State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Are South Carolina Voters Too Tolerant of Corruption?

Governing: We are living at a moment of widespread cynicism about politicians, a time when ordinary voters suspect that the people they elect are rewarding friends and lining their own pockets. That’s bad enough. What’s worse is when the public comes to tolerate such behavior as part of the status quo. This appears to have happened in South Carolina.

In 2014, Bobby Harrell, who had been the state House speaker, pleaded guilty to six charges of using campaign funds for personal benefit. The following year, former state Sen. Robert Ford pleaded guilty to ethics violations based on misusing campaign funds. Such practices were widespread. In 2015, an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and the Charleston Post and Courier found that dozens of lawmakers had used more than $100 million in campaign funds for questionable purposes over a period of several years.

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