Timing Is Everything

Dear Boo and Bubble,

They say "Timing is Everything" and, as you get older, you'll find that many outcomes in your life boil down to just that.....timing. It's even more so in politics. Many a politician has been elected or defeated because of the timing of events. This is particularly true when the passage of laws result in sweeping changes. A natural gestation period of reaction occurs when there is significant change.... before people have the opportunity to absorb the benefits. During this period, those elected officials who initiated the change become vulnerable to the reaction and opponents seize the opportunity to ride its crest into office.

This phenomenon is exactly what happened to Captain as he sought re-election for his House seat in 1985. The debate over the Education Improvement Act raged so fiercely in the House of Representatives that the legislative session was extended beyond its regular adjournment date at the beginning of June. This created quite a problem because in normal election years, incumbents would have the summer to campaign in the Democratic or Republican primaries held around Labor Day and before the general elections in November. But, Captain was a floor leader for the legislation and he could not leave Columbia to come home. He was once again opposed by Donna Moss, the woman whom he had defeated before. In his absence, she not only combed the district unabated shoring up votes, but also took every opportunity to criticize Captain's support of the EIA and its one-penny hike in the sales tax.

Captain even had to miss his one major fundraiser, a dinner at Limestone College where he was to be the featured speaker. Instead, he had to enlist Nick Theodore, a state Senator from Greenville, to stand in for him The Senate had already concluded its work on the EIA with a positive vote and was waiting for the House to finish deliberating. When the House finally completed and passed its version of the bill, Captain still had to assist in the work of the conference committee between the two chambers before things were over. By the time the EIA passed into law, the process had dragged on well into the summer and Captain only a few weeks remaining to campaign before the primary vote.

Over the years, Captain has remarked that had the primary been six months to a year later, he would have won convincingly. But, as timing dictated, we were in the period of reaction to the EIA. It would take several months for the law to even go into effect and consequently the air of speculation and suspicion overwhelmed any truth about its real impact because that was yet to be felt. Captain advocated very hard for the law, trying to explain that for every dollar sent to Columbia in sales tax, the district would receive two dollars in support of educational improvement. He found opposition from all quarters, even within the teaching community as many were unsure about the testing and evaluation components of the law. It was political purgatory......the timing was rotten. As he had predicted on that day driving home from the meeting with Governor Riley, his support of the EIA would cost him the election.

When the various parts of the law began to take effect in the coming months, approval for it increased. Many parents who had place their children in private schools began to readmit them due to a renewed trust in the level of commitment on the part of the state to upgrading public education. Innovation, creativity, accountability and inclusion were hallmarks of the EIA, as well as a dedicated funding source.

There is a phrase - "A leader needs to be out in front of his constituents, but not so far that they mistake him for the enemy." I am reminded of Captain every time I hear this. He had the capacity to grasp the risks of his leadership in a crucial time and understood the consequences that he might suffer. In this case, timing made him the enemy........a little more time would have made him a very good friend.

(Captain was one of many who lost elections because of the EIA.  After Governor Riley left office, the whole political landscape changed in South Carolina and a new contingent arrived to direct the state.  Without the original stewards of the law, the dismantlement of the EIA soon began.  I have no idea what is left, if anything.......other than the one-cent increase in the sales tax that, more than likely, resides in the General Fund.)