Hillary obviously didn't win South Carolina in 2008, President Obama won a landslide. Ironically eight years later, the shoe is on the other foot, and Hillary needs a big win. I'm sure her operation there is getting any resources that it needs this time, and the national campaign has put their full attention into it. That is obviously good for the folks there this time. Separating this experience out from my more formal, longer term Hillary gig in Ohio last time, I actually have to say that my time in South Carolina was formational for me in 2008, and really was a lot of fun.
The Hillary operation in South Carolina in 2008 was dreadful. It was underfunded, had lacked direction for months, and never really had a chance. Yes, we had endorsements, some offices, and some great, committed volunteers, but that's about as far as it went. The mostly unpaid staff that worked Myrtle Beach (I'm not kidding) managed to find itself housing in a hotel that was closed for the Winter, owned by a supporter. Because there was no office there in 2008, that hotel ended up also basically being the office too. There was an office in Florence, and some paid staff there, but even they didn't have enough resources to compete.
Ironically though, I have a lot more positive to say about my time in South Carolina than I do about my time in Ohio, where we had everything under the sun. South Carolina was basically a sprint run, a sprint where we had a lot going on, but not a lot of help to make it happen. I saw President Bill Clinton give a speech for the first time in Myrtle Beach (I only ever saw him at parades and such in Iowa) at a high school, and the event literally went all night- he got there late, and then insisted on taking questions and engaging the crowd, in typical Bill fashion. I also staffed a Chelsea Clinton event at some sort of local college over in the Florence area, which was actually a lot of fun. There was also debate night over in Horry County, and the after party at the Hard Rock Cafe that featured America Ferrera and Keyshawn Johnson (easily one of the coolest events ever). A lot of fun stuff happened in South Carolina. I even found a great sushi place on the main drag going out of Myrtle Beach. It was a blast.
I learned a lot though too. It was my first time being exposed to some of the racial politics of the South, something that I struggled a lot with. Separate lit by race, preaching from the pulpit, and the "walking around money" issues that are so prevalent down there, were new to me in 2008. When I went to South Carolina, Hillary had just won New Hampshire, and she would win Nevada, but that momentum never carried through, in no small part because of racial divisions and frankly, funding differences for the state by the two campaigns. Major things were happening nationally during my time in the Palmetto State- Hillary fired her campaign manager, Bill made the infamous Jesse Jackson and fairy tale remarks about Barack Obama- but it all seemed to be distant on the ground. It was like we were in a bubble there- but it certainly had an impact, the results prove that.
I remember commenting on how good I felt about things on election day in Horry County (Myrtle Beach). Things went great all day. We had volunteers in, turnout was good where we wanted it, and we were on our way to winning- at least I thought. At 7:00 on the dot, every major network called the state for Barack Obama, and I was shocked. I thought we had beaten the odds, and we had, but only in Horry County. It ended up being the only county in the state that Hillary Clinton won in a crushing defeat that night. The staff was basically sent home the next day, and that operation came to an unceremonious end. A few days later, my phone rang, and I was offered the job in Ohio for Hillary. I went, we won, and it wasn't pleasant. That's history though too.
I really enjoyed the Palmetto State, and the lessons I learned there. I'll have some fond thoughts as I watch the coverage of the Democratic Primary there this week.
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