In case any of you are still wondering whether S.C. Governor (and aspirant for national office) Nikki Haley is working, like a whole raft of Republican governors across America, from the DeLuxe Embossed Leather Binder no doubt handed out at the Koch Brothers' annual How Can We Sell America Down The River? conference of politicians, CEOs and others on the inside of the corporate establishment that owns our government, this should leave little doubt.
South Carolina-based FITSNews lays it out in gory detail in an article referencing the S.C. Dept. of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC's) recent about-face on the granting of a state permit to the state of Georgia to deepen the Port of Savannah and dump spoils for decades to come on land it was hoped would be the location of a terminal significantly closer to the ocean than Savannah's in Jasper County, S.C.
The staff professionals at DHEC initially denied the permit; but after some sequence of events that remains shrouded in secrecy (although details are emerging, as the linked article notes), Haley's hand-picked Board overruled the staff and issued the permit. This is after Haley made a campaign issue of playing second fiddle to Georgia.
FITSNews sums it up:
In addition to the financial and political favors she’s already alleged to have already received for betraying South Carolina’s economic and environmental interests, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley may reap yet another major reward from her “Savannah River Sellout.”
Specifically, her decision to accommodate the state of Georgia’s government-funded Savannah port expansion project – which will effectively kill a public-private port facility in Jasper County, S.C. – will benefit a pair of major players in Republican Party politics.
Specifically, it will help the energy/ manufacturing conglomerate run by brothers Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch – two of the nation’s most influential GOP donors and early supporters of the Tea Party movement.
Koch Industries – which is the second-largest privately-held company in America – owns GP Gypsum Corporation and Koch Materials Company, two companies which have extensive business with the Port of Savannah. In fact, both of those subsidiaries feature operations on prime real estate along the Savannah River.
Koch Industries also owns Georgia Pacific – the Atlanta-based paper, packaging and construction materials manufacturer that’s a huge user of both the Port of Savannah and the Port of Brunswick.
FITS notes that the Georgia project effectively kills the Jasper project, which effectively puts taxpayers on the hook for billions, where the Jasper project was mostly to be privately developed.
If Haley gets her prime-time speaking gig at the GOP 2012 convention, you'll all get to see what a fast-talking, shady character she is, if she's still governor by then.
How is YOUR Republican governor implementing the Koch Agenda?