Republicans occasionally like to introduce wacky legislation. That's no secret, and for the most part, we simply don't have the time to cover every ridiculous-never-had-a-chance-to-make-it-to-the-the-floor bill they sponsor.

But this one's too good to ignore.

South Carolina Republican Mike Pitts, a state representative, has introduced a bill that would ban the "the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin" in the state:

If the bill were to become law, South Carolina would no longer accept or use anything other than silver and gold coins as a form of payment for any debt, meaning paper money would be out in the Palmetto State.

This is a fight that we as a nation have had before. Unfortunately for Rep. Pitts, it is a fight that his side lost more than a century ago. In cases stretching from 1871 to 1884, the Supreme Court repeatedly ruled that paper dollars issued by the federal government are, in fact, legal tender for all debts, public and private.

Even if constitutionality weren't a hurdle, practicality would be. The worth of gold or silver coins would constantly fluctuate with market values for the precious metals. At best, Pitts would be reintroducing the barter system to South Carolina.

Pitts has no problem with that:

"To me, something I can hold tangible in my hand I can put more value in, especially under the current rate of inflation,” Pitts said. “In the case of total economic collapse, a barter tool is going to be worth a whole lot more value than paper with ink on it."

Luckily, even Pitts doesn't think this bill has any chance at becoming a law:

"I don’t see the intestinal fortitude of this legislative body to test the federal government on Constitutional issues. One that has this much teeth in it I don’t think has the ability to pass."

But of course, that begs another question. Why is he wasting everyone's time?

South Carolina Republicans are now on-record saying they can’t be trusted with power. That’s our interpretation, anyway, of a new proposal by the state’s Republican legislative leaders to make across-the-board budget cuts automatic when times are tough – without any input or on-the-record votes by the legislature:

To deal with future budget shortages, the state's top legislators want across-the-board cuts to come quicker as they propose automatic cuts when revenues fall a certain percentage.

Currently, only a budget oversight board led by Gov. Mark Sanford can decide to cut the state's spending when it gets a report that revenues are 4 percent shy of expectations. Lawmakers want the cuts to come automatically when the state's revenues are 2 percent short.

Even the most uncompromising anti-tax voter should be outraged by this proposal. We elect our leaders to make tough choices, not to run away from them. And the reason we want elected officials making the tough decision to cut services or raise taxes is so we the people can hold them accountable for their actions.

Writing the budget is the most basic responsibility of every legislature in America – the power of the purse. If Republicans really want across-the-board spending cuts, they should at least have the backbone to vote for them, on the record. But South Carolina Republicans are too afraid to do their jobs in tough times, and now they want someone else to do it for them.

Next month, Democratic State Senator Gerald Malloy of South Carolina will be named one of “Katie’s Heroes” for his tireless advocacy of a state DNA registry for violent felons, which passed in 2008, and for his work as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Criminal Justice System Task Force:

John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted, will be presenting the award at a luncheon hosted by the family of Katie Sepich, a young woman who was brutally raped and murdered in Aug of 2003, and whose family has established a nonprofit organization called DNA Saves.

(…)DNA Saves feels that Senator Malloy’s contributions to enacting DNA arrestee legislation in South Carolina deserves recognition and appreciation for a law that will benefit many in the succeeding years. In presenting him this award, Katie’s family wants to let Senator Malloy’s constituents know that he is a hero to them as well as to the many victims of violent crime.

“This will be a vital tool for law enforcement and it is essential that we provide our law enforcement with the best tools to keep our citizens safe. This methodology is already used by the Federal Government and should be a logical extension to our State,” said Senator Malloy.

The ceremony will be held on July 22nd as part of the National Conference of State Legislatures conference in Philadelphia. We applaud Senator Malloy for this award and for his ongoing fight to keep South Carolina’s families and children safe.

In this interconnected world of ours, there are few better ways to draw attention to something than to protest its existence. Unfortunately for him and his state, I don't think Republican State Sen. David Thomas of South Carolina understands that.

Earlier this year, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism of his state agreed to participate in an advertising campaign to promote South Carolina to gay European tourists. Similar ads were sponsored by the city governments of Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C.

The advertisements were timed for London’s Gay Pride Week, which ended Saturday. The posters touted the attractions of the state to gay tourists, including its "gay beaches" and its Civil War-era plantations.

Sen. Thomas found out about the ad when he was contacted by the SC blog Palmetto Scoop. He called for an audit of the state's tourism advertising budget and told the blog this:

"South Carolinians will be irate when they learn their hard earned tax dollars are being spent to advertise our state as 'so gay'...This campaign goes against our core values."

A Google search for the phrase, 'Sen. David Thomas "So Gay" ' now returns about 108,000 results. Because of him, copies and text from the advertisement have run alongside coverage from Time and Newsweek, and papers from all over the country and the world.

Maybe that's exactly what Thomas intended, but here's the thing. Prior to this kerfuffle, I had no idea that South Carolina even had gay beaches.

And more importantly, an advertisement designed to improve the state's tourism industry will now have the opposite effect. In tough economic times, you gotta think that's a little foolish.