The times they are a changing in South Carolina. And by extension, in this country. A South Carolina tea party endorsed Republican, Tim Scott, who is black, received a whopping 69% of the run off vote for representative against Paul Thurmond, the white son of the late Senator Strom Thurmond (D for most of his life-SC), a man who symbolized and represented the ugly segregationist south. Given the make up of the district he represents, according to the South Carolina Star Tribune, Scott
is now poised to become the nation's first black GOP congressman since 2003.Scott, 44, owns an insurance business and became the first black Republican in the South Carolina Legislature in more than a century when elected two years ago. (snip)
Scott grew up in poverty in North Charleston, his parents divorcing when he was 7. His mother, Frances, worked 16 hours a day raising Scott and a brother and Scott regularly introduce her at campaign events.
Scott also credits a mentor with helping him turn around his life at a time he was in danger of flunking out of high school. He said John Moniz, a conservative entrepreneur who ran a Chick-fil-A, changed his outlook on life. (snip)
"This race is not really about winning the election," Scott told about 200 people gathered for a victory party in a North Charleston hotel. "It's about finding a way to bring us together so our country leads the world in every way possible."
And Nikki Haley, a woman whose parents emigrated from India, who won the Republican run off election for governor of South Carolina, has a good chance of besting her white male Democrat opponent in the general election.
They both won their elections on the strength of their ideas which appealed to the voters, less so on their skin color/gender/ethnic backgrounds, all matters which the Democrats so consciously chose to identify candidates.
So, which attitude is more representative of this country? Hopefully, the former.
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