Mike Sottile on Pub Politics!

Representative Mike Sottile made a guest appearance this month on the popular internet show, “Pub Politics”. Mike talked with the hosts about conservation and other hot topics of the week. Play the video below to watch this local webcast!

Representative Mike Sottile Hosts an Online Town Hall

Play the video below to watch Representative Sottile answer questions in an online town hall on CitizenHill.com.

Beware The Liberals and the Jellyfish

The big spending policies of Washington’s liberal elite aren’t the only things stinging Charleston area residents. The jellyfish have been busy too- click here to see article. I wanted to do something a little different today and tell you what you should do in case you get stung by a jellyfish while out enjoying our area’s beaches.

According to the Isle of Palms Fire Chief, Ann Graham, a mix of alcohol and baking soda normally quells the pain and allows the wound to heal nicely. However, on rare occasions there may be a need to go to the hospital if the sting victim goes into shock.

Graham also warned against picking up the jellyfish or stepping on them. Sometimes they wash up on shore and are still able to sting you long after they are dead. The tentacles can even fall off and cause a sting if you come into contact with them.

Let’s all be sure to be extra cautious when visiting our beautiful beaches this summer, and avoid harmful run-ins with nature and her little critters.

As for the Washington liberals, my advice is to send strong conservatives like Tim Scott and Jim DeMint to Washington this November. After all, conservatives are not known for stinging taxpayers with reckless spending…

Sincerely,

Mike Sottile
State House Representative
District 112

Gutter Politics is Running our State into the Ground

Conservative Friends – It happens every year. The nasty attacks start the weekend before the election. I hope you’ll take the chance to read the press release below in which I respond to Joe Bustos’ disgusting attacks.

I ask for your vote tomorrow. As always, please call my cell phone at 224.9260 if you have any questions.

Sottile Calls On Bustos To Retract Statements

Sottile: “Gutter politics is running our state into the ground.”

Isle of Palms, SC – This weekend Mt. Pleasant voters received a mailing from State House candidate Joe Bustos encourging Mount Pleasant voters to vote against Mike Sottile because he lives in Isle of Palms. Bustos claims that Mount Pleasant voters need to elect one of their own. Today Sottile demanded that Bustos retract his comments and apologize to all Charleston area voters.

“The entire Charleston area needs to work together to restore economic growth and create jobs for our unemployed families. Boeing might be centered in North Charleston, but employees will live on Daniel Island, James Island and Mount Pleasant. They’ll visit downtown restaurants, enjoy the beaches of Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island and Folly Beach. Every part of the Charleston area must work together,” SC Representative Mike Sottile said. “Pitting one area against the other is a recipe for failure.”

Bustos also attacked Sottile for voting for the cigarette tax. Sottile quickly answered Bustos’ accusations.

“This is the kind of gutter politics running our state into the ground. Joe Bustos tells voters that I voted for billions of dollars in tax increases, but he gives a ten year sum. Why not twenty years or fifty years? These types of dishonest attacks must top,” Sottile replied.

“Yes, I voted for the cigarette tax increase. We had the lowest cigarette tax in the nation and when polled, 85% of our district’s Republican voters said that they supported the tax increase. Smokers are driving up health care costs and its only right that they help foot the bill instead of making non-smoking families pay these exorbitant costs. This is the ONLY tax increase I will ever vote for.”

As our State Representative, Mike Sottile has been pushing for comprehensive tax reform that reduces the burden on working families instead of funding Columbia special interests. He has also been strongly pushing more roll call voting and he has pushed a specific spending caps plan that won’t let politicians spend more than a formula equal to population + inflation increases.

5 FANTASTIC REASONS TO VOTE FOR MIKE SOTTILE ON TUESDAY

1. Mike Sottile is supported by all three Mayors in our district because he’s speaking loudly as OUR VOICE for coastal issues in Columbia. South Carolina’s coastal tourism fuels much of the state’s economy and also shoulders much of the state’s burdens. Giving us more financial assistance for growth, transportation, and conservation isn’t pork barrel spending- it’s a wise investment.

2. Mike Sottile is helping create jobs in our region. He is endorsed by South Carolina’s major business groups including the SC Chamber of Commerce for his work to create a conservative atmosphere that promotes economic freedom. He will fight hard to bring more Boeings to our region.

3. Mike Sottile is shaking up Columbia. He’s pushing for mandatory spending caps that limit the amount of money politicians can spend each year. He wants to make pork barrel spending more transparent by requiring a roll call vote for every spending project and tax increase.

4. Mike Sottile is fight federal government intrusion. Mike knows that we must give our Attorney General the ability to fight the federal government when it pushes liberal takeovers and extreme social programs on South Carolina’s taxpayers.

5. Mike Sottile is fighting to maintain our conservative family values. He’s endorsed by South Carolina Right to Life because he wants to protect the conservative principles on which our great nation was founded.

VOTE TUESDAY FOR MIKE SOTTILE

OUR CONSERVATIVE VOICE

Let’s Get Out of the Pluff Mud

Columbia is spending too much money. The federal government is intruding on our rights. Illegal immigration is still running amuck. I’m tired of sitting in traffic.

We can continue to concentrate on problems and remain stuck in the pluff mud or we can get busy finding the commonsense solutions that will fix our state.

OUR VOICE FOR CONSERVATIVE SOLUTIONS

1. It’s time to rein in state spending. I’m pushing for mandatory spending caps that limit the amount of money politicians can spend each year. We should also make pork barrel spending more transparent by requiring a role call vote for every spending project and tax increase.

2. Let’s cut taxes and create jobs. When working families have more money to spend, our economy booms and jobs are created. We can get the job done by completely scrapping and rewriting South Carolina’s tax code that supports special interest groups instead of businesses.

3. Illegal immigrants must not be allowed to take advantage of our hard working taxpayers. The federal government has made too many promises that it has not fulfilled. It’s time for our state and local law enforcement to be given the tools to solve this problem themselves.

4. Our state government should give our area more assistance. South Carolina’s coastal tourism fuels much of the state’s economy and also shoulders much of the state’s burdens. Giving us more financial assistance for growth, transportation, and conservation isn’t pork barrel spending- it’s a wise investment.

5. Fight federal government intrusion. We must give our Attorney General the ability to fight the federal government when it pushes liberal takeovers and extreme social programs on South Carolina’s taxpayers.

MIKE SOTTILE. CREATING JOBS WITH LESS GOVERNMENT.

We are all excited about Boeing coming to our area. Thousands of new jobs means a higher quality of life for all our families. Mike Sottile is working hard to create a conservative economic environment so that we can bring more Boeings to our region.

Keeping Our Taxes Low: We need to keep taxes low to bring new industry to our region, but we can’t do that if government is too big and inefficient. That’s why Mike is pushing so hard for spending caps, new spending transparency laws and restructuring for our outdated and unaccountable state agencies.

Reforming Our Tax Code: South Carolina’s tax code is killing job growth. It’s antiquated and unfair. Mike wants to completely scrap and rewrite out tax code with a fair formula that levels the playing field for business owners and workers.

Protecting Our Environment: Businesses need strong infrastructure and our families need safe roads. While growing our infrastructure we must not hurt our beautiful landscape that helps recruit new businesses and families to our region. Being a conservative begins with conserving our resources, both financial and natural.

Keeping Your Family Safe

This week was “crossover” week in the House – the deadline for the House or Senate to approve legislation and send it to the other chamber. After May 1, it takes a two-thirds vote for the other body to even consider the legislation.

So crossover week is a very busy week in Columbia as legislators work long hours to debate as much legislation as possible before the deadline.

While we debated dozens of pieces of legislation, three pieces in particular stand out to conservatives.

First, we approved a sweeping charter school reform package that aims to make our state’s vibrant charter school movement even stronger.

Charter school reform was another of our top priorities this year, and I belief that the best, most conservative way to improve education is to give parents more choices for their child’s education. It’s my hope that more choices will drive more parental involvement in education, which I believe is the foundation of true succes in education.

We overrode the governor’s veto of the “Warrantless Search” for parolees legislation that the House and the Senate have both approved. This legislation – which was supported by Charleston County law enforcement – allows law enforcement to search people on probation and parole without needing a search warrant. People on probation or parole are in the state’s criminal justice system, and if they were still in jail, they could be searched at any time, without warning. Many say that it is a violation of civil liberties, but I want to make my opinion very clear – people who commit crimes lose many of their rights. Being on probation or parole does not mean a criminal has been set free or that their punishment is over. They have been released out of jail, but they are still being punished.

While I understand the concerns about warrantless searches, my first priority is the protection of my law-abiding constituents. Law enforcement wanted a way to search criminals for contraband to protect the public. I believe this legislation will help police do their jobs and protect the public.

Finally, the House approved legislation that will take away the drivers’ licenses for students under 18 who drop out of school. This is the law in many states, and provides a deterrent for underage students from dropping out of school. We allowed exemptions for students forced to drop out of school to support their families by working. This legislation will now head to the Senate.

As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as Our Voice in Columbia. If I can ever be of assistance to your family, please call my cell phone at 843.224.9260.

Sincerely,

Mike Sottile

It’s Not The Time For Lies & Political Fighting

Our entire nation has been hit hard by an economic downturn, but South Carolina has been hit especially hard. We need to move past the lies, deception and political fighting that has dominated government for far too long. Unfortunately, my political opponent Joe Bustos is engaging in this type of politics.

Joe Bustos claims that I want to raise your taxes. He’s wrong. The ONLY tax I would consider raising is the cigarette tax, which is by far the lowest in the nation and should only be used for health care or an equal tax reduction. I will not support a cigarette tax increase laced with pork barrel or wasteful projects.

Joe Bustos is also lying about my record regarding abortion. I am 100% pro-life and I will always support restrictions on abortions. Bustos is attacking me for voting against a budget amendment that would have stopped state insurance paying for an abortion when a female state employee’s life is at risk. I believe it is heartless, unethical and immoral to deny insurance to a dying woman and I will not apologize for my vote.

We need to get past all these lies and work together to rebuild our economy and creates jobs. I hope you will join me. You can call me anytime on my cell phone at 843.224.9260.

Sincerely,

Mike Sottile

Working Hard To Create Jobs

My opponent is trying to say that I’m part of the problem. The truth is that I’ve been in Columbia just over one year. I’m not one of those long time politicians who has been sitting by while our state climbs the nation’s unemployment rankings. I’ve been working hard over the last year serving as Our Voice for coastal issues. If you’ll give me just a few minutes, I’ll tell you about our biggest accomplishments this year.

In January, the House Republicans unveiled a conservative agenda that we believed would create jobs, help improve education, and streamline our government. We have completed that agenda.

The House returned to work this week after our annual Easter furlough. This year, the furlough was a two-week break that saved taxpayers more than $150,000.  Our top priority for 2010 was creating jobs, and I’m happy to report we have approved several pieces of legislation that accomplish that goal.

Last month, the House approved an economic development plan that will make South Carolina more competitive when recruiting the next Michelin, BMW, or Boeing to our state. It will help every business in our state by eliminating the corporate income tax and will give the Department of Commerce new tools it needs to aid in business recruitment. Eliminating the corporate income tax will allow businesses to keep more of their hard-earned money so they can re-invest in their business and their employees.

We are still hopeful this job creation tool will be approved by the Senate. Giving the Department of Commerce more help in recruitment is vital since South Carolina competes with the world in attracting the high-quality jobs we all want to improve incomes and our quality of life.

We approved two pieces of legislation reforming the broken Employment Security Commission. We gave control of the agency to the governor and broke down barriers between the ESC and the Department of Commerce. The new Department of the Workforce will be more efficient and more accountable so businesses can find the workers they need and workers can more easily find the jobs that are out there.

We also approved a sweeping tort reform package that protects small businesses from frivolous lawsuits while protecting your rights to our legal system if you are wronged.

The Republicans’ second agenda item was improving our public education system in our state. In this era of tight state budgets, we gave our schools unprecedented flexibility from state mandates.  Legislation that will help our active charter school movement will be on the House floor soon.  And we were able to ensure our state’s students continue to receive the scholarships they need to attend college.

Our third agenda item for 2010 was ensuring responsible and limited government – values that are clearly not shared by our current Congress.  The House approved new requirements for online campaign finance disclosure.  We also gave you – the voter – the opportunity to decide if the Governor and Lieutenant Governor should run as a ticket, and whether the largely administrative position of Secretary of State should be appointed by the governor. Both the Lieutenant Governor and the Secretary of State are currently elected.

Finally, we told our constituents we would protect our state’s rights under the U.S. Constitution. We approved a state constitutional amendment that will ensure a secret ballot in union organizing elections and strongly protested the recent federal healthcare takeover.

In the first 10 weeks of the legislative session, we completed our agenda — an agenda built after close consultations with our constituents. And it’s an agenda we believe moves our state down the positive, common-sense, conservative path that you have asked us to travel.

I look forward to the final weeks of the 2010 session and working with the Senate to push these conservative initiatives into law.  I also pledge we will continue to represent the conservative values of our constituents.

As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 843-224-9260.

Thank you,

Mike Sottile

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