the blue note: 2, 1

The Bimonthly Newsletter of the Dorchester County Democratic Party

FebruaryMarch 2010 Volume 2 Issue 1

New Election Year

New Precincts

New Opportunities

Itrsquos that time again New Precinct Reorganization Meet-ings will take place on Saturday Feb 20th and new offi-cers from each precinct will then be elected And thanks to the new redistricting done by the State Elec-tion Commission we have many more precincts too ris-ing from 46 to 74 throughout Dorchester County (To learn where your Precinct Reorganization Meeting will be held see page 2) More precincts mean more opportunities for participation too From each of the 74 precincts we will elect an execu-tive committee member and alternate a president vice president 2nd vice president 3rd vice president secretary and treasurer You can see a description of the recom-mended duties of each position on page 3 On that same page you can read about other ways you can get involved on a precinct level even if yoursquore not on your precinctrsquos board Our state party guidelines ensure that our precincts have equal representation in gender ethnicity and even age Because of this growth as well these guidelines we hope that everyone with any interest will be present at our Pre-cinct Organization Meetings The precincts from the lower half of the county will meet at the County Council building in Summerville (500 N Main St) while the upper half of the countyrsquos precincts will gather at the Waggoner County Services Center in St George (201 Johnston St) and all at 10 am on Saturday Feb 20th

(If you live in the Delemars precinct of Ridgeville though your meeting will be held at that the same time and date at the Sand Hill UM Church Family Life Center at 1961 Summers Dr in Ridgeville) We will also elect county delegates from each precinct and who will get to vote for the next DCDP Chairperson and State Executive Committee Members and Alternates at our County Convention in March And the very next Saturday after these upcoming Precinct Organization Meetings we can gather together for a social event too Wersquore having a party for the new precinct offi-cials on Saturday Feb 27th (see the ad on page 2) Anyone else interested in our countyrsquos Democratic Party can at-tend too Many Democratic candidates have already con-firmed that theyrsquoll be coming to our party so yoursquoll also have a chance to meet mix and mingle with our contend-ers Come be a part of the Democratic Party We sure could use your help and wersquod love to have you aboard

Get in on the action

IN THIS ISSUE

Precinct Reorganization Meetingsmdashpages 2 amp 3

County Conventionmdashpage 4

Message from Outgoing Chairman Yeomansmdashpage 4

Petition Updates Democrats in Actionmdashpage 4

New Election Pollmdashpage 5

State Republicans Donrsquot Want Us to Votemdashpage 5

Henry Brown Steps Downmdashpage 6

McMaster A Lawsuit a Day Keeps Health Reform

Awaymdashpage 7

Updates GOP Candidates for Governormdashpage 8

Jim DeMint Constitutional Advocatemdashpage 9

We Want Security NOT Slaverymdashpage 10

Census 2010mdashpage 11

State Unemployment Funds Go Bust Thanks to Re-

publicansmdashpage 11

Liar of the Month Clubmdashpage 14

Calendar of Eventsmdashpage 15

Precinct Reorganization

Meetings

All Dorchester County precincts meet at one of the following locations at 10 am on Saturday February 20th

Lower Dorchester County County Council Chambers

500 N Main St in Summerville The precincts to meet here are

Archdale Archdale 2

Ashborough East Ashborough East 2 Ashborough West Ashborough West 2

Ashley River Bacons Bridge Beech Hill Beech Hill 2 Brandymill Brandymill 2

Briarwood Briarwood 2 Briarwood 3 Butternut Carolina Central Central 2

Clemson Clemson 2 Clemson 3 Coastal Coastal 2 Coastal 3 Coosaw Coosaw 2 Cypress

Dorchester Dorchester 2 Flowertown Flowertown 2

Germantown Givhans Givhans 2 Greenhurst Greenwave Irongate

Irongate 2 Irongate 3 Kings Grant Kings Grant 2

Knightsville Lincoln MilesJamison Newington Newington 2

North Summerville North Summerville 2 Oakbrook Patriot Saul Dam

Sawmill Branch Spann Stallsville Tranquil Tranquil 2 Trolley

Tupperway Windsor

Upper Dorchester County Waggoner County Services Building

201 Johnston St in St George The precincts to meet here are

Four Hole Grover Harleyville

Indian Field Indian Field 2 Reevesville Ridgeville Ridgeville 2

Rosinville Rosses St George 1 St George 2

Delemars Precinct Only 10 am on Saturday February 20th

Sand Hill UM Church Family Life Center

1961 Summers Drive in Ridgeville

The DCDP invites you to an evening of

(A Democratic Blue kind of blues that is)

Saturday Feb 27th 6 pm lsquotil 9 pm

At the White Gables Clubhouse

(Take Central Ave from Down-town Summerville toward

Orangeburg Rd turn left onto White Gables just before the Publix Shopping Center drive

straight ahead and park on either side of the clubhouse)

Mix and mingle with your fellow Dorchester Democrats Meet many Democratic candidates

And chow down and blues it up while yoursquore at it too

Just $10

($5 for kids) For BBQ

with all the fixins

along with great side

dishes and drinks you

can buy some to go too

(and donrsquot

forget the music)

For more information contact Pamela Ward at 2244133 or wrdcaolcom

PLEASE RSVP

ARE YOU IN A NEW PRECINCT Therersquos a good chance of that you know After all our county just grew from 46 to 74 precincts

These new precincts were formed by dividing up ones that had grown to very large sizes For example the Clemson precinct is now divided up as Clemson Clemson 2 and Clemson 3

Many of you will be receiving new voter registration cards in the mail but only if you are in a new precinct Using that same Clemson example if you are now in Clemson 2 or Clemson 3 yoursquoll receive a new card If yoursquore in the precinct that retained the original ldquoClemsonrdquo name though you wonrsquot be getting a new voter registration card

It shouldnrsquot affect your voting location either although at least one precinct in our county will be using new facilities this year

If yoursquore at all unsure about which precinct you belong to you can call the Dorches-

ter County Election Commission at 563-0187 or 832-0187

What is a Precinct

The precinct is the smallest political unit in the country each precinct responds to one polling place A precinct is where elec-tions are won or lost Most importantly it is your neighborhood You know the peo-ple the schools and the community cen-ters You have your hand on the pulse of the precinct You understand the assets and needs of your neighborhood and have a desire to improve it Never underesti-mate the power of the precinct-based leader It is the persons who actively par-ticipate in the Democratic Party at the precinct level who win elections and pro-mote Democratic values and ideals at the local state and national levels

What Can You Do to Help the Democratic Party in Your Precinct

1) Obtain the precinct map and walking list for your precinct and familiarize your-self with your neighbors and the geogra-phy of your neighborhood 2) Get to know your Democratic and Inde-pendent neighbors 3) Host a house party and invite your neighbors to talk about politics and issues concerning your precinct

4) Canvass the precinct using the walking list or call list Keep track of changes in voter data on your lists (change of address or phone candidate preferences etc) and update the Voter File with the new data (through the Chair of our county Democ-ratic Party) 5) Register new Democratic voters either at their door or online 6) Canvass Democratic households and make sure all eligible voters in the house are registered 7) Check your local paper for home sales in your precinct to welcome new neighbors and register them to vote as Democrats 8) Contact members of groups you belong to and register them to vote as Democrats in person or online How to Cultivate Potential Party Work-ers 1) Have a precinct social in your home such as a Saturday morning coffee or an after-work get-together Invite your neighborhood Democrats to get to know the other Democrats in the neighborhood 2) Take people to Democratic meetings andor fundraisers Make them feel that

they are part of the party 3) Give people information on issues the Democrats are supporting or opposing If you help people become knowledgeable about the issues and they will become more involved 4) Always thank the people who have helped in the past Small Jobs You Can Have People Do If They Want To Get Involved 1) Be a block apartment or building chair in their precinct 2) Attend and contribute to fundraising events or candidates 3) Help with Get-Out-The-Vote Campaigns by phoning or canvassing their areas or by giving rides to the polls 4) Put up a yard sign 5) Write letters to the editor to support Democratic issues and candidates 6) Secretarialclerical work (help with mailings recordkeeping etc) 7) Distribute leaflets door to door for the party or candidates 8) Put a bumper sticker on their cars for Democratic candidates 9) Be an election board worker

Help Wanted Precinct Leaders

The precinct is the foundation of the Democratic Party A well-organized precinct ensures that Democratic candidates will have a firm base of support Precinct officers should understand that their offices are assigned specific responsibilities Executive Committeeperson The Executive Committeeperson represents the precinct in which he or she resides on the Dorchester County Democratic Party Executive Committee The Executive Committeeperson should be prepared to attend the partyrsquos regularly scheduled meetings and special Executive Committee meetings The Executive Commit-teeperson should keep his or her precinct informed of Dorchester County Democratic Party business and how such transactions might affect the precinct President The president of the precinct is the organizer of the precinct He or she presides at the meetings assists the precinct members and directs actions to be taken The President should be familiar with the mood of the community and aware of its needs He or she must work to encourage participation of the Democrats who live in the precinct He or she should keep in regular contact with the people living in the precinct The President should schedule meetings on a regular basis as a lack of activity results in stagna-

tion and disinterest Vice Presidents The first Vice President must be of a race other than the Presi-dent The Second Vice President must be of opposite sex from the President The Third Vice President must be under 30 years of age They have such duties as are assigned to them by the President Secretary The Secretary is responsible for recording notes of meetings and activities as well as recording and submitting the precinct reor-ganization form to the County Party Treasurer The treasurer of the precinct is responsible for the budget and disbursement of all precinct funds Alternate Executive Committeepersons Each precinct may elect one or more Alternate Executive Com-mitteepersons to represent the precinct in the absence of the Ex-ecutive Committeeperson Should the Executive Committeeper-son be unable to fill the duties of office the Alternate Executive Committeeperson assumes the office

Elections at the Precinct Reorganization Meetings At the meetings on Saturday February 20th each precinct will elect it own officers But what exactly is a precinct to our party And what exactly are the responsibilities of these officers

County Convention Our County Democratic Party Convention starts at 10 am on Saturday March 20th at Ridgeville Town Hall Everyone who is elected to be a county delegate or alternate delegate is asked to attend the event

Attendees are invited to come a little early that morning as the DCDP will have a continental breakfast available for purchase beginning at 915 am and right outside the Town Hall build-ing

David Pascoe solicitor for our part of the state will be the guest speaker at the convention

We will also have elections for the following of-fices all of which have a two-year term (only delegates may vote) County Party Chairperson The chairperson oversees activities of our county party 1st 2nd and 3rd Vice Chairs The 1st vice chairperson must be of a different race to that of the elected chairperson the 2nd must be of the opposite gender to the elected chairperson and the 3rd vice chair must be un-der 30 years of age State Executive Committee Members We elect two persons (one male and one female) to this title Alternate state executive committee persons also of each gender are also selected

If yoursquod like to run for any of these offices you just have to notify our current chairperson Steve Yeomans (stevejyaolcom) The county party can give you a mailing list of county dele-gates too if yoursquod like to campaign for one of these positions Traditionally each candidate is formally nominated by a sponsor and a direct vote follows thereafter

Signalization at Central and ButternutmdashFollow-up On September 2 2009 the Summerville Journal Scene noted the above intersection was getting a safety makeover A peti-tion with nearly 1400 signatures had been presented to the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) in July 2008 SCDOT has stated that they have received federal fund-ing for the intersection signalization and the project is slated to go out for bid in April 2010 with construction to follow in early summer The SCDOT Commission approved the funding

Speed Limit ReductionmdashFollow-up In late fall 2009 in light of assumed resumption of housing

construction a request was made to lower the speed limits from 45 mph to 35 mph on both Central Ave from the Food Lion to Old Orangeburg Rd and on Butternut Rd from Central Ave to Mallard Rd

On January 6 2010 a letter was received from SCDOT advis-ing they had completed the study for lowering the speed limits in the requested areas They agreed to lower the speed limit on Central from White St (across from Food Lion) to Butternut Rd to 40 mph The remaining portion of Central Ave from But-ternut Rd to Old Orangeburg Rd will remain at 45 mph as will Butternut Rd from Central Ave to Mallard Rd

Involvement does bring results for your community Get in-volvedmdashbe an active member of the Dorchester County De-mocratic Party

Petition Updates By Marty ldquojust sign right hererdquo Turney

A parting message from outgoing party chairman Steve Yeomans

Someone once told me that anyone who holds the Chair position within our party ldquopicks up the stone thatrsquos been rubbed smooth rubs it a little smoother and puts it down for the next Chairper-son to pick up and rub even smootherrdquo In a nutshell the work we do should build upon the work wersquove done I believe that anyone who runs for an elected position should first have a clear vision of what they would like to achieve should the voters give them the chance After being approached but before I committed to running for the Chair position within our party in 2008 I decided that I wanted to work toward a few specific goals 1) Create a committee framework to handle fundraising new issues and initiatives public relations voter registration and candidate recruitment within the county This would take pressure off of any one person to get things done as well as get more peo-ple involved in party activities 2) Work to include both the upper and lower section of the county in party activities The geography and population distribution of Dorchester County separates north and south and makes this a challenge 3) Get our voice heard in the mainstream media and in general let people know wersquore here A large part of this would be achieved by the creation of the Advertising and PR Committee but also by the other committees as well This would get more democratic voters to the polls which would increase our voting percentage thereby greatly sup-porting democratic candidates on the county level I believe that a number of these goals were achieved not by me but by many people within our party We now have a very active committee structure with leaders that schedule their own meetings report to the Party Executive Committee and take pro-gressive action During the last election cycle we opened our headquarters office near the central part of the county and had many active members from both the northern and southern part of the county work for our local state and national candidates We were very proactive in getting our voices heard for the 2008 election with advertise-ments articles and letters to the editor in the Post amp Courier The Eagle Record and the Summerville Journal Scene We utilized billboard advertising our redesigned interac-tive website radio spots roadside signs traditional phone banking and our new auto-dialer system to reach out to the voting public We had poll watchers in 80 percent of the county precincts and had drivers taking voters to the polls - not only on election day but to absentee voting during the two weeks prior as well To say that I am proud to be a Democrat in Dorchester County and to work with some of the finest progressives I have had the honor to meet would be an understatement I thank you for giving me the opportunity to hold the Chair position within our county party and look forward to working with whoever is elected to replace me in March to ldquorub the stone even smootherrdquo

Lowcountry Poll on the Democratic Primaries

The Dorchester County Democratic Party is joining the Berkeley and Charleston Democrats in

conducting a primary election poll and yoursquore invited to participate

In this poll yoursquoll be asked to select which candidate you favor in each democratic primary for the

statewide and national elections

If you havenrsquot made up your mind or donrsquot know much about the candidates yet (and yoursquore not

alone if thatrsquos the case) yoursquoll find a link to each candidatesrsquo website where you can learn more

about them

We also want to know which issues are most important to you We can provide the results on

those subjects directly to the candidates too in order to let them know where we stand

Please know that this survey is set for only one response per person and will not accept multiple

responses from the same computer

The link to this survey is

httpwwwsurveymethodscomEndUseraspx9ABED2C19FDFCECF

The SC GOP is once again interfering with our right to vote Beginning January 2 2012 all voters will have to provide a state-issued picture ID when they show up at the polls The problem with such a requirement is that State Election Commission records show that 178175 registered voters in South Carolina do not have a current picture ID Thatrsquos about 7 percent of all voters in our state Most of those voters without current identification from the state have valid personal reasons too They are elderly andor live in rural areas andor have no regular transportation that would allow them to easily have their state-issued ID updated when needed Some Democratic state senators stated they believe the bill to be racist in intentions too Our Democratic state senators did all they could to block this discriminatory bill including a filibuster on January 27th They came prepared with six full boxes of paperwork to de-scribe the 1000 amendments they wanted to make to the issue and kept the Republican senators there until 1030 pm that night Our Democratic state senators are outnumbered 27 to 19 though The next day the Republicans forced the bill to the floor for a vote after an additional five hours of debate Some concessions were given such as allowing voters to cast their vote in a 15-day window before state primaries and general elections and the Republicans also removed another

restrictive portion of the same bill that would cut the absen-tee voting period to only 16 days instead of the current 30-day period What seem to be the true goals of the bill though may re-main intact the Republicans want to reduce the number of voters ldquoIt means fewer lines for the voting public in the 2012 cyclerdquo said Chip Campsen a Republican state senator from Isle of Palms And fewer voters means fewer votes against the Republican incumbents

Currently South Carolinians need only provide their voter registration card or a utility bill that has their name and regis-tered address (Persons who did not provide a copy of their state-issued ID when first registering to vote however still need to bring their ID with them when they vote) One of the Republicans arguing in favor of this un-American act was Summervillersquos Mike Rose who argued that South Carolina should pass this discriminatory bill because the state of Indiana has a similar law Rose was quickly reminded by Democratic senators though that South Carolina is NOT Indi-ana which is one of only three states that have any such law requiring a photo ID to vote There are lawsuits against those requirements in those states too This bill will now be sent to the state House which passed a similar bill last year by a 67-44 votemdashthat was all Republicans voting for and all Democratic representatives voting against

SC Republicans Donrsquot Want Us to Vote

BROWN STEPS DOWN

ldquoItrsquos my ball and Irsquom going homerdquo

On the first working day of new year 2010 our District 1 congressman Henry Brown an-nounced his retirement Thatrsquos rightmdashBrown wonrsquot be running for re-election And just why is Brown stepping down Be-cause hersquos frustrated that Republicans arenrsquot in charge anymore Thatrsquos rightmdashBrown said he wonrsquot seek re-election because hersquos upset that his Republican party is now the Congres-sional minority Hersquos not helping that situation though be-cause other GOP Congressmen are doing the same Thatrsquos rightmdashBrown is the 14th Repub-lican member of the House of Representa-tives to announce retirement of their con-

gressional careers in the past few months There could be another reason behind Brownrsquos decision though After all he was facing early opposition from his own party Thatrsquos rightmdashother South Carolina Republi-cans already announced they would go against incumbent Brown in this yearrsquos pri-mary election And some think Brown stepped down not only because he knew he would lose that primary election but to create difficulties for the Republicans who already announced they were running against him as well Thatrsquos rightmdashin less than 24 hours after Brown stated he wouldnrsquot run again a few other Republicans announced their interest in the

Current Republican Candidates for District 1

Carroll ldquoTumpyrdquo Campbell III (son of former Gov Carroll Campbell Jr)

Ryan Buckhannon (city councilman in Isle of Palms)

Katherine Jenerette (former congres-sional aide to Brown)

Stovall Witte (vice president of CSU)

Other Possible Republican Candidates

Tommy Hartnett (former Dist 1 Repre-sentative 1981 to 1987)

Chip Campsen (state senator from Isle of Palms)

Jim Merrill (state rep from Charleston) Paul Thurmond (son of former Sen

Strom Thurmond)

Brownrsquos Congressional Contributions

During His 10 years in Office

Number of Bills Sponsored 108 Number that made it out of committee 5

Number accepted by Congress 1

Some bills recently sponsored by Brown

HConRes 187 to direct the House to

remember the 20th anniversary of Hur-

ricane Hugo

HRes 951 to protect the symbols and

traditions of Christmas

HR 3885 to direct the Secretary of

Veteran Affairs to carry out a pilot pro-

gram on dog training therapy

H Res 465 to recognize the Atlantic

Intracoastal Waterway Association on

its 10th anniversary

HR 1454 to provide for a Multina-

tional Species Conservation Funding

postage stamp

Record Held by Brown

1st in Frankingmdashno congressperson ever

spent more taxpayer money on meaning-

less (and self-promoting) mailings to con-

stituents In 2007 alone he spent

$177705 for 1257972 pieces of mail

Best thing we can say about Brown

Throughout his career in Congress

Brown was absent for only about 25 of

all votes (Thatrsquos still a higher rate of

absence than our statersquos Democratic

Reps Jim Clyburn and John Spratt)

District 1 Congressional seat Included in that group was Tommy Hartnett who actu-ally held that same office over 20 years ago

Brownrsquos retirement may have inspired some Democrats as well Thatrsquos rightmdashwe have three confirmed candidates at the moment (see page 8 for a listing) Thatrsquos rightmdashitrsquos our turn now Itrsquos our op-portunity Itrsquos an ideal time for Democratic victory

But no candidate will be able to do it alone Thatrsquos rightmdashwe donrsquot need just your vote but your assistance and active participation Thatrsquos rightmdashwe need you

Is Lindsey Graham Next

Well Republicans in South Carolina sure are complaining about him

ainrsquot they

On January 4 the executive committee of the Lexington County Republican Party voted 13-7 to censure Sen Lindsey Graham

The basis of this censure was that Graham voted for a ldquoCap and Traderdquo bill sponsored by a Democrat in the last session leading Lexingtonrsquos GOP to believe that the senator was

ldquodebasingrdquo Republican beliefs Please recall that the Charles-ton County Republican Party did the same to Graham last November and not only for his vote on the ldquoCap and Traderdquo bill but for also voting on a bill sponsored by Republican Sen John McCain In 2008 the Greenville Republi-can Party censured Graham because he supported immigra-tion reform

Graham was quick to reply that these censures are indicative of continuous separation in the SC GOP

ldquoThe 13 people who supported this resolution are Ron Paul supportersrdquo Graham said the very next day at a SC Wildlife Federation meeting ldquoThe man who authored the resolution (Talbert Black a software engi-neer at Dixie-Narco in Colum-bia) has never voted for a Re-publican nominee for president in the history of his liferdquo

Graham added that he thought the Lexington County GOP had ldquomisplaced prioritiesrdquo

Could this division and squab-bling mean an end to the Re-publican party in our state

By Katharine Eastvold McEnemy of McMaster

Last week the saga of the federal health care bill took a turn that surely disap-pointed Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Henry McMaster On Tuesday Rep Bob Andrews (D-NJ) revealed that the infamous ldquoNebraska Compromiserdquo which would have guaran-teed free Medicaid for the state of Ne-braska had been taken off the table in House and Senate negotiations But all is not lost for our attention-seeking Attorney General now Sen Jim DeMint has con-veniently asked him and his counterparts in other states to investigate yet another supposedly unconstitutional provision of the proposed health care legislation The help for Nebraska allegedly found its way into the bill in the first place as part of an effort to appease one of the Corn-husker Statersquos lawmakers Senator Ben Nelson a pro-life Democrat who had raised objections to the health care bill on the grounds that according to him and some other pro-life critics it could open the door to the federal funding of abor-tions Somebody apparently thought of-fering to pay Nebraskarsquos Medicaid tab for the foreseeable future might prove an offer Sen Nelson couldnrsquot refuse For his part Sen Nelson claims he never asked for the privilege wasnrsquot told about it se-cretly in some back room and never made a quid pro quo arrangement He did agree to support the bill after all but as far as anyone knows he hasnrsquot rescinded his support now that the deal isnrsquot as sweet for his home state What does this have to do with Henry McMaster and the South Carolina gover-norrsquos race When news of the Nebraska arrangement broke McMaster like many an SC Attorney General before him (anyone remember Charlie Condon) saw an opportunity to make some political hay Mustering his deepest outrage he threatened to sue to stop the deal from becoming law eventually fourteen other state Attorneys General (twelve of them Republicans) jumped on the bandwagon For several weeks McMaster played host to his own Tea Party insisting the deal was unconstitutional ndash though he was

never terribly clear on what grounds Meanwhile Democratic Congressman and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn kept his head and remarked that perhaps instead of ldquositting here and carping about what Nelson got for Nebraska I would say to my friends on the other side of the aisle Letrsquos get together and see what we can get for South Carolinardquo But McMaster would not be deterred Lawsuits get headlines calls to reform Medicaid arenrsquot so exciting According to the McClatchy News Service the candi-date even sent out fundraising letters ask-ing conservatives to fill his campaign cof-fers so he could more effectively fight health care reform After a phone conver-sation with Sen Nelson he boasted that the senator had pleaded with him to ldquocall off the dogsrdquo Unfortunately for McMaster his ride came to an abrupt end when the offend-ing provision was removed from the pend-ing legislation As it turns out Congres-sional Democrats are capable of policing themselves and avoiding the appearance of evil ndash not to mention defending their own states against favoritism That reali-zation must have come as a cruel blow to McMaster who was no doubt hoping to ride this train all the way to the Gover-norrsquos Mansion Still the train could chug a little farther along the tracks thanks to a new plan cooked up by our own senators Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint They along with Sen McCain of Arizona and Senators Chambliss and Isakson of Georgia just sent a letter to McMaster and his would-be fellow plaintiffs asking them to look into a provision they say would allow sen-ior citizens in Florida to be grandfathered into the Medicare Advantage program while seniors elsewhere see a reduction in benefits through the program Itrsquos a des-perate move the allegedly unfair provi-sion benefitting Florida hasnrsquot gotten the publicity (and isnrsquot likely to stoke the widespread outrage) of the ldquoCornhusker Kickbackrdquo Additionally the senatorsrsquo let-ter clarifies that ldquoour problem is not with Medicare Advantage enrollees in the State

of Florida it is with the disparate treat-ment that enrollees in other states will receive in relation to enrollees in Floridardquo And this is coming from at least one sena-tor (DeMint) who rarely has seen a bene-fits cut he didnrsquot like The Tea Party set may not rally around this cause

The fact is that many conservative Repub-licans believe the whole basis of health care reform ndash that the federal government can and should take responsibility for making sure all Americans have affordable health insurance and access to the care they need ndash is unconstitutional and that health care policy decisions should be left to the states some of which would cer-tainly step up to the plate and others of which (including I fear my own beloved state) wouldnrsquot At this point in our na-tionrsquos history though itrsquos unlikely that a federal court would buy this argument so people like McMaster are stuck suing over bits and pieces of legislation hoping at least to delay reform and score some po-litical points in the process

Herersquos hoping South Carolinians see this lawsuit for what it is a distraction from our Attorney Generalrsquos real responsibili-ties to his state and one more circus trick for the conservative anti-administration voters he thinks will carry him to victory in the governorrsquos race

McMaster A Lawsuit a Day Keeps Health Reform Away

Henry McMaster state attorney general re-publican candidate for governor opponent to any national healthcare plan and starved for press attention

See page 8 for a listing of Democratic candidates for governor (and some dirt on other Republican

candidates too)

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR GOVERNOR

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR CONGRESS

(HOUSE DISTRICT 1)

J Gresham Barrett ldquoWorst Person in the Worldrdquo

US Congressman J Gresham Barrett from Westminster SC who is also running for governor was named ldquoWorst Person in the Wordrdquo for January 12th on Keith Olbermannrsquos MSNBC news program Countdown

On January 5th Barrett made announcement on his website that he would reintroduce a bill he first entered before Congress in 2003 the Stop Terrorist Entry Program or STEP Act

Barrettrsquos STEP Act would update and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to block persons from countries regarded to be sponsors of terrorism from entering the United States The newer version of the bill he said would also deport non-immigrant visa holders legally residing in the US that are citizens of those countries

Barrett said he wanted to reintroduce the bill and with those specific changes because his STEP Act would have prevented the failed bombing attempt on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 this past Decem-ber and even would have prevented the shootings that occurred at Fort Hood in Texas last November

Problem is the person arrested for the attempted flight bombing is from Nigeria which is not regarded to be a terrorism sponsor And the shooter at Fort Hood was actually a US citizenmdashborn in Vir-ginia in fact and was even a member of the US Army

Since having his ignorance made known nationwide Barrett changed the wording on his website regarding his STEP Act

Updates on Republican Candidates for Governor

MULLINS McLEOD

wwwmullinsmcleodcom

DWIGHT DRAKE

wwwdwightdrakecom

ROBERT FORD

wwwrobertfordforgovernorcom

JIM REX

wwwjimrexcom

VINCENT SHEHEEN

wwwvincentsheheencom

ROBERT BURTON

wwwrobertburtonforcongresscom

ROBERT DOBBS

wwwelectdobbscom

DICK WITHINGTON

wwwdickwithingtoncom

Andre Bauer Helping the poor is ldquofeeding stray animalsrdquo

Lt Governor Andre Bauer a Republican candidate for gover-

nor recently told voters that providing free lunches in public schools was like ldquofeeding stray animalsrdquo Fifty-eight percent

of our statersquos public school students receive free or reduced-cost lunches

Bauer made the statement at a Town Hall meeting in Foun-

tain Inn SC on January 22nd

ldquoMy grandmother was not a highly educated woman but she

told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals You know why Because they breed Yoursquore facilitating the prob-

lem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply They will reproduce especially ones that donrsquot think too

much farther than that And so what yoursquove got to do is

yoursquove got to curtail that type of behavior They donrsquot know any betterrdquo Bauer said

Not only is that statement discriminatory but itrsquos boldly hypo-

critical coming from Bauer He himself was a recipient of the free lunch program while a student in South Carolina

Maybe he should use that fact as an argument against the

program ldquoGive those kids free school lunches and theyrsquoll grow up to be just like merdquo Thatrsquos the only way hersquoll get any-

one to agree with him on the subject

Like all other educated Dorchester County residents I am always horrified to learn of the antics of Mr Dimwit Recently Dimwit has been attempting to block Healthcare for all with his stance that requiring all Ameri-canrsquos to purchase Health Care Insurance is unconstitutional He states on his website that by having this ldquoWersquore forcing Americans to buy insurance under penalty of law and then Washington bureaucrats will then dictate what these companies can sell to Americans This is not liberty it is tyranny of good intentions by elites in Washington who think they can plan our lives better than we canrdquo I guess like everything else that Dimwit says he forgets a whole lot I guess he has forgotten that he has received $135317 this year from Club for Growth Club for Growth advocates limited govern-ment lower taxes less government spend-ing free trade and economic freedom Its PAC endorses and raises money for pro-growth candidates The Club was founded by Stephen Moore who served as the Grover M Hermann Fellow in Budgetary Affairs at the Heritage Foundation If you carefully examine Dimwitrsquos response he cites the Heritage Foundation study as a legal study by scholars at the nonpartisan Heritage Foundation We all know how ldquononpartisanrdquo the Heritage Foundation really is Further according to Dimwit ldquoAmericans who fail to buy health insurance according to the Democratsrsquo bill would be subject to financial penalties The senators believe the bill is unconstitutional because the insur-ance mandate is not authorized by any of

the limited enumerated powers granted to the federal government The individual mandate also likely violates the lsquotakingsrsquo clause of the 5th Amendmentrdquo I guess he forgets about other mandated insurance policies that he agrees with like car insur-ance ndash although he claims you can always choose not to drive or home owners insur-ance ndash although he claims you donrsquot have to buy a home Letrsquos examine what the US Constitution states on this matter ldquoThe Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes Du-ties Imposts and Excises to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States but all Duties Imposts and Excises shall be uni-form throughout the United Statesrdquo I am not a constitution expert or an attorney but if one examines the court case Gonzales v Raich (2005) its most recent extended con-sideration of the scope of the Commerce Clause upheld the authority of Congress to prohibit the cultivation of marijuana ldquofor personal medical purposes on the advice of a physicianrdquo The Court distinguished two earlier cases Lopez and Morrison in which former Justice Rhenquist writing for a 5-4 Court had held that the Commerce Clause does not authorize Congress to pass non-economic criminal laws The Court noted that those cases had involved ldquobrief single-subjectrdquo criminal statutes rather than a com-plex reticulate scheme to regulate ldquothe pro-duction distribution and consumption of commoditiesrdquo like illicit drugs at issue in Raich The Supreme Court has recognized for over a half century that insurance is eco-nomic activity The health insurance reform legislation Congress is contemplating is at

least as complex as the drug regulation scheme upheld in Raich and the compo-nents of the reform legislation are at least as mutually dependent The individual mandate is a key component of the reform scheme as underwriting reform is not possible if healthy individuals can opt out of the risk pool at will So why is Dimwit really attempting to thwart the President and the will of the people about Health Insurance Could it possibly be that Health Professionals gave $229879 to his campaign Or how about the political agenda health care reform is Obamas bat-tle cry and if they can trip him up on it and cause him to fail to reform health care you can bet the farm that theyll be coming back in 2010 running on a platform of Obama failed to deliver his biggest promise - health care reformrdquo They need to do this so badly that they are willing to throw us the peo-ple under the bus Forget the fact that we are finally on the verge of actually doing something about the health care system problem weve been complaining about (and dying over) for decades With the 2010 election coming up soon and Dimwit running I really hope the people of Dorchester County stand up and tell Dimwit to go back home and stop stabbing us in the back to fill his own ldquospecial interestrdquo

Jim ldquoDimwitrdquo DeMint Constitutional Advocate

By Nancy ldquoSharp Witrdquo Seufert

Our Candidates for US Senate

Chad McGowan 1539 Health Care Way Rock Hill SC 29732 803-984-5464 803-984-8866 wwwchadmcgowancom

Mike Ruckes

PO Box 367 Summerville SC 29484-0367

wwwmikeruckes2010com

By Clayton Seufert Proud Union Member from the Ashley River Precinct

ldquoOurrdquo Senator DeMint has been getting more press lately than he ever deserves - spreading a load of $+ - like usual The story this time is built around his often stated anti-worker and anti-union opinions and his claim that allowing collective bargaining for the workers at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) - would be a homeland security disaster (per the Senators own press release)

Like most of Senator DeMints opinions this one is not based on any facts or reality As a member of the American Federation of Govern-ment Employees (AFGE) Id like to provide a few facts and some com-mon sense to throw some light on the concept of unions vs security

Facts like how union firefighters and police with collective bargaining didnt stop and check the contract before they ran into the World Trade Center and gave their own lives saving others Facts like how union members with collective bargaining put their lives on the line securing this country every day - like Bureau of Prisons guards keeping murderers and terrorists locked up Customs and Border Protection officers guarding our borders and security officers like the one that shot the assailant in Fort Hood TX last November - despite being shot herself Facts like how unionized Air Force Army Navy and Marine civilian workers somehow manage to repair the aircraft tanks and ships our military uses to find and fight our enemies - even with collec-tive bargaining

The mission of TSA is to protect the Nationrsquos transportation systems The men and women that do the work are called Transportation Secu-rity Officers (TSOs) The TSOs are fighting to have a seat at the table and fair treatment through collective bargaining A seat at the table that will make them more invested engaged and involved in the job and mission More engaged and involved in doing the job right and having the training do so For example as the unions have worked to get TSOs the right of collective bargaining - they also worked with TSA to make sure the needed training is provided Those same unions have pushed for TSA whistle-blower protections - so TSOs would feel safe in bringing problems that threaten our security to light

Perhaps Senator DeMint would prefer to go back to the days before TSOs when contractors did the job - like in 2002 when over 450 non-union contractor employees were arrested at airports across the coun-try for falsifying documents I guess hes impressed by the non-union contractor employees with Blackwater and KBR that have managed to kill innocent civilians electrocute our own troops and rape their own coworkers

Its really not that tough to figure out If people work under good con-ditions have the pay and benefits they need to live a decent life and are involved in determining them - they can do a better job at work and have incentives to do so Overworked underpaid and abused employees have little incentive to do a good job

Which type of worker would you rather have looking out for your secu-rity

No Senator DeMint Unionized employees arent the security problem

Were the cure

A Message from the

Dorchester County Democratic Women Happy New Year fellow Democrats We hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season and are ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work as we prepare for the Precinct Reorganization County Conven-tion and the 2010 Governors Race Our meetings are held in the County Council Chambers 700 pm at 500 North Main Street in Summerville

The 2010 meeting dates are as follows

January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16

(Please Note We do not meet in the month of Decem-ber) We look forward to seeing everyone

Dorchester County Democratic Women

Margaret Goodwine President Mary Haynes Secretary

Census 2010 Stand Up and Be Counted

This is the year of yet another national census and that could mean quite a lot for the state of South Carolina

After all the collected information is used in many ways including to plan public school projects develop rural areas plan public trans-portation services attract new businesses to particular areas and to distribute over $300 billion in federal funding (and even more in state funding)

The collected data is also used to determine local state and federal legislative districts and to determine if each district has adequate rep-resentation in government

In fact our state is predicted to get another congressional district taking us to seven rep-resentatives in the US House instead of our current number of six

And with this current trend of the republican party slipping down the slope that could mean that we get another Democratic representative at the federal level from our state

That may be why the Republican party is trying to make things difficult for the 2010 census though The GOP is actually going out of its way to interfere with it

The Republican Party has attempted to change the format in which the survey is conducted to make it take longer and cost more thus mak-ing it appear less desirable Theyrsquove threatened its funding Theyrsquove stood in the US Senate and said they want to use the census data to attack immigrants Theyrsquove gone out of their way to block Presi-dent Obamarsquos nominees for director of the Census Bureau too They delayed current Census Bureau director Robert Grovesrsquo nomi-nation because they said he would over-count minorities Actually it seems that the Republican Party wants to under-count minorities Thatrsquos what the Government Accountability Office thinks too The GAO said early last year that under the Bush Administration the Census Bureau did not undergo proper planning for the 2010 census and that it was at risk for undercount-ing minorities Republican Rep Michelle Bachman of Minne-sota is even appearing on FOX News telling people that they shouldnrsquot participate in the census And why is that Because her state is at risk of losing a congressional seat and she

In 2000 South Carolinarsquos unemployment trust fund held a balance of $800 million Shortly after the republicans in our state congress strongly reduced the taxes that

provided money to this trust fund The unemployment trust fund quickly fell in assets though and due to lack of funding

was frequently rated ldquounsustainablerdquo a status it has held since July 2008 In December 2008 South Carolina became the second state to borrow from the fed-eral government to provide funding for its unemployment benefits and even though its weekly benefits are very low in compari-son to the rest of the country and even though very few unemployed South Caro-linians actually get any benefits

Despite this circumstance state republi-

cans who hold majority in our state con-gress have refused to address the problem and South Carolina continues to fall deeper in debt

If it continues at the same rate South Carolina be $1 billion in the hole by mid-2011 and just for unemployment benefits alone South Carolina reached a new high in un-employment for December (126 percent) and now ranks fourth highest in the coun-try

State Unemployment Funds Go Bust Due to Republican Policies

knows that could put her out of Congress

Other republicans are complaining that the census is too expensive to conduct They didnrsquot complain when the Bush Administration blew $3 billion on problematic computer equipment for the Census Bureau to use though And some media think that Bush did that on pur-posemdash to set up difficulties for the 2010 census so that President Obama would have to take the blame

To be sure that the Census Bureau overcomes those difficulties and conducts the 2010 survey properly and in full we need to participate and encourage others to do so too Itrsquos only done once every 10 years after all

Remember

The information you provide is completely confidential

You cannot be personally identified in any way from the information you provide

The Census Bureau cannot share any infor-mation about you with anyone

Even information about illegal aliens (and who must be counted to ensure funding for relevant projects) is completely confidential

The census will help us get needed funding for needed projects

We could gain another congressional seat for our state

Complete the census form when you get it

Chart source Propublica

SPECIALTY PIZZA

1605 Central Avenue Summerville SC 29483

843-821-3003 MondaymdashThursday 11 ammdash10 pm Friday amp Saturday 11 ammdash11 pm

Sunday 12 pmmdash10 pm

WE NOW DELIVERWE NOW DELIVERWE NOW DELIVER Minimum Order for Delivery $10

14rdquo 16rdquo 18rdquo MARGARITA 1399 1599 1899 Fresh mozzarella garlic sauce and fresh basil

BUFFALO CHICKEN 1649 1949 2149 STUFFED MEAT LOVERS 1749 2249 2449

STUFFED VEGGIE 1749 2249 2449 ldquoTHE WORKSrdquo 1749 1949 2149 CARNIVORE 1649 1949 2149 Meatballs sausage bacon steak pepperoni and ham

GARDENER 1549 1749 1949 Peppers onions spinach broccoli mushrooms and olives

WHITE 1349 1549 1749 Ricotta mozzarella garlic and oregano

RED 849 1049 1249 Pizza sauce garlic black pepper and oregano

RONI NATION 1449 1749 1949 Double pepperoni and double cheese

SUPER PHILLY 1449 1749 1949 Mushrooms peppers onions and steak

14rdquo 16rdquo 18rdquo HAWAII PIE-O 1449 1749 1949 Ham bacon pineapple and extra cheese

HURRICANE 1449 1749 1949 Pepperoni jalapenos mushrooms and extra cheese

THREE LIrsquoL PIGS 1449 1749 1949 Sausage bacon and ham

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA 1649 1949 2149 CAPRESE 1399 1599 1899 Fresh mozzarella chopped tomatoes and basil

CHICKEN ALFREDO 1649 1949 2149 BBQ CHICKEN 1649 1949 2149 CHICKEN PARMESAN 1649 1949 2149 GYPSY KING 1449 1749 1949 Artichokes mushrooms and black olives

POSITANO 1449 1749 1949 Roasted peppers mushrooms and fresh mozzarella

PESTO 1449 1749 1949 Chopped basil garlic parmesan and olive oil

NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZA 10rdquo INDIVIDUAL helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip540 ADD TOPPINGhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 99 14rdquo MEDIUMhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip899 ADD TOPPINGhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip125 16rdquo LARGEhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1099 ADD TOPPINGhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip150 18rdquo XLhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1299 ADD TOPPINGhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip200 SICILIAN (16rdquo LARGE SIZE)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip1549

AVAILABLE TOPPINGS

Extra Cheese Pepperoni Sausage Mushrooms Green Pepper Onions Black Olives Bacon Ham Meatballs Broccoli Spinach

Steak Fresh Garlic Anchovies Pineapple Artichokes Feta Cheese

STROMBOLI amp CALZONES SMALL LARGE

THREE CHEESE CALZONE 599 1299 Pizza dough wrapped around three cheeses and baked until golden brown STUFF WITH ANY PIZZA TOPPING 60cent 100 ORIGINAL STROMBOLI 599 1299 Pepperoni onions sausage green peppers mushrooms and cheese rolled in pizza dough PHILLLY STEAK STROMBOLI 599 1299 Peppers onions mushrooms steak and cheese BUFFALO CHICKEN STROMBOLI 599 1299 MEATBALL STROMBOLI 599 1299 VEGETABLE STROMBOLI 599 1299

NEW MENU

ALSO SERVING Appetizers Giant Wings Salads

Cheeseburgers Grilled Chicken Sandwiches Hot Subs Cold Subs Steak Sandwiches

and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS

NOW SERVINGNOW SERVINGNOW SERVING BEER amp WINEBEER amp WINEBEER amp WINE

SEE OUR ENTIRE MENU ONLINE AT

wwwitalianbistrosccom

DIVISION ONE Team W-L-T Robrsquos Roosters 9-4-0 Turneyrsquos Tornados 8-5-0 Gracersquos Ziggies 7-6-0 Team Rison 7-6-0 Mortrsquos Killer Kats 5-8-0

DIVISION TWO Team W-L-T Team Urig 8-4-1 Team Yeomans 7-4-2 Keuka Giants 5-8-0 Nancyrsquos Naggers 4-8-1 Team Edwards 3-10-0

Ten active party members signed up to join the league and battled it out for 17 weeks straight It was ugly at times but competitive all the way throughout But a 10-game winning streak by Robrsquos Roosters was too much for any other team to overcome

After 13 weeks of regular season play the top four teams competed for the championship over the final four weeks of the NFL season Rob Grocersquos Roosters was the top-ranked team entering the playoffs and finished the regular season with the leaguersquos best 9-4 record even though the team was only 1-4 to start the season Diane Urig was ranked second leading her Division Two Steve Yeomans and Marty Turney entered as the playoff wildcards with Yeomans ranked third over the fourth-place Tornados and be-cause he scored more points in the regular season than Turney did The first round of the playoffs took place over Weeks 14 and 15 in the regular NFL season and those games were decided by the total points scored by the starting lineups of each team in that two-week period The Roosters were lagging behind the Tornados after the first week but overwhelmed Turney in Week 15 the total points Groce scored over those two weeks gave him the first round win Urig easily beat Team Yeomans to advance to the ldquoSuper Bowlrdquo For the championship game Team Urig and Robrsquos Roosters were very close in Week 16 having only a three point difference but Groce maintained the lead in Week 17 to win the DCDP Fantasy Football League Championship Special awards should be noted to a few other participants too like Nancy Seufert who scoured the waivers listing on a weekly basis She scored very high almost every week but too often fell to other teams that had high-scoring flukes Diane Urig and Steve Yeomans should also be credited for doing so well this year too and even though they slept through most of the season

Weeks 14 amp 15 1) Robrsquos Roosters 222 4) Turneyrsquos Tornados 181 2) Team Urig 200 3) Team Yeomans 135

Consolation Matches Gracersquos Ziggies 187 Team Rison 124 Mortrsquos Killer Kats 173 Keuka Giants 155 Nancyrsquos Naggers 188 Team Edwards 143

Weeks 15 amp 16

Championship Game Robrsquos Roosters 220

Team Urig 154

Consolation Matches Turneyrsquos Tornados 147 Team Yeomans 92 Gracersquos Ziggies 152 Mortrsquos Killer Kats 128 Nancyrsquos Naggers 208 Team Rison 154 Team Edwards 171 Keuka Giants 163

REGULAR SEASON RESULTS

PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo

You wind up watching every football game on television and not caring which team wins or loses You donrsquot even keep an eye on the scores but you pay very close atten-tion to all the statistics This is fantasy football after all And the DCDP hosted its own league this year

In the last issue of The Blue Note we had the annual Liar-Liar Awards I thought we could start off the New Year right by highlighting these liars in action as their lies occur

For Broadcasting Lows ndash Mr Glenn Beck - causing a panic to fill my pockets

As you probably can tell Glenn Beck is one of my favorites since he cannot help but LIE anytime he gets the chance Well he has hit an all-new all-time low Beck is a paid spokesman of Goldline International Goldline International is a precious metals vendor A little known fact is that when Americans fear their economic future they tend to invest in precious metals such as gold

Well on a recent show ldquohonestrdquo Beck stated the following ldquoWhen the system eventually collapses and the government comes with guns and confiscates you know everything in your home and all your possessions and then you fight off the raving mad cannibalistic crowds that Ted Turner talked about dont come crying to me I told you get goldrdquo

What does Fixed News ndash you know the (un) Fair and (un) Balanced Company that we report (lie) and you decide (Yeah ndash right) have to say about this conflict of interest Well Fox News senior vice-president for development Joel Cheat-wood said the network makes an exception for its commentators who are also radio hosts adding that they knew upfront that hiring Beck came with the understanding that he was also a radio host and that they had to be accepting of certain elements of thatrdquo Glenn answers the allegations by saying So I shouldnt make money

Just for fun Google ldquoGoldline International Scamrdquo Just one of the items that comes up is about a case in 2006 where Goldline scammed a 78-year-old couple out of over $200000 (httpwwwsosmogovsecuritiesnewsaspnID=583) I guess itrsquos true ndash birds of a feather flock together

The ldquoLiar of the Monthrdquo Club

By Nancy Seufert Party Secretary and Official Truth Hound

Tired of seeing FOX Fraudcasting News on every television you see at every restaurant store and of-fice Then lets start doing something about it Make sure they know that if they want your business theyrsquoll have to change the channel We can slow down the brainwashing that FAUX News does throughout our community too Print this page clip the included coupons and distrib-ute them to the businesses in our area that have their televisions tuned in to FOX (You can get more of these and other cards at wwwturnofffoxcom)

Blue Note is licensed under the Creative Com-mons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 30 United States License

To view a copy of this license visit httpcreativecommonsorglicenses

by-nc-nd30us or send a letter to Creative Commons 171 Second

Street Suite 300 San Francisco California 94105 USA

wwwfacebookcomhomephp

ref=homepagesSummerville-SC

Dorchester-County-Democratic-

Party78199089345ref=nf

Check out our website

wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events

February February 6th

Executive Committee and Precinct Reorganization Committee Meetings

1000 am County Council Chambers 500 N Main St in Summerville

February 12thmdash14th Camp Wellstone Training Seminar

USC Campus in Columbia ldquoprovides hands-on practical training in grassroots poli-tics for citizen activists campaign workers and people

interested in running for officerdquo For more information contact Jen Haut

at 6514146037 or jenniferwellstoneorg

February 19th Summerville Chamber of Commerce Meeting

8 am at County Council Chambers 500 N Main St in Summerville

Mike Shealy Budget Director of the SC Senate Finance Committee will give an overview of our statersquos budget

February 20th Precinct Reorganization Meetings

(see page 2 for listing of which precincts meet at which locations)

Lower Dorchester County 10 am at County Council Chambers

500 N Main St in Summerville

Upper Dorchester County 10 am at Waggoner County Services Building

201 Johnston St in St George

Delemars Precinct 10 am Sand Hill UM Church 1967 Summers Dr in Ridgeville

February 27th BBQ amp Blues

6 pm at White Gables Clubhouse in Summerville $10 for great food and great music

Many Candidates Will Attend (see ad on page 2 for more information)

March March 16th

Dorchester County Democratic Women 7 pm County Council Chambers


March 20th County Democratic Party Convention

10 am at Ridgeville Town Hall 105 School St in Ridgeville

March 27th Monthly Breakfast Meeting

9 am Shoneyrsquos on N Main St in Summerville

Watch Those Election E-Mails

By ldquoDear Martyrdquo Turney advice columnist

Prior to election time yoursquoll probably get numerous

emails making negative claims about candidates pur-

ported to be facts Donrsquot fall for any gossip though

You should verify the information in that email before

you forward it to others and certainly before you cast

your vote

The following websites can help you in this verifica-

tion process

httpwwwpolitifactcomtruth-o-meter

httpwwwtruthorfictioncom

httpwwwsnopescom

Many supposed ldquofactsrdquo that you receive in an email

can be checked at one of these sites

If you cannot verify something that is stated as ldquofactrdquo

do not pass it on to others

Precinct Reorganization

Meetings

All Dorchester County precincts meet at one of the following locations at 10 am on Saturday February 20th

Lower Dorchester County County Council Chambers

500 N Main St in Summerville The precincts to meet here are

Archdale Archdale 2

Ashborough East Ashborough East 2 Ashborough West Ashborough West 2

Ashley River Bacons Bridge Beech Hill Beech Hill 2 Brandymill Brandymill 2

Briarwood Briarwood 2 Briarwood 3 Butternut Carolina Central Central 2

Clemson Clemson 2 Clemson 3 Coastal Coastal 2 Coastal 3 Coosaw Coosaw 2 Cypress

Dorchester Dorchester 2 Flowertown Flowertown 2

Germantown Givhans Givhans 2 Greenhurst Greenwave Irongate

Irongate 2 Irongate 3 Kings Grant Kings Grant 2

Knightsville Lincoln MilesJamison Newington Newington 2

North Summerville North Summerville 2 Oakbrook Patriot Saul Dam

Sawmill Branch Spann Stallsville Tranquil Tranquil 2 Trolley

Tupperway Windsor

Upper Dorchester County Waggoner County Services Building

201 Johnston St in St George The precincts to meet here are

Four Hole Grover Harleyville

Indian Field Indian Field 2 Reevesville Ridgeville Ridgeville 2

Rosinville Rosses St George 1 St George 2

Delemars Precinct Only 10 am on Saturday February 20th

Sand Hill UM Church Family Life Center

1961 Summers Drive in Ridgeville

The DCDP invites you to an evening of

(A Democratic Blue kind of blues that is)

Saturday Feb 27th 6 pm lsquotil 9 pm

At the White Gables Clubhouse

(Take Central Ave from Down-town Summerville toward

Orangeburg Rd turn left onto White Gables just before the Publix Shopping Center drive

straight ahead and park on either side of the clubhouse)

Mix and mingle with your fellow Dorchester Democrats Meet many Democratic candidates

And chow down and blues it up while yoursquore at it too

Just $10

($5 for kids) For BBQ

with all the fixins

along with great side

dishes and drinks you

can buy some to go too

(and donrsquot

forget the music)

For more information contact Pamela Ward at 2244133 or wrdcaolcom

PLEASE RSVP

ARE YOU IN A NEW PRECINCT Therersquos a good chance of that you know After all our county just grew from 46 to 74 precincts

These new precincts were formed by dividing up ones that had grown to very large sizes For example the Clemson precinct is now divided up as Clemson Clemson 2 and Clemson 3

Many of you will be receiving new voter registration cards in the mail but only if you are in a new precinct Using that same Clemson example if you are now in Clemson 2 or Clemson 3 yoursquoll receive a new card If yoursquore in the precinct that retained the original ldquoClemsonrdquo name though you wonrsquot be getting a new voter registration card

It shouldnrsquot affect your voting location either although at least one precinct in our county will be using new facilities this year

If yoursquore at all unsure about which precinct you belong to you can call the Dorches-

ter County Election Commission at 563-0187 or 832-0187

What is a Precinct






























about them











BROWN STEPS DOWN













Strom Thurmond)








ricane Hugo











postage stamp


















ainrsquot they

















candidates too)

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR GOVERNOR

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR CONGRESS

(HOUSE DISTRICT 1)









MULLINS McLEOD

wwwmullinsmcleodcom

DWIGHT DRAKE

wwwdwightdrakecom

ROBERT FORD


JIM REX

wwwjimrexcom

VINCENT SHEHEEN


ROBERT BURTON


ROBERT DOBBS

wwwelectdobbscom

DICK WITHINGTON

























Mike Ruckes












Were the cure

A Message from the



January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16






















Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom





What is a Precinct






























about them











BROWN STEPS DOWN













Strom Thurmond)








ricane Hugo











postage stamp


















ainrsquot they

















candidates too)

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR GOVERNOR

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR CONGRESS

(HOUSE DISTRICT 1)









MULLINS McLEOD

wwwmullinsmcleodcom

DWIGHT DRAKE

wwwdwightdrakecom

ROBERT FORD


JIM REX

wwwjimrexcom

VINCENT SHEHEEN


ROBERT BURTON


ROBERT DOBBS

wwwelectdobbscom

DICK WITHINGTON

























Mike Ruckes












Were the cure

A Message from the



January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16






















Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom

























about them











BROWN STEPS DOWN













Strom Thurmond)








ricane Hugo











postage stamp


















ainrsquot they

















candidates too)

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR GOVERNOR

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR CONGRESS

(HOUSE DISTRICT 1)









MULLINS McLEOD

wwwmullinsmcleodcom

DWIGHT DRAKE

wwwdwightdrakecom

ROBERT FORD


JIM REX

wwwjimrexcom

VINCENT SHEHEEN


ROBERT BURTON


ROBERT DOBBS

wwwelectdobbscom

DICK WITHINGTON

























Mike Ruckes












Were the cure

A Message from the



January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16






















Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom





BROWN STEPS DOWN













Strom Thurmond)








ricane Hugo











postage stamp


















ainrsquot they

















candidates too)

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR GOVERNOR

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR CONGRESS

(HOUSE DISTRICT 1)









MULLINS McLEOD

wwwmullinsmcleodcom

DWIGHT DRAKE

wwwdwightdrakecom

ROBERT FORD


JIM REX

wwwjimrexcom

VINCENT SHEHEEN


ROBERT BURTON


ROBERT DOBBS

wwwelectdobbscom

DICK WITHINGTON

























Mike Ruckes












Were the cure

A Message from the



January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16






















Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom














candidates too)

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR GOVERNOR

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR CONGRESS

(HOUSE DISTRICT 1)









MULLINS McLEOD

wwwmullinsmcleodcom

DWIGHT DRAKE

wwwdwightdrakecom

ROBERT FORD


JIM REX

wwwjimrexcom

VINCENT SHEHEEN


ROBERT BURTON


ROBERT DOBBS

wwwelectdobbscom

DICK WITHINGTON

























Mike Ruckes












Were the cure

A Message from the



January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16






















Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom





OUR CANDIDATES

FOR GOVERNOR

OUR CANDIDATES

FOR CONGRESS

(HOUSE DISTRICT 1)









MULLINS McLEOD

wwwmullinsmcleodcom

DWIGHT DRAKE

wwwdwightdrakecom

ROBERT FORD


JIM REX

wwwjimrexcom

VINCENT SHEHEEN


ROBERT BURTON


ROBERT DOBBS

wwwelectdobbscom

DICK WITHINGTON

























Mike Ruckes












Were the cure

A Message from the



January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16






















Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom












Mike Ruckes












Were the cure

A Message from the



January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16






















Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom














Were the cure

A Message from the



January 19

March 16

May 18

July 20

September 21

November 16






















Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom























Remember









SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom





SPECIALTY PIZZA





















AVAILABLE TOPPINGS





NEW MENU



and Desserts

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS










Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom











Weeks 15 amp 16


Team Urig 154



PLAYOFFS

Roosters Win DCDP

Fantasy League

Championship

Rob Groce

ldquoFantasy Foot-

ball be veddy

veddy good to

merdquo




















wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom























wwwdordemsorg

Calendar of Events





















March March 16th














your vote


tion process



httpwwwsnopescom





the blue note: 2, 1

Documents

new precincts

dorchester county precincts

countys precincts

precinct level

new precinct officials

county conventionpage

new opportunities

county delegates