Thanking his supporters, newly-elected RNC Committeeman Glenn McCall proclaimed “I’m ready to fight” to the attendees of the 2008 South Carolina GOP convention. Making no bones about his Christian faith, McCall was backed by a broad coalition of Republicans, he easily brushed aside opposition by interim National Committeeman Drew McKissick, whose candidacy was largely backed by movement social conservatives, including Roberta Combs and Senator Mike Fair.

Expectations of a close race quickly faded when the first counties called out their counts, revealing overwhelming delegate support for McCall. Most of the rural counties broke almost unanimously for McCall, and lopsided wins in early large delegations, such as Aiken, Charleston, and Dorchester, gave McCall an unexpectedly strong lead.

The lone standout against the McCall tide was Berkeley County, home of Christian Coalition director Roberta Combs. McCombs and many of the county’s GOP leadership supported McKissick. Going against McCall 23-1, most of their delegates, Combs and her allies included, walked when the race ended.

We were proud to have supported Glenn, and know that he will be a strong leader on the Republican National Committee. We know he’ll do his home state proud.

By contrast to the overwhelming support McCall received, one major loser at today’s convention was Governor Mark Sanford. His speech received a lukewarm reception by attendees, and while others such as Jim DeMint and Andre Bauer were surrounded by packs of friendly attendees, he was seldom seen with more than one person at a time (even former Secretary of State Jim Miles seemed to have a bigger following). Often he was off on the sidelines by himself, and even sat down with the Dillon County delegation at one point.

As shown in this picture, even people standing next to him were ignoring him. Not a good sign.

For someone who once scored an upset win over an incumbent Governor just six years ago, this weak reception was a sign of how far many in his party had distanced themselves from him. In spite of having backed him in a major way in 2002, like most attendees, we kept our distance from him and avoided being seen anywhere near him.

Other memorable moments included:

Sunny Phillips working hard on the convention, as well as growing her family.

Horry County Rep. Alan Clemmons being the eager water boy of the event.

Mike Reino, GOP Sixth District Vice-Chair, caught plotting with Britton Pruett, a Clarendon County GOP State House candidate.

Seeing Glenn McCall conduct his first press conference as an RNC representative.



Saying hello to the friendly folks from Bonnie Blue Public Relations, who coordinated a great direct mail effort for McCall.

The convention was, as is always the case, a well-run event put on by the state GOP and many hard-working staff and volunteers. Our hat’s off to Katon and the team for putting on a great show.

Last, but by no means the least, we want to thank the many Blogland readers in attendance. We continue to be amazed at how well-read the Blogland has become, and flattered that so many of you deem us worthy of your online reading time. We hope that we will continue to live up to your expectations (maybe next time we need to have a new media table?).

For more info, you can read:

The Palmetto Scoop

For decades, we’ve seen the fates of those who dared cross Wonder Woman. No matter how easily she vanquished the enemies of truth, justice, and the admirers of hot babes … uhhh … the American Way, criminals always seemed eager to take her on - and pay dearly for their poor judgement. Thus, the staff at Marvel Comics always kept their jobs to draw another day.

You can add one Mr. Jeremy Nordstrom, formerly of the Myrtle Beach area, to the list of those who learned the hard way that Wonder Woman doesn’t mess around.

Mr. Nordstrom was charged with felony DUI the night he blew a staggering .234 and killed two young ladies who were celebrating a birthday party. Ironically, they were passengers in the car they were in, having the good sense to call someone to get them after they had had too much to drink.

According to the Sun News story, this guy was no stranger to getting in trouble:

Nordstrom was free on bond at the time of the crash after being charged with driving under the influence in 2006 when he crossed the centerline and struck a motorcyclist in Murrells Inlet. He also pleaded guilty to reckless driving and open container in 1998 after being arrested for DUI. In 2001, he was charged with DUI in Pennsylvania and possession and intent distribute marijuana and placed in a pre-trial intervention program.

Judge Kristi Harrington sentenced Nordstrom to 21 years in prison for each of the two counts of causing death and 15 years to the count of causing great bodily injury. The sentences will run concurrently.

"It was your decision to order drink after drink after drink," Harrington said. "And it was your decision to get behind the wheel of that car."

The KISS Army fan club has an enthusiastic new recruit: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

• Disconnects with voters on today’s key issues,
• A willingness to tolerate criminal and ethical misconduct by GOP leaders,
• Failure to keep up with the Democrats in team-building and fundraising approaches,
• Lack of enthusiasm among the GOP base,
• Poor candidate recruitment, and
• Ineffective and failing party leadership by many.

Two more William Shatner gems ...

... and the hits just keep coming from the big graduation party roast of yours truly.

Mike Reino from SC6 believes that I won't campaign for candidates in dry locales:

I felt strongly that Democrats should embrace the basic framework the president had advanced for the war on terror as our own, because it was our own. But that was not the choice most Democratic leaders made. When total victory did not come quickly in Iraq, the old voices of partisanship and peace at any price saw an opportunity to reassert themselves. By considering centrism to be collaboration with the enemy – not bin Laden, but Mr. Bush – activists have successfully pulled the Democratic Party further to the left than it has been at any point in the last 20 years.

Far too many Democratic leaders have kowtowed to these opinions rather than challenging them. That unfortunately includes Barack Obama, who, contrary to his rhetorical invocations of bipartisan change, has not been willing to stand up to his party's left wing on a single significant national security or international economic issue in this campaign.

In this, Sen. Obama stands in stark contrast to John McCain, who has shown the political courage throughout his career to do what he thinks is right – regardless of its popularity in his party or outside it.

John also understands something else that too many Democrats seem to have become confused about lately – the difference between America's friends and America's enemies.

Ok everyone ... we spent weeks telling you about the big Blogland Graduation Fest, inviting you and hoping you'd make it. Some of you did, others didn't - those that didn't make it, missed a really great time ... and free beer as well.

We told you it would be a party, but we didn't tell most that the event would include a roast of yours truly. We could tell you about it, and we did try, but when all is said and done, nothing does it better than video. The videos from this occasion, which we'll be putting out on a piecemeal basis for our readers, will share some of the good, bad, and ugly from this event.

Gary Stroble, my company's operations manager, marvels at how well I used school to avoid work, and used work to avoid school:

Bessie is almost 50 and looks as good today as she did in her youth – maybe even better. After all, back then she was hanging from a pole. Now she runs circles around the rest of us, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. She does stop temporarily in the event of a hurricane, but other than that, her life is “better than it has to be.” And she’s even been given special recognition by the city of Charleston, which means she doesn’t have to follow the same rules that her neighbors do.

In case you haven’t guessed, Bessie is the Coburg Cow.

(V)oters to think of the Tories as the party of society while Labor is the party of the state. They want the country to see the Tories as the party of decentralized organic networks and the Laborites as the party of top-down mechanistic control.

As such, the Conservative Party has spent a lot of time thinking about how government should connect with citizens. Basically, everything should be smaller, decentralized and interactive. They want a greater variety of schools, with local and parental control. They want to reverse the trend toward big central hospitals. Health care, Cameron says, is as much about regular long-term care as major surgery, and patients should have the power to construct relationships with caretakers, pharmacists and local facilities.

Cameron also believes government should help social entrepreneurs scale up their activities without burdening them with excessive oversight.

This focus means that Conservatives talk not only about war and G.D.P., but also the softer stuff. There’s been more emphasis on environmental issues, civility, assimilation and the moral climate. Cameron has spent an enormous amount of time talking about marriage, families and children.

While some of this, on the surface, may look a little unrecognizable to conservatives, beneath you find individual choice, localized government, free markets, and safe and stable communities, but without the social zealotry and economic Darwinism that often makes voters flinch at the idea of supporting conservative candidates.

If the GOP wants to challenge the soft paternalism offered by the Democrats, the British conservative experience may well offer points worth considering. As polling suggests voters are increasingly turned off by the "tough party for tough times" image that is often associated with contemporary American conservatives, a softer and more nuanced message may help lure them back into the GOP column before they become, as voters did for a half-century following the Great Depression, lost to the Democrats for two more generations.