Pal helps boost Brown

U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., brought in a friend in a high place to help his re-election campaign, one that already is catching fire from both the left and the right.

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican who chairs the House Republican Caucus and is mentioned as a possible GOP presidential candidate in 2012, visited Charleston on Tuesday to attend a fundraising event for Brown. "I'm an unapologetic Henry Brown booster, supporter, friend," Pence said. "He's one of the most beloved figures in the House Republican Conference, and people around here need to know that."

Brown's first challenge for re-election will be to beat back primary challengers, including Carroll "Tumpy" Campbell. On Thursday, Campbell issued a statement criticizing Brown for his vote last year for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Covering the politics of the Lowcountry, South Carolina and the nation.

"The newly released $1.4 trillion budget deficit is proof positive that new leadership is needed in Washington," Campbell's statement said. "This should make every taxpayer in South Carolina concerned for their future. This money that the career politicians in Washington have spent must be paid back. The money will come either from current taxpayers or our children and grandchildren."

Brown said he supported $350 billion for TARP last fall because top economists said it was crucial to keep the economy from going into shock, adding, "The jury is still out on that, whether it was good or bad."

Brown noted he didn't vote for the second TARP installment or subsequent stimulus packages. As for Campbell, Brown said, "Here's a guy who's a lobbyist who shows up on the scene with some kind of answer. He says, 'This Charleston district deserves better, and I'm it.' ... I'd be careful how I took a voice in the wilderness."

His reference to Campbell as a lobbyist stoked a sore point. Campbell is not a registered lobbyist, although Gov. Mark Sanford last year removed him from the State Ports Authority board because he considered Campbell's company a lobbying firm.

State law prohibits lobbyists from sitting on state-appointed boards to avoid conflicts of interest. Campbell is chairman of Carroll Campbell and Associates, a government affairs and public relations firm.

Campbell spokesman Brent Littlefield said Tuesday, "It's just like a Washington politician to play games with words, and Congressman Brown is making inaccurate statements because a review of registrations shows that Mr. Carroll Campbell has never been a registered lobbyist in the state of South Carolina."

And Brown is not just facing flak from Campbell. Just after Campbell's criticism on Brown's TARP vote, Ryan Rudominer of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee criticized Brown for his vote against the Defense Reauthorization Act, saying Brown "voted no on giving our troops the pay-raise and affordable health care they more than earned through their service and sacrifice for America."

Brown said he voted against the bill because Democrats added on a measure that would expand the federal definition of a hate crime to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Brown said Democrats "don't care about the troops. They care about their agenda."

Pence called Brown a proven conservative, a label that Brown increasingly may cling to. He noted his voting record has been rated more conservative than that of Sanford, his predecessor, and Campbell's father Carroll Campbell Jr., who served in Congress from 1979 to 1987 before being elected governor.