Thank you for your e-mail. There’s no point in our arguing but I do want to say it appeared to me you were showing disdain for my state. At least that’s the way it came across to me. I had no way of knowing you are Jewish and I do not know who has called you “a miserly rich Jew.” To do so would be in very bad taste to say the least.

Personally, I have always admired the Jewish people I have known, for many reasons: their intellect, their work ethic, and as a people, their ability to overcome great hardship and persecution. I very strongly feel that our country should continue to be a strong ally of the state of Israel. I am concerned that Obama may be backing away from that.

As to the Rusty DePass tempest in a teapot, he did apologize and move on. When people keep bringing up things like that, we view it as people wanting to continue to denigrate our people and our state.

As to my so called “rant” on the War Between the States, I don’t know exactly what you are talking about. I did want your readers to know about the high office that a Jewish person, Judah P. Benjamin, held in the Confederate States government–something that did not occur in the United States government until decades later. I do know about the strong Jewish community that developed in Charleston and also about the very strong support the Jewish people in the South gave to our Confederate cause.

I did not say your quote did not come from the original newspaper article. I just wanted your readers to be able to see the whole article so they could get a better understanding of the context from which the quote came.

As to our Republican politicians in general, too many have made mistakes, especially our governor, and the liberal media has had a field day. The false rumors about Senator Graham and our Lt. Gov. are made simply because they are single men. I think Senator Graham is doing an outstanding job, as is Senator Demint. Lt. Gov. Bauer is a good man. The Democrats have plenty of skeletons in their closets as well, but the media is in their back pockets so they don’t have too much to worry about.

On the things that really matter, the Republican view on how our country should be governed is much superior to what is espoused by the Democrats, and for the first time in my life I am very worried about the future of our great country with the president and democrat-controlled congress we now have. I suspect you and I could argue that ’til Kingdom come.

Again, it has been a pleasure communicating with you and I wish you the best. I hope you will visit South Carolina sometime in the future so that you can meet our people and learn more about our proud history. Best wishes,

Ben Boyd

You’re right about DePass. He headed the Giuliani campaign in SC and is a former county chair. Listing him as head of the SC GOP came from other inaccurate news reports.

And if it was “a little joke,” he should have simply apologized and moved on – not apologized for my being offended. The quote is his, not mine.

As far as your rant about the Civil War and it’s aftermath and its connection to Jews, here’s the simple history of Jewish immigration. Before the Civil War, most Jewish immigration was to the south. More Jews served on the side of the Confederacy. Charleston was the principle port of entry. New Orleans and Galveston were the others. Northern immigration didn’t start until after the Civil War. My family’s earliest branch in this country is from Jackson, MS.

Despite my southern roots, that still doesn’t change how I feel about being called a miserly rich Jew. And I appreciate Sen. DeMint’s horror at the “compliment.” And the quote I used DID come directly from the original newspaper OpEd in the online edition of the Times and Democrat, cut and paste, no editing.

Thank you.

DeMint watches out for all of us
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Recently your newspaper published a letter from state Rep. Bakari Sellers attacking U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint and his opposition to congressional earmarks.

There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves. By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed.

Sellers is apparently quite unaware that the vast majority of earmarks go to congressmen and senators who lead the Appropriations Committee — the so-called appropriators. They write the annual funding bills and reserve most of the earmark funding for the projects they support. Sometimes these are projects in their home states, and sometimes the projects are supported by their campaign donors. Congressmen and senators who aren’t on the Appropriations Committees are left to fight for the table scraps.

The following quote is taken from remarks made by President Barack Obama on March 11: “… the fact is that on occasion, earmarks have been used as a vehicle for waste, and fraud and abuse. Projects have been inserted at the 11th hour, without review, and sometimes without merit, in order to satisfy the political or personal agendas of a given legislator, rather than the public interest. There are times where earmarks may be good on their own but in the context of a tight budget might not be our highest priority. So these practices hit their peak in the middle of this decade, when the number of earmarks had ballooned to more than 16,000, and played a part in a series of corruption cases.”

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-Earmark-Reform/)

Yes, Rep. Sellers, earmarks, in the eyes of some, may produce funding for a designated area or project. Yet even Obama recognizes that while this source of revenue may be beneficial, when done right, it is a methodology greatly in need of reform.

Meanwhile, DeMint continues to look out for his constituency in other ways. For example, on Feb. 5, DeMint announced the introduction of a bill to protect small businesses, charities and families by reforming the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. This new law will demand onerous testing for anything geared toward children age 12 and under. The mandate falls on books, toys, clothing, hair bands, board games, sporting equipment, backpacks and even special learning equipment made for children with disabilities. Alas his bill did not pass.

Perhaps Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Inez Tenenbaum could help families mitigate this problem as times are tough and likely to get tougher; and they may need to buy items at flea markets, thrift stores, consignment shops and yard sales in order to save money. Perhaps families on a tight budget know a thing or two about making do on less. There is a saying from the 1930s that will surely come into use again: “Use it up, wear it out; make it do, or do without.”

Now one might ask, just who is watching out for whom?

?- Edwin O. Merwin Jr., Chairman, Bamberg County Republican Party, Denmark

?-James S. Ulmer Jr., Chairman, Orangeburg County Republican Party, North

I believe having the entire article will give your readers a better perspective on the entire story which, as usual, has been blown all out of proportion by the liberial, left wingers in our country. It appears that in this day of everyone being “offended” by what others might say or do, there are many people all over the country who are quick to show their hatred, bigotry, prejudice, and meaness toward Southern white people. I think you need to look within yourselves when you start to throw stones and hateful words at us. Usually, you do not care about the facts nor do you know what you are talking about. I suggest you pay a visit to our beautiful state sometimes and get to know our people, white and black. We value our traditions and our history. We are independent and we believe in the Constiution. Many of our cities and towns were burned and looted by a northern horde during the War Between the States and we endured 12 years of radical rule during reconstruction but we built back from the ashes. We contributed many leaders in the founding of our nation, and great statesman in positons of leadership including John C. Calhoun who was Vice President of the US and also a US Senator, James F. Byrnes, assistant to the President during WW II, financier Bernard Baruch, and also the first Jewish person to hold high positions in any American government, that being Judah P. Benjamin who served as Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and Treasury in the government of the Confederate States of America. He was the only Jewish person to hold such high positions until well into the 20th century.

South Carolina is home to the largest army training base in the nation. We send almost all shipments of troops and supplies to the Middle East from our air bases. We are very patriotic. We love our country and we support our military personnel around the world.

It is very hurtful when we are criticized by people who speak from ignorance You are the ones who are hateful, prejudiced, bigoted, use race as a weapon to silence any opposition to your leftist and socialist beliefs, and exhibit such a mean spirit.

On a personal note, I have known Joe Wilson and Rusty DePass for more than 35 years. Both are very fine people, very gentlemanly, intelligent, and I am proud to call them friends. Joe’s spur of the moment shout was out of character and he very much regrets it. Rusty was simply making a little joke based on something Mrs. Obama had said about humans having descended from apes, or words to that effect. It was, of course, not meant for publication, but these days the thought and speech police are always watching. In any event, they are both good people and it is time to quit using them as targets.

Thank you very much for reading this.

And the two GOP county chairs who wrote this were not quoting the “Torah value of thrift.” As someone who is also Jewish, I see a difference between Torah values and being called a rich, cheap Jew. Sorry, Mr. Miller, if you don’t.

And I posted the list more for amusement than because it was important news.

And Ms. Tager, what are you talking about?

First of all, DeMint didn’t write this,an dthese people don’t work for him. And while the sentiment does him honor, he has nothing to apologize for. As a Jew, as far as I’m concerned no one does.

Two GOP chairmen write something commending the Torah value of thrift and it’s an ‘outrage’?

I seem to remember when thrift was a virtue in America.

I know DeMint’s record and frankly I classify this as a smear.

This kind of attitude is so common and widespread that they didn’t think twice about putting this out in a press release.