The latest example? An ongoing ethics investigation into the corrupt dealings of powerful Labor, Commerce, and Industry (LCI) Committee Chairman Bill Sandifer was referred to the 5th Solicitor’s Office earlier this week for further consideration.
Remember, this is the same truth challenged Representative who was caught on camera blatantly lying to members of the public, telling them Freedom Caucus members “offered 1,000 amendments to kill the Fetal Heartbeat Bill.” He also authored the Base Load Review Act which directly led to the failure of the VC Summer Nuclear Plant and cost taxpayers and ratepayers billions of dollars.
But sticking it to the citizens of South Carolina wasn’t enough for Sandifer.
Last month, FitsNews exclusively reported that Chairman Sandifer was the target of an ethics complaint after he allegedly demanded payment from a lobbyist in exchange for moving a piece of legislation.
“I had a meeting with Chairman Sandifer about the bill,” the complaint reads. “At the time we were trying to get a hearing on the bill. Chairman Sandifer ask[ed] me about money. I was caught off guard by his actions. I played along in the conversation. He gave me his home address for payment.”
Last week, the Charleston Post and Courier revealed that ethics officials found there was evidence Sandifer “sought a campaign contribution in exchange for legislative movement on H4070…” and that the case had been referred to the 5th Solicitors Office.
Friends, this disgusting pay-to-play example is Columbia in a nutshell – grease the skids, and you’ve got nothing to worry about.
Special interest groups, lobbyists, and career politicians have a well-established operating procedure that centers on dirty money and works like this: Campaign cash is handed out in exchange for moving legislation. That legislation becomes law and the special interest group that pushed it increases their profits. Part of those profits go back into campaign coffers of the legislators responsible for passing the legislation.
Up until yesterday, this was one of Columbia’s many dirty little secrets. We’re just glad one lobbyist wasn’t afraid to bring it to light.
So just how often does this happen in Columbia? Well, if Sandifer’s campaign disclosures are any indication, it happens a lot.
Since January, Sandifer has raised over $40,000 for his re-election campaign. Nearly 100% of it came from lobbyists, lobbyist principals, their associated PACs, or businesses with issues before the LCI committee. Only 3 donations were from individuals - a husband and wife for $750 each and a $69.75 donation from Sandifer himself.
Will the RINO Caucus do anything about this blatant violation of public trust? Probably not. Their Caucus rules won’t allow them to.
If you recall, the 17 most conservative members of the General Assembly were kicked out of the “Republican” Caucus when we formed the Freedom Caucus and refused to sign an incumbent protection pledge that swore our allegiance to other representatives, no matter how terrible their voting record is. The pledge sought to keep members of the Freedom Caucus from posting pictures of the public voting board, offering amendments to legislation that weren’t pre-approved by leadership, calling out other representatives who broke their campaign promises, or engaging in any activity that might hurt someone’s reelection (like endorsing a more conservative challenger).
Ironically, Representative Joe White offered a hypothetical during a debate on the pledge. “If I know a member of the General Assembly was a criminal, had broken the law, are you telling me I couldn’t endorse his opponent?” asked Rep. White. “Correct,” said leadership.
Now Rep. White’s theoretical has become a reality.
For the moderate RINO Caucus, it’s more important to protect members of the good ol’ boy network than to pass conservative legislation or to keep the public’s trust.
Further complicating the situation for House Leadership is that the soviet-style pledge is the brainchild of Speaker Murrell Smith and Majority Leader Davey Hiott, both of whom are bankrolled by the same lobbyists, lobbyist principals, and PACs as Sandifer. In fact, the entire moderate “Republican” Caucus is bankrolled by lobbyists, lobbyist principals, and PACs. Of the more than $3,000,000 taken in by moderates this year, nearly every dollar comes from places like Pfizer, Moderna, and Bud Light.
More likely planned than coincidental, these same lobbyists, lobbyist principals, and PACs are probably the same people behind the dark money groups attacking Freedom Caucus members across the state. Have they been told to fork over cash to defeat Freedom Caucus conservatives or risk their bills not moving?
So what will Speaker Smith and Majority Leader Hiott do? Will they break the very pledge they demanded, condemn one of their top lackeys, and restore trust to the House, or will they protect members of the RINO Caucus at all cost?
Regardless of what moderates decide to do, here’s what conservatives are demanding – Representative Sandifer should resign from office immediately. If he doesn’t, he must be stripped of his committee chairmanship and censured by the House. But the consequences from this scandal can’t stop there. House rules and legislation must be passed to limit committee chairmanships to 2 years, corporate donations to candidates, caucuses, and political parties must be banned, and the penalties for quid pro quos and vote buying must be strengthened.
For Liberty (and honesty in government),
