Time to put up or shut up on Barrett rumors

The FITS News blog ran by Will Folks and other bloggers and politicos are hinting heavily that Congressman Gresham Barrett has a personal problem that will emerge soon that will caste Barrett out of the Governor’s race. Frankly, it’s a rumor of a rumor right now, and any whispered details do not deserve to be published on VUI or anywhere else until someone steps up and shows a credible source.

That said there are some things at play. Barrett has benefited the most from the Sanford scandal. Barrett raised a large sum of money lately, and looks better than the other candidates out there. While Barrett quietly raised money and support, McMaster’s law and order do right persona was hit by McMaster’s politically calculated moves on the Sanford mess. Lt. Governor Bauer was especially hit, as an unexpected wave of “not Andre” hit from those who did not want Bauer to be the sitting Governor in 2010. Rep. Nikki Haley was also hit, given her close ties to Sanford. Thus, Barrett came out of the Sanford mess the strongest candidate for 2010 at this point, and the other camps had to act somehow.

What better way to act then to report on a rumor of one another’s rumors on blogs and in talking circles among the chattering political classes? VUI does not know Barrett well enough to know what is true or not about his personal life. Frankly, we do not really care that much. However, the big scandals break without rumors about rumors. Two weeks before the Sanford scandal broke, there were no hints of it. There is a reason for that. When a blogger or news person worth their salt gets a really scandalous story down cold, they break it. If they sense how big it can be, they hold it to themselves while they work their sources. It is simply hard to believe that a blogger or a reporter could have damaging information about a sitting United States Congressman and tell everyone they have something before they break it. It goes against the grain of having the scoop, so to speak.

That said, there is something else telling about the Barrett rumors of rumors spreading on the blogs. There appears to be a division in the coalition of libertarian/conservative paid politicos that formed the Sanford movement. With Sanford’s career done, it seems that a battle is developing as to which candidate is the messenger of that agenda and which activists and politicos are behind that candidate. Consider this. The Club for Growth recently backed Bauer, but the Will Folks faction spread the rumors of a rumor from those working with other elements of the party.

Frankly, South Carolina Republican politics seems to now be at the lowest level of debate. Instead of challenging Barrett on his record or the issues, which are legitimate things to question, it seems his opponents are having their activists take on the role of the high school girls gossiping about the girl who is the front runner for homecoming queen. The big difference is the gossipers are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by various interests who want to run South Carolina. Frankly, Gresham Barrett has not been a favorite of VUI on a number of things, but the man has a family, has served his state in General Assembly and in the United States Congress, and he deserves for his opponents to either “put up or shut up,” when it comes to rumors about rumors of his personal life.