Photo by Deborah Mortellaro

Galivants Ferry, a small South Carolina town of not quite 5,000, lies on the banks of the Little Pee Dee River between Florence and Myrtle Beach, and enjoys quiet, rural simplicity in its surroundings of farms, fields and silos.

Except during election years, that is.

For one day in even-numbered years, the population of this small town grows by as much 10 percent when the Galivants Ferry Stump Speaking takes place.

This recent May 3rd was the 68th celebration of the biennial event, from which “take the stump,” and similar “stump” political phrases originated. It was attended by almost 400 this year, not including local and national media, and even though the humidity was high and despite forecasts of heavy rain.

Photo by Deborah Mortellaro

Since 1876 when Gen. Wade Hampton used this small historic town to kick off his gubernatorial campaign, Galivants Ferry has hosted Democratic Party candidates, providing them with an actual stump to stand behind and speak from, to make their campaign stances known to the electing public.

And 2010 was no different from this historic sequence. Democratic candidates for federal, state and local offices gathered to stand behind the same historic stump, tell their goals and ask for votes.

Republican candidates are welcome to attend, and some did this year, including Clark Parker who’s vying for Congressional District 1. Only Democrats can address the public from the stump, though.

The event includes many local flavors, too, from live bluegrass music to funnel cakes, and from chicken bog to clog dancing. Children gathered round to feed Eleanor, the mascot donkey, whose brays seemed perfectly timed at moments in accentuation of particular points speakers made.

The local Holliday family has continued the Galivants Ferry tradition since 1880, as members of this family, Russell and Billy, were proud to tell attendees.

U.S. Rep. John Larson (photo by Deborah Mortellaro)

Jim Clyburn, representative of South Carolina’s Congressional District 6, was pleased to participate in this year’s Galivants Ferry Stump. “Whenever the campaign season begins, I check my calendar for the date.”

Clyburn introduced his congressional colleague, U.S. Rep. John Larson, as keynote speaker.

Even though his state of Connecticut is home to many insurance company headquarters, Larson was quite supportive of the recent healthcare reform bill that many in that industry opposed, Clyburn pointed out. “He stood up at a critical time.”

He was proud to give such support, Larson said, in order to overcome the partisan, party-only politics displayed by Republicans at the moment. Currently, Larson implied, the GOP is only representing itself and not the best interests of its citizen constituents.

Even though Republican Pres. Teddy Roosevelt first introduced the concept of national healthcare long ago, Larson pointed out, and that “Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and even Eisenhower tried” to implement such a program, it only recently became law, and without a single Republican vote.

Other improvements directly pertaining to healthcare are sure to follow, too, Larson said, and with or without support from any Republican congresspersons.

Following Larson’s address, Tommy Brittain served as emcee, introducing Democratic candidates for federal, state and local offices.

All stood behind the now-historic stump as they gave addresses from the century-old general store that hosted the event.

And just about every candidate offered the same observations and stated similar goals: South Carolina is at a point of desperate need, particularly in employment and education, and because Republican officials had the state, if not the entire country, moving in the wrong direction for far too long.

The Democratic candidates speaking that day included:
Jim Rex for Governor
Vincent Sheheen for Governor
Vic Rawl for U.S. Senate
Robert Burton for U.S. House of Representatives
Ben Frasier for U.S. House of Representatives
Ashley Cooper for Lt. Governor
Matthew Richardson for Attorney General
Robert Barber for Comptroller General
Marjorie Johnson for Secretary of State
Frank Holleman for Superintendent of Education
Tom Thompson for Superintendent of Education
Tom S. Elliot for Commission of Agriculture

Just click the links to their names to read of their Galivants Ferry Stump Speeches.  When finished reading about an individual candidate's address, return to this page to access the links about other candidate speeches.