The Daily Gamecock at University of South Carolina

Lobbying coalition deserves more scrutiny

By Mat Sloughter | April 23, 2012

Legislators on both sides of aisle blindly support legislation written by ALEC What does health care legislation currently working its way through the South Carolina legislature, which would allow the state to opt out of the national Affordable Care Act, have in common with Arizona’s draconian immigration law, Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law (which inhibited police from investigating the shooting of Trayvon Martin) and voter ID legislation being pushed across the country? These bills weren’t written by elected lawmakers; they were drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a lobbying coalition backed by corporate interests including the Koch brothers, Exxon-Mobil and AT&T. ALEC produces fully-drafted legislation and then shops those bills around to amenable legislators.

Media bias distorts Rosen comments

By Mat Sloughter | April 16, 2012

Lack of context confuses statement's true message Context is important. Last week’s political firestorm over comments made by pundit Hilary Rosen — who, if we are to take the media and both the Romney and Obama campaigns at their word, insulted stay-at-home moms everywhere by suggesting what they do isn’t “work” — will not mean much for either campaign in the long run. However, if we look at Rosen’s statement closely, it does tell us something about the sad state of political discourse in our country today.

Activist admired for civil disobedience

By Mat Sloughter | April 8, 2012

DeChristopher leaves isolation after outcry Tim DeChristopher, an environmental activist currently serving a two-year prison term for disrupting a federal land auction in Utah, was recently released from an "isolation unit" (essentially, solitary confinement), in which he had been held for 20 days. He was returned to the minimum security facility where he had originally been held. Authorities placed DeChristopher in solitary because an email he had sent contained a "threat" — specifically, a threat to return a $25,000 donation to his legal fund, because the donor's business practices were at odds with DeChristopher's principles.

Politicians fail to compromise on debt issues

By Mat Sloughter | March 26, 2012

Obama, Democratic Party bow to pressure coming from right The Washington Post printed on March 17 a detailed account of the collapse last summer of deficit-reduction negotiations between President Barack Obama and the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives. The story focuses on the disagreements between the two sides that led to the negotiations' failure, but nonetheless paints a clear picture of the president as both willing and eager to sacrifice crucial services, including Medicare, in the name of compromise and bipartisanship. It may seem frivolous to rehash, but it is important we remember, now that campaign season is upon us and the president surely would prefer we forget, that last year he tried to sell us out for the sake of his radical centrist agenda.

Conservatives field weak opposition to VAWA

By Mat Sloughter | March 19, 2012

Republicans could lose partisan battle over domestic violence bill's renewal Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act would be, in terms of pure politics, the easiest vote for a senator to cast. Even if a politician were actually indifferent to the issue of domestic violence, voting yes should be a no-brainer; voting no just gives ammunition to your opponents. The act funds local law enforcement efforts to combat domestic violence, supports battered women’s shelters and helps to make legal assistance freely available to victims. No one should want to go on record as opposing such things.

Conservatives stifle conversation about sex

By Mat Sloughter | Feb. 27, 2012

Republicans show ignorance, insensitivity on issues of reproductive, women's health In recent weeks, the Republican Party has made a compelling case for improving the quality and breadth of sex education in this country — not intentionally, of course, but rather by demonstrating their own incredible cluelessness. On issues involving birth control, abortion and women’s reproductive health, generally conservative lawmakers have made it clear that they have no idea what they are talking about. Yet they have also made it clear that they intend to keep legislating about it.

FBI boosts arrests with shady tactics

By Mat Sloughter | Feb. 20, 2012

Agents push suspects toward acts of terror Let’s all pat ourselves on the back: We’ve caught another terrorist. Last week Amine El Khalifi, a 29-year-old illegal immigrant from Morocco, was charged with attempting to carry out a suicide bombing against the U.S. Capitol. And since we’re patting ourselves on the back, let’s not worry about the fact that Khalifi was never actually a threat to anyone, since his co-conspirators were FBI agents,(on the FBI payroll) and his bomb was a fake supplied by the FBI. After all, a terrorist is a terrorist, right?

President should hold firm on birth control

By Mat Sloughter | Feb. 13, 2012

Giving in to Catholic church's demands leads to bad politics According to the conventional wisdom, President Barack Obama has made a political mistake. His administration decided some time ago to classify birth control as a preventive service, because, obviously, it is exactly that. The Affordable Care Act requires that insurance plans provide preventive services without a co-pay — that is, for free. This is sensible: Paying for preventive care saves insurers money in the long run. Now that birth control is officially defined as preventive, insurance companies must cover it completely, and employers must pay for it. Churches are exempt, but church-affiliated organizations and institutions that operate in the secular sphere are not — an apparently controversial idea. The pundits say that this is bad politics: the president should be careful not to upset religious people in an election year.

Romney ignores real problems of poverty

By Mat Sloughter | Feb. 6, 2012

Safety net comments display ignorance of growing social inequalities The late Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara, a Brazilian archbishop and champion of the poor, is famous for saying, "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist." I couldn't help but think of this quote when, last week, Mitt Romney said in an interview that he is "not concerned about the very poor." Romney's reasoning was that we have a safety net — food stamps, Medicaid and so forth — and that means the poor in America are taken care of. They're fed, at least minimally. As far as Romney's concerned, that's all that matters.

Gingrich's "moon base" conflicts with right wing

By Mat Sloughter | Jan. 30, 2012

Free market principles cannot support projects lacking profit incentive Last week, Newt Gingrich promised Florida voters a permanent moon colony "by the end of [his] second term". Lots of fun has been had at poor Newt's expense since he made this promise, though this has actually been a recurring theme throughout his career. For example, in the 1980s he predicted that by 2020 "a typical couple might take a honeymoon trip into space for around $15,000." Personally, I don't feel I can make fun of Gingrich for this. However, I do feel compelled to point out how Gingrich's beloved space program just isn't compatible with his conservative philosophy of government.

Mat Sloughter