Eggs, Grits and Politics ..

Berkeley County Republican Breakfast Club Draws Hundreds ....

It might still be Summer, and maybe it's not an election year yet, but you wouldn't have known it by the crowd at American Legion Hall No. 166 in Goose Creek today. On a warm Saturday morning, a sold-out crowd of probably 200 (others estimated higher) were on hand for today Breakfast Club meeting. The only shame is that there weren't more candidates there. Of the five candidates for Governor, only Sen. Larry Grooms (R-Bonneau) was there. Congressman Gresham Barrett had to cancel, the others had scheduling conflicts. I doubt wherever they were had a bigger crowd. It's a little surprising. I've been to at least three or four of these, and the place is always jam-packed...... They missed out on a good opportunity to meet active Republicans.

But, for every loser, there is usually a winner. Grooms made out like a bandit in the Straw Poll taken, taking over 90% of the vote. That should be no surprise - it was held in Larry's backyard, and it may have been the reason for the other candidates not coming. Grooms used his five minutes to do magic tricks and sing a song or two - kidding. He was much like he was in Sumter - impassioned, but using specifics on what the Governor and legislature can do to bring jobs to South Carolina.

In a bit of an odd twist, Brent Nelsen, who decided that running for Superintendent of Education would be better than running for Governor - and we agree - spoke before Lt. Governor candidates. They still had him as a Gubernatorial candidate, which explained why he went next. He did well, giving some great ideas to allow private groups to assist at-risk kids in their education. He stayed around longer than most of the guests as well.

Bill Connor was the only Lt. Governor candidate to be present as well. Thank God, because when I got there, the only person I knew that sat at a table with an available seat was Joshua Gross. So, I sat at the candidates table again - blogging does have it's priviledges! Connor does seem to be addressing some criticisms. I had been hearing that voters felt he was pushing his faith a little too much. I know, it may seem impossible to do that with Republicans, but I've been hearing that from insiders from both sides of the aisle. He gave it credit, but didn't go too much into it, which was the way to do it. Overall, it was one of his better speeches....

Dean Allen, Adjutant General candidate, spoke briefly. He gave his qualifications and the duties of the job he was seeking, but two minutes is not a lot of time to really hit voters. I do have a campaign coin from him, though. If you can't get em on the podium, give them something to remember you afterwards.

Although she did not speak, Kelly Payne, the other announced candidate for Superintendant of Education, was there with her IT KIDS. I finally got to meet her in person today, and she quickly put me to work, taking pictures, and joining Earl Capps to talk to the kids about blogging, and it's place in politics and the media. As usual, Earl did most of the talking.... We basically closed the place, but Kelly had as big an audience there as anyone else. Like me, people wanted to know more about the newest entrant in the statewide race. Coming but not speaking might have been an inadvertant stroke of genius - she got to shake hands, but not have to be criticized at such an early stage... Good move. Here's some pics:

Brent Nelsen and Bill Connor listen to Charles Schuster address the crowd...

The IT KIDS and Earl strike a pose.....

Larry Grooms talks shop with one of his constituents.

The Legion Hall Everlasting Tribute to Those that Never Came Home. We Will Not Forget.....

Kelly Payne and I. See, I get dressed up sometimes.....

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