Thumbs up
Big visit. It’s good to hear three dozen members of the U.S. House and Senate will tour South Carolina to learn lessons about race relations and racial healing. More.
Exports. Hats off to the state for being home to almost $31 billion of goods exported in 2015. If that doesn’t show a vibrant economy, what does? More.
Day of remembrance. It’s a good idea to make June 17, the day that nine people died at Emanuel AME Church in a shooting that was heard around the world, become a day of remembrance to honor those who died.
GOP loyalists. Hats off to a panel of Republican leaders who met Monday to talk about ways the party could reach black voters, particularly by addressing issues of poverty and race. More.
Clinton, Rubio. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton picked up a big endorsement today from the state’s leading Democratic elected official, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. Earlier in the week, Sen. Marco Rubio nabbed the endorsement of Gov. Nikki Haley.
In the middle
DSS. We’re glad to hear that Department of Social Services caseloads are generally down and caseworker attrition is about half of what it was, but it is still disturbing that there are so many places where the caseload is four and five times too high. Step it up, DSS. More.
Thumbs down
DHHS. A new federal report slaps the state’s Medicaid agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, for exposing the personal health information of about 1 million people to cybertheft in 2013. The reason: An old computer system and poor safety measures. The only good news — the agency says it has taken care of the problems. Get it together, DHHS. More.
Robocalls. We hate them. You hate them. But nobody will do anything about them. Guess we’ll have to get rid of our land line.
Davis. We understand that Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, doesn’t like a deal on more money to fix state roads. But another long filibuster? Really? It’s time to stop the nonsense and let the Senate vote on a plan. The people deserve better. Another story.
Haley. We’re betting that it might have been smarter for Gov. Nikki Haley to not endorse anyone for president. But time will tell.
Number: $30.9 billion
That’s how much in goods were exported by sea and air from South Carolina in 2015. It’s a 4.2 percent increase over the previous year and the sixth consecutive year of export growth. Top exporter? BMW with $9.8 billion worth of vehicles built here and sent around the world. More.
Quote: Is this glass full or 3/5 full?
“I guess many of them are using this in the strictest construction that Barack Obama’s serving three-fifths of a term or he’s three-fifths of a human being, so he doesn’t get to make this choice. It’s infuriating.”
— CNN commentator and former Democratic S.C. Rep. Bakari Sellers on the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. He questioned whether Republican obstructionism on approving a nominee by President Obama is similar to, as described by The New York Times, “the 18th century constitutional compromise that counted black men as equivalent to three-fifths of a person.” More.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!