S.C. Editorial Roundup: Aug. 26, 2022

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States:

The Wall Street Journal

Aug. 21

Trump's Senate candidates look to McConnell to save campaigns

The biggest campaign story last week wasn't Mitch McConnell's warning that Republicans might not retake the Senate in November. That's been clear since the party nominated so many candidates whose main advantage was support from Donald Trump. The big story was that those candidates are now calling on Mr. McConnell to come to their rescue.

Exhibit A is Ohio, where the Super Pac allied with Mr. McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund, is committing $28 million to save GOP nominee J.D. Vance. The "Hillbilly Elegy" author won the primary in a divided field after Mr. Trump endorsed him. But Mr. Vance has struggled to raise money from the GOP donor network he disdained as he courted the populist right. That worked in the primary, but it may not be enough to win in November.

Ohio should be a layup for the GOP this year. The Senate seat is currently held by Rob Portman, who is retiring after two terms. The state has been trending right, and Mr. Trump carried it by eight points. But Democrat Tim Ryan, a member of the House, is portraying himself as a moderate despite a liberal voting record and has out-raised the Republican. Thus Mr. Vance's S.O.S. to Mr. McConnell.

There's no little irony in this appeal since Mr. Vance criticized Senate GOP leaders as he ran in the primary. In a podcast last September, Mr. Vance said he had "no idea who should be the majority leader of the Senate."

But he added that "I think that McConnell has clearly shown that he's sometimes a little out of touch with where the base is. ... I think that it's time that we moved beyond the very old leadership class that's dominated the Republican Party for a long time. And I think, it's just, we've got to do it. We've got to bring some new blood in. We've got to get people that the base is actually excited about." Apparently the "very old leadership class" has its uses when the "new blood" needs money.

Blake Masters, another Trump-backed nominee, is also counting on Mr. McConnell to save his campaign. "I think (Mr. McConnell will) come in and spend. Arizona's gonna be competitive. It's gonna be a close race, and I hope he does come in," Mr. Masters told the Associated Press last week. Trailing Sen. Mark Kelly in the polls, Mr. Masters needs the minority leader's help.

During the GOP primary, Mr. Masters called for Mr. McConnell to be replaced as leader. "I'll tell Mitch this to his face," Mr. Masters said during a GOP primary debate in June. "He's not bad at everything. He's good at judges. He's good at blocking Democrats. You know what he's not good at? Legislating."

These better-call-Mitch appeals are happening at the same time Mr. Trump's allies are attacking Mr. McConnell for telling the truth last week about GOP Senate prospects this year. The minority leader mentioned "candidate quality" as a factor in Senate campaigns, which is also true. Only the willfully blind can look at several of the Trump-endorsed nominees this year and claim they were the strongest candidates in the general election.

Arizona is a good example. Mr. Trump vowed to defeat the popular two-term GOP Gov. Doug Ducey if he ran for Senate because Mr. Ducey wouldn't work to overturn Mr. Trump's 2020 defeat in the state. Mr. Trump also trashed the capable attorney general, Mark Brnovich, who ran and lost. The former president backed Mr. Masters, a political novice supported by financier Peter Thiel. But Mr. Trump's support may hurt more than help in the general election, and he has been reluctant to share his financial campaign wealth with others.

Mr. Trump has shown he can help candidates win primaries with a plurality of the vote in a crowded field. What he hasn't shown is that he can lift them to victory against Democrats in states that aren't solidly Republican. He proved the opposite with his sabotage of the two GOP candidates in the January 2021 special elections in Georgia that cost Republicans control of the Senate.

That's why the candidates he favors are now desperately seeking the help of Mr. McConnell, the leader Mr. Trump wants to replace.

Times and Democrat

Aug. 16

Deer season means special safety focus

The story is from over 20 years ago in Mankato, Minnesota. We've cited it before as a tragic example. Time has made it no less relevant, particularly as South Carolina's deer hunting season begins.

Sadly, what happened could have been another in the string of tragedies that has surrounded hunting seasons in South Carolina over the years.

Here's the Associated Press account:

"John Leif recalls regaining consciousness in the woods after his 16-year-old son accidentally shot him in the head while they were hunting squirrels.

"'Chris was lying beside me, he was so limp,' said Leif, 50. 'I grabbed him and hugged him and sobbed and cried. I laid my head down on his chest. I wanted to die.'

"Investigators said Chris shot himself in the head in grief, believing he had killed his father.

"'I'm sure he thought I was dead,' his father said. 'It tears my heart apart, the mental anguish he must have… gone through.'

"The father and son had gone to the family's property about 100 miles southeast of Minneapolis to put the finishing touches on a new deer stand in preparation for the opening of the deer season. They decided to hunt squirrels.

"'The last thing I remember is seeing a big gray squirrel up ahead,' Leif said. 'I ran across and said, "Chris, there's one! Come on!" And the more I think about it now, he was probably aiming at it, getting ready to shoot, and I ran right in front of him. …We were side by side. It was just so quick.'

"After Leif regained consciousness, he tied a jacket around a tree as a landmark and began walking for help. He was disoriented but managed to get into his truck and drive to a neighbor's home."

Sportsmen and sportswomen will be out in force between now and the end of the deer season on Jan. 1, 2023. South Carolina continues to have the nation's longest deer season.

Tragedy can happen. As heart-wrenching as the Minnesota story is, any hunting accident can leave someone hurting and grieving. And they happen in South Carolina. The worst year was 1994, when 57 people were injured and eight died.

Some safety reminders are in order:

- Be sure your firearm is unloaded when you are transporting it in your vehicle or while walking to your stand. Keep the safety on for extra measure.

- Leave the gun safety on until you are ready to shoot. (If you should drop your gun, the safety will offer some protection.)

- It is wise to wear a visible hat, coat or vest of international-orange color while hunts for deer are in progress. Even wildlife photographers and other nature enthusiasts should use common sense and elect to wear a hat, coat or vest in hunter orange.

- Don't shoot in the direction of rustling bushes or rattling leaves. Shoot only when you actually see a deer within range. Be sure of your target.

- When hunting with a club or group, stay on your stand until a previously agreed upon time. Don't lose patience and wander around - you may be mistaken for a deer.

- Remember, rifle bullets, buck shot and arrows travel a long distance through a field or in the forest. So you need to know the territory and know if there are homes, schools or businesses that could possibly be struck by ammunition that misses its intended target.

The coming weeks and months will be busy for hunters, who must remain aware there will be other outdoor enthusiasts sharing space. Use common sense in any situation. Please.

Post and Courier

Aug. 16

Child hunger remains with us

As school starts back, S.C. parents and administrators should be aware that they will need to be more proactive to ensure children are getting proper meals so they can learn.

The federal government did not extend a waiver that provided meals at no cost to all public school students, so only those that are determined eligible will receive no-cost meals.

If they don't attend a school that's part of the community eligibility program, then they will have to complete a meal-application form. It's a significant change from the past two years, and the state Department of Education has posted a video to provide guidance.

We urge parents and school officials to pay attention and do what they can to ensure students are getting the nutrition they need to succeed in the classroom - and outside it. A lack of healthy food is linked with several physical and mental health problems and poorer performance at school.

Nationwide, school breakfast and lunch rules were suspended in 2020 to help ensure children were fed amid the pandemic's disruptions. But that policy ended in June, and the old rules are back in effect. Families will qualify for nutritional help based on their income and family size; students from families with incomes below 130% of poverty qualify for free lunch.

While the COVID pandemic has evolved significantly over the past 2½ years, the challenges it poses concerning hunger and food insecurity have not. Surveys show that more than 10% of all residents along South Carolina's coast have had their eating patterns disrupted due to a lack of money or other resources, but the figure is 15% for the child population. In real numbers, that reflects about 161,000 people in the state's 10 coastal counties, including 45,540 children.

"The need is as high as it's ever been," Lowcountry Food Bank President Nick Osborn tells us. "Inflation, the impact of increasing fuel costs, continues to have an effect on people's ability to purchase food, but also on the choice they're making, as far as rent, utilities and fuel." Of course, the picture here is little different from that in other communities across the country.

While COVID isn't as dangerous as it was, lingering inflation has kept the stress on budgets from families to food banks, which continue to have to buy more food instead of receiving donations and which continue to have to pay for shipping.

While America's youth aren't at risk of starving, their food insecurity often manifests itself with poorer quality diets that affect their health and quality of life. "It creates health problems, with diabetes and obesity or being overweight," Mr. Osborn says. "There are health implications, and those who are food insecure are less productive and economically viable."

One of government's greatest jobs is to provide a high-quality education to all students, something that should be considered more of an investment in our future than a present expenditure. As a new school year begins, let's recommit to ensuring that students are ready to learn and not held back by what they have - or have not - eaten during the past few days.