Conservative Priorities a Must with State Senate Gains

Going into the 2020 general election, many observers were predicting the South Carolina senate to remain mostly the same. Instead, across the state, Democrats got a rude awakening in not only the senate, but in races of all levels.

Despite trying to cash in on a leftward ideological lurch in the lowcountry by targeting several senate seats, the Democrats didn’t manage to pick up a single seat. Republicans picked up three seats against longtime liberal Democrats. Sen. Glenn Reese fell easily to Josh Kimbrell, Sen. Floyd Nicholson was routed by Billy Garrett and in the biggest upset of the night, two-time Democrat nominee for governor Vincent Sheheen was beaten in a squeaker by Penry Gustafson.

Even liberal Charleston incumbent GOP Sen. Sandy Senn won a narrow victory in a race where she was considered the underdog. In the two other competitive Democrat-held seats, incumbents Dick Harpootlian and Nikki Setzler held on.

Republicans took the senate in 2000 for the first time since Reconstruction and the new 30-16 majority marks their largest margin. After crucial conservative legislation was often blocked by the Democrat minority over the past few years, the GOP *appears* to have the votes to pass meaningful legislation. Now is the time for action, so what should they be doing when they get back in session?

Abortion restrictions. Last session, the GOP house passed a heartbeat bill, where abortion would be outlawed with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. The house was only a very few votes away from having the votes to pass both a heartbeat bill without exceptions and personhood legislation that eliminates all abortions.

The GOP picked up two seats in the state house with very pro-life candidates Vic Dabney and Sandy McGarry so they could strengthen their legislation. Now that three senate incumbents who blocked attempts to restrict abortion are gone, there is no excuse for failure to pass a heartbeat bill at the very least.

Specify state-of-emergency governance. State law allows for the governor to declare a state of emergency for 15 days. Gov. McMaster has taken this opportunity during the COVID-19 crisis to continually extend the state of emergency every 15 days. The legislature must put a check on the governor’s power to bypass legislative oversight and mandating devastating orders.

The governor’s mandates have destroyed many businesses and lives and the legislature must make it clear that any further states of emergency require legislative approval.

In addition, the legislature must be proactive in legislating against individual mandates from the executive. During the Coronavirus, the legislature has been shockingly absent.

Increase School Choice options. It has been over 11 years since a true push for school choice happened in the legislature. The house, led by a group of Spartanburg Republicans, defeated a bill that would put parents in charge of their child’s education by one vote. A leader of that coalition, Rita Allison, now sits as the chair of the House Education Committee.

Many years later, SC continues to dwell towards the bottom of educational achievement. Parents deserve to provide the education that fits their children by using their own tax dollars. It is taxpayer dollars, not the government’s dollars.

When the last effort was thwarted, the GOP held an 18-seat majority in the house and a six-seat majority in the senate. That advantage has increased to 40 house seats and 14 senate seats, respectively. This competition will only serve to better public schools. Time to take bold action.

Strengthen the 2nd Amendment. There is a big assumption that South Carolina is so Republican that our laws reflect that conservative bent. In fact, the state lags behind so-called purple states in many things, including our right to bear arms.

First, the state constitution provides that state law supersedes local ordinances. The city of Columbia implemented red flag laws illegally in 2019. The state must strengthen 2nd amendment projections and in conjunction with the state Attorney General, implement our laws.

Second, open carry laws must be passed in keeping with the 2nd amendment. The constitution provides for any and all citizens to bear arms. The legislature now has the requisite majorities to pass Constitutional Carry legislation. Concealed or open-carry weapons are a right and should be reflected by law without licensure.

Sell Santee Cooper. Reform and shake-ups aren’t going to fix the boondoggle that has cost taxpayers millions. The legislature must accept one of the credible offers that take on the debt without passing on to taxpayers.
Registration by Party. Voters in partisan primaries should be registered by party and should only participate in that party’s primaries. Elections are overwhelmingly decided by primaries and the general election candidates should have to go through the partisan process with partisan voters to advance.

In addition, there is not an appetite for it, but legislators should consider moving towards partisan elections for all offices. School and local elections should also follow the partisan decision process. There are so many elections on the ballot that voters often have no idea about the options. This provides an option other than selecting a random candidate in very important elections.

Election reform. While SC does handle elections better than a lot of states, there is room for improvement. First, give the Secretary of State real power and put elections under their purview like almost every state. The election commission should be more of an administrative body that follows order.

Second, there is absolutely no reason to receive early in-person votes and absentee mail-in ballots and have those votes sit on the sidelines until all of the election day votes are in. When in-person or mail-in ballots are received, they should be tabulated (not publicly shared) immediately and ready to add to the totals the moment polls are closed on election night. This eliminates fraud, allows defective ballot situations to be rectified and allows for timely knowledge of who has won individual races. It also takes away the subjectivity in the days after the election from local officials.

Third, since mass early voting appears to be a guarantee, early satellite voting locations should be based on population and for a set amount of time. There is no reason for certain counties to have more locations and opportunities than others.

This is the time all conservatives have been waiting for. Contact and demand your representation take the bold conservative steps you elected them to do.

 

Preston Baines can be reached on Twitter/Parler @prestonbaines and prestonbaines@gmail.com.

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