A Journey of 1,000 Miles Begins...
2023 Freedom Caucus Legislative Recap
In 2023, the SC Freedom Caucus tipped the scales and achieved numerous significant victories in the House. By all accounts, this year’s session was the most conservative in recent memory. Sadly, in South Carolina, that bar is low. We’ve made one step in the journey of 1,000 miles, to use the old Chinese proverb. There is so much work still to do!
For example, the South Carolina General Assembly went into overtime this year as liberal Republicans bickered over the budget. House and Senate leaders were trying to one-up each other on who could spend more money on the worst projects. Alas, tax-and-spend “Republicans” came together to pass the largest budget in State history. So much for a Republican supermajority and limited government.
By a vote of 92 to 14 in favor of a pork-filled spending package, the 2023 legislative year all but came to an end.
So, what were we up against during the 2023 legislative session, and how did we make a difference?
Kicked Out for Being Too Conservative.
After the 2022 elections, the SC Freedom Caucus added 7 new freshman members, many of whom replaced longtime, moderate incumbents. Two SCFC challengers who won defeated incumbents who collectively served over 40 years in the SC House. This alone sent the establishment into a frenzy. Jordan Pace of Summerville went a step further and defeated a liberal socialist, Democrat Rep. Krystle Matthews!
In response, RINO members of the Republican Caucus got their political machine in gear. They drafted an unprecedented, Stalin-like loyalty pledge intended to forbid legislators from posting photos of the voting board, drafting amendments without approval, or campaigning for conservative challengers. Powerful politicians created an Incumbent Protection Pledge that would have essentially controlled what we could say and how we could say it.
Members of the Freedom Caucus refused to sign this draconian, anti-transparency pledge. We explained that we couldn’t agree to keep our constituents in the dark about who was trying to kill conservative legislation in the House. Our reward? Being kicked out of the good-ole-boy club.
Yes, you read that right. The “Republican” caucus kicked out the most conservative members of the General Assembly because we didn’t play by the swamp’s rules. To our knowledge, an expulsion of this magnitude has never happened in South Carolina’s 360-year history.
The Swamp Strikes Back.
Not long after our stand in January against the Establishment, fly-by-night dark money groups popped up across the Palmetto State with one objective – punish Freedom Caucus members for taking on the failed status quo.
Of course, this was no surprise to us. In fact, we were told directly by Leadership that if we refused to sign, and continued working together in the Freedom Caucus, we would face primary challengers supported and financed by big business.
To date, we estimate well over $500,000 has been spent against Freedom Caucus members in the form of direct mail, text messages, online advertising, robo-calls, and more.
But what about Speaker Murrell Smith, Majority Leader Davey Hiott, and Assistant Majority Leader Jay West? Have they condemned these false attacks against the most conservative members of the House who are fighting for the Republican Platform? Of course not. In fact, Majority Leader Hiott was caught red-handed lying about the Incumbent Protection Pledge to a Pickens GOP group, and had to issue an apology.
Sadly, we might never know who is truly behind this dark-money campaign, but considering the threats made by Leadership earlier this year, we have a pretty good idea who is financing it.
Exposing the RINOs.
Being kicked out of the Good-ol-Boy Caucus might be the best thing to ever happen for the SCFC. The fight to defend the Constitution, protect kids, and make state government work for the people is now out in the open. Instead of having to argue the case for conservative policy behind closed doors, we’ve been able to take that fight to the House Floor for everyone to see.
Take the budget debate as an example. Freedom Caucus members fought to remove Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) funding from public colleges and universities. This was a careful effort that narrowly addressed spending on DEI, first by striking specific dollar amounts and then with written instructions to the universities via the proviso process. Sadly, RINO Republicans and radical Democrats teamed up to defend the woke Left’s liberal indoctrination occurring on college campuses and voted to kill these amendments.
Bad Legislation Still Passing. Reinforcements Needed!
Unfortunately, the ruling coalition of Democrats and liberal “Republicans” still reigns supreme in Columbia. The sad reality is that between them, they have enough votes to pass terrible legislation over the objection of Freedom Caucus members and other conservatives.
Take these 3 bills just for example:
In February, “Republican” House Leadership fast-tracked the Democrats’ so-called “Hate Crimes” bill. If this bill becomes law, South Carolina will codify in statute for the first time ever a difference between gender and sex. Rather than protecting all people with equal justice, the bill creates additional penalties for crimes motivated by hate for certain groups. Further, if passed, the bill will have dangerous ramifications for religious organizations.
In March, the Establishment fast-tracked a $1.3 BILLION taxpayer-funded handout to a woke, foreign-backed electric car company. Scout Motors, supported by Volkswagen, has produced 0 vehicles and 0 concept vehicles and is headquartered in a shared office space building. And once again, South Carolina taxpayers were forced not only to pay for a boondoggle but finance the destruction of our conservative values. In fact, the Left was so excited about the RINOs’ support for Green New Deal-type incentives that they sent Joe Biden to the Palmetto State recently to celebrate the explosion of electric vehicles here.
Then in April, despite Freedom Caucus objections, the General Assembly shoveled $30 Million in taxpayer funded incentives to Hollywood film companies. Essentially, the General Assembly is giving away your tax dollars to far-Left media companies to bring their West Coast values to the Palmetto State. Georgia did the same thing years ago and was flooded with liberals. Now they have 2 Democrat Senators in what was a ruby red state.
Freedom Caucus Wins
Despite fighting RINO Republicans, Democrats, lobbyists, special interests, and dark money groups, the Freedom Caucus was able to achieve remarkable tangible results this year. Here’s just a handful of examples:
SCFC members successfully removed language from a bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain occupational licenses.
SCFC members stripped language from a bill that would have codified DEI training into law for state employees.
SCFC members championed the strongest post-Roe pro-life bill to ever pass the House of Representatives.
SCFC members took the lead to pass Constitutional Carry through the House.
SCFC members negotiated to achieve an ESA school choice bill, albeit an imperfect one, and a commitment that the House will take up a tax-credit school choice bill next year.
SCFC members applied effective pressure last year and this year to finally repeal the Certificate of Need and open free market healthcare access.
These wins and others are tremendous. But our legislative results are only one piece of the success. Perhaps most significantly, Freedom Caucus members broke the calcified culture of cronyism and corruption in Columbia. We set a new standard for conservative action and gave South Carolinians hope that real reform is possible. That’s why the lobbyists and special interests are running scared.
What Next?
Despite the tremendous progress we've made in changing how Columbia operates, we can’t stop fighting. In order to return the People's House back to the People, we need more patriots and fewer politicians.
That's where you come in.
Have you ever thought about running for elected office? The best time to get involved is now and we're willing to help. Shoot us an email at SCFreedomCaucus@gmail.com to learn more.
For Liberty,
The SC Freedom Caucus
Stay strong!