SC politicians storm social media during Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew dominated social media last week, and S.C. politicians took part in the storm-related posts.

“Lowcountry friends, come on up land now. Our Gov & President agree on this. They don't agree on much, so when they do, we should listen,” tweeted state Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell, D-Lancaster.

More bipartisan support came from S.C. Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison, applauding GOP Gov. Nikki Haley.

“Kudos to Gov @nikkihaley for her leadership in preparing for the Hurricane. Folks plz evacuate if you are in harm's way!” Harrison tweeted.

The anonymous S.C. Legislator Twitter account launched a couple of zingers:

▪ “Public service announcement for my fellow GOPers: Hurricane science is one of the sciences that we are allowed to believe in. Get out.”

▪ “Hopefully everyone followed the governor's order to leave early to allow extra time to dodge all the potholes along your evacuation route.”

State Sen. Sean Bennett, R-Dorchester, took the Waffle House indicator seriously.

“Is this a serious storm? ... Uh. ... Yeah!” Bennett said, quoting Waffle House’s tweet saying its restaurants along I-95 in Florida were closed.

State Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Richland, tweeted a screenshot of Haley’s interpreter Jason Hurdich, who became famous during the governor’s daily news conferences. Hurdich’s thumbs and pinkies were out in a familiar symbol to Gamecock fans, Ballentine said: “#SpursUp.”

Beaufort Republican Rep. Shannon Erickson tweeted emergency information but took a moment to make a shout-out to reporters, which The Buzz appreciates.

“My media friends – please take care & know that you're in our prayers! Thank you for making sure people have real information and data!”

Matthew cancels State House meetings

At least three State House meetings last week were canceled because of Hurricane Matthew and have not yet been rescheduled.

They were:

▪  A hearing to allow the public to speak out about how S.C. pets and strays are treated

▪  A State Infrastructure Bank board meeting, highly anticipated because one subject includes more than $400 million in state money set aside for the now-abandoned Interstate/526 Mark Clark expansion

▪  A S.C. House budget panel meeting

Buzz bites

▪  Gov. Haley wore a Batman button during her Wednesday hurricane press conference in honor of Townville Elementary School shooting victim Jacob Hall. Earlier in the day, Haley had attended 6-year-old Jacob’s superhero-themed funeral.

This story was originally published October 8, 2016 at 12:01 PM with the headline "SC politicians storm social media during Hurricane Matthew."