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<p>A South Carolina mother says her son was suspended for drawing a picture of a cartoon bomb at home and bringing it to school.</p> <p>Amy Parham told FoxCarolina.com her 13-year-old son, Rhett, was suspended from Hillcrest Middle School after showing the drawing to classmates, who reported him to administrators.</p>

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act eventually could cost the Aiken County School District from $300,000 to $400,000 a year, District Comptroller Tray Traxler told School Board members on Tuesday. Those costs are rough estimates based on the number of employees who may or could average 30 hours of service every week. Each employee formally added to the program could cost the District $3,000 to $6,000 annually as its contribution, depending on whether the employee has a child who qualifies. Probably the biggest headache for Traxler's department is the requirement that the District must provide continuous monitoring of such employees'...

You don't go on television during a shutdown and tell the world that your party is shutting down the government. You don't go out and take vicious shots at other Republicans for advocating the strategy your party is engaged in, especially when you don't have the cahones to go after Democrats the same way. If conservative Republicans like Justin Amash and Tim Huelskamp were punished for not being deferential enough to leadership, how is it that establishment Republicans can actively work to undermine the Republican Party during a shutdown fight and get a complete pass? If these mediocrities are so...

While organizers were setting up for the Aiken County Tea Party rally in The Alley on Saturday morning, Chairman Dr. Mike Vasovski noticed a pedestrian watching them while shaking his head in a disapproving manner. Vasovski noted his observation during the rally, stating there's nothing “sinister” about the Tea Party, and they're the simply the voice of the Conservative people. Those voices echoed throughout The Alley as several political candidates, and others spoke about how they believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, as well as what they think needs to be done to resolve the nation's problems....

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday he would not vote for a deal to reopen the government and raise the debt limit if it cannot attract support in the Republican-led House, arguing there is little point in claiming victory if a deal does not pass muster in the other chamber of Congress. If the deal cannot attract the majority of House Republicans, “that really does compromise Speaker Boehner’s leadership,” Mr. Graham told ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, adding he understands that defunding or delaying Obamacare is not a viable option. Mr. Graham said the last thing Mr. Boehner needs...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called on House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to work with House Speaker John Boehner to pass a grand bargain deal that would end the government shutdown, raise the debt ceiling, and protect Obamacare by not delaying or defunding it. On ABC News’ This Week, Graham said Ryan should team with Boehner to pass some kind of deal “that doesn’t delay or defund [Obamacare] but would be good government.” “That’s the best thing for the Republican Party and for the country,” Graham said. “But as between House and Senate Republicans, the sooner this is...

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has called President Obama a “pathetic leader” for his lack of involvement in negotiations to end the government shutdown. He slammed the president’s unwillingness to compromise with Republicans as “immature.” Today on America’s News HQ, Graham told anchor Doug McKelway, “For [Republicans] to suggest to the American people that we could defund ObamaCare or delay it for a year by shutting down the government, I think was unrealistic.” With the debt limit just four days away, Sen. Graham said, “I’m not going to vote for any deal coming out of the Senate that doesn’t have a...

The Republican Party is at war with itself. It's divided over how best to shrink the federal budget and how to undo President Obama's healthcare law. Behind the GOP crackup over the government shutdown lies a much bigger battle for control of the party. And the most important actors aren't Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and the tea party members of the House who brought us the government shutdown. The party rift's chief driver is a constellation of hard-line conservative fundraising groups, led in part by a former senator most Americans couldn't pick out of a lineup, Jim DeMint of South...

Last night, the organization formerly known as President Obama's reelection campaign, Organizing for Action, held an Obamacare event in Greenville, South Carolina. The event was called "Obamacare and You!" ...... Only two people, in addition to the two organizers, showed up

A father in South Carolina who fired his handgun in self-defense–and in the process killing an apparent innocent bystander–has successfully argued that he is not subject to criminal or civil liability under the state’s self-defense immunity law. South Carolina’s self-defense immunity statute–§16-11-450. Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil actions; law enforcement officer exception; costs.–is essentially identical to Florida’s self-defense immunity statute currently under legislative review (as covered by Legal Insurrection here)–§776.032. Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force. The Issue Is Self-Defense Immunity, Not “Stand Your Ground” As is frequently the case in Florida, news...

COLLETON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - An alert homeowner will not face charges after shooting and wounding a man who was trespassing on his property in Colleton County on Sunday night, authorities say. According to the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting happened at 1772 Smyly Road just before midnight. When they arrived, they spoke with the homeowner, who said he heard a noise coming from his shed and looked out the window to find an unknown person coming out of the shed with an object in his hand. The homeowner said he fired a warning shot, and when the suspect...

The Bright for Senate campaign is proud to accept the first official Tea Party group endorsement for any candidate in the upcoming US Senate primary. The upstate Senator has been strongly endorsed by the Kershaw County Patriots, a group “born out of the need to return to the foundations of our great nation,” according to a statement the KCP issued to the Bright Campaign. A video of their endorsement can be found by clicking here. “This is why we at the Kershaw County Patriots are endorsing Lee Bright for Senate,” proclaimed the group, adding that “Lee (Bright) has a proven...

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s campaign is said to be in “meltdown mode” based on internal polling done in the wake of his conflicted votes on Obamacare last week. Already vulnerable among GOP voters due to a host of ideological betrayals (including his support for energy tax hikes, internet tax hikes, amnesty for illegal aliens and domestic spying), Graham’s tortured “opposition” to Obamacare has reportedly caused his perilous position to erode even further. How much further? FITS was not provided with specific details on the poll – but one source close to Graham’s camp tells us the organization has been “temporarily...

Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Deputies are checking Midlands hospitals for someone with a gunshot wound after a would-be burglar broke into an armed 85-year-old woman’s residence early Sunday. The locked-and-loaded Kennerly Road woman said she was awakened by her dog barking at about 2:15 a.m. She said she grabbed her handgun and went to investigate. When she entered her dining room, she came face to face with an intruder, according to the incident report. The woman’s first reaction was to yell at the intruder, “What are you doing in my house?” She said the man didn’t budge nor answer her...

Rep. James E. Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat, said that the budget fights on the Hill are about undercutting President Obama and his presidency, not his landmark health care law. “This is about the president, not his program per se,” Mr. Clyburn, a member of the House Democratic leadership, said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Jansing & Co.”

(Daily Caller) President Barack Obama famously promised, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” He later got even more specific. “If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have,” Obama said. Read the full story › http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/28/ten-states-where-obamacare-wipes-out-existing-health-care-plans/

President Barack Obama famously promised, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” He later got even more specific.“If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have,” Obama said.But as Obamacare’s rollout approaches, we have learned this is not true. Here are the ten states where consumers may like their health care plans, but they won’t be able to...

On the Motion to Invoke Cloture on H.J. Res. 59 (Vote Number 206) - http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00206 - 25 republicans voted “yea”: Alexander (R-TN)-Up for re-election in 2014-needs to be primaried Cochran (R-MS)-Up for re-election in 2014-needs to be primaried Collins (R-ME)-Up for re-election in 2014-needs to be primaried Cornyn (R-TX)-Up for re-election in 2014-needs to be primaried Graham (R-SC)-Up for re-election in 2014-needs to be primaried McConnell (R-KY)-Up for re-election in 2014-needs to be primaried Chambliss (R-GA)-Retiring in 2014-needs to be replaced Johanns (R-NE)-Retiring in 2014-needs to be replaced Ayotte (R-NH) (not up for re-election) Barrasso (R-WY) (not up for re-election)...

Today, I proudly voted to Defund Obamacare, and I am proud that every Senate Republican has united in support of the House-passed Defund Obamacare provision. I only wish that more Senate Democrats, many of whom were responsible for Obamacare’s passage into law, would have voted with us. (NOTE: The amendment to remove the Defund Obamacare provision, which passed the House, was defeated by the Democrat-controlled Senate by a straight party-line vote of 44-54.) With Democrats in control of the Senate, we needed Democrats to join with the American people who want Obamacare stopped in its tracks. Based upon the Democrats...

South Carolina Republican Party September 25, 2013 A RESOLUTION OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SUPPORTING SENATOR TED CRUZ AND HIS EFFORTS IN THE U.S. SENATE TO DEFUND THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, ALSO KNOWN AS OBAMACARE, AND RESPECTFULLY APPEALING TO SOUTH CAROLINA’S SENIOR SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM AND SOUTH CAROLINA’S JUNIOR SENATOR TIM SCOTT, TO ACTIVELY AND ENTHUSIASTICALLY SUPPORT THE EFFORTS OF SENATOR CRUZ WHEREAS the South Carolina Republican Party Platform has been consistent for many years that health care should remain in the hands of citizens, not bureaucrats; and, WHEREAS the South Carolina Republican Party platform has...

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham may be in for a bumpy ride in his bid to secure a third term in November 2014, a new poll suggests. The Clemson University poll released Wednesday found that Mr. Graham enjoys far more tepid support among his fellow Republicans than other state GOP leaders, even as he faces a competitive primary against a trio of conservative challengers. Poll author David Woodard, a Clemson political scientist, found that just 53 percent of the 500 Republicans surveyed hold a favorable view of Mr. Graham, compared to 36 percent who had an unfavorable view. This stands...

COLUMBIA — Republican Gov. Nikki Haley has a strong backing for reelection next year among GOP voters, while U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham will need to convince people in his party to give him another term, according to a new Clemson University poll. Haley received favorable marks from 70 percent of 500 Republican voters who participated in two of the past three GOP primaries. Just 18 percent said they did not like the former Lexington lawmaker. Graham, who is facing competition from the libertarian wing of the party in the June primary, was liked by 53 percent of those polled. More...

WASHINGTON (JTA) – On a Saturday night following Shabbat, Nick Muzin arrayed on his dining room table what would turn out to be the winning strategy to elect the first black Republican to Congress from South Carolina in more than a century. The next night at the same table in his Charleston, S.C., home, Muzin hosted his weekly Talmud class. Associates say the duality typifies Muzin, the 37-year-old Orthodox Jewish dynamo now leading the effort by House Republicans to expand the party’s appeal following Mitt Romney’s loss to President Obama last November. The ascension of Tim Scott from the South...

20 Sep Republican Sen's Who Are UNDECIDED On Defunding Obamacare! Let's help them decide! Please RETWEET!! #DefundObamacare pic.twitter.com/xn8nG6Y9v6

Sen. Lindsey Graham is showing no signs of changing how he operates as he faces the biggest challenge of his political career.Willing to buck the public tide in South Carolina, Graham has backed military action against Syria, an immigration overhaul that sets a path to citizenship for some in the U.S. illegally and President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominees."I'm conservative, but I do not mind one bit working with the other side to build my country up," he says in speeches to conservatives. "I'm a Ronald Reagan Republican."His three Republican challengers are coming at him from the right, arguing that...

(Rep. Gowdy questions Adm. Mullen on the Accountability Review Board's limited scope and failure to interview key individuals, such as Secretary Clinton.) Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofDh5TNI9xI

Email from Kevin Thomas, Chairman, Fairfield County Republican Party: SCGOP Members, I hate having to write this email but my convictions make me feel obligated to do so. Last night the Fairfield County Republican Party, at a regular monthly meeting, voted 82% for and 18% against censuring U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham for his repeated comments and votes against our party platform. I know some of you are supporters of Senator Graham and others of you feel that censures are a waste of time. I once was a supporter of Senator Grahams, but when he time after time strays from our...

An eighth-grade history teacher in rural Campobello, S.C. allegedly gave a pop quiz on the Constitution this week that left the parents of one quiz taker highly irate. Specifically, the parents took issue with a quiz question involving gun rights, reports journalist Ben Swann at Benswann.com. They say the unnamed teacher erroneously marked their daughter’s answer wrong. The question was a hypothetical scenario: “Mr. Jones’ gun was confiscated at a police traffic stop, even though he had the proper permit and license of ownership of the gun.” The first sub-part to the question asked: “Is this situation Constitutional?” The second...

Bernie Sanders is heading to South Carolina next month. The independent U.S. senator from Vermont, and a self-described socialist, will be meeting with Palmetto State progressives and speaking at Penn Center, near Beaufort on Oct. 19. Sanders will give a speech to members of the South Carolina Progressive Network during the group's fall retreat. "We look forward to Senator Sanders sharing his vision for our nation with us," said Donna DeWitt, president of the South Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans, which is co-sponsoring the event. South Carolina is an early presidential primary state. Republicans like Rand Paul and Democrats like...

North Carolina has become the seventh state to prohibit state judges from considering Islamic law in family cases, joining what critics say is a national anti-Muslim campaign. ... North Carolina now joins Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee, according to Religion News Service, in banning Islamic Sharia law. A constitutional amendment seeking the same change in Alabama will be on the 2014 ballot. In Missouri, the governor vetoed an anti-Sharia bill because of its potential impact on international adoptions. But the law in Oklahoma was struck down in court as unconstitutional,

As the Benghazi scandal begins to heat up again, there appears to be some confirmation that CIA employees were required to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA) that would prohibit them from speaking with Congress. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) relayed what happened to one such employee who refused to sign the NDA. ... A CIA employee who refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement barring him from discussing the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, has been suspended as a result and forced to hire legal counsel, according to a top House lawmaker. Rep. Frank Wolf (R., Va.) revealed at an...

This summer produced a triumph of American patriotism. A grassroots coalition arose to demand Congress veto any war on Syria. Congress got the message and was ready to vote no to war, when President Obama seized upon Vladimir Putin’s offer to work together to disarm Syria of chemical weapons. The war America did not want — did not come. Lindsey Graham is determined that this does not happen again. The next war he and his collaborators are planning, the big one, the war on Iran, will not be blocked the same way. How does Graham propose to do this? He...

Last night we voted to be the second county in SC to censure Lindsey Graham. Who'll be next? https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bz_wzuVtPYRpZGdVNkhBYXZLZTA/edit?usp=sharing

The painstaking effort of a devoted husband on a mission to find a kidney donor for his sick wife has finally borne fruit! Larry Swilling of South Carolina grabbed eyeballs worldwide last year when he took to the roads with a sandwich board displaying the message 'NEED KIDNEY 4 WIFE' to search for an organ donor. - See more at: http://www.themedguru.com/articles/man-finds-donor-after-walking-message-need-kidney-4-wife-49444.html

Two Republican senators who are among President Barack Obama's sharpest foreign policy critics on Saturday blasted a Syrian chemical weapons agreement as "an act of provocative weakness" by America that will embolden enemies such as Iran as it continues its push for a nuclear weapon. The House Democratic leader said the deal, under which Syria will be expected to put its stockpile of chemical weapons under international control before they ultimately are destroyed, represented "significant progress" in efforts by the U.S. to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction. "What concerns us most is that our friends and enemies...

U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today released the following statement on the U.S.-Russian agreement on Syria: “What concerns us most is that our friends and enemies will take the same lessons from this agreement – they see it as an act of provocative weakness on America's part. We cannot imagine a worse signal to send to Iran as it continues its push for a nuclear weapon. “Without a U.N. Security Council Resolution under Chapter 7 authority, which threatens the use of force for non-compliance by the Assad regime, this framework agreement is meaningless. Assad will use...

A Charleston, S.C., family says they became suspicious of the babysitter after the dog started behaving aggressively toward her. A hidden recorder later caught the woman cursing and slapping the 7-month-old boy.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said Wednesday he considers his views on foreign policy to be “somewhere in between” the poles of libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and hawkish GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.). “I agree with Rand Paul that we should not intervene militarily in Syria, because it’s not in defense of our U.S. national security interests,” said Cruz during a question-and-answer session following a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. But, Cruz added, he also agrees “with John McCain that if Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons that we...

A 17-year-old high school student in South Carolina has been arrested and charged with burning a bunch of flags at the main entrance to a high school.At about 2:00 a.m. on Monday morning, the student, Nick Newell, allegedly burned the bevy of American flags in front of St. James High School, a public school not too far from Myrtle Beach, reports area ABC affiliate WPDE.A still surveillance shot released by the Horry County police shows someone dressed basically in dark black and gray storm trooper chic complete with what appears to be a gas mask. Several unburned flags are strewn...

A new Landmark/Rosetta Stone poll of the upcoming South Carolina senate primary, released last night, shows incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham to be facing a strong primary challenge in his bid for reelection next year. While Graham polls at 42 percent, that is well below the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. Should a runoff take place, he would run against the second place candidate, and if most of that other 58 percent unified behind the challenger, Graham could find himself being fired by Republican primary voters in his bid for another six-year term as South Carolina's Senior Senator. Aside...

Republican Senate primary challengers are looking to use Syria as wedge to gain traction in their bids to unseat GOP incumbents. [WATCH VIDEO] Against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), nearly every primary challenger has come out early and loud in opposition to military engagement in Syria. And nearly every senator facing a contested primary — aside from Graham, who has expressed support — is still undecided, a week after President Obama said he’d go to Congress for approval. The vote is one that could provide some much-needed...

Fox confirms Vice President Joe Biden will have dinner Sunday night with a group of GOP Senators who could be swayed on Syria. The topic of conversation is expected to be what the President needs to say in his Tuesday address.

Ten months out from his primary election against three different Tea Party candidates, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has dropped to below 50 percent in the polls, meaning he is particularly vulnerable to a runoff strategy conservatives have employed against him. Graham received just 42 percent of support from likely South Carolina GOP voters in an Aug. 25 poll of 500 likely GOP voters conducted by Landmark Communications and Rosetta Stone Communications, UnitedLiberty.org reports. “These numbers should be of concern to the Graham campaign. The senator fails to reach 50% of the vote against any of his opponents,” Rosetta Stone Communications...

CNSNews.com) -- Secretary of State John Kerry got into a heated exchange with Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) while appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday urging members to approve President Obama’s request to use military force in Syria. After Kerry made the administration’s case for military action in response to the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, Duncan responded: “I can’t discuss the possibility of U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil war without also talking about Benghazi. The administration has a serious credibility issue with the American people due to the unanswered questions surrounding the terrorist...

Senator weighs pushing for unpopular missile strike as his re-election opponents wait in the wings. As one of the leading advocates for bipartisan immigration reform, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had already firmly affixed himself to one cause deeply unpopular with conservatives heading into a re-election year. [POLL: Most Americans Oppose Military Strike in Syria] Now as a war-weary Congress weighs a military strike in Syria, he finds himself championing another policy that risks antagonizing the base. ... Next to Sen. John McCain, there's no more forceful and visible advocate for a muscular response... Nonetheless, as he seeks a third term...

At an invitation-only breakfast for establishment Republican types in Mount Pleasant, S.C. this week, Graham said that if America doesn’t take military action against the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon by the end of 2014. “I believe that if we get Syria wrong, within six months – and you can quote me on this – there will be a war between Iran and Israel over their nuclear program,” Graham said, according to U.S. News and World Report. But the fear-mongering didn’t stop there. Graham says this conflict will come home to – of...

As the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, Nancy Mace says she knows what it is like to be on the outside looking in. She was frequently ostracized by the males at the school. Mace, 35, would go on to graduate magna cum laude in three years and has since opened up a consulting business: The Mace Group. “I learned two things in that process as a woman in that environment: You could bend over backwards bending your value system, your principles and your beliefs, and change who you are as a person,” she said. “Or you could do...

...In her State of the State speech in January, Gov. Nikki R. Haley, a Republican, said, “South Carolina will not implement the public policy disaster that is Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.” And she boasted of her stance at a recent rally announcing her bid for re-election. “When it came to Obamacare,” she said, “we didn’t just say ‘no,’ we said ‘never.’ ” The reality, however, is more complex. South Carolina is working with obstetricians to reduce the number of babies with low birth weight and the need for neonatal intensive care. Medicaid officials recently adopted a policy refusing to pay for...

Once thought to be a sure bet for re-election, a new poll shows that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has seen his support fall among South Carolina Republicans, as his three primary challengers begin their campaigns against him. The poll, conducted by Landmark Communications and Rosetta Stone Communications, shows Graham at 42%, Lee Bright with 13%, Nancy Mace taking 10%, and Richard Cash at 7%. And though he fares better in head-to-head matchups against his primary challengers, Graham is still under 50%. “These numbers should be of concern to the Graham campaign. The senator fails to reach 50% of the vote...

<p>GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (CBS Charlotte/AP) — South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he’s convinced that Syrian President Assad used chemical weapons on his own people.</p> <p>Graham told reporters in Goose Creek on Tuesday that taking action against Syria in response to the situation is not a question of yes or no, but rather a question of bad or worse choices.</p>