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| State Sen. Mick Mulvaney, R-Indian Land, a candidate for the Fifth Congressional District seat in South Carolina. |
Edenmoor records batted back and forth between Spratt, Mulvaney | Fort Mill Times - Fort Mill, SC
LANCASTER -- The Edenmoor debacle has come back up and again been laid at the feet of Indian Land developer Mick Mulvaney because U.S. Rep. John Spratt can't talk about his record, Mulvaney said last week.
Mulvaney, a first-term Republican state senator, is challenging the 14-term incumbent congressman in the November general election. Spratt mentioned Edenmoor at a debate in Lake Wylie last month and last week began airing an ad, also available online, called "Flipped," based on the development and its woes.
Mulvaney, a first-term Republican state senator, is challenging the 14-term incumbent congressman in the November general election. Spratt mentioned Edenmoor at a debate in Lake Wylie last month and last week began airing an ad, also available online, called "Flipped," based on the development and its woes.
The failed development is coming up again because Spratt has "nothing else to go on," Mulvaney said at a press conference he called last Thursday in downtown Lancaster.
Most Democratic incumbents facing stiff challenges from conservatives are using defense of Social Security as a big part of their playbook, Mulvaney said, adding that Spratt can't use that tactic because he has told some newspapers over the years he favors privatization of some kind.
Mulvaney said he also believes the ad is a sign that Spratt is no longer running his campaign. Some reports say this is the first time he has gone negative in his 28-year career as a politician.
Nu Wexler, a South Carolina native and Democratic operative who now lives in Washington, D.C., has returned to the Palmetto State to assist Spratt's campaign. He scoffed at Mulvaney's claim, saying last week’s press conference is a sign the Lancaster County senator is worried.
Democratic Party operatives who attended the press conference say Mulvaney did not tell the whole truth in his press conference.
York County Democratic Party Chairman Richards McCrae actually said after the press conference that Lancaster County Council Chairman Rudy Carter was "lying out of his [butt]" in defending Mulvaney.
Democratic officials are confident of their facts. One provided the Fort Mill Times with a compact disc containing a timeline, longer than a similar timeline Mulvaney prepared, an audio recording of Mulvaney speaking to Lancaster County Council, and about 34 different records related to the property in Edenmoor.
The records prepared by the Spratt campaign are lengthy.
Mulvaney also released a stack of records that he said detail his purchase of the property and the sale of it, a planned development agreement sold by his successors in the project, and records of permits issued by DHEC to those successors for initial work.
Mulvaney is still relatively unknown and has not really been vetted by voters across the 14 counties that comprise the Fifth Congressional District, Wexler said.
Wexler was upset that he and other campaign staffers were not allowed to enter the press conference, but Rainey and the other Democrats were allowed inside. The officials who went in and Wexler said Mulvaney is refusing to accept any responsibility for what happened to Edenmoor.
While Wexler took being barred from the room as a slight, Mulvaney addressed the Democrats who did get inside with cordiality at times, calling them "my Democratic friends." One Democratic aide from the state party in Columbia brought a video camera and recorded the entire press conference. That video has apparently been posted on YouTube.
A freelance writer working for the Fort Mill Times also videotaped the press conference and the entire video is available on YouTube.
Mulvaney said he hoped to put the issue behind him and move on "to the things people want to talk about, the things we need to talk about."
When asked if it indicated Spratt is having trouble this campaign season because this kind of ad was coming out so close to the election season, the Democrats at the event said it is a difficult campaign season for incumbents and Democrats.
"They could run a stray dog against Spratt and do as well as they are doing," this campaign season, McCrae said.
But as it stood, Mulvaney said that 35 days before the election, District 5 was getting half-truths and innuendo.
"This is what people hate about American politics," he said.
Most Democratic incumbents facing stiff challenges from conservatives are using defense of Social Security as a big part of their playbook, Mulvaney said, adding that Spratt can't use that tactic because he has told some newspapers over the years he favors privatization of some kind.
Mulvaney said he also believes the ad is a sign that Spratt is no longer running his campaign. Some reports say this is the first time he has gone negative in his 28-year career as a politician.
Nu Wexler, a South Carolina native and Democratic operative who now lives in Washington, D.C., has returned to the Palmetto State to assist Spratt's campaign. He scoffed at Mulvaney's claim, saying last week’s press conference is a sign the Lancaster County senator is worried.
Democratic Party operatives who attended the press conference say Mulvaney did not tell the whole truth in his press conference.
York County Democratic Party Chairman Richards McCrae actually said after the press conference that Lancaster County Council Chairman Rudy Carter was "lying out of his [butt]" in defending Mulvaney.
Democratic officials are confident of their facts. One provided the Fort Mill Times with a compact disc containing a timeline, longer than a similar timeline Mulvaney prepared, an audio recording of Mulvaney speaking to Lancaster County Council, and about 34 different records related to the property in Edenmoor.
The records prepared by the Spratt campaign are lengthy.
Mulvaney also released a stack of records that he said detail his purchase of the property and the sale of it, a planned development agreement sold by his successors in the project, and records of permits issued by DHEC to those successors for initial work.
Mulvaney is still relatively unknown and has not really been vetted by voters across the 14 counties that comprise the Fifth Congressional District, Wexler said.
Wexler was upset that he and other campaign staffers were not allowed to enter the press conference, but Rainey and the other Democrats were allowed inside. The officials who went in and Wexler said Mulvaney is refusing to accept any responsibility for what happened to Edenmoor.
While Wexler took being barred from the room as a slight, Mulvaney addressed the Democrats who did get inside with cordiality at times, calling them "my Democratic friends." One Democratic aide from the state party in Columbia brought a video camera and recorded the entire press conference. That video has apparently been posted on YouTube.
A freelance writer working for the Fort Mill Times also videotaped the press conference and the entire video is available on YouTube.
Mulvaney said he hoped to put the issue behind him and move on "to the things people want to talk about, the things we need to talk about."
When asked if it indicated Spratt is having trouble this campaign season because this kind of ad was coming out so close to the election season, the Democrats at the event said it is a difficult campaign season for incumbents and Democrats.
"They could run a stray dog against Spratt and do as well as they are doing," this campaign season, McCrae said.
But as it stood, Mulvaney said that 35 days before the election, District 5 was getting half-truths and innuendo.
"This is what people hate about American politics," he said.
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