duck being the point guard for the Boston Celtics," Reeves said. "Her problem is she's worried about all the big names and all the rich people."

SC: Green Offers Alternative in Senate Election, Tom Clements with 9% Support

From SC Now:

A recent Rasmussen poll showed Republican Senator Jim DeMint with 58 percent of the vote, Democrat Alvin Greene, 21 percent and “some other candidate” with nine percent of the vote. Little media attention has been given to the other “unknown” candidate in the race for the U.S. Senate seat,Tom Clements, the Green Party candidate who claimed that nine percent as his own in a release last week. Although history shows little love for Green Party candidates in South Carolina, Clements is confident his chance in this election is as good as any.

SC: Green Candidate for Senate Polling 9%

From Green Party Watch:

A Rasmussen poll shows incumbent Republican Jim DeMint at 58%, Democratic nominee Alvin Greene at 21%, and “Some other candidate” at 9%, with 13% undecided. The only other candidate in the race is South Carolina Green Party nominee Tom Clements.

Rasmussen has been contacted in an effort to include Clements in future polls by name, and a reply from Rasmussen indicated that if “some other candidate” performs well they will add that “some other” by name.

Clements’ campaign has gotten a boost from Alvin Greene’s performance on television. The Democratic nominee won election without campaigning. He has no website, no Facebook or Twitter accounts, raised no money and had no formal appearances. Greene has been on Countdown with Keith Olberman as well as public TV in Columbia. The footage of his appearances has been called “painful to watch”.

SC: Democrats Want Independent on Ballot

From CNN:

As Democrats in South Carolina face the uncomfortable prospect of having unemployed political novice Alvin Greene as their Senate nominee in November, some in the party have launched an effort to put a more polished candidate on the ballot as an independent. Allies of former congressional candidate Linda Ketner, who came within four points of unseating Rep. Henry Brown in 2008, are seeking 10,000 signatures by July 15 to get Ketner's name on the ballot along with Greene and the Republican incumbent, Sen. Jim DeMint.

SC: Green Party Candidate to Challenge Democrat and Republican in 3-Way Senate Race

From News Blaze:

In what promises to further make the senatorial election an interesting affair, the South Carolina Green Party has fielded a serious candidate running for the U.S. Senate seat. The Green Party candidate, Tom Clements, will be the only other candidate on the ballot with the Republican and Democratic candidates, making it a 3-way race.

Tom Clements, noted environmental activist in South Carolina who lives in the Earlewood neighborhood in Columbia, was affirmed by the Green Party convention in early May to be the Senate candidate and all paperwork was properly filed with the State Election Commission. Mr. Clements' candidacy can be seen listed under third party candidates on the election commission website.

SC: Disgraced Racist Republican Legislator Derides GOP as "Libertarian"

From Politico:

The Lexington County, South Carolina Republicans voted last night to censure State Senator Jake Knotts, and to ask him to resign, for calling Nikki Haley and Barack Obama "ragheads." Knotts's response:

"This is not a Republican Party, this is a libertarian party,” Knotts said, noting the group did not censure Sanford last year after he admitted an extramarital affair. “This is nothing but politics. I’m not resigning. I could care less.”