GOP Goes After Trump at Debate

Marco Rubio was on fire Thursday night.

For weeks, he's resisted taking on Donald Trump, who has eviscerated other Republicans who threatened his status as the front-runner. That reluctance evaporated during the final GOP debate before Super Tuesday as Rubio delivered blow after blow at Trump, attacking him on his immigration, foreign policy and health care positions, along with his business hiring practices.

"You're the only person on this stage that's ever been fined for hiring people to work on your project illegally," Rubio told Trump at the debate airing on CNN.

Rubio and Trump spoke over each other as the senator accused the real estate mogul of hiring Polish workers. Trump dismissed the episode as something that happened decades ago.

"I guess there's a statute of limitations on lies," Rubio said.

Rubio later mocked Trump for having a "fake school," referring to lawsuits aimed at Trump University alleging fraud and deception.

Trump hit back: "Here's a guy that buys a house for a $179,000 -- he sells it to a lobbyist who's probably here for 380,000."

Rubio responded by calling out Trump for his privileged background.

"If he hadn't inherited $200 million, you know where Donald Trump would be right now? Selling watches in Manhattan," Rubio said.

And Rubio challenged Trump on foreign policy.

Trump repeatedly stated his support for Israel, billing himself the most "pro-Israel" candidate in the GOP field. But even as he said he was "totally pro-Israel," he also said he didn't believe there was any reason for labeling Israel and the Palestinians as the "good guy" and the "bad guy."

"The position you've taken is an anti-Israel position," Rubio said.

When Trump said he was simply a "negotiator," Rubio shot back: "The Palestinians are not a real estate deal, Donald."

Everything changes March 1

The tough talk comes as Trump heads into the March 1 Super Tuesday contests with remarkable momentum, after consecutive victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Rubio has struggled to step out of Trump's shadow and Thursday's debate could mark a pivotal moment as he seeks to convince voters that he is best positioned to be an alternative to Trump and to unite a fractured Republican Party.

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Clemson Poll: Clinton Expected to Win S.C. Primary

Hillary Clinton will win Saturday’s South Carolina Democratic primary by a wide margin, according to the results of the latest Clemson University Palmetto Poll.

The survey of likely voters showed 64 percent said they will vote for Clinton and 14 percent for Bernie Sanders. Twenty-two percent said they are undecided. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.

The telephone poll of 650 likely voters was taken between Saturday and Wednesday. The Palmetto Poll respondents were those who said they plan to vote in this election and have voted in two of the last three statewide primaries.

The Palmetto Poll results show she will do better in South Carolina than in any other state.

“After a razor-thin victory by Clinton in the Iowa caucuses, a blowout by Sanders in the New Hampshire primary and a small victory margin by Clinton in the Nevada caucuses, Clinton is perched on the cusp of her own significant primary victory in the Palmetto State,” said Bruce Ransom, a Clemson political science professor and co-director of the poll.

In the Palmetto Poll before last week’s Republican primary, South Carolina voters cited several reasons for their choice of candidates, however, in this survey of Democrats, nearly two-thirds refused to say:

What do you like most about your first choice for president?

Shares my values	9%
Cares about people like me	8%
Strong leader for the country	8%
Other	64%

“It is clear from our poll that African-American voters in the state remember Ms. Clinton fondly and support her campaign,” said political science professor David Woodard, who also directs the poll.

Respondents also were asked when they decided for whom they will vote and, again, most would not say:

When did you, or when will you, make up your mind about for whom you will vote for president in the election?

Before the primaries began	12%
After the previous primary outcomes	3%
This past week	3%
Today	1%
Other	68%

House Budget Includes Money for Roads, Farmers

A $7.5 billion budget proposal heading to the House floor provides $40 million to flood-devastated farmers, cuts income taxes by $130 million and designates $250 million for road projects.

The Ways and Means Committee on Thursday approved its spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The plan also includes an additional $375 million for kindergarten-through-12th-grade education. A $130 per-pupil increase in the "base student cost," boosts that main funding source for schools by $218 million.

The spending plan also forgives $12 million in loans to South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. But the historically black university must meet certain conditions, including a yearly increase in enrollment and have a balanced budget.

Republican Rep. Jim Merrill says that will help SC State keep its accreditation and stay open.

Skipper to Announce Re-election Bid Today

Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper is set to announce hisr bid for re-election as Sheriff of Anderson County at noon today at Tucker’s Restaurant in Anderson.

Sheriff Skipper sees the challenges of providing for a safe, thriving community as motivation to once again run for office and continue to build Anderson County into a place that is attractive to both families and businesses 

“Working with County Council to increase personnel needed to provide the quality of service and protection our citizens deserve will be my top priority," Skipper said.

Sheriff Skipper sees the challenges of providing for a safe, thriving community as motivation to once again run for office and continue to build Anderson County into a place that is attractive to both families and businesses 

More information about his campaign can be found on his website and Facebook SkipperForSheriff.com. This site includes biographical information about Sheriff Skipper and a calendar of upcoming events, as well as his position on many of the important issues affecting Anderson County.

Winds Knock Out Electricity for Many in Upstate

More than 1,000 in Anderson County remain without electricity this morning as a result of the high winds of the past 36 hours. Duke Energy is working to restore power many in the Upstate, stating the saturating rain Wednesday and heavy wind into Thursday caused trees and power lines to come down.

As of 7:30 a.m. today, Duke is working to restore more than 47,000 outages across North and South Carolina. 

Below is a breakdown of outages in our area. The other counties in the area had less than a hundred outages.

Anderson: 1,134

Greenville: 3,088

Pickens: 536

Greenwood: 264

 Click here for the latest outage info and estimated restoration times.

S.C. House Wants $250M for Road Work, $130M Tax Cut

The House budget-writing committee is advancing a spending plan that would give most state employees a 1 percent pay increase, provide $250 million for roadwork and cut income taxes by $130 million.

Ways and Means tentatively approved Wednesday a $7.5 billion plan for state taxes that spends an additional $300 million on kindergarten-through-12th-grade education.

That includes providing teachers a 2 percent cost-of-living pay increase. Veteran teachers in 24 districts would get an additional boost. Currently, about 20 percent of teachers statewide get no credit for experience past 22 years in the classroom. The budget ensures all teachers receive an annual step increase through 23 years.

The budget allows the troubled Department of Social Services to hire 160 new employees, primarily caseworkers.

The committee plans to wrap up its work Thursday.

County's Matt Schell Wins ForeverGreen Award

Anderson County’s Parks Director Matt Schell has been named Upstate Forever’s "2016 ForeverGreen Public Servant of the Year." The ForeverGreen event recognizes significant contributions to the areas of sustainable development, land conservation, clean water, air quality, waste reduction, public service, and volunteer work. 

“Anderson County is proud of Matt’s recognition, he is a dedicated and determined employee who performs outside the norm with professionalism, and affords our citizens with safe, accessible recreation,” said Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns. 

In his role with the county, Schell works to provide the accessibility of recreational opportunities which will serve the diverse needs and interests of our residents and visitors. The award recognizes his implementation of the county's plan to make water recreation on the Saluda River accessible to all citizens. Part of this plan is to build a water trail along the Saluda River providing access to all.

Schell put together the first and only Americans with Disabilites Act floating kayak launch on the Saluda River at the Dolly Cooper Sports Park last year. He has also secured funding for a second ADA launch to be installed downstream at Timmerman Landing. 

Schell also organized the 2010 Saluda River Rally, a two-day event held the first weekend of June each year which highlights the experiences of the scenic views, natural resources, and recreation along the blueway of the Saluda River and the Upstate.

March is Meals on Wheels Month, Can You Help?

Meals on Wheels-Anderson is gearing up for its annual March for Meals campaign to bring awareness and action to the program that fights to end senior hunger. 

The month-long event held every March is a nationwide initiative of Meals on Wheels America. Locally, Meals on Wheels-Anderson has planned several events for the month. 

This year, the organization invites all elected officials in the city and county to volunteer to drive a delivery route or assist on the food packing line one day during the month of March. The support of these individuals helps to show the community and those even at the governmental level, our seniors are not a forgotten population.

Meals on Wheels also invites ministers and church staff/leaders/members to participate in Ministers for Meals during the month by planning a special day (or two) to volunteer with the organization; and the group is also reaching out to women with the Heels for Meals movement asking women to volunteer together. Children are a welcome addition on the deliveries as well, as many of the seniors receiving meals thoroughly enjoy seeing them. 

“March is an important month for us,” said Laurie Ashley, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels-Anderson. “Raising awareness about our program is what helps to make us successful. We couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers and community support.” 

During March, Meals on Wheels also holds its annual spaghetti fundraiser. On March 10, spaghetti meals including spaghetti, salad, bread, dessert and tea are available at lunch and dinner hours for dining in, take out or delivery (for 10 or more). Tickets are available at $8 for adults; $5 for children (under 12). 

To get involved in any of the March for Meals initiatives, please contact Jeanie Campbell at 864-225-6800 or jcampbell@acmow.org. To purchase tickets for the spaghetti meal or arrange a delivery to your home or office, contact April Cameron at 864-225-6800 or april@acmow.org.

Trump Wins Chaotic Nevada Caucuses

Donald Trump was declared the winner of Nevada's Republican caucuses, amid complaints of chaos at several precincts.

Trump coasted to victory with nearly half the vote Tuesday. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., came in second with 24 percent and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was close behind in third with 21 percent. Dr. Ben Carson came in fourth with 6 percent, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich brought up the rear with 3 percent.

"A couple of months ago we weren't expected to win this one," Trump told supporters. "According to the pundits, we weren't expected to win too much. We won with young, we won with old, we won with highly educated, we won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated," he said.

But despite the relatively small number of delegates gathered from Nevada, it was Trump's third-consecutive win and he took note of the sense of momentum the victory gives his campaign.

"We might not even need the next two months," he said of winning the GOP nomination.

The Rubio campaign, in finishing second to Trump, continued to go after Cruz.

"Check out how much Senator Cruz and his allies invested into Nevada for the past year in the air and on the ground only to be rejected yet again."

Cruz looked dejected as he congratulated Trump and finished third again.

"One week from today will be the most important night of this campaign," Cruz said looking ahead to Super Tuesday which includes a primary in Cruz's home state. "I cannot wait to get home to the great state of Texas."

The caucuses were plagued by reports of ballot shortages, unchecked IDs and allegations of voter intimidation.

GOP Senate Vows to Block Obama Nominee to High Court

Barack Obama’s nominee to the supreme court will not get a hearing or a vote from the Republican-led Senate, GOP members of the judiciary committee said Tuesday as they insisted the next president must fill the vacancy. 

“No hearing, no vote,” said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina as he emerged from a closed-door meeting with majority leader Mitch McConnell. 

Even the most divisive nominees for the high court have received a hearing before the judiciary committee, and the election-year decision to deny such a session is a sharp break with the Senate’s traditional “advise and consent” role. A committee review and a hearing is the first step in the process.

“We believe the American people need to decide who is going to make this appointment rather than a lame-duck president,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate’s No 2 Republican and, like Graham, a member of the judiciary committee. 

Hearings would be “a waste of time”, added Senator John McCain of Arizona.

As a rationale for their decision, Republicans pointed to a 1992 speech by vice-president Joe Biden, then the chairman of the judiciary committee, in which Biden said that in a presidential election year the Senate should “not consider holding hearings until after the election”.

“Instead, it would be our pragmatic conclusion that once the political season is under way, and it is, action on a supreme court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over,” said Biden, then a Delaware senator. 

As it turned out, there was no opening on the court that year.

Earlier in the day, McConnell said his party wouldn’t permit a vote on any supreme court nominee submitted by Obama and would instead “revisit the matter” after the presidential election in November. 

“Presidents have a right to nominate just as the Senate has its constitutional right to provide or withhold consent,” the majority leader said in a speech on the Senate floor. “In this case, the Senate will withhold it.”

Storms Could Threaten Area Wednesday Morning

The potential for strong storms is in the forecast for the morning commute hours Wednesday in Anderson County and across the Upstate.

Between 5-9 a.m., the storms are expected to bring heavy rain and high winds, plus the potential threat of tornado activity as they move across the area. Isoloated flooding and wind damage is possible from the storms, which are expected to be out of the area by mid-morning Wednesday.

Unseasonably warm, breezy conditions are forecast for the rest of the day, with temperatures reaching the 60s, before coooling off dramatically Wednesday evening.

Anderson Polling Places Combined for S.C. Democratic Primary

Saturday is the Democratic Party Primary in South Carolina, and the Anderson County Election Commission has combined several of the polling places for this election only.  The following list is of those that have been combined.  If your polling place is not on this list then you can vote at your regular polling place.

If you are not sure what Precinct you reside in, go to www.scvotes.org and on the top right hand side select "Find My Precinct".

Democrats' S.C. Town Hall Focuses on Race

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders appeared at a town hall meeting in South Carolina hosted by CNN, where they spent much of the time discussing race.

The event comes five days before the South Carolina Democratic primary, and shortly after Clinton beat Sanders in the Nevada Democratic caucuses. RealClear Politics shows Clinton ahead of Sanders by 24 points in the Palmetto State.

Tuesday night's event was sponsored by CNN and hosted by New Day host Chris Cuomo, and took place just as Nevada Republicans caucused to choose their nominee.

Race relations

Several questions were asked about racism and race relations in the United States.

Sanders responded to the ongoing "birther movement" that has raised questions about the citizenship of President Obama, as well as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. He said the movement was partially to blame for Senate GOP efforts to block a nominee to the Supreme Court.

"What you are seeing today in this Supreme Court situation is nothing more than the continuous and unprecedented obstructionism that President Obama has gone through. And this is on top of this 'birther' issue, which we heard from Donald Trumpand others, a racist effort to try to delegitimize the President of the United States," he said. "Guess what, nobody has asked for my birth certificate. Maybe it's the color of my skin?"

At another point, however, Sanders stopped short of calling Trump racist.

"I'm not a psychoanalyst," he said. "Boy, would a psychoanalyst have an interesting time with Donald Trump."

Sanders also responded to criticism of his plan for free college tuition, specifically about how it would impact historically black universities and colleges, half of which are private schools. The concern was initially raised by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., but has recently been backed by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., both Clinton supporters.

"We should make sure that public colleges and universities are tuition free, but in addition to that, we must sustain and strengthen the historically black colleges and universities, who do a phenomenal job today educating a significant number of young African-Americans," he told an audience member. "You have my word we will not only sustain, we will increase funding."

A young black woman asked Clinton about race relations. The woman said she had begun to wear her hair natural and felt people treated her differently because of it. Clinton responded by asking black mothers who had lost children to gun violence to stand up, calling them "the mothers of the movement."

"I think it's important for people, particularly for white people, to be honest about those [issues]," she said. "Our experiences may not equip us to understand what our African-American citizens go through every day."

Clinton eventually came around to answering the question about hairstyles. Clinton told the woman she had a "right to wear your hair any way you want to, that is your right. As someone who has had a lot of different hairstyles, I speak with some experience."

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