4 Things That Happened In SC Politics This Week: Casinos, Charm, And Cocaine Convictions

July 4th Edition!

1. It's the Fourth of July!

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This is when we celebrate everything special about our US heritage with patriotic music, burgers & dogs, and especially fireworks.

And, in typical American fashion, we tend to go overboard.

Please, please, PLEASE be careful today, everyone!

2. T-Rav bringing "Southern Charm" to Washington?

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Normally, you would think that a cocaine conviction, 10 months in prison, publicly saying you will renounce your citizenship, getting a DWI, and then a starring role on a cheesy TV reality series would disqualify a person from running for U.S. Senate.

You would be wrong, however.

Disgraced ex-State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel said Friday that he will try to gather enough signatures to get on the ballot as a petition candidate this fall. Ravenel, who was suspended as Treasurer after his indictment on cocaine distribution charges back in 2007, will run against Republican incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic State Sen. Brad Hutto.

Ravenel's positions are heavily libertarian (including drug legalization) and non-interventionist on foreign policy. “I’m an imperfect messenger, I know that – but somebody’s got to stand up for the message,” he admits.

He told The State newspaper that becoming a father in April (with his reality show co-star) has helped him "settle down."

Of course, Ravenel's past makes him very easy to mock. So we'll take the high road & just let him do the talking.

3. Making a gamble on road funding

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State Rep. Todd Rutherford, a Columbia legislator who leads the SC House Democrats, has put forward a controversial idea to legalize casinos in South Carolina to help pay for an enormous backlog in road repairs.

"I’m just tired of us pretending that the problem with our roads is going to go away, and so doing nothing about it,” he told South Carolina Radio Network this week.

It remains to be seen if lawmakers are willing to deal with the idea ("Deal with? Get it? No?") or if it's "no dice." Gov. Nikki Haley came out against the idea, with her spokesman saying legalized gaming "doesn't solve any problems -- it creates them."

Haley's sentiments are shared by many conservatives in the Statehouse, meaning Rutherford may be more likely to win enough road construction money while playing blackjack than he is to get this idea through the Statehouse.

4. USA! USA! USA!

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New (non-scientific) research claims that South Carolina is the most patriotic of any state in the country.

The report by real estate research blog Movoto looked at data like the number of National Historic Landmarks per capita, veterans per capita, percentage of residents who voted in the last election, and even the number of people who Google the words "American Flag."

So keep that in mind, America -- we're your biggest cheerleaders here in the Palmetto State. Even if we did once fire on that Army post in Charleston 153 years ago...

Happy Independence Day, everyone!