Tom Ravenel Convicts Himself in Interview

Self-serving whining.

That's what greeted Sunday's readers of the P & C as they read its interview with former State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, smartly splashed all over the front page for maximum publicity.

Let Thomas speak for himself:

"Ravenel remains angry that he has to go to prison at all. If the case had been pursued in state court rather than at the federal level, he and his legal team contend he probably would have gotten a slap on the wrist and no incarceration time at all."

"I think what happened to me is that I went through a midlife crisis."

"[He] began running with the drug crowd because they were young."

"Contrary to public opinion, [cocaine]'s not that addictive," he said.

"He knows that he did wrong by using drugs while in elected office but says he deserved a break from federal Judge Joe Anderson."

"A first-time drug user should not go to prison," said Ravenel.

"His habit was mostly recreational, he says, buying sporadically and saving it for party times, although he said the frequency of his use increased."

A first-time user? Is he kidding? Not addictive? Really? Didn't get a break? Wasn't the amount he was charged with holding reduced from 400 to 100 grams?

Believe it or not, this whiner is so arrogant that he plans to run for office again in the future.

UPDATE:
Either The State's reporter asked more pointed questions in Columbia Wednesday than the P & C's, or The State was more interested in printing details (provided by Tom himself) of his usage:

He said the first time he used cocaine was during a trip to the Bahamas when he was 18 and a rising senior at St. Andrews High School.

At The Citadel, Ravenel used “a couple of times.”

Then, “I went 15 years without doing it” until a 1999 vacation in Aruba.

He told investigators he did not use again until a 2002 New Year’s Eve party.

By the spring of 2005, when he was in his downward spiral, Ravenel began hosting and attending parties in his Charleston mansion district where cocaine was common.

“Here, have a little bump,” he said other users would tell him. “Next thing you know, it’s ‘Do you have a bump?’ Then, ‘Let’s go buy a bump.’ That’s how it happened.

Does this mean we have the whole story now?

Not Just a River in Egypt

He's not an addict and has never been treated for mental or drug abuse problems.

Well, that's a relief! We were so worried about his drug rehab program! His appearances in court and postponed pleas were for a trendy vacation in Arizona? That explains everything--except why Ravenel's lawyer wasn't more careful briefing him about what to say or why the judge didn't call that lawyer on the carpet for lying to get a postponement.

It would be pitiful if it weren't so self-serving.

And, speaking of self-serving, what gives with the lame coverage of this story by the P &C? How often does a state treasurer campaign with cocaine parties? From the response of our local paper, you might almost get the idea that such events are pro forma. In fact, the editors seem to have a serious lack of curiosity regarding the whole sorry mess, much of which obviously happened locally.

I'm not much on conspiracy theories, but in that same vein, how could the judge who let Pasquale Pellicoro out on bail be so stupid as to not take his passport? Such actions are taken routinely, even for those holding U.S. passports.

Those of you expecting the return of this Italian citizen from Switzerland any time in the 21st century--well, my bridge in Brooklyn is still for sale.

Reasons Not to ELECT State Treasurers

Thomas Ravenel!

Take the political big names and the millionaires out of the state treasurer's office. It's the TREASURER, for pete's sake! Let the elected governor be responsible for who's treasurer. Lots of states do it.

Look what the State Treasurer does:

Agency Services Accounting Banking
Court Revenues Deferred Compensation Automated Deposit System Investments Debt Management

Other ServicesMini Bonds Outstanding Check Search Electronic Vendor Payment Inquiries

Why would we want a "politician" in this position?

The South: Who Is Related to Whom?

The old saying goes, at least about Southern politics (and South Carolina is certainly no exception!), that you really don't know what's going on unless you know "who is related to whom," that is, what are the strong family connections that help to explain the successful political careers of individuals. Take Paul Thurmond, for example. If his last name wasn't Thurmond, would he have been taken seriously as a candidate, much less have been elected, to the Charleston County Council? Or, should I digress on the Ravenel family's grip on many aspects of South Carolina politics, now including even the CCSD?

Even those voters who did not grow up in the South (and their numbers are becoming legion in the state) can recognize these aspects of the "old boy" network, especially the famous last names, but myriad not-so-visible connections remain that are not well-known to transplants unaccustomed to thinking about family connections or even to those Southerners who do not travel in political circles. Think of them as spiders' webs.

Don't misunderstand me. These connections that grease the wheels of politics are not bad because they exist. I'm sure such webs have always existed and always will. In the days when everyone knew everyone else, such connections were a factor in everyone's vote. Today such is not the case.

So when I saw the Newsless Courier's "Know Your State Lawmakers" section this Sunday, I thought, "Good. Finally some factual information." S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell is profiled along with a brief bio and several questions posed by Yvonne Wenger. My favorite is "What are your political ambitions?" Now, that is a fair question. The problem is that the reporter treats Harrell's more obvious political connections that got him where he is today as though he had none.

What could they be???

Certainly being "Junior" hasn't hurt him anymore than it has hurt Strom Thurmond, Jr., a more famous name. To whit, the Robert Harrell Bridge at I-526 and US17 west of the Ashley named for Harrell, Sr., "Whereas, he has been especially active in transportation matters and [. . .] was instrumental in the development of I-526 known as the Mark Clark Expressway and twice served as a South Carolina Highway Commissioner from the First Congressional District." He is also one of the controversial second-term appointees to SCDOT, whom the courts recently struck down.

Family--just can't do without it.

UPDATE: Sunday, January 28th--the latest profile is of conservative Republican Jim Merrill of Daniel Island. Now, Merrill is from Florida according to his bio, but his wife's maiden name is Gaillard. Now, what are the chances that she is related to the former mayor? Nothing wrong with that; however, it makes my point.