Terry Haskins

Terry Edward Haskins (January 31, 1955 – October 24, 2000) was a South Carolina Republican politician and Speaker pro-tempore of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1995 until his death.

Haskins was the second of four children born in Pontiac, Michigan, to Charles "Ed" and Dorothy Haskins, who were evangelical Christians. As a high school student, Haskins developed his musical and dramatic talents and was elected president of his class. [Dean Haskins, Eulogy (2002), [http://www.terryhaskins.com/hislife.htm TerryHaskins.com] ]

In 1972, he entered fundamentalist Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina and received a bachelor of arts in speech in 1976 and a master of arts in public speaking in 1978. His graduate speech recital described his plan to become President of the United States. While still a graduate student at BJU, Haskins became chairman of the Greenville Young Republicans. [Ehrenhalt, 97-98, 102.]

Haskins graduated from the University of South Carolina Law School in Columbia in 1981 and returned to Greenville to begin his legal practice. In 1983, he became the youngest member ever elected to the Greenville City Council. In 1984, he was elected as a conservative Republican to the state legislature from the district that contained Bob Jones University and held that seat until his death. In 1990, he lost a race for the United States House of Representatives to Democrat Liz Patterson. ["Who Was Who", 14th ed.]

Although he continued to take conservative positions on such topics as sex education in the schools, Haskins quickly developed bipartisan relationships in the state legislature, having endorsed affirmative action, the election of African American judges, and the admission of women to The Citadel. His support for extending scholarships for South Carolina residents to the then-unaccredited BJU was accepted by the legislative Black Caucus because unaccredited black schools were also included in the final bill. ["The" [Columbia, SC] "State", February 19, 1998, B3; March 6, 1991, 1A.]

In 1995, Haskins was elected speaker pro-tempore of the House. By 1999, he was influential in settling the two most divisive political issues of the period. Haskins proposed a compromise by which the legislature was able to remove the Confederate battle flag from flying over the state capitol; [Haskins interview with Gwen Ifill, [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june00/flag_1-17.html PBS Newshour] ; Prince, 200-201.] and through careful political strategy, he was also able to end video poker in South Carolina, an issue that had previously led to the defeat of Republican Governor David Beasley in 1998. ["The" [Columbia, SC] "State", February 7, 1999, A10; July 1, 1999, A1; August 1, 1999, A9; September 4, 1999, B1; [http://www.scstatehouse.net/sess114_2001-2002/bills/3458.htm SC House Resolution] . Carl Langley, writing in the "Edgefield Daily", declared, "Let us bow this morning to the ingenuity of Rep. Terry Haskins and the wisdom of our Supreme Court which stood up for the people while many elected to represent us took to cover in the tall grass. It was Haskins who wrote the amendment to poker legislation that called for its banishment if the court ruled against a referendum on the games. The Supreme Court, in unanimity I add, did just as Haskins expected. The court told the cowards in our legislature to enact our laws and not hand untidy things over to the people. There are few Medal of Honor winners in the General Assembly, but Haskins is a brave and fearless warrior who served the people well." [http://www.edgefielddaily.com/langley072407.html "Edgefield Daily"] ]

In October 1999, Haskins became co-chairman of the South Carolina campaign organization of U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona. After the national furor over the campaign visit of George W. Bush to Bob Jones University in February 2000, Haskins withdrew from the campaign because of what he called McCain’s "religious baiting". ["The" [Columbia, SC] "State", February 29, 2000, A6.] Haskins and McCain remained personal friends. [ [http://mccain.senate.gov/press_office/view_article.cfm?id=1038 McCain statement on Haskins' death] ; McCain also attended Haskins' funeral at Bob Jones University.]

The day that Haskins was elected speaker pro-tem in 1995, he discovered a lump under his right arm, which was quickly diagnosed as a melanoma. By July 2000, the cancer had spread to his brain, and he lost his hearing and most of the use of his left arm. At his death in October, he was nearly paralyzed. ["Greenville News", October 25, 2000, 3A.] In January 2005, a Greenville bridge was named in his honor. [Bryan Haskins, Speech at bridge dedication, January 10, 2005, [http://www.terryhaskins.com/bridge.htm TerryHaskins.com] ]

Haskins was survived by his wife, Gloria Arias Haskins, a native of Colombia, South America and their four sons, David, Bryan, Hayden, and Harlan Haskins. Mrs. Haskins successfully ran for her late husband’s seat in the state legislature, and became one of the first Latina members of the South Carolina legislature. [Gloria Haskins biography, [http://www.scstatehouse.net/members/bios/0788636269.html SC State Legislature] . She held the seat until defeated in the 2008 Republican primary.]

References

* [http://www.terryhaskins.com/ Terry Haskins Memorial Website]
*"Greenville News" [http://www.terryhaskins.com/News%20Articles/The%20Greenville%20News.htm obituary] , October 25, 2000.
*Alan Ehrenhalt, "The United States of Ambition: Politicians, Power, and the Pursuit of Office" (New York: Random House, 1991), 97-98, 102.
*K. Michael Prince, "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! South Carolina and the Confederate Flag" (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2004), 200-01.