Straussians Everywhere

Posted on August 20, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Digby, Hail Caesar.

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2 Responses to Straussians Everywhere

  1. Ann Bartow says:
    August 21, 2007 at 8:49 am

    If you thought that was remarkable in some way, I need to buy you a subscription to my hometown newspaper so you can read the letters to the editor that get published. Here is one from yesterday:

    Let governor choose his own Cabinet

    Thomas Ravenel’s resignation as state treasurer put electing his successor in the hands of the Legislature. Not surprisingly, members promptly elected one of their own. They elected Converse Chellis, a certified public accountant whose primary credential was membership in the House of Representatives.

    This position cries for an executive with demonstrated financial expertise. The treasurer invests the state’s short-term funds, sees to interest payments on bonds and sits on the Budget and Control Board. Mr. Chellis’ votes on the Budget and Control Board will doubtlessly support the Legislature’s positions, which are often more in accord with maintaining or enhancing its power than for good government.

    This reinforces South Carolina’s need to move from electing constitutional officers to having the governor appoint his Cabinet. The governor has the ability to find well-qualified candidates for executive positions. The Legislature does not have this ability. For lawmakers the easy way out was to pick a fellow legislator. They did!

    Changing from electing constitutional officers to appointing Cabinet officers requires a referendum. Let’s get on with it. South Carolina will always be at the back of the line if we stick with an obsolete method of hiring key executives to manage our business.

    That’s actually mild but I think the hot weather has induced a certain torpor in the secessionists.

  2. Ann Bartow says:
    August 21, 2007 at 8:53 am

    Okay, here is another one that has nothing to do with subverting democracy but is sort of strange in its own right:

    Don’t let developers destroy our heritage

    Hard on the heels of the recent tragedy in Heathwood, another irreplaceable portion of our architectural posterity is now in danger from unscrupulous developers.

    Please help save the Columbia Farms chicken-processing plant. This prime example of American Utilitarian is Howard Roark at his best. Our abattoir heritage is rapidly disappearing through neglect and development.

    SPENCER WHETSTONE

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