How Democrats turn SC crises into opportunity

In the Chinese language, the symbol is the same for crisis and opportunity. For the Democratic Party and all of South Carolina, this truly is a time of both crisis and opportunity.

First our state’s crisis: It looks as if our state is at the beginning of a political corruption crisis the likes of which we have not seen in a generation. Add to this the huge $9 billion nuclear scandal with SCANA and Santee Cooper and the Legislature.

Corruption is a disease, it’s infectious, and it’s spreading across our state.

So far, the scandal has seen the indictment and/or conviction of four senior Republicans. Who knows? Dozens of others could be lying awake at night with the cold sweats. There will surely be many more indictments.

Next, the Democrats’ crisis: It is no exaggeration to say that the Democratic Party in South Carolina is on life support. Democrats have lost seven of the past eight governor’s races, and the last win was in 1998. Since 2000, the Republicans have had a majority in the both the state House and Senate, and they hold both U.S. Senate seats and all but one of the U.S. House seats.

Now, the opportunity for our state: The erupting corruption scandals could wipe out much of the existing political power structure, and a sizeable portion of those gone will be Republican. If you believe as I do that the corrupt good-ol’-boy system has prevented us from doing what we need to do with education, roads, pensions, etc.,– then this change will be a very good thing.

This is not to say that Republicans are all bad and Democrats all good. Far from it. The State House political system is corrupt, and the Republicans just happen to be in control of that system. Some corrupt Democrats are likely to go down as well — and good riddance.

In politics as in science, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and the corruption scandal will open the door for new reform candidates who are committed to big change and real reform.

Now, the opportunity for Democrats. Since the late 1980s, there has been a strong voice for reform within the Democratic Party. Nationally it began with the Democratic Leadership Council and Bill Clinton, and former Gov. Richard Riley started the South Carolina chapter. The council’s watchwords were “community, responsibility and opportunity.”

Nationally, the Democratic Leadership Council faded, to be replaced by Obama organizations. In South Carolina, the voice for reform and change continued as the S.C. New Democrats, which have been a strong (often lonely) voice for reform among Democrats. We believe that in South Carolina, Democrats must reform to win, and the only way to win is with new ideas, new people and new technology.

Since before 2000, I have served as president, but now it is time for a new generation to lead the S.C. New Democrats. The new president is 30-year-old Roy Willey. Roy, whose day job is as a trial lawyer, will bring new energy and a new vision to our traditional values. You can learn more about him and the organization on Facebook at SCNewDems.

Both nationally and in South Carolina, when the Democratic Party has been the party of big, bold and creative ideas for reform, we have won. More importantly, we have achieved great things for our country and our state.

The Democrats’ opportunity and the opportunity for South Carolina is to transform our current crisis into great progress for our state.

This story was originally published September 24, 2017 at 6:37 PM with the headline "How Democrats turn SC crises into opportunity."