Poll: Who Won Monday's Debate?

Buck May 1, 2012 at 05:02 pm

William, thanks for giving us the Democrat Party talking points about how we need more government involvement in the economy. Sean Bennett will fit right into the Democrat/RINO club in the Senate. Unfortunately, us conservatives would lose a vote. I don't think that will happen considering that the conservatives see through all this. The vote above reflects that.

Alli May 1, 2012 at 05:05 pm

You say the university system is broken but you earlier used that as an example of how public/private partnerships can work. You proved my point.public/private partnerships didnt make this country great, free markets and freedom did. I'm starting to see buck's point. It is like we are debating democrats in here. Thats why i wish we had a closed primary. All the democrats are going to come over and try to vote in Bennett in our primary.

William P. Summers May 1, 2012 at 05:15 pm

Buck,
Nobody is defending more private-public partnerships. What I am saying is that I am very glad that Boeing is in the Lowcountry. I'm also saying that I'm pleased to see private companies benefiting from Clemson's research capabilities. There is more than one perspective - and if you have an "all or none attitude," you may not get things accomplished up in Columbia. The fact is that had SC not stepped up, we would not have Boeing. I agree with you wholeheartedly that the climate needs to improve for all businesses. Would you prefer though, that Boeing had not come to the Lowcountry? I have a pretty good handle on business and am certainly not pro big government. I've started more than one business and have signed paychecks. Not once did I benefit from government assistance. (Oops! Scratch that, I was happy to have the GI Bill and Army College Fund.) Please don't judge a candidate from what a supporter thinks. Judge the candidate from what the candidate says and does. I'm respectively suggesting to you and others that Sean Bennett is worth getting to know.

William P. Summers May 1, 2012 at 06:57 pm

Buck,
Who is calling who a Democrat? Do you really not think that Rose's plan to cap college tuition isn't right out of the Democrat playbook? The big government candidate appears to be Mike Rose... He is all about taking from Peter to Pay Paul but not considering the effect on Peter. We need a Senator with long-term vision for our region... A Senator that understands that we need more business in this region... A Senator that understands what impact fees really do. (They hurt and make this area unattractive to business growth.) Educate yourself and get to know Sean Bennett personally. Nobody has to know who you pull the lever for on June 12. You can leave the dark side.... Come on over and work with us to grow the region and become an economic powerhouse where all those that are willing to work will benefit. Opportunity is a knockin'... Brother, won't you let it in?!

Marshall Walker May 1, 2012 at 07:58 pm

Rose has no respect in Columbia and will NEVER get anything accomplished for our county. NEVER. I'm sorry to be negative but we have to make a change here! Please don't make this same mistake twice. We are sending a lame duck to Columbia if we send Rose back up there. I agree he votes conservative but so will Bennett. Thats not the issue. The issue is that we are not taking advantage of valuable resources and opportunities for our county b/c Rose is not an effective leader. Please see the big picture here. Sean Bennett is an effective communicator, he understands finance and business, and most importantly, is ethical and honest. Ethics and honesty are the reason Rose is not respected in Columbia. Don't let one phrase sway your vote. I plead of you. Not only was that phrase taken out of context but it was ONE short sentence in an hour long debate that Sean clearly won! Think what you want about our current leaders in Columbia, and our current system, but if your peirs don't respect you then they won't help you. We are desperate for a leader like Sean. He will bring class to this office that it hasn't seen in close to 30 years. PLEASE VOTE FOR SEAN BENNETT.

berry Candleite May 1, 2012 at 08:33 pm

I agree with Marshall. Never will Dorchester County get represented because the current Senator Rose is totally ineffective with his constituents. It would be like we are all on a football team trying to cross the goal line, and one player wants to call all the plays or take his ball and go home. Nope, just ask anyone you know in the state house, senate, or governor's office. The governor will back him up because it makes the governor look good to poke a finger in the legislature's eye. But make no mistake we are not getting anything accomoplished - the seat may as well be empty. And if you don't believe it just ask around the state for gosh sakes.

Dan May 1, 2012 at 09:06 pm

We don't need someone to earn the respect of the RINOs. Have you ever noticed that we have a Republican House, Republican Senate, and Republican Governor? We don't have a Democrat problem in South Carolina. We have a problem with Republicans who don't vote like Republicans. Mike Rose votes like a Republican. And that doesn't earn him respect from the RINO leadership, but that does earn him my respect as a taxpayer.
And that does earn him the respect of other conservatives in the state Senate. Sen. Shane Martin came to town last week to beg and plea District 38 voters to send Mike Rose back to Columbia on behalf of conservatives across South Carolina. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKHE-h20M9c He is respected by the RIGHT people. And that's what counts!

Red candyas May 1, 2012 at 09:14 pm

Ok, now that the robo voter has chimed in, it was an election with some interest until the computerized voting happened from the dorchester county republican party. Rose went from 600 votes to 2500 in about 1 hour......it took 22 hours to get to 600 and one hour to get to 2400? This is a sham. Sorry the Patch had to be victimized.

Dan May 1, 2012 at 09:20 pm

Why? What would be the motivation? Rose has been in the lead the whole time.

Dan May 1, 2012 at 09:28 pm

He gets the respect of the actual CONSERVATIVES in the state Senate. Sen. Shane Martin came to town last week to beg and plea District 38 voters to send Mike Rose back to Columbia on behalf of conservatives across South Carolina. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKHE-h20M9c
He is respected by the RIGHT people. And that's what counts!

William P. Summers May 1, 2012 at 10:04 pm

I seriously doubt that Rose was really in the lead. The straw poll at the Dorchester Shriner's club had a lot of Red T-shirts in the crowd... But Bennett won the straw poll. We all know that none of that matters though as the real test is June 12. Obviously, this is going to be a close contest. Let's remember that despite the barbs, we all want what's best for our region. We just disagree on the finer points of how to get there and who should walk away with the most votes. Good luck.

Steve May 1, 2012 at 10:22 pm

Sean Bennett sounded ok but when i heard the debate he said that "public-private partnerships are what made america great." He thinks government involvement in our economy is what made America great? I think he's in the wrong party.

Steve May 1, 2012 at 10:23 pm

well the guy above said mike rose had 600 votes bennett doesnt even have that now

Tim G. May 1, 2012 at 10:30 pm

I listened to Bennett and was open minded but that public/private partnership thing bothers me too as a conservative. I think that he sees the role of government different than me.

BumbleBee999 May 1, 2012 at 10:33 pm

Of course Sean Bennett thinks public / private partnerships are what made America great. SEAN BENNETT IS A RINO! They think Government is the center for all that is good with America. I want a Republican to win the Republican primary!

FlowerTownSuperStar May 1, 2012 at 10:37 pm

He said that? We need closed primaries. I am sick of Democrats putting up these moderates in our primaries. No wonder we cant get anything done even with a Republican House, republican senate, and republican governor.

ADRIENNE SANDS May 1, 2012 at 10:40 pm

This poll is a joke. All day long its been within 100 votes between Bennett and Rose ......now a greater difference of 2000, I say CHEATER-CHEATER.......Shame on you..........BENNETT FOR SENATE, CLEARLY THE HONEST AND ETHICAL CHOICE..........

Dan May 1, 2012 at 11:07 pm

Why would someone who has been leading the whole time cheat? There's no motive for that. A few posts above someone noted that Rose had only 600something votes. Well, that would STILL be good enough to be ahead of Bennett. Rose has been about 60-70% since last night after Bennett's quote where he said "public-private partnerships are what make America great" began circulating. Conservatives don't think that government intervention is what made America great, we think free markets and a people free of government intervention is what made America great.
As to why so many votes came in this afternoon, I don't know. Maybe some of the campaigns emailed their supporters or posted it on their web sites or something. Maybe people got off work and decided to read Patch.

Dan May 1, 2012 at 11:12 pm

He sure did. The very definition of crony capitalism.

Lindsay Street (Editor) May 1, 2012 at 11:39 pm

I'm disappointed to report that the polls have definitely been gamed. We had some big numbers before, but now they are out of control and not consistent with the number of people on the story.

John Halley May 1, 2012 at 11:46 pm

With all due respect I don’ believe this is about the differences in the finer points. This is also not about who said what, but rather who can do what. This election is about who we want to hire to represent us and to conduct the business of our State Senate. This is about who has proven credentials, experience, personal knowledge, skills appropriate to the position, training, and a track record of abilities to do the job we are hiring them to do. I am a businessman. I am a Conservative. I am a Republican and I expect who ever I hire to be the best for the job. I have decades of experience hiring executives, managers at various levels, and other employees. I expect the same from elected candidates as those that I hired for my business. I am not terribly patient with candidates or applicants who blather on about things they know nothing about. I know the difference as soon as I hear them speak and I will not waste my time with them, nor should the rest of the public. We should hire the best qualified person, and ignore wanna bes who bring nothing to the job. It makes no difference how much they say they want the job. This is about proven ability, not promises to do a good job. People should quit fighting among themselves in our party . They only make it harder for the rest of us to get the job done. There are enormous tasks ahead of us that national, state, and local levels. Let's start to focus on how we fix those with the best talent we can find.

stanley seigler May 2, 2012 at 12:53 am

@William P. Summers: "...Business and government partnering up may seem scary..."
business/government partnering to create jobs and improve the economy is acceptable SOP (eg, boeing and SC)...tho it is scary that the legislators (legs) give away the farm in the negotiations...also; as or more scary is legs partnering with business to write legislation favoring corporations over we the people...eg, koch bros and ALEX writing voterID laws... BTW would be interesting to know if there was/is any partnering between SC legs and koch bros... @John Halley: "...Let's start to focus on how we fix those with the best talent we can find." a good start: vote democrate :)

Jordan May 2, 2012 at 01:28 am

I agree Lindsay. Whoever gamed the system should be ashamed. This was a good event and the voting was strong. Thanks for hosting with Chad, y'all did a great job.

Butch May 2, 2012 at 02:59 am

You know I am sick and tired of the so called "conservative" republican party of Dorchester County calling anyone who has the gumption to run against someone like Rose an immediate "RINO" or Republican in name only. This community has been built on the backs of good leaders like Berlin Myers, Annette Young, and others. At some point in time every politician votes some way that is not your way and you call them a RINO. Well guess what, you can call the Technical Schools that were started by Fritz Hollings a mistake, Boeing coming here a mistake, Showa Denka a mistake, Robert Bosch a mistake, Nucor Steel a mistake, and the Daimler van plant in Ladson a mistake, but folks have good jobs there and it took economic development incentives to land these folks or we keep fiddling while Rome burns. You should be ashamed to cast Sean Bennett as anything but a good business mind with a conservative background like his dad and his dad before him who came to this country with their shirt on their back and made somthing of themselves. Bennett has been a volunteer, not on the public payroll like other career poliiticians and he is offering himself to make a difference. That includes you who are throwing the darts with no other solution. We are better than that. If you want to have a conservative talk and be realistic, then I am all in. But please quit with the one liners and no substance. As Rush would say: Get in the real world.

Chris May 2, 2012 at 09:43 am

In 1990 Mike Turner worked for the Dallas Pd. On his application he is reccommended by DEA agent Jaime Camacho.Whe Mike was asked whether he took any Illegal or legal drugs he checked yes. He stated when he worked at Ryans in 1987 He had a headache no aspirin was available so he took a coworkers prescription headache pill.He left Dallas P.D. in 1990 handing a resignation letter to resign on the same day.(no 2 weeks notice)to police chief Mack Vines(Board Member of Staright Inc.(drug boot campaaka the seed cult).His letter sated he had to leave because his wife couldn't move. This is the person you want making decisions againat DCSO. Ray Nash has endorsed him on christian exodus web site.

Chris May 2, 2012 at 09:58 am

In 2007 RayNash protege state he was involved in the arrest of Captain Pastor the jail supervisor whom was arrested for stealing over 400k of known funds.SLEd investigated and made the arrest. Mike Turner helped Captain Pastor clean out his car and sign his resignation letter.He was not fired.
In 2007 Mike Turner allegedly studied and got his Masters Degree froma for profit Diploma Mill that was going through accredidation problems at the time. American Intercontinental University(Just put that in Computer with scam after it)It cost 32k according to their website to obtainthis diploma. Mr Turner is not for transparency. Ask him if he worked for Force Protection during that time frame of paying for his degree. A couple of his officers worked for Mack Vines after he was indicted and Fired from Dallas P.D. in9/1990 (4 months after Mikes Resignation) in Florida. Mike Turner was Born in Goldsboro N.C. It was interesting that the question of protection against the Federal Gov't came up.One of the people Mike Turner is surrounding himself with and was previously employed By Sheriff Nash was in the Same unit as Timothy McVeigh. Do Your Homework Folks the County can't afford another Nash Clone.

Chris May 2, 2012 at 10:00 am

L.C. Knight stated that the New 911Computer system was purchased with drug seizure funds at no expense to the taxpayer.What would have happened to that Money if Mike Turner Nash' protege had control over it again.

Lindsay Street (Editor) May 2, 2012 at 11:21 am

Just an update on the gaming, it appears about 400-600 votes appear to be fraudulent, matching up UUVs to poll numbers. Luckily, it appears no one "lost" by 400-600 votes, but in excess of that. UUVs do not account for folks using multiple web-accessing devices, however.
Online polls are always skewed toward one candidate or another — think of all the online polls reflecting Ron Paul winning South Carolina back during the presidential primary. Multiple grains of salt recommended when viewing any poll taken online. Please do not blame anyone since it is impossible to prove who is responsible. I want to thank the candidates, the GOP, the audience and Chad Connelly again for making this event great.

Marshall Walker May 2, 2012 at 12:05 pm

Well said Butch. The republican party is bringing itself to its own knees for the very reason of what we are seeing here. They find one supposed "glitch" in a candidate to focus on and then they forget all about the good qualities he/she brings to the table. This comment about Sean being a RINO b/c he believes in Government/Business partnerships is simply out of context and misguided. Sean is as close to being a RINO/Democrat is Obama is to being a Republican. Both of these senate candidates are conservative. We can argue all day on who can nudge out the other on the conservative barometer... Again you are missing the point. We need an effective leader representing our county to help bring much needed funding and other opportunities to the area. Rose has a proven track record of not being able to accomplish that for us. We need someone who can get it done. SEAN BENNETT FOR SENATE.

John Halley May 2, 2012 at 12:40 pm

Many of these posts are reflective of the general public's when it comes to voting. Too often people get distracted by the bickering points and personal attacks. Much of this is not worthy of debate. These are just people defending their friends or personal favorites. We would all be better served to stop the personal attacks on candidates, the silly petty challenges, and focus on the issues we want these candidates to address. We should look at credentials and their records. Making charges back forth only serves to incite the opposition and create hard feelings. This is important work. We should rise above the pettiness and demand answers from the candidates themselves, not those of our fellow voters. Hire these applicants for public office just as you would if you were interviewing them for a job in your own company. Voters fighting among themselves does not change the minds of others. It only steels them against each other.