Congressman and Solicitor Addressed GOP Women’s Club
Fourth District Congressman Bob Inglis drew the first “blood” when he opined that Seventh District Solicitor Trey Gowdy is the “most curious” of his challengers before a packed house of more than two hundred members and guests of the Greenville County Republican Women’s Club at the Poinsett Club last Thursday.
Inglis informed the audience that Gowdy told him in February that he was considering a run for Attorney General in South Carolina and implied his support of Inglis for another term in Congress. Inglis said he was “shocked” to face Gowdy as one of his four opponents a few months later. Inglis concluded with a dig at his formidable opponent’s reliability saying: “Voters need a candidate with credibility.”
Gowdy took advantage of an opportunity to respond during the question and answer session.
“Congressman Inglis, you are a very good and decent man. But I have seen 18 month olds on autopsy tables; I have seen fathers rape their own children; I have had marshals living in my house while she (gesturing in the direction of his wife seated at a table nearby) was pregnant with our daughter. I don’t owe you an explanation for why I am not running for attorney general, sir.” The audience was respectful of both candidates, however, after the Gowdy response the audience spontaneously roared with applause.
Gowdy discussed the failure of Republicans to act responsibly when they held the majority in both houses of Congress together with the White House.
Rep. Inglis made it clear that he is opposed to Obamacare and provided a list of 16 reasons why. He made several comparisons of President Reagan to Pat Buchanan. The point of the comparison was not very clear, except the Congressman is not fond of Buchanan or others who are not willing to compromise with Democrats. “What we want is to understand that they are my countrymen. The Democrats are not my enemies, they are my countrymen. They are always wrong, but perhaps if I am like Ronald Reagan and I can talk to them, perhaps some of them might come to understand the importance of free enterprise.”
Gowdy said one of the lessons he learned as a prosecutor was that if you see an opportunity to improve your community you have an obligation to do so. He said that is why he ran for solicitor and why he is running for Congress.
“Our country is at a crossroads. The decisions we make in weeks and months to come will impact the very foundation on which this republic is founded. At the core of these debates is ‘what is the proper role of government’?
“While these national issues are being debated like health care, energy and the economy, Republicans are on the sideline watching.
“We lost the senate, the house and the White House and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
“Here is the good news. It was not our ideas that failed. We failed because the people we sent to Washington abandoned our ideas. Our Ideas were good.
“We can win again and for the sake of future generations, we must. Here is what we need to do.
“We need to make sure we know what the message is – the message of conservatism and limited government. I believe in a limited government that excels in its core functions and inspires confidence in the process.
“We believe in individual liberty. We believe in personal accountability. We believe that there are free market solutions. We believe that the power of education and hard work are the pathway to prosperity. We believe in equal opportunity for everyone. We believe that the obligation that we owe this country exceeds whatever entitlements we may think this country owes us. We believe that there are formal guardrails that are necessary to keep this culture from falling… We believe in limited government that excels at its core functions and inspires public confidence in the process. And I believe we need a new generation of leaders to do that. We need a new generation of leaders who would not tolerate a pay raise for themselves when our constituents are losing their jobs.
“I believe we can and must lead again. We have got to inspire confidence in the citizenry. This is the greatest country on earth. It is an America worth serving and an America worth fighting for,” Gowdy concluded.
Three other candidates for the Fourth District Congressional Seat will be invited to speak at the club at a future date. They are Dr. Christina Jeffrey, State Senator David Thomas and Mr. Jim Lee. Dr. Jeffrey is an associate member of the women’s club and was present for the event.