“We need every bit of prayer that you can scrape together,” said Dianne Mitchell, the soon-to-be newest member of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus.
Seven current members of the caucus spoke recently to the Greenville County Republican Women at their December luncheon. Mitchell, former president of the club, moderated the meeting.
Lee Gilreath, Sarita Edgerton, April Cromer, Jay Kilmartin, Thomas Beach, Stephen Frank and Chris Huff gave a brief glimpse of the issues they wish to pursue during the upcoming legislative session, which begins in January.
Mitchell was praised by the speakers for having won a recent special primary election for the District 21 seat vacated by Bobby Cox.
She will be joining these seven, as well as some other Freedom Caucus members not present, in the legislature in January. Kilmartin, during his remarks, walked over to Mitchell and presented her with his Freedom Caucus lapel pin, welcoming her into the fold.
Perhaps the enthusiasm of first-termer Frank might rub off on Mitchell. “”I'm having an absolute blast so far,” he said. “I enjoy just about every issue.”
Cromer acknowledged Mitchell's election. “They just don't know what to do in Columbia when you have logical, critical thinking people who have come there to represent the people. . . If you care more about doing what's right and you don't care about being liked, they don't know what to do with you,” she said.
“Well, you know I'm going to create chaos when I get there,” predicted Mitchell, who added a sobering observation about Columbia, “The heaviness is very real; the spiritual oppression is very real.”
The Freedom Caucus is a group of Republican members of the General Assembly who have been barred from the larger Republican caucus because they refused to sign a so-called 'loyalty' oath to the Republican caucus. To have signed the oath would have meant that they would not be allowed to support a primary challenger to a Republican incumbent running for reelection.
Why would a Republican want to endorse a challenger to a fellow Republican? When the challenger is more conservative than the incumbent and the incumbent is perceived to be a 'RINO' (Republican in Name Only).
The Freedom Caucus members, the 'red-headed stepchildren' of the Republican Party, believe that they should have the freedom to speak out in opposition to fellow Republicans with whom they disagree, instead of automatically following lockstep with the Republican leadership.
Freedom Caucus members are looked down upon by many members of the larger Republican caucus. “The attacks continue, the attacks don't stop,” said Huff. He said that anti-Huff mailers last year during his race for election painted him as “evil as they come.”
“What's near and dear to my heart is there shouldn't be a Freedom Caucus,” said Beach. Explaining himself, he noted that the Republican Party already has a platform and a creed. He said that they should “use that creed and that platform as our reference point, our North Star, this is where we're going.”
“I'm a wretch saved by grace and that is the thing that unites all of us – our belief in Jesus Christ,” said Huff to 'Amens' and applause. He admitted that the members of the caucus sometime disagree on technique and how they accomplish the mission, “but in the end we love each other through Christ and we're all on the same mission.”
Several members spoke about the budget. Beach said that the state budget had grown by 125% during the last nine years. He supports budget reform. “We passed this year the largest spending bill in state history,” he lamented. He said that he was glad to be a part of a group that is trying to protect the taxpayer's wallet. He added, “I believe that freedom and money are tied together. I want you to be more free. I want you to have more options,” he said.
Frank agreed. “I agree that to be more free, we've got to keep more of our own money,” he said.
“Being fiscally responsible is the most important thing,” said Cromer.
“We don't have a money problem in South Carolina,” said Huff, “ we have a priority problem.” He said that the thing that needs to be addressed is the bureaucracy. “We've got to incentivize bureaucracy to be more efficient. . . The taxpayer should be paying for core government functions.”
Beach echoed that sentiment. “The question should be 'Instead of raising taxes why aren't you cutting spending,” he said, adding. “This year not one dime was cut from the budget.”
If the Freedom Caucus has only a handful of members, can it really accomplish anything in the legislature, as some assert? “We do get things done,” promised Huff. “There are bills and there are things that we do such as blocking things. There are ways we get amendments put in, we get sunsets put in,” he added.
For instance, Huff said that Freedom Caucus members proved instrumental in getting a licence plate reader bill stopped in subcommittee until it could be determined what actually is being done with all of the data.
One of the reasons that Frank ran for office was the issue of tort reform. “Tort reform is a massive hindrance to the state of South Carolina. It affects every sector of business,” he said. He noted that lawyer legislators do not want tort reform and that millions of dollars are being spent to prevent real reform.
Edgerton said she wants to stop the use of chemical abortion pills (Mifepristone). She said that there are currently no regulations in place in the state. She also wants to protect women's spaces and parental rights. She referenced the case of a 15 year-old minor who was transported by an abortion provider against her parents' wishes to get an abortion.
“That's human trafficking and we can't have that,” said Edgerton.
Mitchell mentioned her concern about a proposed casino. “The number one priority that's going to be pushed is the casino bill. . . They're going to push hard and it's going to get ugly. Those of us who oppose it will be public enemy number one because millions, billions of dollars are being spent on this.” She added, “We don't need that kind of environment in our state.”
