Let's get this out of the way at the top. I'm a Democrat and, as such, I hope Democrats win elections and Republicans lose - locally, in South Carolina and nationally.



The faces are those of Sen. Lindsay Graham and Gov. Nikki Haley. The folks cutting off the noses are their "independent" challengers Thomas Ravenel and Tom Ervin.

It seems to me both of these candidates have embarked on a selfish vendetta at best and a very expensive, self-funded ego trip at worst - one that will have the net effect of possibly helping Democrats to win.

Let's start with Tom Ervin. I have never met the man. I'm sure he is a good and decent man who loves his wife and children, goes to church on Sunday and is kind to animals.

That said, it seems the only reason he is running is because he has some sort of vendetta against Gov. Haley. He started out in the Republican primary going after Haley tooth and tong. When he saw that was an impossible uphill climb, he dropped out and is now running as an independent "Conservative Who Cares," or at least that's what his website says.

Though it is not too clear what he cares about other than not being Nikki Haley, his web site has two dozen bullet points with all the right conservative buzz words, but that's about it. It's a real shame that public policy, position papers and what a candidate believes have been reduced to a handful of buzz words.

And now Thomas Ravenel, or T-Rav, as he is known to all his hip buddies and cool hangers-on who think a lot of money and a perverse reality-show fame is sufficient to qualify someone to run the country. Like Ervin, I don't personally know Ravenel, though I think I did shake hands with him once long ago. I don't remember when or where it was; all I remember was his wide grin and shifty eyes.

Ravenel's basic rationale for running is that Lindsay is not a foaming-at-the-mouth radical ideologue, and his greatest sin is that on occasion he actually had the audacity to vote for something he thought was in the best interest of the county - even if some Democrats supported it.

There is not enough space in this column, or perhaps even on this newspaper page, to chronicle all the reasons why Ravenel has no business being a U.S. senator, or the sheer moral debauchery of his personal life, which he has chosen to parade on national television. Suffice to say, the kindest thing that most people can say about his run is, "Well, it's his money and if he wants to…"

And that is the point for both Ravenel and Ervin: It's their money. They are spending great buckets full of cash to run against Haley and Graham, essentially because they don't like them. Neither is getting significant financial support from people who believe in them or their messages - the way a campaign is supposed to work.

Moreover, neither has any realistic chance of winning. It's quite likely neither of them will even get 10 percent of the vote.

But they will peel some votes off of Haley and Graham and maybe, just maybe, it will be enough for either or both of their Democratic opponents, Vince Sheheen and Brad Hutto, to sneak through and win.

Wouldn't that be amazing?

The irony is that, historically, third-party or independent campaigns have been about something. They have been about candidates with big ideas or principles or some specific policy they were for or against.

But with these guys, it seems to be all about them, fueled by their money and focused on their anger and hostility toward their opponents. Simply put, it's spite - and that is not what politics ought to be about.

A face, a Democratic or Republican one, without a nose is an ugly sight indeed.

Phil Noble is a businessman in Charleston and serves as president of the South Carolina New Democrats. Contact him at phil@scnewdemocrats.org or go to www.SCNewDemocrats.org.