Not only have two of the three past superintendents in this Republican-controlled state have been Democrats, but there appears to be a 74 percent chance that a Democrat will be elected superintendent in November.

Is that a scientifically-produced polling statistic? No, it’s pure bunk, but here’s the reasoning:

Republican candidate Molly Spearman is a former member of the S.C. House from Saluda County. First elected in 1992 as a Democrat, she switched parties by the mid-1990s and then was elected as a Republican.  She then became a deputy state superintendent of education in 1998 in the administration of Democratic Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum. In the years since, some pundits have labeled Spearman as a RINO – or a Republican In Name Only.

So assuming that Spearman is at least 52 percent Republican and 48 percent Democratic, and her opponent Tom Thompson is fully a Democrat, then, solipsistically, there is a 74 percent chance of the next superintendent of being a Democrat. [The math: (100+48)/2.]

Repairing Zais’ rift

Having Democratic leanings is not the only trait the two candidates share. They both survived odd primary runoffs that were spiced with controversies. Spearman had a GOP runoff rival who ducked questions while Thompson’s runoff opponent championed taxing marijuana sales to fund public K-12 education.

But perhaps the trait they most clearly share is that neither wants to be perceived as another Mick Zais, the strident top-down former Army general who is stepping down as superintendent at the end of his current term.

Both candidates have promised to listen to more sources and experts than did Zais.

“Zais had a mind that he knew what was needed to be done, and he did not need to listen to anybody else,” said Thompson, currently a graduate-level administrator for a national online college. “As a result, he did not value input from those (professionals) within the public education field.”

Thompson said the first “quick fix” would be to bring back to the table the major stakeholders in the state’s public education system – parents, teachers and administrators. “The state Department of Education cannot do it alone – Zais felt like he could.”

Spearman likened the role of the superintendent, not as a lead-from-the-front or damn-the-torpedoes type, but as an “ambassador” who brings together leaders from different areas of the state.

She said she would have a much more “positive” view to attract cooperation from a variety of educational experts and stakeholders. 

Different ways to tackle disparities

But neither Spearman, grieving from the loss of a sibling last week, or Thompson are running against Zais. So, here now are some differences. Both candidates want desperately to tackle the educational disparities in the state, but in decidedly different ways.

Thompson champions expanded early childhood education, reaching back further than even the beleaguered efforts to fund a K-5 program. He thinks by the state school system working with kids younger than 5 years old, the differences in educational opportunities and attainment can be mitigated.

Spearman, by contrast, would chart a two-pronged path forward, whereby the style of teaching would change to more “facilitate” learning and problem-solving, while at the same time creating a statewide educational funding system to address disparities between richer and poorer communities.

Like Zais, Spearman is enamored with distance learning, through which teachers in one part of the state or beyond lead lessons in multiple schools via tele-conferencing.

But unlike Zais, who wanted to whittle away at the traditional manner in which the education “product” was delivered, Spearman wants to use distance learning to augment school districts.

Poorer, rural school districts like those in Allendale County, which the state took over when Spearman worked at the state Department of Education, would have a better chance of offering classes that are tough to recruit and fill teachers for, such as AP Biology.

By contrast, Thompson would create economic advantages on the state level to attract more highly-qualified teachers to less urban districts.

All together now

Thompson argued that the reason why Democrats have done well in superintendent races is that the party’s message of inclusiveness to move every school forward resonates with more voters, regardless of political stripe.

“Parents, and voters, want to know that those who are running the public education system will work for the welfare of every child – it’s an easier philosophy to accept,” he said.

Spearman opposes vouchers and most instances of public money going to private schools, separating her from many in her own party. She said there are exceptions – such as allowing the families of special-needs children to use tax credits for better-suited private facilities. But those exceptions have to be coupled with solid levels of accountability and access to test scores, she said.

Also potentially separating her from some members of her party and some former colleagues in the legislature, Spearman said she would fight for statewide funding of public K-12 education.

To date, there’s been no public polling in the race. Most observers, however, expect Spearman to prevail because of her endorsements and lengthy record of public service.

Bill Davis is senior editor of Statehouse Report.  He can be reached at:  billdavis@statehousereport.com.

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• 10/10: McMaster, Sellars spar at arm's length
• 10/3: DSS is "worse than we thought"
  
• 9/26: Down-ballot state races don't get much attention
• MORE NEWS: Archives
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Note how the early morning sunlight made this old barn pop out of the shadows along S.C. Highway 264 near Jacksonboro, S.C., in rural Colleton County. Along the edge of the Southern Crescent, the barn reflects a time gone by in a county that is poised for growth because of its proximity to Interstate 95 and the Charleston metropolitan area. Photo by Andy Brack. More photos: Center for a Better South. 

• Health care. A Certificate of Need Ad-Hoc Committee in the S.C. House will meet in 521 Blatt at noon Oct. 21 to hear testimony from stakeholders.
  
  
• Domestic violence. A House Criminal Violence Study Committee will meet 9:30 a.m. Oct. 22 in 101/110 Blatt. An agenda includes no listing of items to be discussed. The meeting will be streamed live at www.SCStatehouse.gov.
  
  
• Utilities. The Public Utilities Review committee will conduct an annual evaluation of the Public Service Commission and staff at a 10 a.m. Oct. 22 meeting that has been moved to 504 Blatt.
  
  

Here’s a list of major debates left in the last few days before the Nov. 4 election:

• Governor. Gubernatorial candidates will meet for a second debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Furman University’s McAlister Auditorium. It will be carried on some private stations across the state. 
  
  
• Lieutenant Governor: Republican Henry McMaster and Democratic candidate Bakari Sellers will meet 7 p.m. Oct. 27 for a live debate on SCETV.
  
  
• U.S. Senate 1: GOP U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Brad Hutto will meet 1:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Agape Senior Conference Center in Columbia for a “conversation with the business community” put on by the S.C. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. Not invited: Petition candidate Thomas Ravenel of Charleston.
  
  
• U.S. Senate 2: American Party candidate Jill Bossi, Democratic contender Joyce Dickerson and GOP U.S. Sen. Tim Scott will meet 7 p.m. Oct. 28 for a live debate on SCETV.
  
  

It’s the word “liberal,” an old GOP label hauled out again at the end of an election cycle to try to link Democratic gubernatorial challenger Vincent Sheheen to some mysterious dark force that’s apparently more toxic than Ebola. 

“’Liberal’ has been used as a pejorative in the South for a long time,” said College of Charleston political scientist Gibbs Knotts. “The simple definition -- open to change -- means that many of our political leaders are liberal. But more recently, the term usually characterizes a person who favors government intervention in the economy, wants the government to correct social injustice, but also wants the government to stay out of people’s private lives.”

In other words, the term “liberal” might actually mean one thing -- that a politician wants new policies, whether that’s a new health plan or a new strategy to dramatically cut taxes -- but the GOP has turned the term on its head to make it seem ominous. 

So if you use the dictionary definition of “liberal,” four big liberals from history were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Or as some might say -- the guys on Mount Rushmore.

Couldn’t you consider Washington and Jefferson to be dangerous liberals because they wanted change so big that colonists could form their own country? (It was called a “revolution,” you know.) And Lincoln was the Republican who led the fight against slavery and had all of that rosy rhetoric called the Emancipation Proclamation. And Roosevelt, also Republican -- he wanted to rein in monopolies through government regulation and have the government preserve millions of acres of land.  Hmmm. Doesn’t sound very “conservative,” does it?

So let’s have a “liberal” test. Who said the following:

1. “Every year, an average of 9,200 Americans are murdered by handguns, according to Department of Justice statistics. This does not include suicides or the tens of thousands of robberies, rapes and assaults committed with handguns. This level of violence must be stopped.”

2. “We cannot pretend that we are preparing South Carolina’s children for the world that awaits if some of them remain unaware of what that world looks like. Especially when that lack of awareness is not their choice but is imposed upon them by circumstance, or worse, by our indifference.   South Carolina is going to invest in education technology in a way we never have before.”

3. “The goal of tax reform should not be to raise taxes. To achieve true economic success, our state must reform how it taxes goods so that it can reduce the rate for everyone.”

4. “This administration intends to cut taxes in order to build the fundamental strength of our economy, to remove a serious barrier to long-term growth, to increase incentives by routing out inequities and complexities and to prevent the even greater budget deficit that a lagging economy would otherwise surely produce.”

Know the answers? You probably guessed that the gun quote was by that liberal President Ronald Reagan outlining why he supported the Brady Bill. The second was by liberal Gov. Nikki Haley in her 2014 State of the State address on spending more on education. The third quote on cutting taxes was by none other than Sheheen in his 2013 book, “The Right Way.” And the final one on cutting taxes from a conservative bastion, President John F. Kennedy, in a 1962 address on the economy.

Regardless of what you may see on slick TV ads in the days ahead, Sheheen is no flaming liberal. He is a moderate. And while Haley does resist change more often than not, she certainly actively uses government to recruit new jobs and boost the economy. 

As you make your election selections for South Carolina’s leaders, don’t fall for ad traps set by cynical political professionals. Do your homework by reading analytical news stories, visiting Web sites and watching any debates that are out there so you will make informed choices on the first Tuesday in November.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report.  He can be reached at:  brack@statehousereport.com.

• 10/10: Running out the clock
  
• 10/3:  Sheheen uses flag to try to shift election focus
• 9/26:  Broaden the tax base
• MORE BRACK:  See our archives
• FEEDBACK:  feedback@statehousereport.com
  
  

By Linda Ketner
Republished with permission

OCT. 15, 2014 -- When I was 16, I attended Girls Nation in Washington, D.C. as a "senator" from North Carolina. Of all the inspiring experiences, I remember most vividly the words chiseled into the front of the U.S. Supreme Court building, "Equal Justice Under Law."

It was at Girls Nation that I learned a fundamental principle of our constitutional democracy: Majority rule prevails except when it violates the equal protection of minorities. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson in his inaugural speech said: "All ... will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression."

And it is on this constitutional basis, of equal protection under the law for all Americans, that federal courts all over the United States have overturned state bans on same-sex marriage.

Attorney General Alan Wilson joins a long line of South Carolinians throughout our history who have fought equal protection under the law ... and lost ... but not without creating rancor and needless anguish.

We can go back to the days after Reconstruction in South Carolina when progress for African Americans was answered with Ku Klux Klan-led violence and Jim Crow laws. Or, when women got the right to vote in 1919, and the 19th Amendment was sent to each state to be ratified, the S.C. General Assembly overwhelmingly rejected the amendment, and the amendment wasn't officially passed into law here for 49 years.

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Health officials. Despite a “secret shopper” stunt this week by DHEC Director Catherine Templeton to check whether Charleston hospitals were ready to deal with Ebola, state officials seem to be ramping up efforts well to handle the virus if it ever comes to the state.