South Carolina: Red Since Reagan

The citizens of South Carolina have been red since they elected Ronald Reagan to office in 1980, and they seem to be holding true to that tradition in the 2012 general election.  Four-fifths of the people we interviewed at our local polling precinct, the Daniel Island School, declared their vote for the Romney/Ryan ticket.

When asked who he voted for Michael Baker shrugged and replied, “I voted for Romney and Ryan because I am a fiscal conservative.”

A majority of the voters in South Carolina seem to be taking the same approach to this year’s election, not overly enthusiastic but strongly conservative.

Despite the fact that South Carolina is a largely conservative state, there were a few Democratic voters that showed up, including Daniel Quick.  Quick wants to give Obama another four years based on his efforts toward environmental conservation, trying to find alternate energy sources, and his healthcare policies.

Most people we asked at the polls were fed up with the negative campaigning of the two parties.

“I feel that they should focus more on politics and less on being negative towards each other,” said Jenna Coleman when questioned on how she felt about this year’s campaign season.

Aside from all the hype about the four presidential and vice presidential debates, none of the debates seemed to impact the decisions of the voters we interviewed. If our polling precinct is any indication it appears that once again South Carolina will be a red state, voting for the Romney/Ryan ticket.

[Editor's note: South Carolina was won by Mitt Romney. Stay tuned to scholastic.com/election for the final vote totals.]

—Kid Reporters Faith and Zach Dalzell

Election 2012: Spinning the Charleston Republican debate

After the Republican debate in Charleston, South Carolina, last night, reporters descended on the spin room. This is where supporters of the candidates come to "spin" the debate in favor of their candidate.

The spin room was swarming reporters, who, like bees at the smell of honey, converged on supporters for all the candidates. I made my way through the crowds to ask several different people their thoughts and opinions on some of the candidates.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was in the spin room after the debate. Governor Haley is endorsing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in his presidential bid.

"[Romney] looked extremely presidential," Haley said. "The main issue of this election is jobs, and he is a jobs President."

Bud McFarlane was Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor. He was also in the spin room after the debate. McFarlane is endorsing former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich for President. McFarlane said that Gingrich was suddenly seeing an upswing in popularity because it takes the public awhile to make sense of what the candidates have to say and Gingrich clearly makes the most sense.

I also got a chance to talk to Ron Paul's campaign manager John Tate. I wondered how Paul's apparent lack of time during the most recent debates might affect his standing at the polls. Tate said that it both helped and hurt Ron Paul's cause. He also said that it gave Ron Paul's voters "a certain energy that other candidates just don't have."

At the end of the night, all of the candidates and their supporters brought something unique and interesting to the table. It looks to be a very close race in South Carolina, and it will surely come down to the wire. For the four candidates, that means Saturday. That's when South Carolinians will head to the polls and cast their votes. Voters around the country will be watching to see how this primary unfolds.

—Kid Reporter Zach Dalzell

Photo: Kid Reporter Zach Dalzell interviews Bud McFarlane, Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor, in the spin room after the Charleston, South Carolina, debate on January 19. (Photo courtesy Zach Dalzell)

Learning From History

The waves crashed elegantly against the boat’s graceful curves as the ship’s engine roared to life skipping us across the river. The smell of salt water tickled our noses and stimulated our senses. We were aboard the Charleston Explorer on a journey to Morris Island to see a re-enactment commemorating the first shots fired in the Civil War 150 years ago. The boat’s engine rumbled to a stop as it collided with the sandy beach on Morris Island. In the distance, upon a grassy hill full of winter weeds, we saw Citadel Military College cadets standing proudly beneath their flag with muskets in hand and cannons by their side aimed and ready. It seemed as if we had stepped back in time.

First, we toured the period camp where the Citadel Military College cadets and re-enactors had spent the previous night on the island in solitude with temperatures of 20 degrees. A period camp is a camp set up to look exactly like the time period that is being replicated. The winds had ravaged the camp and sand was piled on the edges of their tents. We saw a fire pit at one end of the camp where the cadets would have kept warm and cooked their meal before heading to bed that night. 

When asked about his stay on the island Brandon Yelton said "It was an interesting night."

Everything seemed so real that we wondered if the cadets might have heard the cries of men from a 150 years in the past while sleeping. 

After we walked through the period camp and everyone was settled the re-enactors prepared to stage a reenactment of the first shots in the Civil War. Originally, Citadel cadets and militia that were stationed on Morris Island fired shots at The Star of the West. The Star of the West was a merchant ship that stowed over two hundred and thirteen Union soldiers beneath its deck, as well as ammunition and necessities for Union troops stationed at Fort Sumter. As the ship stealthily crept into Charleston Harbor at 1:50 am on January 9, 1861, the Confederate soldiers fired seven shots upon the Star of the West. The first two shots missed. However, the next two hit the hull of the ship and the last three shots were fired upon the back of the ship as it retreated to its escort ship waiting farther out.  

Steve Smith, a Civil War re-enactor and military expert, said “History is not black and white, but shades of gray.”

While we had mixed feelings about attending an event that commemorated such a difficult time in our nation’s history, we learned from the Citadel cadets and Civil War experts that it is important to reflect upon all of our nation’s history both the positive and negative.  This helps us to learn from our past mistakes and understand our history better thus, helping to make our country stronger.

Check out our video report from the Citadel re-enactment commemorating the first shots fired in the Civil War!

—Kid Reporters Faith Dalzell and Zach Dalzell