Despite all the attention South Carolina is getting right now, the old saw that “All politics is local” is certainly true. We’ve got a slew of Republicans who want to be the nominee for President to face Barack Obama as the all-but-assured Democrat candidate for the highest office in the land come November.

Many of the national candidates are criss-crossing South Carolina, and are talking about how good they are and about the negatives of the other guys.

Mitt Romney’s company Bain Capital is a venture capital firm, investing in companies with an idea of turning a profit. In the 1990s, that venture capital firm bought the company that included a mill in Kansas City and Georgetown Steel. Later, the company closed the Kansas City mill and about 750 workers lost their jobs.

Ultimately, Georgetown Steel filed for bankruptcy, was sold, bought, then closed in yet another bankruptcy. Some 465 people in Georgetown lost their jobs. But not while Bain Capital was the owner.

Since then, the mill reopened and has gone through several more ownership changes. Some 300 people are working three shifts.

During the 2003-2004 Presidential campaign, just about every Democrat hopeful made a stop in Georgetown with the closed steel mill as a focal point of the visit.

This time around, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has made much of former Massachusetts Gov. Romney’s involvement with Bain Capital, calling the company a “vulture capitalist.”

Mention is often made by Perry, some of the other candidates and many in the national media about the Georgetown steel mill.

So far, none of the Republican candidates themselves have made a stop in Georgetown though Perry’s wife Anita did come by in late November.

Still, even in Presidential politics Georgetown is getting a lot of attention.

As outlined elsewhere in the Georgetown Times, there are a lot of political happenings in our county.

Republicans and Democrats alike are doing their bit for national and Congressional campaigns.

A Republican Presidential debate will be held Monday, and the primary will be next Saturday, Jan. 21.

There’s a run-off election in Andrews on Tuesday for a seat on Town Council. South Carolina’s Attorney General is investigating whether some 700 to 900 “dead” people have voted.

There’s certainly enough to keep folks busy and involved, or to just say they’re tired of it all.

Meantime, bumpy roads need fixing and another trite but true expression is “There are no Republican or Democrat potholes.”

Get informed on the candidates, make sure you’re registered to vote, you’re alive when you vote and you have your photo ID card with you. Be a part of the solution by casting your informed vote for the candidates of your choice, regardless of the political party.