South Carolina, on many levels, has not emerged from the Robert Penn Warren/William Faulkner era of race and political struggle. So we’re looking at these cases of alleged sham candidacies down in the state that Rep. Clyburn (D) was talking about yesterday. And the first rock we turned over we’ve found that the allegedly sham candidate running against Clyburn was paying a consultant tied to uber-winger Rep. Joe “You Lie” Wilson (R). And the one guy who gave him money also contributed to McCain. So since this guy was running in a Democratic primary, I’d say that pretty good prima facie evidence that Clyburn was on to something, at least about that guy.

We’ll have the piece for you shortly.

LA Log Cabin Republicans announce “tea bagging” tea bag toss contest with open-mouthed Jerry Brown, Pelosi and Palin likenesses to toss into.

After telling reporters that the Bush tax cuts aren’t what created our deficits, the House Minority Leader lays out a Bush-like plan for economic recovery.

If I’m understanding this correctly, the new cap and suck system down on the sea floor is working very well and sucking up a huge amount of oil each day. But now we’re finding out that the amount still going into the ocean is as much and perhaps more than we thought was the total amount like last week. As the AFP puts it, “A containment device fitted last week is now capturing 15,800 barrels a day, but the latest data suggests at least 4,200 barrels and possibly up to 25,000 barrels — more than a million gallons — are still spewing into the sea each day.”

Analysts at BofA say a “conservative estimate” for BP’s total liability is $28 billion dollars. That, I think, is what this Chamber of Commerce/Boehner thing is all about. That includes a lot more than the narrow clean-up expenses. And even for BP that’s real money.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) concedes to Jon Stewart that he doesn’t have what it takes to be elected President: “I don’t have a billion dollars. I don’t have novelty. I don’t have a big schtick.” Watch.

I guess I should start scouting office space in South Carolina because at this rate it’s only a matter of time before we’re forced to launch TPMSC.

The latest development down there is that one of the three Democratic primary candidates who Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) fingered yesterday as likely “plants” hired a GOP consulting firm that happens to be run by a guy who until recently had been a congressional aide and campaign manager to Rep. Joe “You Lie” Wilson (R-SC).

Suspicious? So are we. Here’s our report.

Here’s an example of the tight and perhaps impossible balance Blanche Lincoln has to pull off over the next six months.

Here’s her telling the main in-state paper that she wasn’t the deciding vote on Health Care Reform while she simultaneously has an ad running in which she says she cast “the deciding vote to pass health care reform.”

In all the back and forth yesterday over who pays for the Gulf oil spill, remember the particular issue got started by statements made last Friday by Thomas Donohue, President and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber just released another statement clarifying those comments … Read More

Gov. Charlie Crist (I) vetoes anti-abortion law in Florida.