Is there division in the SC Republican Party?

 

 

 

 

The Grand Old Party (GOP) has much to contemplate this Saturday as they meet with all their delegates from across the state to decide who will lead the party the next two years and which direction they will travel. Up for grabs will be the Chairmanship, 1st Vice Chair, and 2nd Vice Chair among other offices available. Contrasting reports have recently emerged about who is and is not running for the chairmanship of the party.

Less than ten days ago local news group FITsNews reported that one candidate was dropping out. Two days ago another news group, The State, reported on their front page that there are three candidates running for chair. Interestingly enough as of this writing there are five candidates running for the State Chairmanship of the Republican Party.

The office of Chairman for the Republican Party is the most pressing of all and will be voted on Saturday May 20 when an expected 943 delegates will descend on River Bluff High School in Lexington for a 50% +1 vote takes all. The election for chair is held every two years in a General election off year. Current Chairman Drew McKissick has held the office for the past six years and has four challengers this year: former Greenville County Republican Party Chairman Jeff Davis, former 2nd Vice Chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party Zoe Warren, Tim Cox, from West Ashley (near Charleston) area, a pro-life advocate who is associated with 40 days for Life, and Mark Powell from Anderson County.

As with any organization the Chair must use their leadership skills to create a winning strategy, implement said strategy, direct personnel, oversee goals, and deliver overall victory while maintaining the highest standards of the Party. Thus, the State Republican Party Chairman is responsible for: Leading, developing and overseeing the performance of the County Chairmen, playing a key role in creating conditions necessary for overall County and individual Chair effectiveness; effectively communicating with Chairmen and the general membership; chair Party meetings; promote and advocate adherence to the SC State Republican Party platform; promote and oversee the highest standards of governance within the Party; lead the Party in regard to proposals and resolutions advocated by each county’s Executive Committeemen; create a team atmosphere where County EC’s are included in strategy, recruiting proper candidates, overseeing overall well-being of Statewide Party, raising capital, financial reporting; setting an agenda for the Party with cooperation and approval of EC’s, which is focused on strategic policy matters; fostering an open, inclusive discussion with Executives, and Chairmen; all while promoting Party platform objectives, compliance, and cohesion.

Most Republicans agree that there have been problems in the office of Chairman for several years: lack of communication to County leadership, running roughshod over elected county representatives, non-adherence to the Party platform, lack of leadership on key issues by elected Republicans, “name calling”, dissension and alienation of County Party leadership instigated by Chairman, etc.

Examples of this alienation include current Chairman Drew McKissick calling the conservative element of the Republican Party, typically known as “America First”, MAGA, or SaveSC, names like a “colony of lepers“. Most people don’t like being referred to by derogatory names, such as a “lepers“, or that you will turn the party “into a dumpster fire“. Commentator Jeff Dornik indicates that this is the attitude of elitist’s, and that McKissick is “clearly completely opposed to all that we stand for as the MAGA Movement” and of someone who seeks to rule over you versus work together in a joint effort for the same goal.

The problem is that this attitude prevails in much of the RINO (Republican in name only) faction of the Republican Party in SC and the Statehouse which is the dominant faction. Those voting with the Democrats are typically called RINOs, “establishment” or the “uniparty”. This attitude was emphasized by Democrat Presidential candidate Mike Dukakis in 1988 when he said, “the fish rots from the head down”.  Elitist’s seem to prefer corporate donors and favors to the concerns, principles and values of the common everyday citizen and voter, and they seem to be willing to sacrifice the citizen’s vote for corporate favor. Is this the reason for the failure of elected Republicans to adhere to and promote the Republican Party platform? What it works out to is that because of this corporate donor and compromising attitude many Republicans actually adhere to the Democrat platform and vote with their Democrat colleagues quite often.

Because of that many conservative citizens have become either dismayed and fallen away from the party, no longer taking part, or they have doubled down their effort and are fighting harder than ever against those who refuse to stand on the Republican platform. The two main challengers, Davis and Warren, are among the latter.

 

SKILL SET NEEDED

As an executive of the State Party many skill sets will be needed to not merely to get elected, but to effectively do the job. Some of those skills needed are: communicating with the statewide team of elected Executive Committeemen and County Chairmen and with elected members of the State legislature to assure they adhere to the State Party platform; assessing of finances, spending and income, and the ability to raise money from members of the State and County Republican Party, and not rely on big corporations for donations with strings attached to get their way with our state legislators. That seems to be part of the problem with ‘good ole boy’ politics now in both party’s. Of course, although not required in an elective office, experience in these matters will always be of benefit. On the job trial by fire does work at times but knowing the ropes and having been there could make things smoother as well as easier.

Davis stated in his Friday MYSCGOP newsletter that the SC GOP must “take back the bully pulpit… and focus on passing conservative legislation”. He stated this must be done “through precinct reorganization.”

Warren said Friday on the Overton Report that in the State Party “we need a General… we need communications… we need to treat people like we want to be treated”.

McKissick has been in the driver’s seat for six years and appears to have neglected to correct the course of Republican Party legislators who fail to vote the party platform. Thus, the SC legislature has a low conservative rating of 27th most conservative state in the US according to CPAC, with some SC Democrats scoring more conservative than Republicans in the state legislature.

 

SOME KEY ISSUES

Open primaries

Open primaries which allow crossover voting to dilute or election more left leaning candidates. Crossover voting permits Democrats or others to vote in Republican primaries. The primary is the main election between contenders in SC due to the fact that most people identify as conservative.

This has come under fire in 2023 in the State House of Representatives where the House Republican Caucus required other elected members of the House Republican Party to sign what’s called a “loyalty oath”. That oath requires that House members agree to refrain from supporting any candidate against a current sitting member of the State legislature. They refused.

Those House Republican members refusing are known as the “Freedom Caucus”, and are the more conservative element of the Republican Party. The Freedom Caucus advocates more toward pro-life legislation, protection of the Second Amendment and Constitutional carry, less licensing, lower taxes, etc. The difference tends to be that Freedom Caucus members actually vote for these issues versus only talking about them in campaign speeches.

The Party Chairman can help steer members one way or another. To date that is where one of the major points of contention has been, not insisting legislators vote along the Republican Party platform. Jeff Davis has been quoted as saying that he was not necessarily interested in the Chairman’s job but is running because somebody must get the job done, and Davis and many others don’t believe the current chair is doing that.

Precinct Development & Party Growth

The basic precinct is the smallest component of elective government but is often overlooked and neglected by political party leaders. To their own demise and hurt, and to the hurt of the country. We have representative government at every level in America and South Carolina is no exception. Elections were recently held for what’s called Reorg or Reorganization of the County. That’s where precinct officers are elected and a representative is elected to represent the precinct at the County level. From the county level they repeat the process and send elected representatives called Executive Committeemen to the state level. When these levels are developed we truly have representative government because that is where State level House and Senate representatives come from.

Training the Troops

For this development and involvement to occur takes time and training of people so they know what to do through experience. Our Founding Fathers were extremely wise is setting up a system of checks and balances and assuring we had representatives from the local level up to the State and Federal levels. But, training must take place so everybody understands we all have a stake in our government and elections. That would include the counting of votes which used to be done by local volunteers not that long ago. Paper ballots counted by local precinct level volunteers can be done relatively quickly with just a handful of people.

Statewide Policy/Legislative Issues

Pro-Life legislation, Medical freedom, Foreign land purchases and ownership of SC, voting integrity and control of elections, etc. The key to good government is to stop tyranny at every level: state, county and city.

Sticking to the Party Platform

The State Republican Party has a platform that has been crafted over many years and sounded against solid conservative and Biblical principles—the very essence of conservative thought. This is where conservatives should shine but have failed time and again because of deals and compromises made in positions of power supposedly representing the people who elected House and Senate members among others.

The people have often been betrayed by their own Party members and representatives into ‘cooperating’ with those presenting another world view in contrast to Republican Party principles and the platform. SC citizens are looking for something they can not only hold on to but be able to trust will be done in their good name. That’s why it is so egregious when elected representatives vote to compromise away the convictions of the people.

The mood of the people is beyond fed-up. They appear to be ready for real change for real conservative principles as witnessed in the Republican Party platform. That is one reason why an outsider like Donald Trump was and is so popular. Trump is far from perfect but he seems to understand more of what people actually want than many of those who have made politics and compromise their career.

Organization with Specific Goals

To be effective the State Chairman must have objectives in mind and a set of written goals and a dateline to accomplish these objectives. He must also be able to get key personnel in place quickly to make that happen.

America First

All across America the people have decided that business as usual is leading America down the tubes toward tyranny and dictatorial power. In fact perhaps as the Biden Administration has been doing by handing over our country to a foreign country like China!

Real Americans are up to their eyebrows with the compromise, wrong-headed legislation, the military industrial complex war machine of sending our money and children to no-win wars like Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine, etc. so big corporations can make big money off the blood of our children and future.

The same holds true for the medical and pharmaceutical corporate complex who think it their prerogative to decide who lives and dies by experimenting with us and our kinfolk. Americans want the scare and Fear tactics, mandated masking and “vaccines” to stop.

Americans–South Carolinians–also want the pornography, ‘explicit books’, and school grooming for pedophile and ‘drag queen’ perverts to stop. Americans want teachers who promote cross dressing and transgenderism to children not only stopped but convicted of crimes against children and the State Republican Party Chairman can initiate that if he has the guts to do so.

School can be challenging enough for many children without all the political, sexual and perversion staging and grooming that is currently taking place. That is compounded by some elected representatives who back and throw their support to openly homosexual and perverted candidates without regard to their behavior.

 

CANDIDATES

Drew McKissick is the current Chairman of the SC State Republican Party. He is president of Drew McKissick Public Affairs in Columbia, and his LinkedIn page says he specializes in “political strategy, planning and organization as well as the development of grassroots lobbying related political action programs.” He is also Co-Chairman of the National Republican National Committee. He attended the College of Charleston and was a consultant for Romney for President in 2007-2008. McKissick is often identified with the RINO faction of the Party.

Jeff Davis currently serves as the newly elected Executive Committeeman from Greenville County and recent former Chair of the Greenville County Republican Party. He is a tax attorney with an MBA and a CPA, Co-Founder, Board Chairman & Volunteer with Palmetto Kids FIRST Scholarship Program, and Chief Financial Officer & Board Member travelsmiles.org. He is a school choice advocate, exposing political and judicial corruption. He has been active in developing and training South Carolinians in every county in SC. He graduated from the Citadel Military College ’89, USC Law School/MBA ’93. Throughout SC Davis is considered the leader of the America First conservatives.

Zoe Warren is a South Carolina First patriot who ran for Lt. Governor of SC in 2022. He is a filmmaker, freelance video producer, documentarian, and journalist who has been producing commercial, narrative, and news content since 2009. He has worked in local and regional news, is currently an editor at large for The Standard SC, owner of Pistuo Productions, and hosts The New American Magazine program, “2A For Today!” Warren has most recently traveled the state teaching the Constitution and how it should work in government.

Tim Cox, is a senior Mechanical Designer in Charleston, SC. He is pro-life, Pro 2nd Amendment, for closed primaries, no electronic voting, a firm Constitutionalist, and believes in America First. He stands for God, Family and Country. His values align with the principles of the Republican Party though first and foremost with the Word of God, then the Constitution, as the foundation upon which America was founded.

Mark Powell is from Anderson County.

 

The State Republican Party Chairman has the ability to get many good and righteous things accomplished for the people of South Carolina—if he has the will to do so. The key to that happening is by electing the right man, with the right values, the right ability, the right vision, and the right motivation to get it done. And it would help if everybody is on board with him.

As the old knight on the Indiana Jones movie said, “choose wisely”.

 

Michael Reed is Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online. You may find our video available on Rumble. The bulk of TheStandardSC video media channel has been censored by dominant social media groups like YouTube. YouTube, owed by Alphabet (Google), removed and destroyed all of our video work without permission or remuneration. That has stopped all potential donations from our many supporters on that venue. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.

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