Speight: Is South Carolina the extra-pious, extra-nasty primary state? Maybe not

Now that candidate satellites are orbiting South Carolina, the media are replete with reports about the politics here. The usual terminology includes “bare-knuckle,” “dirty,” “mudslinging,” “vicious” and “evangelical.”

Much of that is accurate. Most South Carolinians know people who will sing next to you in church on Sunday and sue you on Wednesday. But the notion that this state is uniquely mean and virtuous is nonsense.

Yes, S.C. politics can be less than civil. Much, much less. We have elected quite a few individuals of less-than-stellar character. And it’s common for Lee Atwater’s name to come up as an example of political hijinks. Although Atwater (with whom I worked as a college student) was hard-core, he was not the demon of popular culture, and by no means were his tactics exclusive to his home state. He was just really good at it.

Now, “evangelical” gets translated as “church-going,” “born again,” and even “pious,” and the polls tell us that nearly 70 percent of S.C. voters identify themselves as “evangelical.” Were these polls as accurate as the media and political consultants believe, there would be virtually no beer sales in the state, court dockets would empty, the number of divorces would be minimal, and teen pregnancy would flatline.

Here’s what Republican South Carolinians know: Unless a candidate confesses to Satan worship, drunken orgies with transgender prostitutes, or voting Democrat, his or her spiritual convictions are immaterial. OK, a Muslim might have a tough time, but beyond that, the evangelical card is just another part of the electoral deck.

The reason the S.C. primary is so cutthroat is that it’s the first primary of significance. It has twice as many voters as Iowa and New Hampshire combined, and after those two contests, candidates must go on the offensive to muscle their way to the top of the heap.

In reality, it is candidates bringing the bag of rusty nails to South Carolina that gives the Palmetto State a reputation it doesn’t really deserve.

So, lock and load, sticks and stones, and may God bless.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 6:03 PM.