Razmear
09-22-2008, 06:46 PM
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/sep/22/conley_tries_pull_off_major_upset55346/
Conley tries to pull off major upset
Democrat says he takes Jeffersonian approach
By Robert Behre (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Monday, September 22, 2008
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Conley doesn't argue when someone suggests he has more in common politically with former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul than with his own party's leaders.
Bob Conley
The Post and Courier
Bob Conley
Conley's populist, America-first rhetoric is also similar to another politician from Horry County: former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride, who announced his own plans to run for the Senate but didn't get on the ballot.
Conley previously ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for an Indiana state House seat and supports Republican positions on abortion and same-sex marriage. He also said he wants to secure the United States-Mexico border and deny amnesty to those who are in this country without proper permission.
And he supports the Fair Tax, a sweeping plan to replace all federal taxes with a national sales tax.
Conley also said he wants to push for energy independence and supports offshore drilling, an issue that has received support from his Republican opponent, incumbent Lindsey Graham.
"If the people of South Carolina want to drill offshore, the federal government shouldn't stand in the way of that," Conley said.
But he couldn't be more different from Graham when it comes to foreign policy. Like Paul, Conley supports removing all U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We continue to call for a redeployment and an end to these crazy occupations and this empire which is really bleeding America dry," he said.
Conley, a pilot and flight instructor whose 1960s-era crew cut has earned him the moniker "Flat Top Bob," said he is proud that his campaign cannot easily be pigeon-holed.
"I think we're putting together a really interesting and diverse coalition, and it really is a return to Jeffersonian principles," he said. "We're going to talk to people of every stripe and background: Democrats Republicans, Libertarians, vegetarians."
Conley has raised less than 1 percent of that money that his Republican opponent has raised. Most of that money has been spent on gas as Conley estimates he and his driver have logged about 15,000 miles since July, enough miles to crisscross the state 60 times.
He said he would love to debate Graham in person, but the only debate on tap is one that SCETV has scheduled for Oct. 29. "He's ashamed to come down here and face the people," Conley said of his opponent.
"Once we get outside urban areas in South Carolina, our message resonates very well with the rank and file," he said. "It's only what you would call the establishment or the elitists who have been taking issues with us."
Conley was almost as quick to condemn South Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler for her recent comment that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's primary qualification for the vice presidency was "seems to be that she hasn't had an abortion ..."
This kind of behavior hasn't endeared him to the party's rank and file. Conley's Democratic primary opponent, Mount Pleasant lawyer Michael Cone, said he won't vote for Conley on Nov. 4.
"He wouldn't know the first thing about connecting with Democrats, having never been a Democrat," Cone said. "All of his ideas about liberals have been fed to him by radio talk show hosts."
But Conley is confident of his chances on Nov. 4.
"We're still going to knock this boy out," he said.
SideBar:
BOB CONLEY
PARTY: Democrat.
BIRTHDATE: Sept. 6, 1965.
FAMILY: Single.
EDUCATION: B.S. in civil and mechanical engineering from Tri-State University, attended graduate school at University of Toledo.
OCCUPATION: Professional engineer, pilot and flight instructor.
PREVIOUS ELECTED OFFICE: None.
SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: "That they have a constitutionalist as an alternative to Lindsey Olin Graham. I am a true Jeffersonian Democrat."
NAME A SPECIFIC GOAL: "The specific goal is to win the U.S. Senate."
Conley tries to pull off major upset
Democrat says he takes Jeffersonian approach
By Robert Behre (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Monday, September 22, 2008
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Conley doesn't argue when someone suggests he has more in common politically with former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul than with his own party's leaders.
Bob Conley
The Post and Courier
Bob Conley
Conley's populist, America-first rhetoric is also similar to another politician from Horry County: former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride, who announced his own plans to run for the Senate but didn't get on the ballot.
Conley previously ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for an Indiana state House seat and supports Republican positions on abortion and same-sex marriage. He also said he wants to secure the United States-Mexico border and deny amnesty to those who are in this country without proper permission.
And he supports the Fair Tax, a sweeping plan to replace all federal taxes with a national sales tax.
Conley also said he wants to push for energy independence and supports offshore drilling, an issue that has received support from his Republican opponent, incumbent Lindsey Graham.
"If the people of South Carolina want to drill offshore, the federal government shouldn't stand in the way of that," Conley said.
But he couldn't be more different from Graham when it comes to foreign policy. Like Paul, Conley supports removing all U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We continue to call for a redeployment and an end to these crazy occupations and this empire which is really bleeding America dry," he said.
Conley, a pilot and flight instructor whose 1960s-era crew cut has earned him the moniker "Flat Top Bob," said he is proud that his campaign cannot easily be pigeon-holed.
"I think we're putting together a really interesting and diverse coalition, and it really is a return to Jeffersonian principles," he said. "We're going to talk to people of every stripe and background: Democrats Republicans, Libertarians, vegetarians."
Conley has raised less than 1 percent of that money that his Republican opponent has raised. Most of that money has been spent on gas as Conley estimates he and his driver have logged about 15,000 miles since July, enough miles to crisscross the state 60 times.
He said he would love to debate Graham in person, but the only debate on tap is one that SCETV has scheduled for Oct. 29. "He's ashamed to come down here and face the people," Conley said of his opponent.
"Once we get outside urban areas in South Carolina, our message resonates very well with the rank and file," he said. "It's only what you would call the establishment or the elitists who have been taking issues with us."
Conley was almost as quick to condemn South Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler for her recent comment that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's primary qualification for the vice presidency was "seems to be that she hasn't had an abortion ..."
This kind of behavior hasn't endeared him to the party's rank and file. Conley's Democratic primary opponent, Mount Pleasant lawyer Michael Cone, said he won't vote for Conley on Nov. 4.
"He wouldn't know the first thing about connecting with Democrats, having never been a Democrat," Cone said. "All of his ideas about liberals have been fed to him by radio talk show hosts."
But Conley is confident of his chances on Nov. 4.
"We're still going to knock this boy out," he said.
SideBar:
BOB CONLEY
PARTY: Democrat.
BIRTHDATE: Sept. 6, 1965.
FAMILY: Single.
EDUCATION: B.S. in civil and mechanical engineering from Tri-State University, attended graduate school at University of Toledo.
OCCUPATION: Professional engineer, pilot and flight instructor.
PREVIOUS ELECTED OFFICE: None.
SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: "That they have a constitutionalist as an alternative to Lindsey Olin Graham. I am a true Jeffersonian Democrat."
NAME A SPECIFIC GOAL: "The specific goal is to win the U.S. Senate."