Republicans, Democrat launch SC lobbying firm

Who says S.C. Republicans and Democrats can’t get along?

Longtime Republican strategist Warren Tompkins is partnering with two former S.C. House members, including Democrat Boyd Brown – a bombastic former Fairfield County state representative and Democratic national committeeman known for his sharp-tongued outbursts.

Republican Michael Thompson also is part of the new firm. Thompson represented Anderson in the Legislature for a decade before moving to Washington, D.C., where he raised money for congressional Republicans.

Brown has been working in real estate and development since he left the Legislature in 2012. He and Thompson launched a lobbying firm earlier this year, working for some local government clients.

Now, the duo is merging with Tompkins’ veteran lobbying operation.

Tompkins’ resume in politics and government relations is long.

He worked for S.C. GOP father figures Strom Thurmond and Carroll Campbell and more recent leaders, U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint. He also worked on the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Mitt Romney.

Most recently, Tompkins ran a Super PAC for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential efforts. He now is helping the Florida Republican in his Senate re-election bid.

Tompkins said he looks forward to building the firm with his new partners after running a loner operation under the State House dome.

Tompkins is a family friend of the Browns. Boyd Brown’s grandfather was a legislator, lobbyist and “State House legend,” who Tompkins said helped him early in his career.

“You can’t stay stagnant in politics or lobbying or anything else,” Tompkins said of his new venture. “You have to be prepared to adjust and to adapt and work toward the future. I’m closing in on the end of my career. They’re at the beginning of their career.”

The decision is a no-brainer for Boyd. “You go down the list and the experience speaks for itself,” he said of Tompkins.

But The Buzz had to ask: What is Tompkins getting out of the merger?

“Two younger” partners, Brown replied, quickly correcting himself: “Not saying Warren is old by any stretch of the imagination.”

The new firm’s title also confirms the pecking order: Tompkins, Thompson and Brown.

“I defaulted to age and gray hair, not to good looks,” Brown said.

Told of the shade the braggadocio Brown already is throwing his way, Tompkins laughed.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Psst, ethics hearing? (It’s a secret)

A Sept. 8 hearing on whether S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis committed ethics violations will be held in secret.

Loftis, a Lexington County Republican, is accused of using his office to help a longtime friend and business associate get a job representing the state in a lawsuit.

Hearings before the State Ethics Commission are held in executive session unless the accused requests a public audience.

Ethics Commission Director Herb Hayden said last week that he has received no request from Loftis to open the hearing.

Loftis did not respond to email requests from The Buzz on whether he intends to open the hearing.

Earth to S.C. Democrats: Searching for ‘Planet B’

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford’s general election opponent thinks it is time “we started colonizing other planets.”

Democratic political activist Dimitri Cherny says humankind needs a backup plan should NASA scientists one day discover an object barreling toward Earth, bringing annihilation with it.

The former long-haul truck driver and die-hard Bernie Sanders fan lists “Finding Planet ‘B’” on his campaign website among eight pieces of legislation that he would push if elected to represent the coastal 1st District.

However, Sanford is heavily favored to win re-election, and he says he’s not too worried about finding mankind’s next home.

Cherny, 56, suggests diverting some of the country’s defense spending toward locating and, ultimately, colonizing other inhabitable planets.

“I’d put it out there because this is the way I think,” said Cherny, who for years worked on creating data backups for IBM. “I think very long term, and I’m very concerned about the long-term survival of civilization.

“There’s sort of this general feeling that Rome failed and all big empires failed, and America is next.”

Cherny acknowledges an asteroid strike is unlikely. But climate change is an equally dangerous threat that “will kill us before anything else,” he added. “We have a civilization-destroying event that is coming right down the pike, and nobody is saying anything about it.”

If elected, Cherny said finding “Planet B” would take a backseat to more pressing issues, including improving healthcare and education. “But, from a safety perspective, we have to have the technology and the capacity to protect Earth from civilization-destroying events, as have happened in the past.”

Republican incumbent Sanford said finding “Planet ‘B’ ” is not high on his list of concerns.

“We have a very full buffet of current and very real problems, not just in the domestic U.S. but frankly around the world, that I think at this point are much more pressing considerations,” he said.

The former S.C. governor has a 467-to-1 advantage over Cherny in campaign cash on hand, according to recent federal election filings.