Lee Bright comments on Nancy Mace ties to FITS News

[supermario21]

http://www.free-times.com/blogs/ties-to-fitsnews-a-campaign-issue-for-graham-challenger

By Stephen Largen

A Lindsey Graham challenger’s one-time ties to controversial Columbia blogger Will Folks are quickly becoming a campaign issue. Republican Nancy Mace of Charleston, who announced a GOP primary bid against Graham last week, runs a PR and marketing firm. Until earlier this year, Mace also was a co-owner of FITSNews.com. The Folks-run site is perhaps best known for claims he made during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign of an “inappropriate physical relationship” several years earlier with Nikki Haley, then a state representative from Lexington. Haley went on to become governor despite the allegations, and Folks became persona non grata to her administration and supporters. State Sen. Lee Bright, who rolled out a campaign website on Tuesday, is expected soon to formally enter the race to unseat Graham. Bright is a libertarian-leaning Republican from Spartanburg County. He will be competing with Mace for the affections of disaffected GOP activists hoping to oust Graham. Bright said in an interview with Free Times that Mace’s one-time work with Folks is an issue.

“There are a lot of folks that are loyal to the governor that will have a problem supporting her,” he said. Informed of Bright’s comments, Mace responded thusly: “To me, it’s just ironic to be criticized by someone who’s part of the conservative movement. I’m not going to reply in kind.” Mace did say that she never had any editorial control over FITSNews, with her role confined solely to design and clerical support. She said she was compensated with an “equity stake” in the site. Folks said Mace’s job since he began working with her in about 2007 was technical support and marketing of the site. “She did an amazing job,” he said. “In exchange for that, she had some ownership.”

Folks said Mace’s compensation took that form because he couldn’t afford to pay her at the time. Mace said she sold her stake in the site back to Folks during the spring. At the time, speculation was already ramping up that Mace intended to run against Graham. Chris Haire of the Charleston City Paper argued last weekend that Mace’s former association with FITSNews is her biggest campaign obstacle. While that remains to be seen, Mace likely will be forced to keep answering questions about her role with the site.

 

[tsai3904]

Seems like the only comment Bright made was "“There are a lot of folks that are loyal to the governor that will have a problem supporting her.”

That doesn't sound like an attack.

 

[angelatc]

I guess Nikki Haley won't be endorsing her.

 

[supermario21]

Seems like the only comment Bright made was "“There are a lot of folks that are loyal to the governor that will have a problem supporting her.”

That doesn't sound like an attack.

That's what I was feeling, though FITS and the original tweet linking to it seemed to indicate it as such. It's frustrating Bright's first headline worthy comments are directed at Mace, not Graham.

 

[angelatc]

That's what I was feeling, though FITS and the original tweet linking to it seemed to indicate it as such. It's frustrating Bright's first headline worthy comments are directed at Mace, not Graham.

Is that a real paper? ANd in any event, they didn't use the word "attack." That's all you.

 

[supermario21]

Eva Moore ‏@yesevamoore 31m
Sen. Lee Bright calls out Nancy Mace for ties to @fitsnews. (Both are likely Lindsey Graham challengers.) http://www.free-times.com/blogs/ties-to-fitsnews-a-campaign-issue-for-graham-challenger …

Calls out can be sort of labeled as an attack. She wrote it, and works for the newspaper which posted this article.

FITS is sort of a blog/political entertainment site.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Lee Bright attacks Nancy Mace over ties to FITS News

You are attempting to create division and controversy with that thread title, just as much as the establishment pukes.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Calls out can be sort of labeled as an attack. She wrote it, and works for the newspaper which posted this article.

FITS is sort of a blog/political entertainment site.

That label came from some random jerk on Twitter.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Calls out can be sort of labeled as an attack. She wrote it, and works for the newspaper which posted this article.

FITS is sort of a blog/political entertainment site.

That was the only tweet on this subject. How did you end up immediately creating a thread about it?

 

[supermario21]

That was the only tweet on this subject. How did you end up immediately creating a thread about it?

Will Folks of FITS retweeted the article/original tweet post.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Will Folks of FITS retweeted the article/original tweet post.

I see that he retweeted that one tweet on the subject. But his site also ran an article about it. A controversial article attempting to create a divide between Mace and Bright, which then goes on to talk more about Folks and Haley.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Seems like the only comment Bright made was "“There are a lot of folks that are loyal to the governor that will have a problem supporting her.”

That doesn't sound like an attack.

Yeah, that appears to be all he said. And it is totally without context. Who knows how that was prompted by the reporter? Maybe Bright was restating something the reporter said that was more inflammatory?

So then the reporter translates that to "Sen. Lee Bright calls out Nancy Mace".

Another "news site" refers to the article and says "Lee Bright Bashes Nancy Mace".

Than our thread here says "Lee Bright attacks Nancy Mace".

Sounds like a lot of hyperbole and attempts to cause trouble.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

I was going to come into the thread to express disappointment with Bright, but instead found a misleading thread title describing a misleading article. Aren't we better than this?

 

[supermario21]

Lol now the twitter war is getting interesting. Folks is coming under attack from Curtis Bostic's son (remember him) lol. I think Folks may actually be a liability for Mace in this race if he doesn't keep quiet. He mocked Lee Bright's "comment" about Mace by asking "if Jesus told him to say that."

 

[GunnyFreedom]

How about both sides attack Graham instead of each other? This is stupid and will result in Graham's reelection. The ultimate goal here is to keep Graham under 50%, either Bright or Mace in second, and enough goodwill so that Bright and Mace's voters can crossover when that happens.

Some folks need new advisors...

 

[compromise]

Folks is a libertine seeking to stir up trouble.

 

[supermario21]

How about both sides attack Graham instead of each other? This is stupid and will result in Graham's reelection. The ultimate goal here is to keep Graham under 50%, either Bright or Mace in second, and enough goodwill so that Bright and Mace's voters can crossover when that happens.

Some folks need new advisors...

That's what I'm worried about. If you read the gossip/chatter on twitter, it looks like a 3 way shouting match between those supporting Bright, Mace, and Cash, with almost nobody aiming anything at Graham.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

That's what I'm worried about. If you read the gossip/chatter on twitter, it looks like a 3 way shouting match between those supporting Bright, Mace, and Cash, with almost nobody aiming anything at Graham.

Well, we need to find out who in the frell is instigating that and ask why they are helping Lindsey Graham get reelected.

 

[supermario21]

Well, we need to find out who in the frell is instigating that and ask why they are helping Lindsey Graham get reelected.

The instigator appears to be Sic Willie himself. All it's going to do is force Mace to come clean on topics which she'd probably rather avoid..Any time something somewhat negative about Mace or FITS comes up Willie has been accusing them of being Cash supporters, or in the case of Lee Bright, mocking Jesus.

 

[supermario21]

Here is some more FITS gossip. This race will be a comedy show before it's over.

http://www.fitsnews.com/2013/08/07/lee-bright-bashes-nancy-mace/

S.C. Sen. Lee Bright (R-Spartanburg) is bashing fellow Republican U.S. Senate candidate Nancy Mace for her association with FITSNews, reporter Stephen Largen of The (Columbia, S.C.) Free Times is reporting. According to the Upstate lawmaker, Mace will find herself at a disadvantage in running for the Senate due to her former role with the controversial website (which you happen to be reading now).

Both Mace and Bright have announced their intentions to challenge incumbent “Republican in Name Only” Lindsey Graham in a GOP primary race for the U.S. Senate seat he has held since 2003. Social conservative Richard Cash, an attorney from Piedmont, S.C., is also running against Graham – while former State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel and former GOP lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Bill Connor have also expressed an interest in the seat.

In the battle to become South Carolina’s “anti-Graham,” Bright is coming out swinging – saying Mace will have difficulty winning the support of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and her followers due to her proximity to FITS, a leading critic of the “Republican” governor and her big-spending allies at the S.C. State House.

“There are a lot of folks that are loyal to the governor that will have a problem supporting her,” Bright told Largen, referring to Mace’s association with FITS.

Really? Last time we checked Haley wasn’t especially enthralled with Bright, either.

Mace wasn’t taking the bait …

“It’s just ironic to be criticized by someone who’s part of the conservative movement,” she told Largen. “I’m not going to reply in kind.”

Mace’s association with FITS was also the subject of a story in last week’s editions of The (Charleston, S.C.) City Paper – another left-leaning weekly alternative publication. That report delved deeply into FITS founding editor Will Folks’ 2007 affair with Haley – which many believe was part of an elaborate plot to help get her elected.

“A one-time spokesman for former Gov. Mark Sanford, Folks claimed that in 2007 he made out with Haley in her SUV after a drinking session,” the paper noted. “He also claimed that their “physical relationship” continued throughout the spring of that year. Haley denied the allegations, although her campaign chief Tom Pearson indicated in exchanges with Folks and others that the allegations, at least in some form, were possibly true.”

Wait … possibly?

In addition to text messages and phone logs showing numerous late night calls between himself and the governor, Folks also signed a sworn affidavit attesting to the veracity of his claim (one which has since been submitted in at least one deposition).

Haley has refused to sign an affidavit, although she may soon get a chance to set the record straight. Not long ago, the governor was referenced as the “other woman” in a pending divorce trial in Richland County, S.C. And while we don’t expect her to be hauled into court (governors are usually exempted from that sort of thing) we do expect an effort to be made to depose her.

Additionally, Haley has also not only failed to sue over the allegations made against her – she’s refused an offer of free legal assistance from one of the most prestigious law firms in the state (an offer brokered by her own father-in-law).

Anyway, more than three years later there is still plenty of ill will emanating from the Haley camp toward FITS – and presumably toward Mace as well.

In 2013, Haley refused to support S.C. Sen. Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley) in his bid for the U.S. Congress because it was rumored Mace was providing him with campaign assistance (she wound up staying out of that race).

“Will Folks is attacking my family,” Haley told Grooms during a meeting at the S.C. Governor’s Mansion in December. “Anyone with Will Folks is attacking my family.”

Haley is also accused of forcing U.S. Sen. Tim Scott to sever his professional association with Mace as one of the conditions of appointing him to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jim DeMint last December. Scott did so, concluding his business relationship with Mace in January of this year.

According to our moles at the S.C. State House, Mace and Haley reportedly met face-to-face in the governor’s office at some point in the spring of 2013 in an effort to resolve their differences – although it is unclear what came of that meeting. In fact at this point neither Mace nor Haley has publicly confirmed such a meeting even took place.

It’s also unclear what sort of impact Haley’s involvement in the race would have …

Once a darling of the S.C. Tea Party movement, the governor has seen her standing amongst fiscal conservatives plummet precipitously – although her support for rampant government growth and crony capitalist economic development deals have made her wildly popular with establishment Republicans (i.e. the sort of GOP voters who support Graham).