Larry Kobrovsky, Paul Thurmond, and Larry Richter are lawbreakers

We are a nation of laws. Or so I’ve heard again and again this election year.

Typically, the declaration comes from a Tea Party backer or a candidate trying to court one and, more often than not, it’s invoked to address the subjection of illegal immigration.

I get it. It’s illegal to sneak into the United States, uninvited and undocumented. All illegal aliens are lawbreakers.

Hmm.

Well, so is nearly every single politician running for office right now, even those who would like to see a return to the Eisenhower-era’s Operation Wetback. Seriously, that was its name.

According to a Post and Courier report, it’s illegal for candidates to place campaign signs on a state right of way. But those lawbreaking politicos do it time and time again. A nation of laws, indeed? Ha.

Enforcement of sign ordinances varies widely from locale to locale, and campaign operatives often figure that even if their sign remains up only for a few days, it could pay off if enough passing motorists notice it.

Summerville, Mount Pleasant and Charleston have different policies for removing signs in the right of way. North Charleston does not, though a few council members think it should.

Jim Feda, director of maintenance with the state Department of Transportation, said no signs may be placed in the state right of way, but his crews remove them only if they pose a danger to motorists’ sight lines or if they’re in the way of a lawn mower.

“We don’t go looking for them,” Feda said. “In an election year, we could be out there 24/7 picking up illegal signs. That’s all we would be doing.”

Feel free to go to the P&C report to see a pic of the guilty caught red-handed.