No one knows if South Carolina Republican-turned-Libertarian Thomas Ravenel is floating trial balloons about running for Senate this year-- against his nemesis Lindsey Graham-- as a publicity stunt for his new BRAVO TV show, Southern Charm or if his participation in the shocking TV show is a publicity stunt for his Senate run. But this week the Post and Courier broke the story-- for those who didn't watch the first episode of the bizarre Charleston-based reality-sit-com-- that Ravenel may take on Lindsey Graham as an independent candidate.For those who haven't been following the Ravenel saga, let's sum it up in a paragraph. His father, Arthur, a vicious racist Dixiecrat and self-styled "aristocrat," who switched to the GOP in the '60s was the congressman from Charleston from 1987-1995-- and he's the Ravenel the iconic Cooper River bridge is named for. His son Tom ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004, spent almost $3 million and came in third in the GOP primary. Two years later he was elected state Treasurer and served for 6 months before being busted for selling coke. He went to a fancy "rehab" center for wealthy Republican drug addicts and was given much reduced charges-- the 500 grams he was arrested with suddenly and very conveniently became "less than 100 grams" and after he ratted out some of his suppliers-- and he was sentenced to 10 months in a Club Fed-- where he played bocci-- instead of the 20 years he should have gotten. If you watch the BRAVO show, you have already come to see what a charming and utterly despicable sociopath he is. Since being released, he's been arrested in the Hamptons for driving "drunk" (i.e.- high on coke).Stephanie Barna, writing for the Cahrleston City Paper echoed the fears of many in her city as Southern Charm was about to launch this week offering that, for many Charlestonians, it "represents all that is base and vile in the world. Charleston will become the laughingstock of the country-- as if South Carolina isn't already a laughingstock for things much worse than man sluts. You know, things like institutionalized racism and homophobia, high rates of illiteracy, poverty, teenage pregnancy, AIDS, etc."
Now, for those like me, seeing Thomas Ravenel in his natural habitat is fascinating stuff. This is a guy who truly is from the local elite-- a French Huguenot with a family name that dates back centuries. The big bridge is named for his dad Arthur Ravenel for god sakes. And about his dad. I kind of miss old Cousin Arthur, a former politician who served in Congress, ran for governor, and took a seat on the county school board at age 79. He gave the City Paper plenty of fodder for years. We dedicated entire issues to his Cuzway, the bridge's nickname during the project stage. We called him out when he famously referred to the NAACP as the National Association for Retarded People during the Confederate flag flap.And because he is the son of Cousin Arthur, we shouldn't be surprised that T-Rav is an attention whore who loves stirring up controversy and saying shit like he did in last week's City Paper. Father and son share a mischievous twinkle in their eyes. They like to challenge and charm people. They like attention, which is why we caught a glimpse of the senior Ravenel in the preview episode. That's right. Cousin Arthur makes an appearance in Southern Charm, and for that, I will watch. I mean, you could put these two guys in a sitcom, they are such characters.
Ravenel, who, as a Libertarian is now pro-gay equality, harbors a lot of antipathy for the closeted Lindsey Graham and told the press that if Graham wins the 5-way primary in June, he'll run against him as an independent, possibly siphoning off enough anti-Graham Republican votes in November to throw the race to progressive Democrat Jay Stamper. "If Lindsey wins the nomination, I will probably throw my hat into the ring," he said on Tuesday.
South Carolina political scientists were quick to downplay Ravenel's odds of success, given his federal cocaine charge and guilty plea that drove him from office in 2007."I don't think he has a chance in hell," said College of Charleston political scientist Kendra Stewart.Stewart said some voters can be forgiving, citing how coastal 1st Congressional District Republicans responded to now-U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford's marital affair and Appalachian Trail hike story while governor.The difference, she said, was that Sanford asked for forgiveness and was contrite-- helping him win his former seat in Congress last year.In Ravenel's case, she said, he hasn't been as repentant. He also was pushed from office for drug use."I think a drug scandal is a lot harder to overcome than a marital scandal," Stewart said. "Especially in other areas of the state."Much of Southern Charm, seen on the Bravo network, claims to show the lives of rich young men and women living in Charleston. Parts of Monday's broadcast focused on Ravenel's efforts to mix his playboy persona and efforts to rehabilitate his image toward a political campaign."It's just television; it's entertainment," Ravenel said of the first hour of the series that was shown Monday. He added that he felt he was portrayed accurately.He also let on Tuesday that other Charleston residents earlier had dropped out of the project, and that his siblings had pressured him to get out as well."(The network) said they wouldn't have a show without me; I was the only Charlestonian in it," he said of his decision to honor his commitment to the project and stay on.Ravenel said he would self-finance his campaign if it does materialize, and would seek donations. His conviction does not prohibit seeking federal office.
Before exploring Thomas' lovely Charleston pied-à-terre, please consider contributing Jay Stamper's grassroots Senate campaign… just in case.