I’m inclined to say nothing good ever comes out of fights over Charleston Harbor. But South Carolina TPM Reader DP gives us some background on what’s at stake for South Carolina in this fight …
When looking at it from a distance, Senator Graham looks like a moron for pledging to “tie the Senate in knots” over $50,000, but this is about much more than a study. In summary, the study and deepening project for the harbor are arguably the most important economic issue in the state. Graham’s quote of 260,000 jobs being impacted are real from everything I have read. It’s also involves about $2.1 billion dollar in wages if I recall correctly.
The problem, as I understand it, is the state won’t fund the study and most certainly won’t fund the estimated $315 million needed for the project. (I think those numbers are reasonably accurate but could be off.) That’s ridiculous I know for state officials to be so reckless, but it’s just par for the course for our new tea partying governor, Nikki Haley, and an emboldened Republican state legislature. If the project is not done, then the larger ships passing through the Panama Canal will go to Savannah, GA instead of Charleston and will cripple the state economically. It needs to be noted that the Obama administration has already approved funding for the Savannah harbor (at least a study if not actual improvements).
I’m about as far left as one can get and am certainly no fan of Senator Graham, but he’s fighting for the economic future of his state when his colleagues (federal and local) are willing to let it fail. And you can be rest assured Democrats, Republicans, and everything in between will remember his efforts, whether he’s successful or not.
