March 28, 2006 was a historic moment in SC history. The SC Senate passed my amendment to allow for capital punishment for child rapists receiving a 2nd conviction.  The bill passed and signed into law by Gov. Sanford. There is a court case involving a similar law in Louisiana being heard by the US Supreme Court. Click here to read the article.
The most popular questions asked during the debate:
1-Why are you asking for punishment this severe? When a child is raped something precious is taken from the child’s soul. The child may never recover, therefore, I believe this invasion of a child warrants capital punishment, especially since the bill calls for a 2nd conviction of child rape. This also sends a message across the world, that SC does not tolerate the molestations of our kids! Will this sentencing keep perverts out of SC? I certainly hope so.
2-Did capital sentancing jeopardize the rest of Jessica’s Law bill or our current capital punishment statutes? A “severability clause” was included in the amendment to prevent this from happening. Also, the language calls for a separate statute that may isolate this sentencing should we get a court challenge.

First day of session and I’m proud to announce that I’ve secured a seat on the South Carolina Senate Finance Committee.  I appreciate this opportunity as it is unusual for a member to join the Finance Committee during their first term.  In the Senate, each member is entitled to either a seat on the Judiciary Committee or Finance Committee.  I will miss the Judiciary Committee, especially because of my appreciation for the chairman, Glenn McConnell.  However, I understand financial issues better and have a passion for eliminating wasteful spending and serving as a proponent for tax cuts and reducing the exasperating growth of government we are currently seeing. Committee Assignments:
Finance Committee
Labor, Commerce, & Industry Committee
Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee
Medical Affairs Committee
General Committee

I hope you can make sense out of these figures, can anyone out there tell me how to post statistics that line up correctly?

Republican Candidates
Republican                            raised               on hand
Romney                        $62,829,069           $9,216,517
Giuliani                         $47,253,521       $16,649,826
McCain                         $32,124,785          $3,488,628
Thompson                     $12,828,111            $7,121,744
Paul                              $8,268,453        $5,443,667
Brownback                     $4,235,333               $94,654
Tancredo                       $3,538,244             $110,079
Huckabee                       $2,345,798             $651,301
Hunter                           $1,890,873           $132,742
Keyes                               $22,768            $12,629
Total Republican      $175,336,955                 $42,921,787

Democrats                             raised              on hand
Clinton                         $90,935,788        $50,463,013
Obama                         $80,256,427          $36,087,191
Edwards                       $30,329,152          $12,397,048
Richardson                    $18,699,937           $5,821,588
Dodd                            $13,598,152         $3,874,874
Biden                             $8,215,739        $1,886,340
Kucinich                         $2,130,200           $327,094
Gravel                                 $379,795        $17,526
Total Dem                   $244,545,190          $110,874,674
 
Totals                            $419,882,145     $53,796,461

Totals                              $419,882,145  $153,796,461

source: http://opensecrets.org/pres08/index.asp

Here’s what ya’ll’ve been waiting for, the new and improved blog from the back bench.  Also, I need a little help in writing posts, any one interested please contact me via:

new address! new format! click here!