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"Wasn't me" -- not just a 2000 song by hip-hop artist Shaggy, but also might as well be Andre Bauer's motto today.
The South Carolina lieutenant governor, running for the Republican nomination to replace Mark Sanford, wants to make it explicitly clear he had nothing to do with the slurs and allegations against opponent Nikki Haley.
How much so? Today, Bauer released the results of a lie-detector test. (Seriously. Can South Carolina politics get any weirder?)
The reason? As our Columbia, S.C., NBC affiliate, WIS, writes:
Larry Marchant, one of the two men who have claimed past relationships with Haley, was a consultant to the Bauer campaign until the day of the debate.
"Y'all were fishing the story last night and you didn't fire him yesterday," Haley said during the debate. "Only when no one would take it seriously because he's a paid consultant that you decided to fire him today."
Bauer denied the accusation, and challenged Haley to take side-by-side lie detector tests to prove who's telling the truth. The Bauer campaign says Haley refused the polygraph, but Bauer took the test anyway.
"I'm not willing to have that kind of false accusation go unchallenged," Bauer said. "She made a false accusation about me, and I wanted to prove that I was telling the truth."Bauer "says he took Sunday night in Columbia, administered by an independent, FBI-certified polygrapher."
And catch this little nugget:
Bauer had previously told WCSC in Charleston that he would "absolutely" take a polygraph about his own rumored sexual history, as he has asked Haley to do. No questions about that subject were included in Bauer's polygraph exam, however.
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Sure, that's a good way to get attention in a political race. Ask the female opponent to take a lie detector test about her sex life. Next they'll want to know her weight, her birthday, and her shoe size. Can't see how doing any of this isn't a path to success.
Y' forgot birth certificate, JoAnna....
I think Haley is lying. I believe she had sex with both men. Typical Republican, pushing family values and acting with horrible character behind the camera.
Why not just take the test Haley?
Can South Carolina get any worse? They are slowly replacing Mississippi.
Perhaps Haley does not believe in the reliability of polygraph tests.
Did you ever consider just how childish and immature our politicians have become, especially those in stories like this one. I would suggest that they are reflecting (through their behavior) a symptom of our society in general. Many years ago a good man's/ or woman's word or handshake was all that was necessary to secure confidence in others that they were in fact honest people with some integrity. Do you see that level of trust in our society today, or do you hear more suggestions given to our children that they should trust no one? Have we become a society where goodness will only be accepted as fact if a person takes a lie detector test? Is this the result of over-paranoia regarding another's honesty or have we become so dishonest as a people that the paranoia is based on a truism. That we have become a dishonest and paranoid society.
please tell me why it is bad for our so called leaders take this test, I am tired of the promises like the idiot we have in the w.h. I think if you make a promise in a campain do it under oath to an FBI agent, they would not like to be next to Libby.
I notice how you only point to our current president when calling out liars. Selective memory? Do Death Panels, WMD's, and the rest of the Republican mantra deserve lie detector tests too, or is that just going to be for Democrats.
If you think that any politician can keep 100% of what they campaign on you are naive at best and a fool at worst. And by the way, the president does not have the power to change everything. Most of those powers lie with Congress, but if you had paid attention in high school government class you would know that.
"The president does not have the power to change everything."
Then you guys should probably stop blaming Bush for everything. You can't have it both ways, i.e., Bush's fault for everything wrong in the universe, while Obama doesn't have the power to change everything.
You just can't make this stuff up!! All I can say is that the good people of South Carolina have my sympathy, there's not a republican in this particular lot worth voting for--they're all goofy.
I doubt I agree with Nikki Haley on a single important issue, but if I lived in SC, and there was no contested Democratic primary I felt was important (I could live with either candidate, or the better candidate wasn't being seriously challenged) I would vote for Haley. Not only is she possibly the lesser of GOP evils, but the crap she has put up with lately are sexist and racist. They maybe acceptable in SC, but that doesn't make it right even for the SC GOP.
Would a claim by a female blogger of an "inappropriate relationship" been all over the press like this guys claim has? I sincerely doubt it. And few women would be the one to come out and make the claim, although that has as much to do with gender roles, the women would be seen as a trap, and the guy a stud.
The rag head comment is inexcusable. I hope she wins tomorrow.
Actually South Carolina politics are a joke. The state is still very very racist. Go through some the countryside towns and you'll see poverty that reminds you of a time in history back in the depression days. Anyone who gets a chance ought to drive thru the countryside of SC on the back roads to see what going on in that state.
Did exactly that last year and it is shocking to see such poverty. At the time, their Gov. was in the news about his dalliances, I couldn't help but think how little the state government cared about its people. The roads are in terrible shape even for their part of the interstate that they are responsible for. The contrast between NC and SC even just driving by is quite noticible.
I always get a kick out of comments from clowns like "Gingerbread Mamma" (seriously?) and "ucg" who sit on their high horses and make sweeping generalizations about things they know nothing about. Does racism still exist in South Carolina? Yes, just like it does in every other state in the union. Gingerbread Mamma, were you shocked to see such poverty in South Carolina? Were you??? You poor, poor thing. Did you stop and do anything about it or were you too anxious to get to your multi-million dollar beach rental? Why don't you try taking a drive out west and take a look at how the Native Americans are living. That's REAL poverty you judgmental simpleton. It is very likely that in 5 months South Carolina will elect a female governor of Indian decent... sounds pretty progressive to me.
Drive through rural Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Lousiana, Tennessee, Kentucky or Arkansas as well as urban areas like Detroit, Atlanta, LA, DC, NY, Cincinati, etc. and you will find poverty beyond imagination. Parts of Detroit and NY look like downtown Beruit in the 1980s. So what is your point? You, the government, hand every man woman and child a million dollars tomorrow and guess what? A million dollars won't be worth anything close to a million bucks anymore, Econ 101. This stereotyping of the South as some back woods illegitimate place is nonsense and ignorant to say the least. If you bothered to look at the census records over the past 40 years you would notice that population, jobs, wealth, standard of living etc are moving to the South.
I can almost tell you the route you took through Charlotte. Try going through western parts of NC. Did you ever see the movie Deliverence?
CA, Tuscaloosa, AL
Wouldn't worry about it much longer. Once Cloward and Piven kicks in they'll just assign us a "party member"
"That we have become a dishonest and paranoid society." I not only agree but I'm proving your point. I blame New York bahahahaha
Lordy, Lordy, I love to watch republicans eating their own. I'll have butter and salt with that.
Coming right up Anna Molly! Would you like a nice cold Margarita to go along with that? LOL
You betcha. Thanks, Feisty.
This one is definitely filed in the WTF catagory
Nickki Haley has worked in a small business since she was a child. She knows the hardships and challenges that the small business person faces with state and federal laws. The allegations right before election embarrasses our State and the politicians that encouraged these lies. Let us elect someone that has come up working in the business world and would represent our State and our citizens well.
...as if South Carolina shouldn't be any more ashamed of itself than after the 2000 primary.
What a shame that John and Cindy needed to win the primary in 2008 to get the GOP nomination. What they should have done is give the state a big ol' middle finger!
Four years of "that" John McCain would have been preferable to either GWB or the John McCain of today. Al Gore would probably still have won, however.
Are you a total douchebag? Yes.
Off topic--way off. Just saw a TV ad with former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson--he's pushing reverse mortgages. Maybe tomorrow he'll be pushing gold.
He is making more money pushing that stuff than he would of being the Prez.
And, Jody, what would be WRONG about selling either? They're both legal businesses. Or, is it that Obama decided that Thompson has made "enough" and has to stop?
Maybe she can go the Maury Povich show and find out who's her baby daddy and take a lie detector test at the same. Yea thats the ticket!!!!!
Nikki Haley was a freshman at Clemson during the one semester I went there before returning to Oklahoma. I knew her husband Michael from a couple of classes. Michael was pretty cool. The only thing I really remember about Nikki is that she was really young and, in my opinion, not all that bright from the few occasions that I met her.
I tend to doubt the accusation is true, but I only met her a few times almost twenty years ago, so who knows?
I wanna know who really cares?
So says the jackass who claims to know all about the 'countryside of South Carolina,' but who has probably never been there. The 'countryside' of South Carolina looks pretty much like the rural area of any other state in the union. I know. I've seen them. South Carolina no more has a monopoly on poverty than any other state has.
The rural areas of South Carolina look poor, but they don't look any poorer than the slums and ghettoes of northern cities or the tiny little towns in the western tip of Texas or the eastern tip of New Mexico. Mostly the rural areas of South Carolina just look empty. Some of them look abandoned, but that is mainly because the highways that once led travelers through those places were replaced long ago by interstates.
As far as you caring or not caring, if you don't care, then don't read my posts. I'll certainly be giving your stupid ass a pass in the future.
Well said Mr, Thompson! Well said!
I always get a kick out of comments from clowns like "Gingerbread Mamma" (seriously?) and "ucg" who sit on their high horses and make sweeping generalizations about things they know nothing about. Does racism still exist in South Carolina? Yes, just like it does in every other state in the union. Gingerbread Mamma, were you shocked to see such poverty in South Carolina? Were you??? You poor, poor thing. Did you stop and do anything about it or were you too anxious to get to your multi-million dollar beach rental? Why don't you try taking a drive out west and take a look at how the Native Americans are living. That's REAL poverty you judgmental simpleton. It is very likely that in 5 months South Carolina will elect a female governor of Indian decent... sounds pretty progressive to me.
Well said Mr. Thompson! I always get a kick out of comments from clowns like "Gingerbread Mamma" (seriously?) and "ucg" who sit on their high horses and make sweeping generalizations about things they know nothing about. Does racism still exist in South Carolina? Yes, just like it does in every other state in the union. Gingerbread Mamma, were you shocked to see such poverty in South Carolina? Were you??? You poor, poor thing. Did you stop and do anything about it or were you too anxious to get to your multi-million dollar beach rental? Why don't you try taking a drive out west and take a look at how the Native Americans are living. That's REAL poverty you judgmental simpleton. It is very likely that in 5 months South Carolina will elect a female governor of Indian decent... sounds pretty progressive to me.
" It is very likely that in 5 months South Carolina will elect a female governor of Indian decent... sounds pretty progressive to me."
It would definitely be about time!!!!
When I was a teenager, the only boys that bragged about "getting some" were the ones that didn't get anything that wasn't bought and paid for. Perhaps the GOPers are just doing some wishful thinking and boosting their libido. Who do they think they are, Bill Clinton?
I could be worse, folks. We have a child molester running for governor in Georgia.
ucg do you live in SC?
How do you know when a Rethuglican is lying? Their lips are moving.
It's no wonder people from all over the world pay such close attention to what goes on in our elections. It is better than any soap opera ever made.
These people are an embarrassment as representatives of our people.
Any sociopath can pass a lie detector test. I'd like to know what the questions were. For example: "Did you hire anyone to do this on your behalf?" Or how about "Did anyone working for the campaign create these allegations with your knowledge?" Without knowing the questions the whole subject is moot.
South Carolina politics are infamous for being sleazy and nasty and vicious.
What does this say about South Carolina?
If I were in SC I would vote for Mickey Mouse and Goofy
C'mon, now- leave McCain and Palin out of this
I am a public school teacher. As such, I find it hard to vote for Republican candidates whose agenda, in SC at least, tends to be the elimination of public education. Mark Sanford, our beloved family values governor, is/ was a prime example. He appeared to be on the fast track to national prominence. I prayed that something would keep him from inflicting his hypocritical elitist policies on the country as he has on SC. No further comment is necessary, I think. I had no idea that things could get weirder. They have. South Carolina (and understand me well, I love my home state): too small to be a republic, to large to be an asylum.
L ast summer I got a "birthday card" from "Andre". I think he sent them to old people. I regarded it to be a cheap trick to generate a "nice guy" image. Also using only his first name seem to be more of the same. I don't want a politician running South Carolina. We need someone who has a serious quest to get our financial mess straightened out. Also someone who won't rob the schools to make more tax breaks for the wealthy and finance junkets to Argentina.
I love SC. I don't love the poverty and their concern for education. Cost of living is high. My daughter has a Bachelor's Degree and makes $20,000 a year trying to support two children on her own. I would have to have a PHD to make in SC what I make in teaching where I live now. I truly love the townspeople and the country but the politics are close to the same as they were way back when there were to two classes of people: rich and poor and they want to keep it that way. I want to move back to be with my family but I can't afford to until I retire. I don't think there is a state any prettier unless you are talking about some of your western states.
What state has room to talk about poverty, most US major cities are dilapidated and going broke if not already. These people speaking about another states issues are probably part of the small and dwindling sector of the population that still has money. If someone in SC is still living in poverty is partly by choice. We have just as many job opportunities as any other state probably better, thats why every other person you speak with is from out-of-town. (Most of them yankee) If there is nothing here stop moving down here. We have enough traffic and people. As for the people talkin Sh**t about SC politics where are you guys from Washington DC ?!?!? Keep Talkin!
Voters need to look at how candidates stand on issues, not the political sleaze since its only a distraction.
What is happening in SC is what is happening everywhere. Politics is not about ideas, but about obfuscation, dishonesty, fear-mongering, and pandering to high-rollling contributers and certain racial/religious demographics. And it's not just the Republicans, the Democrats are equally guilty.
Until everyone in the US stops believing that there are only two choices, and start opening their minds to the possibility that there is a different way to elect effective leadership, we will always be in this mess.
Wow, whether the accusations are true or not, this whole thing only serves to remind me that people will say or do anything to get a little bit of power. I can't remember her name, but the former e-bay CEO who is running for governor of California in the Republican primaries has spent over $70 million dollars of her own money in the campaign so far. She must REALLY want to "help" the people of that state, because there is just no way somebody would spend that much of their own money for personal gain. I would never vote for somebody who spent that much to get into office because they obviously want it way too much.
By the way, at the top of the page is a copy of the lie detector printout. I could not help but notice that it shows only the questions and the responses to the questions. It does not show whether or not he was being truthful. You folks see that?
Although I live in Washington State, which is nowhere near SC, I hope that whomever you folks elect to represent you does a good job for you. You deserve better than this circus.
Having lived in Alabama, Illinois, with extended stays in Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas I would say that SC politics are right up there with the worse of them. In a few years, I do plan to retire in SC (Greenville) and will cease to participate in the "Democratic" process unless and until there are reputable people running for office - don't expect I'll be voting again in this life!