More SC women needed in elected office

SEPT. 30, 2011 — A lead headline in a Monday newspaper — “Saudi monarch grants women right to vote” — led to an ineluctable conclusion: Around the world, people are fighting for more democracy and representative government. But here at home, we’re often lazy about the rights we have.

[images] Setting aside Jon Stewart’s humor that it took a royal decree for Saudi women to get the right to vote and run in elections in 2015 in a country where they can’t even drive, so few women in South Carolina run for public office that we have the lowest percentage (8.8 percent) of women in the Statehouse in the country.

SC needs to rebrand its image

JULY 15, 2011 — One of the first rules of politics is to define yourself and not let your opponent define you.

As a state, we’ve ignored this rule for too long. We’ve become frequent fodder for late-night comedians who poke fun at images we’ve brought upon ourselves — from a philandering governor who redefined what hiking the Appalachian Trail means to the current lieutenant governor who can’t seem to get his story straight on how he uses his campaign money.

In a Kansas state of mind

JUNE 22, 2011 – If you think Kansas is a dull desert of a state in the middle of the country, you might want to rethink your world view.

Brack with a Dala house in Lindsborg, Kansas.

In just five days of traveling from Kansas City through the Flint Hills to the Smoky Valley in the center of the Sunflower State, we’ve become huge fans. You will too.

This year’s visit is the first official annual Daddy-Daughter summer trip. Faithful readers may remember a test trip last year in which my older daughter, Avery, and I visited a sister in Washington, D.C. Despite long drives and grueling walks in the heat, Avery enjoyed it and showed that she could make it on a longer trip.

From term limits to the antediluvian

APRIL 29, 2011 – With this legislative session’s headlines highlighting the state’s finances, redistricting, voter identification and accountability, we’re already starting to hear a little chatter about two issues that might be big next year, an election year: term limits and voting machines.

First, do no harm

APRIL 1, 2011 – It’s human nature to rush around just before something has to be done to make sure it gets done. Around our house, there’s a flurry of activity just before the children are out of the door to school or before a weekly column is due. So it is also with the South Carolina General Assembly. Just before the end of the annual session in June, there’s a flurry of activity to make sure the big policy bill of the year, the budget, is finished and wrapped with a big bow on top. But as the budget, with its specific monthly deadlines, is being crafted, there’s a lot of time for legislators to get their hands dirty with other issues.