Conley believes frustrated GOP voters in S.C. will give him a win

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ Bob Conley is counting on a mix of conservative principles, opposition to the Iraq War and dissatisfaction with incumbent Republican Lindsey Graham to help weave his way to a win in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.

Conley, a North Myrtle Beach Democrat who voted for Ron Paul in South Carolina's Republican presidential primary, says he believes his opposition to abortion rights, belief in marriage between a man and a woman and opposition to illegal immigration strike the right chord for voters here.

"I can grab a significant portion of the pie that would otherwise not vote Democrat," he said in a recent interview.

Conley should know. He unsuccessfully ran for the Indiana Legislature as a Republican in 2000. Even though he voted for longshot Paul, Conley says he walked away from the Republican Party years ago out of frustration over trade and immigration policies and the Iraq invasion. He says his Catholic background has given him "sanctity of life" views that apply equally to fetuses and innocent Iraqis and contends the GOP does not own traditional Christian values.

"That party can go to the devil," Conley said. "There's a big myth out there that there aren't pro-Life Democrats. In the South generally, but especially in the state of South Carolina, you can't go out and attack traditional Christian values, traditional Christian morals and expect to carry the day."

Now, the 42-year-old certified commercial pilot and licensed engineer said the GOP's "sellout of the American worker" infuriates him.

"I think the time is right for the picking of that seat, between Iraq and between the jobs problem we're having," he said. "Lindsey Graham has betrayed the people of South Carolina, and his time has come and gone."

Conley said he doesn't need Graham's millions to compete. It's a good thing: He had just $42 available, according to his last quarterly filing. Conley will first have to get past Michael Cone, an attorney from Mount Pleasant who had $109 available in for the June 10 primary.

Conley refers to likely GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain as "Juan McCain," for advocating last year's failed immigration bill that would have provided a path to citizenship. He calls Graham McCain's "Mini-Me."

He's also critical of Graham for being a cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq and what he calls the continued occupation.

"The American people are paying for this occupation. We have corporations who are just milking this cash cow," Conley said. "This occupation has to end."

He believes the military should determine how to pull out responsibly, while the administration talks with leaders in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran to "ensure a full out bloodbath doesn't erupt" when U.S. troops leave.

"That's their back yard. They should be the folks who are taking care of what's going on there," he said. "How would we feel if Communist China invaded Quebec?"

He references both the British and collapsed Roman empires as he explains the need for American troops to come home from all over the globe, citing South Korea as the first place for withdrawal.

"Why in the world are we paying to protect South Korea? We've been over there over 50 years. The South Koreans need to stand up and pay for their own defense," he said. "We have gotten mixed up in all this globalism and this empire-building abroad. It's time that we take care of the republic."

He lashes out at both illegal and legal immigration. He says some of his colleagues have suffered as corporations are allowed to recruit engineers and computer professionals from overseas.

Greedy businessmen also are exploiting illegal workers — a human rights tragedy, he said — while driving down wages for Americans and leaving them unemployed. He blames the Bush administration for not punishing corporations.

"Until the corporations who are responsible for leaving Americans unemployed and underemployed, for lowering of working conditions, until they are made to pay the price for fueling the immigration conflagration, nothing's going to happen," Conley said.