Letters: Poll on drilling most revealing

In a recent town hall meeting, Sen. Tim Scott claimed that a poll shows that 77 percent of South Carolinians favor offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Atlantic. Since I found that hard to believe, I conducted my own poll.

I sent emails to all members of the S.C. House and asked just one question: “What is your position on offshore drilling in the Atlantic?”

Of the House members answering my question, 71 percent oppose offshore drilling in the Atlantic, 14 are in favor and 14 percent are undecided. That’s nearly the opposite of the numbers Sen. Scott keeps quoting.

I am not a politician and therefore am obliged to be honest and factual. The key is in the first line of my results: “Of the members responding.” Only seven of the 123 representatives felt that responding to an email from a citizen of their state was necessary.

I would like to remind our elected official that they are paid by taxpayers from the entire state, not just their district. We employ them to represent all of us; otherwise there would be no point of providing them desks in the State House with their names on the little brass plaques. What is the point of meeting centrally if you are not going to do all the people’s business?

In the meantime, I want to thank the seven members who sent replies. They are truly our representatives.

This story was originally published March 26, 2017 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Letters: Poll on drilling most revealing."