Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee s Legislative Scorecard (2012)

The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, which describes its mission as to "support shrinking the size and influence of government" and to "support decreased spending and lower taxes," released a scorecard for South Carolina state legislators in 2012. The scorecard gave each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the two-year legislative term prior to the election.[1][2]

## Contents

* 1 2012 Scorecard
* 1.1 House of Representatives
* 1.2 Senate
* 1.3 Complete lists
* 2 Methodology
* 3 External links
* 4 Footnotes

## 2012 Scorecard[edit]

### House of Representatives[edit]

The 2012 House Scorecard showed how South Carolina state representatives voted during the 2011-12 legislative term. The PAC described the 15 "key votes" for representatives in the scorecard in the following terms.[3]

“  |

1. Solar energy tax credit
2. Land Conservation Bank
3. International Energy Conservation Code
4. Banning cell phones
5. Barber licensing
6. Targeted tax break
7. Strengthening FOIA
8. Hybrid car tax credit
9. Corporate economic incentives
10. Governor and Lt. Gov. on the same ticket
11. Tim Tebow equal access act
12. SCRA board change
13. Tax credits for tire manufacturers
14. State retirement reform gone bad
15. Largest budget in state history[4]

| ”

|
|

The Palmetto Liberty PAC supported "no" votes on all the bills except the bills strengthening FOIA and putting the governor and lieutenant governor on the same ticket. All representatives were given a percentage score according to how many votes they gave in line with the committee’s principles, with 100% showing that a representative voted in complete agreement with the Palmetto Liberty PAC for all 15 key votes.[3]

In the South Carolina House of Representatives, Representatives Joshua A. Putnam (R) and Bill Chumley (R) scored the highest out of all representatives with 54% and 53% respectively. Among the remaining representatives, four scored 47%, two scored 40%, 13 scored 33%, one scored 31%, 25 scored 27%, 29 scored 20%, 30 scored 13%, 16 scored 7%, and two scored 0%.[3]

### Senate[edit]

The 2012 Senate Scorecard showed how South Carolina state senators voted during the 2011-2012 term. The PAC described the 17 "key votes" for senators in the scorecard in the following terms.[5]

“  |

1. Mandatory electronics recycling
2. The peoples’ restructuring
3. Unemployment benefits reform
4. International Energy Conservation Code
5. Corporate economic incentives
6. Hybrid car tax credit
7. Land Conservation Bank
8. Bonds for ports
9. Governor and Lt. Gov. on the same ticket
10. SCRA board change
11. Incumbent protection
12. Common Core Curriculum
13. State retirement reform gone bad
14. Taxpayer rebate fund
15. Economic development and universities
16. Tax credits for tire manufacturers
17. Largest budget in state history[4]

| ”

|
|

The Palmetto Liberty PAC supported "no" votes on all the bills except the bills listed as 9, 11, and 14 above. Full descriptions of all legislation can be found on the Palmetto Liberty PAC Senate Scorecard.

All senators were given a percentage score according to how many votes they gave in line with the committee’s principles, with 100% showing that a senator voted in complete agreement with the Palmetto Liberty PAC for all 17 key votes.[5]

In the South Carolina State Senate, Senators Lee Bright (R), Kevin L. Bryant (R), and Tom Davis (R) scored the highest out of all senators with 82%, 76%, and 71% respectively. Among the remaining senators, two scored 59%, one scored 53%, two scored 47%, three scored 41%, two scored 35%, two scored 29%, three scored 24%, five scored 18%, five scored 12%, 11 scored 6%, and six scored 0%.[5]

### Complete lists[edit]

Click [show] in order to expand the tables below with the full lists of rankings by legislator.

House Scores

Rank | Party | Representative | 2012 Score %
1 |  Republican | Joshua A. Putnam | 54
2 |  Republican | Bill Chumley | 53
3 |  Republican | Eric Bedingfield | 47
4 |  Republican | Tom Corbin | 47
5 |  Republican | Marion Frye | 47
6 |  Republican | Garry Smith | 47
7 |  Republican | Wendy Nanney | 40
8 |  Republican | Lewis Pinson | 40
9 |  Republican | Alan D. Clemmons | 33
10 |  Republican | Dan Hamilton | 33
11 |  Republican | Dwight Loftis | 33
12 |  Republican | Ralph W. Norman | 33
13 |  Republican | Phillip Owens | 33
14 |  Republican | Kevin R. Ryan | 33
15 |  Republican | Gary Simrill | 33
16 |  Republican | B. R. Skelton | 33
17 |  Republican | Tommy Stringer | 33
18 |  Republican | William Taylor | 33
19 |  Republican | David Tribble Jr | 33
20 |  Republican | Bill Whitmire | 33
21 |  Republican | Tom Young | 33
22 |  Republican | Edward Southard | 31
23 |  Republican | Merita Ann Allison | 27
24 |  Republican | Bruce Bannister | 27
25 |  Republican | Liston Barfield | 27
26 |  Republican | Boyd Brown | 27
27 |  Republican | Derham Cole, Jr. | 27
28 |  Republican | Bill Crosby | 27
29 |  Republican | Mike Forrester | 27
30 |  Republican | Michael Gambrell | 27
31 |  Republican | Nelson Hardwick | 27
32 |  Republican | Phyllis Henderson | 27
33 |  Republican | Davey Hiott | 27
34 |  Republican | Bill Hixon | 27
35 |  Republican | Jenny Horne | 27
36 |  Democratic | John Richard C. King | 27
37 |  Republican | Chip Limehouse | 27
38 |  Republican | Phillip Lowe | 27
39 |  Republican | Dennis C. Moss | 27
40 |  Republican | Steve Moss | 27
41 |  Republican | Steve Parker | 27
42 |  Republican | Bill Sandifer III | 27
43 |  Republican | George Smith Jr. | 27
44 |  Republican | J. Roland Smith | 27
45 |  Republican | Mike Sottile | 27
46 |  Republican | Eddie Tallon | 27
47 |  Republican | Anne Thayer | 27
48 |  Republican | Todd Atwater | 20
49 |  Republican | Kenneth Bingham | 20
50 |  Republican | Don Bowen | 20
51 |  Republican | Joan Brady | 20
52 |  Republican | Doug Brannon | 20
53 |  Republican | Joseph Daning | 20
54 |  Republican | F. Gregory "Greg" Delleney, Jr. | 20
55 |  Democratic | Chandra Dillard | 20
56 |  Republican | Shannon Erickson | 20
57 |  Republican | Bobby Harrell, Jr. | 20
58 |  Democratic | Jackie Hayes | 20
59 |  Republican | George Hearn | 20
60 |  Republican | Bill Herbkersman | 20
61 |  Republican | Chip Huggins | 20
62 |  Republican | Deborah Long | 20
63 |  Republican | James Lucas | 20
64 |  Republican | Peter McCoy | 20
65 |  Democratic | Joseph McEachern | 20
66 |  Republican | Chris Murphy | 20
67 |  Democratic | James Neal | 20
68 |  Republican | Andy Patrick | 20
69 |  Republican | Michael Pitts | 20
70 |  Republican | Tommy Pope | 20
71 |  Democratic | Ronnie Sabb | 20
72 |  Democratic | James E. Smith, Jr. | 20
73 |  Republican | Lawrence Kit Spires | 20
74 |  Republican | McLain Toole | 20
75 |  Republican | Brian White | 20
76 |  Republican | Mark Willis | 20
77 |  Democratic | Paul Agnew | 13
78 |  Democratic | Karl Allen | 13
79 |  Democratic | Michael Anthony | 13
80 |  Democratic | Jimmy Bales | 13
81 |  Republican | Nathan Ballentine | 13
82 |  Democratic | James Battle, Jr. | 13
83 |  Democratic | William Bowers | 13
84 |  Democratic | Lester Branham, Jr. | 13
85 |  Democratic | Mia Butler Garrick | 13
86 |  Democratic | William Clyburn Sr. | 13
87 |  Democratic | Gilda Cobb-Hunter | 13
88 |  Republican | Kristopher Crawford | 13
89 |  Democratic | Laurie Funderburk | 13
90 |  Democratic | Jerry Govan Jr. | 13
91 |  Republican | James Harrison | 13
92 |  Democratic | Kenneth Hodges | 13
93 |  Democratic | Lonnie Hosey | 13
94 |  Democratic | Leon Howard | 13
95 |  Democratic | Kevin Johnson | 13
96 |  Democratic | Walton McLeod | 13
97 |  Republican | James Merrill | 13
98 |  Democratic | Elizabeth Munnerlyn | 13
99 |  Democratic | Denny Neilson | 13
100 |  Democratic | Harry Ott, Jr. | 13
101 |  Republican | Rick Quinn | 13
102 |  Democratic | Leonidas Stavrinakis | 13
103 |  Democratic | Ted Vick | 13
104 |  Republican | Thad Viers | 13
105 |  Democratic | J. David Weeks | 13
106 |  Democratic | Jackson Whipper | 13
107 |  Democratic | Carl Anderson | 7
108 |  Republican | Eric Bikas | 7
109 |  Democratic | Curtis Brantley | 7
110 |  Democratic | Grady Brown | 7
111 |  Democratic | Robert L. Brown | 7
112 |  Republican | Tracy Edge | 7
113 |  Democratic | Wendell Gilliard | 7
114 |  Democratic | Christopher Hart | 7
115 |  Democratic | Joseph Jefferson Jr. | 7
116 |  Democratic | Patsy Knight | 7
117 |  Democratic | David Mack | 7
118 |  Democratic | Joseph H. Neal | 7
119 |  Democratic | Julia Parks | 7
120 |  Democratic | James Rutherford | 7
121 |  Democratic | Bakari Sellers | 7
122 |  Democratic | Robert Williams | 7
123 |  Democratic | Terry Alexander | 0
124 |  Democratic | Harold Mitchell Jr. | 0
Senate Scores

Rank | Party | Senator | 2012 Score
1 |  Republican | Lee Bright | 82
2 |  Republican | Kevin Bryant | 76
3 |  Republican | Tom Davis | 71
4 |  Republican | Shane R. Martin | 59
5 |  Republican | Mike Rose | 59
6 |  Republican | Michael Fair | 53
7 |  Republican | Harvey S. Peeler, Jr. | 47
8 |  Republican | David Thomas | 47
9 |  Republican | Lawrence Grooms | 41
10 |  Republican | A. Shane Massey | 41
11 |  Republican | Phillip Shoopman | 41
12 |  Republican | George Campsen | 35
13 |  Republican | Daniel Verdin | 35
14 |  Republican | John E. Courson | 29
15 |  Republican | Chauncey K. Gregory | 29
16 |  Republican | Raymond Cleary | 24
17 |  Republican | Ronnie W. Cromer | 24
18 |  Republican | Larry Martin | 24
19 |  Republican | Thomas Alexander | 18
20 |  Republican | Wes Hayes | 18
21 |  Republican | William O'Dell | 18
22 |  Republican | Greg Ryberg | 18
23 |  Democratic | Nikki G. Setzler | 18
24 |  Republican | Jake Knotts | 12
25 |  Democratic | J. Yancey McGill | 12
26 |  Republican | Luke A. Rankin | 12
27 |  Democratic | Glenn G. Reese | 12
28 |  Democratic | Kent Williams | 12
29 |  Democratic | Brad Hutto | 6
30 |  Democratic | Darrell Jackson | 6
31 |  Democratic | John Land | 6
32 |  Republican | Hugh Leatherman | 6
33 |  Democratic | Phil Leventis | 6
34 |  Democratic | Joel Lourie | 6
35 |  Democratic | Gerald Malloy | 6
36 |  Democratic | John Matthews | 6
37 |  Republican | Glenn McConnell | *
38 |  Democratic | Floyd Nicholson | 6
39 |  Democratic | John L. Scott, Jr. | 6
40 |  Democratic | Vincent A. Sheheen | 6
41 |  Democratic | Ralph Anderson | 0
42 |  Republican | Paul Campbell | 0
43 |  Democratic | Creighton B. Coleman | 0
44 |  Democratic | Dick Elliott | 0
45 |  Democratic | Robert Ford | 0
46 |  Democratic | Clementa Pinckney | 0

## Methodology[edit]

The Palmetto Liberty PAC created its scorecard to evaluate how legislators voted on bills that either expanded or limited the powers of the government. The overall score was the percentage of votes made by the legislator that agreed with the positions held by the Palmetto Liberty PAC out of the overall possible votes. The PAC evaluated 15 bills considered by the House and 17 considered by the Senate. (See above for the complete lists).

## External links[edit]

* Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee: South Carolina House Score Card 2012
* Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee: South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "Voting Records"
2. ↑ Palmetto Liberty, "Candidate Qualifications," accessed February 28, 2023
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee: South Carolina House Score Card 2012, 2012
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee: South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012, 2012

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