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| Elizabeth Colbert Busch: star turn in an election gone beyond satire | Elizabeth Colbert Busch: star turn in an election gone beyond satire |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Elizabeth Colbert Busch, is new at being a political candidate – only 10 weeks into her first race – so she gets to a community breakfast on a rainy Saturday morning early. | Elizabeth Colbert Busch, is new at being a political candidate – only 10 weeks into her first race – so she gets to a community breakfast on a rainy Saturday morning early. |
| The hall on Hilton Head Island is still pretty empty when she arrives – the lady volunteers are busy filling the giant coffee machine and setting out pastries and fruit. Dressed in a beige tiger-print trench coat, tan slacks and low brown heels, the Democrats' congressional candidate for South Carolina thanks the volunteers enthusiastically and then gets right to it, shaking hands. | The hall on Hilton Head Island is still pretty empty when she arrives – the lady volunteers are busy filling the giant coffee machine and setting out pastries and fruit. Dressed in a beige tiger-print trench coat, tan slacks and low brown heels, the Democrats' congressional candidate for South Carolina thanks the volunteers enthusiastically and then gets right to it, shaking hands. |
| Seeing as I am the only person seated in the front row, she comes to me first, her hand outstretched at the far end of a wide smile. | Seeing as I am the only person seated in the front row, she comes to me first, her hand outstretched at the far end of a wide smile. |
| "Hi, I'm Elizabeth," she says. | "Hi, I'm Elizabeth," she says. |
| I tell her who I am and that I've come to follow her around for the day. To her credit, she manages to look delighted. | I tell her who I am and that I've come to follow her around for the day. To her credit, she manages to look delighted. |
| "Well then, we'll get to know each other very well," she says. Just like that, we're friends. | "Well then, we'll get to know each other very well," she says. Just like that, we're friends. |
| While the hall fills up, I'll tell you that Colbert Busch is Stephen Colbert's sister. That's the place where most people start. But I can add that having spent a day in her company, it's the least interesting thing about her. Still, being Stephen's sister is a useful asset when you come into a special election at no notice as a novice and you need a lot of money. ("They're telling me," Elizabeth says later, "a minimum of $1m.") | |
| She hasn't received any of the $773,704.83 in Super Pac money that her brother raised during the presidential election last year – that went to charity. But this week sees the third in a series of fundraisers that Stephen Colbert is hosting for her. | |
| The third fundraiser is a New York breakfast this morning, where tickets are going for as much as $10,000. So having a famous comedian as a brother is very helpful, even if his reputation is ultra-liberal and his sister is running in a solidly Republican district. | The third fundraiser is a New York breakfast this morning, where tickets are going for as much as $10,000. So having a famous comedian as a brother is very helpful, even if his reputation is ultra-liberal and his sister is running in a solidly Republican district. |
| At this morning's breakfast – and in general – Elizabeth prefers to talk about other members of her family, although when she does drop references to her youngest brother they are always met with enthusiasm. With the hall filled to a crowded standing-room-only capacity of mixed race, mainly elderly enthusiasts, she picks up a stapled printout of her speech, apologizes for being so new that she still has to read remarks, and gets going. | At this morning's breakfast – and in general – Elizabeth prefers to talk about other members of her family, although when she does drop references to her youngest brother they are always met with enthusiasm. With the hall filled to a crowded standing-room-only capacity of mixed race, mainly elderly enthusiasts, she picks up a stapled printout of her speech, apologizes for being so new that she still has to read remarks, and gets going. |
| She doesn't talk about the tragedy in her background, but it's quite shocking. One of 11 children, she was at college on 11 September 1974 when she got an urgent phone call from her mother. Her father and two of her brothers had been killed in a plane crash. (Stephen, the youngest, was 10 at the time.) After the accident, she left college and moved back home. | She doesn't talk about the tragedy in her background, but it's quite shocking. One of 11 children, she was at college on 11 September 1974 when she got an urgent phone call from her mother. Her father and two of her brothers had been killed in a plane crash. (Stephen, the youngest, was 10 at the time.) After the accident, she left college and moved back home. |
| Colbert Busch loves her mother. In a recent video interview with the local Patch, she started crying as she talked about her reaction to the plane crash. She manages not to cry as she mentions her this morning, but she talks about her a lot, almost with awe. It was her mother who urged her to go back to college and finish her degree when she was divorced, had three young children to raise and was only making $6.25 an hour. (Her ex-husband was nowhere in sight. In fact, he was briefly on America's Most Wanted, for securities fraud.) | |
| For all the reading of the speech – and she doesn't so much read it as check in with it from time to time – Colbert Busch has her audience entranced. They laugh at her jokes, they nod at the serious bits. There's something Hillary-ish about her mix of folksiness, pragmatism and good cheer. Her hair is highlighted and blown out, but she's not wearing much makeup. She mentions that someone in the hall had told her to put on some lipstick and gets a general laugh. | |
| A political game of dominoes | A political game of dominoes |
| At 58, she has the demeanor and deep lines of someone who has been through a lot. She wears her life on her face, but it sits there comfortably. Later, she'll tell me how determined she is not to lose her sense of self through this whole process and that everything she has been through has turned into a blessing. | At 58, she has the demeanor and deep lines of someone who has been through a lot. She wears her life on her face, but it sits there comfortably. Later, she'll tell me how determined she is not to lose her sense of self through this whole process and that everything she has been through has turned into a blessing. |
| Politically, she sounds a lot like the women she wants to join on Capitol Hill after the 7 May election. There's a lot of "needing to get our fiscal house in order" speak. She's big on alternative energy sources, veterans' affairs and education. She's had 25 years in the business community, so she knows how to negotiate. She prefers to talk about "we" instead of "us and them". She doesn't want to raise taxes until she has checked that every last cent of expenditure is being spent wisely. In fact, she feels this so strongly that when President Obama released his budget recently, she issued a statement criticizing it. | Politically, she sounds a lot like the women she wants to join on Capitol Hill after the 7 May election. There's a lot of "needing to get our fiscal house in order" speak. She's big on alternative energy sources, veterans' affairs and education. She's had 25 years in the business community, so she knows how to negotiate. She prefers to talk about "we" instead of "us and them". She doesn't want to raise taxes until she has checked that every last cent of expenditure is being spent wisely. In fact, she feels this so strongly that when President Obama released his budget recently, she issued a statement criticizing it. |
| I respectfully disagree with the budget that President Obama is expected to present today because it simply doesn't take the right steps to putting our fiscal house back in order – especially from my perspective as a businesswoman. The fact is, we have to balance our budget, cut our spending and lower taxes for small businesses to create jobs. Unfortunately, this budget takes the opposite approach; it raises taxes, doesn't balance and doesn't cut enough – when we should be laser-focused on slashing wasteful and duplicative spending. | I respectfully disagree with the budget that President Obama is expected to present today because it simply doesn't take the right steps to putting our fiscal house back in order – especially from my perspective as a businesswoman. The fact is, we have to balance our budget, cut our spending and lower taxes for small businesses to create jobs. Unfortunately, this budget takes the opposite approach; it raises taxes, doesn't balance and doesn't cut enough – when we should be laser-focused on slashing wasteful and duplicative spending. |
| The seat she is running for is in play because of a political game of dominoes. South Carolina senator Jim DeMint, a leading Tea Party organiser, resigned at the start of this year in order to become chairman of the conservative Heritage Foundation. The Republican Representative Tim Scott was named as his replacement. Colbert Busch is running for Scott's now empty seat, against Mark Sanford, a former governor of the state. Sanford is the guy who turned the phrase "hiking the Appalachian trail" into a euphemism when it turned out he was actually visiting his mistress in Argentina – a move that resulted in his resignation and divorce. | |
| Sanford's decision to enter the race was seen as a logical attempt at a comeback. These days, those who behave badly in public office only have to spend 15 minutes in the doghouse. The race was his to lose and Colbert Busch was widely seen as an outside shot – until a week ago. Then it emerged that Sanford's ex-wife had accused him of trespassing in her house; he has a court date two days after the election. Following this news, Sanford went to ground, his Republican supporters fell silent and the National Republican Congressional Committee withdrew their funding. In a 72-hour period, Colbert Busch became The Candidate. | |
| All of this might explain the air of celebration in the air this Saturday morning. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has publicly come out in support of Colbert Busch, buying TV time for her and emailing on her behalf. And a poll released on Monday showed that she had increased her lead over Sanford to nine points. But Colbert Busch is taking nothing for granted. | |
| "I'm asking for your vote," she repeatedly tells her audience. It's clear that she's got it. | "I'm asking for your vote," she repeatedly tells her audience. It's clear that she's got it. |
| Following the speech, Colbert Busch spends 20 minutes talking to supporters and posing for pictures while the coffee and Danish pastries disappear. There are sign-up sheets at the door, for anyone who wants to volunteer. By the end of the event, 10 sheets have been filled. | |
| 'Thanks for running!' | 'Thanks for running!' |
| I have been with the campaign for about 90 minutes, which means I'm family. We set off in a small convoy for the next event, with me following the press secretary's old maroon Buick, which contains Colbert Busch and a couple more aides. We arrive for a walkthrough at a Saturday morning farmer's market about 10 minutes away, where Colbert Busch is immediately and enthusiastically recognized. | |
| "Hello," people call out. "Thanks for running!" | "Hello," people call out. "Thanks for running!" |
| If you should ever come to walk through a farmer's market with Colbert Busch, I can offer you the following background: | |
| • She likes kettle corn. | • She likes kettle corn. |
| • Her press secretary doesn't want her to taste an oyster, for fear she'll smell of oysters for the rest of the day. | • Her press secretary doesn't want her to taste an oyster, for fear she'll smell of oysters for the rest of the day. |
| • She'll look longingly at the baked goods stand and sigh "baked goods", before turning away. Somehow she'll end up having bought a dense loaf of what looks like banana bread. | • She'll look longingly at the baked goods stand and sigh "baked goods", before turning away. Somehow she'll end up having bought a dense loaf of what looks like banana bread. |
| • If you don't know how to open a boiled peanut, she'll help you out while telling you how to make them. Then you'll eat a few together. | • If you don't know how to open a boiled peanut, she'll help you out while telling you how to make them. Then you'll eat a few together. |
| • While buying a bunch of turnips, she'll tell the stall owners that her second husband, "the love of my life", is an enthusiastic gardener who grows asparagus "that comes up overnight" and is delicious for dinner. | • While buying a bunch of turnips, she'll tell the stall owners that her second husband, "the love of my life", is an enthusiastic gardener who grows asparagus "that comes up overnight" and is delicious for dinner. |
| • She finds time while campaigning to buy some homemade dog treats. | • She finds time while campaigning to buy some homemade dog treats. |
| • Remarks like "I'm gonna vote for you, as long as it doesn't interfere with watching your brother" are pretty common. | • Remarks like "I'm gonna vote for you, as long as it doesn't interfere with watching your brother" are pretty common. |
| • She is extremely popular with the farmer's market crowd. | • She is extremely popular with the farmer's market crowd. |
| By now, everyone is starving. Our small contingent heads off to a local café, where Colbert Busch is going to eat with local business leaders and be available to media. On arrival it is obvious that I'm the only media there, so she sits down for an interview. | |
| I ask her what made her decide to get into this race. After all, she's had a successful business career for 25 years – she worked for an ocean carrier as director of sales and marketing and for the past five years has been director of business development at Clemson University's Restoration Institute. It turns out she had been approached locally four years ago, but the timing was wrong. This time she's running for a vacant seat, not against an African American (Scott) incumbent. | I ask her what made her decide to get into this race. After all, she's had a successful business career for 25 years – she worked for an ocean carrier as director of sales and marketing and for the past five years has been director of business development at Clemson University's Restoration Institute. It turns out she had been approached locally four years ago, but the timing was wrong. This time she's running for a vacant seat, not against an African American (Scott) incumbent. |
| When Scott left for the Senate, "The phone rang off the hook," she says. "It's time, this is the moment, let's do it, let's go, let's go, let's go." | When Scott left for the Senate, "The phone rang off the hook," she says. "It's time, this is the moment, let's do it, let's go, let's go, let's go." |
| She talked to her family, because "when you run, your family runs." This involved going to see her 92-year-old mother. | She talked to her family, because "when you run, your family runs." This involved going to see her 92-year-old mother. |
| I love that woman. I Adore. My. Mother. All she says to me, she says: 'Lulee – that's what she calls me – she says, 'Your path is clear.' | |
| There is a pause. And I suddenly notice that Colbert Busch's eyes have filled with tears. "You can see how much I love my mother," she says. | |
| I ask her if she cries every time she talks about her. | I ask her if she cries every time she talks about her. |
| "Not every time," she says, laughing. "But it's just how much she has done for me." | "Not every time," she says, laughing. "But it's just how much she has done for me." |
| Colbert Busch hopes she has been the same kind of mother to her own three children – and now her three grandchildren with two more on the way. "Fierce," she says, "And very loving." | |
| Colbert Busch doesn't mention Sanford by name, but she and her team use the word "trust" a lot, the inference being that a cheating husband is not the world's most trustworthy guy and therefore not someone you can do business with. Other than that, she's now outspending him 3-1 and so she lets the money talk. | |
| After our interview, Colbert Busch has lunch with the business leaders, who have been joined by the author Pat Conroy, of Prince of Tides fame. He sits across the table and stares at the candidate with the rapt face of someone who knows he is in the presence of a celebrity. | |
| The final event of the day is a visit to the Port Royal Soft Shell Crab Festival, with mayor Sam Murray. Colbert Busch introduces the mayor to the members of her team, which now seems to include me. "And this is Emma," she says, while I awkwardly explain my presence. | |
| The sun has arrived and so have more reporters. Colbert Busch talks to us all while gnats hover, biting. We're brushing them off, increasingly hot and uncomfortable. But the candidate stands comfortably in the sun, cool as a cucumber. | |
| She's learning. | She's learning. |