►The Bimonthly Newsletter of the Dorchester County Democratic Party◄

December 2011/January 2012 Volume 3, Issue 6

Page 5

The 2012 elections are now offi-cially in full swing! Hopefully all that attended the County Democratic Breakfast in November were duly motivated by State Representative Seth Whipper. It is great to have him representing part of Dorchester County now! We need to energize ourselves for the upcoming 2012 elections in our march to turn Dorchester County BLUE. We need you to become active in our County Party now. Everybody that wants to become active to help re-elect President Barack Obama, let’s get going! We need you first and foremost to help organize and energize the Democrats in your precinct. If you do not have a list yet, just ask and I can get you a list of the people who voted in the Democratic primaries in your precinct. The easiest action to take is talk with them, get their phone number and email, and we will keep them informed this election year and remind them and get them out to VOTE. The Dorchester County Executive Committee has unanimously agreed on its Strategic Plan for 2012, and we are off and run-ning with our sights set squarely on the November 2012 elec-tions. Issues are our key – unlike the Republicans, we believe in a moral budget that does not put balancing the budget on the poor and middle class. Unlike the Republicans, we believe strongly in Public Education

– no vouchers for the rich and their private schools. And we believe in a State and County Government that concen-trates on good paying jobs for the people. Our County Plan is clear and I need you personally to find a place where you can help contribute to our goal of getting De-mocratic voters to the polls in November 2012 and electing De-mocratic candidates. Please keep these dates in mind and on your calendar:

March 3: Precinct Organizing Meetings and Primary vote for President Obama,

March 19: Dorchester County Democratic Convention, where you will elect the leaders for the next two years, and

May 12: the State Democratic Party Convention. The next 11 months are going to be exciting, so find a place to participate, and let’s go! Richard Hayes, Chair

ELEVEN MONTHS TO GO!

In This Issue

New District Boundary Updates—Page 2 Conventions/Party Elections/Delegates—Page 3 Gilligan’s Island comes to SC—Page 4 2012 Election Strategies—Page 5 BBQ & Blues Blast this February—Page 6 Hundreds attend Blue Jamboree—Page 8 Greetings from Springfield, Illinois—Page 9 We are thankful—page 10 Calendar of Events—page 11

Page 4 Page 6 Page 8

Recent Breakfast Meetings

For our October breakfast, we enjoyed a great meal at St. Mark’s church in St. George. Lots of thanks to the folks (above) who pre-pared and served the food that morning. Sen. John Matthews (left, standing) gave us an update on vital issues from the State Assembly, like Voter ID and new district boundaries. (Thanks to Councilman Willie Davis, seated in the photo on the left, for arranging that breakfast meeting!)

In November, DCDP met at Ryan’s in Summerville. State Rep. Seth Whipper, whose District 113 is proposed to expand into our county, spoke with us that morning. (In the photo on the right, that’s Seth with DCDP chair Richard Hayes.)

We covered the county in the last two months! (And please note that we will NOT have a December breakfast meeting!)

By Richard Hayes

As most of you know, by law the states had to

redraw all district boundaries after the 2010

census. On the national level this year, South

Carolina gained another U.S. Congressional

district, rising from six to seven.

The seven districts including the new 7th Con-

gressional District underwent the “redistricting”

process this last year by the State Legislature,

controlled by the Republicans, and approved by

the Governor, a Republican. As a result of the

way the Republican Party accomplished the

redistricting, a lawsuit was filed in November

by the state's Democratic Party.

State Democratic Party Chairman Dick Har-

pootlian filed the lawsuit on behalf of six Afri-

can-American voters in Florence, Sumter,

Georgetown, Berkeley, Darlington and Charles-

ton counties, and said that the state's new redis-

tricting plans amounted to "voting apartheid."

The lawsuit, filed against Gov. Nikki Haley, the

Legislature and other state officials, claims that

the new district lines create a system that segre-

gates white and black voters and essentially

puts a large amount of black voters into one

congressional district. Those who worked on

the redistricting plans, however, say the lawsuit

is basically without merit.

The Justice Department said previously that it

would not challenge the district layout, but that

has no impact on whether or not any other

group could protest the plans through a lawsuit.

The decision on the lawsuit will ultimately lie

with a District Court judge.

In addition to our representatives to the Federal

Government, the boundaries of our state repre-

sentatives’ districts were also redrawn, includ-

ing Rep. Patsy Knight’s District 97. The Re-

publicans are taking aim at this district, as the

minority population percentage under the new

boundaries is much lower. We will have to

work hard for Patsy this coming November

2012 to ensure her reelection.

Finally, the County also had to redistrict the

boundaries for our seven council members in

Dorchester. The County is under the Federal

Court’s watchful eye to ensure Dorchester

maintains at least one majority-minority district

(Willie Davis’ District 3).

The County achieved its goals in redistricting,

but as a result Councilman Willie Davis’ dis-

trict is now huge, going from one end of the

County to the other like a “horseshoe.”

New District

Boundary Updates

March 3 Precinct Reorganization Meeting

You must attend this meeting

You must participate in our caucus vote

You must be selected a county dele-gate from others in your precinct

March 19 County Convention

You must attend as a county delegate

You must be appointed or elected (depending on number interested) a state delegate

You can then seek written nomination or pay for nomination to be a national delegate (either for your Congressional District, at-large, or both) and can be-gin campaigning.

You must file notice with the state party no later than April 12 that you’re running for national delegate.

May 12 State Convention

You must attend as a state delegate

You’ll get to make a “campaign speech” to the other state delegates, who’ll do the electing

September 3 National Convention

You get to shuffle off to Charlotte

You get to receive oodles of attention from press, who will believe you to be a very important person

You must come home to Dorchester County after the event ready to tell us all about it! (We want souvenirs, too.)

Here’s a simple, step-by-step procedure to follow if you’d like to attend the national convention as a delegate.

For more details, you can visit the state party’s website (click here), and look for the “2012 Na-tional Convention” menu option. Hover over that option to drop down the submenu, from which you’ll see “Delegate Selection Plan.” Choose that one for a detailed report on rules and require-ments.

In 2008, I was elected a National Delegate. And completely by accident, too, so don’t think I’m telling you how to guarantee your election. I can give you insight on the procedure, though. First, you must start by attending the Precinct Reorganization Meeting. That’s a requirement; if you don’t attend that March 3 meeting, you can’t be on the slate. You’ll also need to be a county delegate and then state delegate. Once you complete those requirements, you can throw your name in the hat yourself right after our county convention. You can be “nominated” by petition, but that can be diffi-cult and time consuming—it’s easier just to pay the $50 to the state party (the cost might be different this year). You can then start advertising. Get a free web-site to list your contributions and accomplish-ments. You can get a listing of state delegates who’ll vote in this race from the state party, and contact them by email or phone. You can even purchase an ad in the program of the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner that’s held every year just before the convention. And when the state convention comes around, you can meet those state delegates face-to-face, give ‘em your own campaign speech, and hopefully get elected. You can run for a dele-gate of your congressional district or at-large/

statewide, and even both (if you don’t get elected to be your district’s delegate). Our state gets 62 national delegates plus four alternates; 37 are from the different congres-sional districts, and will be selected by state delegates from those districts. (Our Dorchester is in both CD-1 and 6.) Another seven must be party leaders or elected officials, and 12 other at-large delegates will be elected by all state delegates at the convention. If you’re elected, get ready for contact. You’ll get mail from many organizations asking you to support their causes. The convention can be expensive, but because this year’s is in nearby Charlotte, you can just drive there instead of paying airfare. (You’ll want to stay at the hotel the state party books, though, I’d recommend.) When you get there as one of the delegates, you’ll find yourself in elite company, and you might be approached by others as an elite, too. You’ll sit near elected members of Congress. You’ll be approached by reporters, even ones from foreign countries, who’ll want to speak to you, the savvy political insider. Don’t let it get to your head, though. When the convention’s over, deflate your ego, and get ready to go back to work for the county party!

The Idiot’s Guide to Becoming a National Delegate By Rob Groce, CD-1 Delegate in 2008

As you probably know, the 2012 Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sept. 3-6. If you would like to be a delegate to the National Convention you first must participate in the reorganization of the Dorchester County Democratic Party. On March 3 at 10:00 a.m., the Dorchester County Democratic Party will reorganize the county pre-cincts. You must participate in precinct reorganization to be eligible to file for election as a delegate to the Charlotte convention. South Carolina will not have a primary. All of the delegates will be pledged to President Obama since no other candidate has filed to run against Obama in South Carolina. The precincts will elect delegates and alternates to the County Convention to be held on March 19 at 7:00 p.m. Each precinct will also elect precinct officers on March 3. You must attend the precinct reorganization meeting to be eligible for election as a delegate to the county convention and election as a precinct officer. The sites of the precinct meetings and the site for the county convention will be published in the local newspapers, and will be found in the next edition of Blue Note, too. At the County Convention on March 19, the delegates will elect new Dorchester County Democratic Party officers. These offices include county party chair, 1st vice chair, 2nd vice chair and 3rd vice chair. The party rules declare that the 1st vice chair must be a person of a race different than the party chair. What this means is that if the chair is a black person, the 1st vice chair must be a white person. The second vice chair represents a gender different than the chair. The 3rd vice chair is a young person (under 30) of any race or gender. The convention also elects two persons, a man and a woman, to represent the county on the state executive committee, as well as alternates. At our County Convention, we will also elect delegates to the state convention that meets in Columbia on May 12. If you want to be a delegate to the national convention, please consult the state party website. You must file with the State Party by April 12. Filing forms will be available from the party or on the web at www.scdp.org.

Conventions, Party Elections, Delegates & All That Jazz By David Rison, state executive committeeman

Sit right back and you’ll hear the tale

Of Republican candidates

Who are campaigning all across our state

Talking like idiots

With Gilligan The Skipper, too

The clumsy-but-cute Rick Perry has three assets on the island: his boyish charm, his threats to secede, and …. (I don‟t remember the third).

The Millionaire

Mitt Romney is a millionaire, alright. And it‟s a good thing, too, since not many people bother to donate to his campaign. His status in SC has remained unchanged through-out (25% support).

And his wife

Yes, Herman Cain is the millionaire‟s wife—because he never stops kissing up to big money in hopes of getting their sizable donations. Just ask the Koch Brothers!

Ron Paul sure ain‟t no professor, but he does try to attract college stu-dents and recent grads by making them think he‟ll legalize marijuana. That‟s how he tries to get support for his confederate “states‟ rights” line.

The Movie Star The Professor And Mary Ann

If the skipper sunk a small boat in choppy waters, what do you think Newt Gingrich will do if he‟s steering this country? (Whine and throw a hissy fit, maybe, like he became famous for while a congress-man?)

Rick Santorum emotes like a bomb-shell babe, but he‟ll never make it in Hollywood—and not in the White House, either. He‟s a bad actor and everyone can tell he‟s tossing out scripted lines.

Michele Bachmann tries to project herself as a homey, humble Mary Ann-type character, but she tar-nishes that image every time she clamors approval of water boarding torture.

Two others aboard the GOP Minnow (and whose names will appear on the ballots in January) remain lost at sea, apparently. Jon Hunts-man (left) is only scoring one percent in polls of South Carolina Repub-licans. Gary Johnson (right) doesn‟t even get invited to the debates.

They issue silly campaign statements

And work to win at any cost

If not for the courage of Democrats

The country would be lost

(The country would be lost!)

Here on GOP-ligan’s Isle!

If you’d like to get a copy of this image to email, print, post online or anything else—just click HERE. Feel free!

In the 2008 election cycle, we busted our backs. Dorchester Democrats registered hun-dreds of new voters. We drove voters to the county building in St. George so they could early-vote. We canvassed and worked the phones to make sure voters showed up on election day.

And a total of 71.52 percent of all registered voters in our county participated in the elec-tion that year. Sounds great, right?

Well, Dorchester County actually had the third-lowest turnout of all counties in our state for the ‘08 General Election. The statewide aver-age was 76.02 percent.

And in 2010, we dropped to second lowest in turnout (43.02 percent; statewide average was 51.89). Obviously, we need improvement in voter turnout all across the county.

Particular precincts, though, might need some additional focus. There are seven key precincts where we know there’s a high presence of Democratic voters, for example. In the 2010 elections, our candidate for gover-nor (state Sen. Vincent Sheheen) led in votes from those precincts, and we also had the ma-jority in voters who simply made the “straight party” selection, too.

However, those precincts had very, very low turnout on Election Day. If we can work to improve the number of vot-ers from those particular precincts, we’ll greatly help the Democratic candidates who’ll appear on their ballots in the November 2012 elections. Do you live in or near one of these precincts? Please contact DCDP about how you can help make needed improvements.

Some side-note good news: This Delemars precinct historically leads our county in voter turnout and in percentage of votes to Democratic candidates. That’s due to the very hard work of Margaret Good-wine, DCDP’s 1st Vice Chair.

2012 Election Strategies: Key Voter Turnout

The Dorchester County Democratic Party has a lot of work to do over the next 11 months—prepping for county and state conventions, candidate re-cruitment, June primaries, voter registration, Voter ID awareness and many other projects all gearing up for the General Election in November. We’ll be covering those topics in upcoming editions of Blue Note, too. In this issue, we’ll focus on one of them—improved voter turnout in particular precincts.

By Marty Turney, American Maid We pick up the paper or turn on the news and all we hear are pledges to bring jobs to America. This is something we all should pledge to do. Even though we may not own a business we still buy services and products. We can save or create jobs. Remember back in early spring an email was circulat-ing regarding American-made products? The suggestion was made to check goods we buy at the grocery store. We found that many of these items produced in America were less expensive, and they were “store brands.” How about other items? Appliances, packaging, tools, and other items we use every day – any made in the United States? How about the “American Companies” that do all of their manufacturing in other countries? We can save or create jobs by buying American made. There was another email that addressed calling help lines not for just com-puter or program assistance, but for help on other items and warranty work as well. When the person answers, it sounds as if that person is in a foreign country. At times it is difficult to understand the instructions we are given. It was suggested that we ask to speak to a person in the United States. It wasn’t always easy to convince that company representative in the foreign country that we really want to speak to someone in the U.S., but if you were insistent, you can save or create jobs. We are coming to Christmas time when most of us are buying presents for family and friends. How about a one-year mowing gift, or leaf-raking or, if there is a matter of snow, you can have snow/ice removal when there is no grass to cut? This will even work for out-of-town recipients. I bet you can find someone to do that for out-of-town relatives for a good price, and what a gift! There is always tilling, planting and maintaining a garden for a friend or neighbor. We can save or create jobs.

Check the Yellow Pages for small owner-operated restaurants. A gift cer-tificate for a meal a month would really be a great gift. Or, in our area, a gift certificate for golf, tennis or bowling. What about lessons for these various sports? That is certain to be appreciated. We can save or create jobs.

Point being, we may not own a business, but we as Americans can save and or create jobs. Let’s try to bring jobs back to the United States. Each of us can do our part; all we have to do is want to buy and support American goods and services.

Keep Jobs in America Another “BBQ & Blues” blast

coming this February!

Remember the great party we had back in February 2010? We dished up some great food, danced to great mu-sic, and packed a room full of local voters along with just about every Democ-ratic candidate on the slate that year. And guess what we’re do-ing in February 2012? You betcha—we’re doing “BBQ & Blues” all over again! We’re scheduling it for Saturday, Feb 25 (which is one week before our Pre-cinct Reorganization Meet-ings, dontcha know).

The location we’re looking for hasn’t been fully acquired yet, but we’ll keep you posted. And the cost for this event will be the same $10 we charged last time.

Come on down to chow down

and boogie down with Dorchester Democrats!

1761 N Main Street 832-6001

Monday—Thursday: 11 am—10 pm Friday & Saturday: 11 am—11 pm

Sunday: 12 pm—10 pm

WE DELIVER!WE DELIVER!WE DELIVER! Delivery Hours: Sat-Thurs 4 PM to Close

No Delivery on Friday Minimum Order for Delivery $10

New York-Style Pizza

Specialty Pizzas

Stromboli * Calzones

Specialty Dinners

Appetizers * Giant Wings

Salads * Cheeseburgers

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

Hot Subs * Cold Subs

Wraps * Steak Sandwiches

and Desserts ~We Even Have a Kids’ Menu!~

CATERING AVAILABLE

INCLUDING FULL

ITALIAN DINNERS

SEE OUR ENTIRE MENU ONLINE AT

www.italianbistrosc.com

COUPONS

Buy 2 Dinners and Get Bottle of Our House Wine

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Can Not Be Combined with Any Offer or Special

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Buy 16” OR 18” Pizza Get 2 Liter Soda and 12 Garlic Knots

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Toppings Extra Can Not Be Combined with Any Offer or Special

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FAMILY FEAST: 18” Pizza, Two 12” Sandwiches,

24 Garlic Knots, 12 Wings and 2 Liter Soda

$34.95 Toppings Extra

Can Not Be Combined with Any Offer or Special TAKE OUT ONLY

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Buy 16” or 18” Pizza Get Second

HALF PRICE (Specialty Pizza Not Included,

Coupon Good Sunday-Thursday) Can Not Be Combined with Any Offer or Special

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The recent Blue Jamboree was a unique occa-sion for Jim Clyburn. At this same one event, the representative of South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District watched his daughter win an award, named after one of his heroes, in recognition of her own heroic accomplishments, and then intro-duced the woman who’s rapidly becoming the latest hero of the Democratic Party. Hosted by the West Ashley Democrats and the Charleston County and state Democratic parties, approximately 600 attended the Oc-tober 23rd event at Charleston Maritime Cen-ter. Mignon Clyburn received the Marjorie Amos-Frazier “Pacesetter” Award for her “community service and professional accom-plishments,” said Kaye Koonce, chair the event’s award committee. In August 2009, the congressman’s daughter was unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate to assume the chair of the Federal Communications Commis-sion, and was previously chair of the state’s Public Service Commission. Both she and her father spoke in praise of the late Amos-Frazier, known throughout the region for community activism, and both at-tributed her open-door policy of advising community members, including themselves, to have had positive impact on following gen-erations in the Charleston area. “(Amos-Frazier) was one of the best friends I ever had,” said Rep. Clyburn, who credited the late county councilwoman for guiding many in the community to be “tenacious ad-vocates for what’s just and what’s right.” And U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, keynote speaker for this second annual Blue Jamboree, is quite an advocate herself, the

congressman said in intro-duction of the Democ-ratic National Committee’s chairwoman, who then credited Cly-burn for men-toring her in the U.S. capi-tol. During her second term from 2007-09, the congress-woman from Florida was chief deputy whip under then-majority whip Clyburn. With the same dedicated oomph she used while aiding Clyburn, the DNC chair made the stance of the party quite clear, and on both state and national issues. The Democratic Party is the party for the fu-ture of American children, she said, offering the recent renovations to student loans that bypass secondary loaners. “Eight million more kids are now receiving college funding.” Democrats are the future for a sound environ-ment, as well, Wasserman Schulz said, offer-ing the government’s new investments in green energy as example. It’s the party benefitting middle-class taxpay-ers in representation, and the party of Wall Street reform, too, she offered, stipulating how Democrats blocked investment firms from ever receiving additional bail-out fund-ing ever again. And Democrats in Washington, D.C. could

extend this representation further, were it not for Republican congressmen’s recent delay tactics. The American Jobs Act – which includes addi-tional federal funding for public schools, tax credits for companies hiring disabled veter-ans, and federal income tax cuts of $1,500 on middle-class families – was recently held up by Republican senators. And for no valid reason, either, as the funding, credits and cuts included in the proposal “are entirely paid for,” Wasserman Schultz said. The GOP seems to be delaying any programs for improvement until right before the 2012 election next November, said Wasserman Schultz, and with apparent intentions to ig-nore public needs until it can benefit their campaigns. “But if you’re working paycheck to paycheck, you don’t have 13 months,” Wasserman Schultz said. And to counterpunch the stan-dard GOP counterargument, “a child needs an education more than a millionaire needs a tax break,” she said. “We’re on your side,” Wasserman Schultz reminded the attending Democrats in her concluding request for their involvement in next year’s elections. “We’re going to surprise some people.” Other speakers were Mayor Joe Riley, former U.S. Rep. Liz Patterson, state Rep. Bakari Sell-ers and Jaime Harrison, SCDP 1st Vice Chair.

Hundreds attend

Blue Jamboree

State Rep. Patsy Knight with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

The Chairmen! DCDP Chair Richard Hayes and his Charleston County counterpart George Tempel.

Wasserman Schultz spoke from under a blue light at the Blue Jamboree

(this photo and others on this page by Nora Kravec)

(This article originally appeared in Examiner.)

Earlier this year, two regular contributors to our county party ex-panded their political reach, except they did so by making the move across the Mason-Dixon. That‟s right—Katharine and Dr. Jonathan Eastvold now reside in Springfield, the state capitol of Illinois, where the barbecue sauce has no mustard, the lingo has no y‟alls, and the GOP has nowhere near the pull it has here in SC. (They even have some weird flaky white stuff that falls down from the sky without even bothering Chicken Little.) Now how‟s that for big changes in lifestyle, huh? We with DCDP were sorry to see them go. Both contributed quite a bit of time and effort to our county party, after all. (They even loaned their little ones for qualified candidates to use in baby-kissing photo opportunities!)

Their move doesn‟t mean they‟ve stopped making Democratic contributions, though. Jonathan is teaching Poli Sci at Illinois College, and Katharine is a legislative intern with the Illinois Senate Democrats. Just so we could learn exactly how our Palmetto State is regarded in the president‟s home state (and to make sure they don‟t ever forget pluff mud or noseeums), we invited South Carolina-native Katharine to once again write something up for Blue Note, like she‟d done so many times before. And without further ado ….

Since Jonathan and I moved to Illinois, I've immersed myself in learning about the political culture of my new state. This has in-volved everything from reading about “budgeting for results” (an approach that South Carolina ostensibly has been using for years, although I'm not sure about those results...) to learning about the diverse neighborhoods of Chicago, a city I confess I've only visited twice. I haven't forgotten my native South Carolina, though. We hear plenty about you – Gov. Haley's infamous Texas fundraiser with Rick Perry's overly helpful insurance regulator, the parade of Republican presidential hopefuls who visit South Carolina and vie to burnish their ultra-conservative credentials, and of course hardly a week goes by that I'm not asked, “Hey, did you know Alvin Green?” I also hear about my native state's finer points – the beaches of Hilton Head, the pumped-up fans at a Carolina-Clemson game, or the historic attractions of Charleston. There is a disconnect between what Illinoisans read in the newspaper about South Carolina and what they know of our state from visiting relatives or taking vaca-tions there. One of the biggest issues facing Illinois right now is how to keep large employers from leaving the state without giving away too many concessions and failing to help individuals who need it, not to mention the small and medium-sized businesses that employ the most workers and can't just pick up and move. Corporations threat-ening to leave Illinois frequently mention South Carolina (in the same breath as Indiana, Wisconsin, and Texas) as one of the states that has made a competitive offer, thanks to its often non-existent corporate tax burden and its hostility to unions. I have reminded my co-workers here not to get too jealous. After all, we South Carolinians know that letting big business off the hook for state taxes is no guarantee they won't soon be begging for more hand-outs: help with the utilities, help with construction costs, help fighting local impact fees, and the list goes on. And all job creation is not equal; too often, corporations that move into South Carolina with great fanfare bring in outside contractors to do some of the most sought-after jobs, and South Carolinians are left with jobs that barely pay the bills and might not come with health insurance. What libertarian market optimists fail to realize is that a job that

does not pay a living wage still leaves government holding the check for whatever public assistance (food stamps, medical assistance, child care, etc.) the worker must have in order to continue working. So, low-tax states that look attractive to businesses squeezed by the recession are not necessarily a paradise other states should envy. South Carolina has already neglected to fund its public schools ade-quately, to the point that it is difficult to imagine how we can resus-citate our education system and erase our reputation as a state with bad schools. Illinois, on the other hand, is known for providing a quality education in many communities (although funding and outcomes are, on the whole, more unequal than in South Carolina – another big problem facing my new state). In its pursuit of job crea-tion and retention, it must not underestimate the importance of having a reputation for educating capable and innovative workers – a reputation it takes money and sustained political focus to main-tain. South Carolina may not have such a reputation for greatness in edu-cation (yet!), but it has many priceless qualities that other states lack: a beautiful coastline, immense ecological diversity in a rela-tively small land area, rural areas and small towns within easy reach of larger cities, a world-class port, an established tourism industry, and countless communities that are simply wonderful places to live. And that's not even mentioning the southern climate, which I'm really missing right now as I watch the freezing rain come down outside my window. Rob asked me to give an “outsider's view” of South Carolina, ex-pecting (I think) that we had become the laughingstock of other states, but the truth, which may be surprising to some of us who have become so discouraged with our state's politics, is that Illinois-ans' views of South Carolina are extremely positive. They recall va-cations here, relatives who live here, or the friendly welcome they got when they visited. Nearly everyone who finds out where I'm from says, “You must really miss it.” And I do. Which is why I don't want South Carolina to sell itself short. -Katharine Eastvold

We recently sent an email message requesting your personal answers to the following question: "What are you - as a Democrat, as a member of this local community, or just as a plain ol' Tom Turkey - most thankful for as we near the holiday of Thanksgiving?" Here are some of the replies we received:

(Editor’s note: Susy covers military news for Examiner; click here to see her articles.)

Calendar of Events

(This is a very loose calendar of important events coming up in the next few months. Please keep in touch with us to learn of

other events coming up in the near future.)

Note: There will be no Executive Committee Meeting In December. Meetings will resume next year

and will be announced.

December 25 Christmas Day

Ho Ho Ho!

January 1 New Year’s Resolution

I, (state your name), resolve to increase my involvement in the county Democratic Party to ensure that we elect honest, quality candidates in this 2012 election year.

January 21

DCDP Monthly Breakfast Meeting 9 a.m. at Ryan‟s (1301 N Main St in Summerville)

State Rep. David Mack is invited to speak at this function. $8 for breakfast buffet (pay us in the back room)

Republican Presidential Primary

7 a.m. „til 7 p.m. at polling places across the state! Stay glued to television news to see which Republican candidate

our President Obama will defeat in November!

February 1 Next Issue of Blue Note!

February 18

DCDP Monthly Breakfast Meeting 9 a.m. at Ryan‟s (1301 N Main St in Summerville)

District Solicitor David Pascoe is invited to speak at this function. $8 for breakfast buffet (pay us in the back room)

February 25

BBQ & Blues

March 3 Precinct Re-organization Meeting

March 16

Candidate Filing Opens Everyone who wants to run for any federal, state or county office

can begin campaign registration on this day.

March 17 DCDP Monthly Breakfast Meeting

9 a.m. at Ryan‟s 1301 N Main St in Summerville

$8 for breakfast buffet (pay us in the back room)

March 19 Dorchester County Democratic Party Convention

March 30

Candidate Filing Closes All candidates must register by 12 noon on this date.

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