Category — News

Tonight at 7pm the SC Policy Council and the Initiative for Public Choice and Market Process will host a Roundtable Discussion titled “Economic Incentives: Capitalism or Corporate Welfare?”

Live stream:

• Live stream: http://bit.ly/liveincentivesdebate
• Pre-event survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZZ3VCCJ

A video recording of this event will be available at http://www.youtube.com/thescpolicycouncil.

This debate will be held at the College of Charleston, SC and moderated by Dr. Pete Calcagno,  Associate Professor of Economics, College of Charleston. The panelists are:

• Russ Sobel, author of Unleashing Capitalism
• Ashley Landess, president of the South Carolina Policy Council
• Frank Hefner who contributed to the follow up book, Unleashing Capitalism in SC
• Grant Jackson – Sr. Vice President/ Community Development & Communications, Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce
• Kim Statler, Executive Director, Lowcountry Economic Alliance

Fellow Tea Partiers,

On Thursday, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision to kick about 100 candidates off the ballot for the June primary. I’m not going to re-hash how this happened, suffice to say that the filing rules were changed in a way that favored incumbents and confused their challengers.

Everyone is outraged, and rightly so, but what should we do? What I am going to say may surprise you, but I believe it is the truth. Please hear me out.

Frankly, we need to accept the fact that we can’t win this ground back before the June primary. Realistically speaking, all the political rallies you and I can muster are not going to make up for lost time.

Borrowing Michael Porter’s words, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do,” so I would like to propose three things not to do:

1. Don’t give up. This is a time to refocus; this is NOT a time to retreat.
2. Don’t take their bait. Guess what? Larry Martin—Larry Martin of all people—is making like he’s all outraged over this and is going to change the law to get the candidates put back on the ballot. Senator Martin is one of those incumbents who was favored by this rule, and his challenger, Rex Rice, was kicked off the ballot. What he knows, but won’t tell you is, it won’t do any good this year, because the ballots have already been mailed! Those of you who plan to make a big stink in Columbia over this issue are to be commended for your intentions, but at the end of the day, I’m afraid it will prove to be a diversion and a waste your time and energy. Don’t take their bait.
3. Don’t let the remaining candidates down. Let’s refocus on those candidates who are still on the ballot. But wait, we can’t turn our backs on these candidates whose rights are being violated! Look at it this way: these candidates that got kicked off the primary ballot now have a six-month head start on a petition candidacy in the November election. It isn’t over. This fiasco is sure to be a big subject on the campaign trail, and I feel confident that one way or another you’re gonna see all of these guys on the ballot in November.

So who will be on the ballot in June? You can see the full list here, but I would like to mention three specifically:

• Anderson: Riley Harvell, running against incumbent RINO Billy O’Dell
• Greenville: Jim Lee, running against incumbent RINO David Thomas
• Greenville: Chris Sullivan, running against incumbent RINO Mike Fair

Jon Corzine once said, “the only thing really worth [anything] is ‘hustle.” I think he’s right.

When it comes to political activism, there’s the fun stuff—the big, public, exciting rallies—and there’s the not-fun stuff, which is the day-to-day grunt work of political campaigning. Knocking on doors, putting out signs, making phone calls. That boring stuff that gets people elected.

Guys, time is running out. We have 5 short weeks, and we’re gonna have to hustle. Conservatives like Riley Harvell, Jim Lee, and Chris Sullivan face uphill battles against entrenched Senate RINOs. THEY NEED YOUR HELP. Please don’t abandon these guys who are putting it all on the line to to Columbia for us to make SC the freest state in the nation!

Sincerely,

Jonathon Hill

P.S. This is a good illustration of why having good GOP chairmen matters. It was their job to make sure the candidates knew the rules, and to help them comply in a timely manner. Dan Harvell did this here in Anderson County, and not one of our candidates were kicked off the ballot.

Remember SOPA? That bill was killed, only to be re-incarnated shortly after as CISPA, the Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act. The Electronic Frontier Foundation describes the bill:

CISPA would have technology companies, like video game systems, internet service providers (ISPs) and more share your use of technology with the Government under the guise of cyber security.  It’s George Orwell’s classic book 1984 right here, right now.

Yesterday, the House amended the bill, and basically lied about the amendments:

CISPA allowed the government to use information for “cybersecurity” or “national security” purposes. Those purposes have not been limited or removed. Instead, three more valid uses have been added: investigation and prosecution of cybersecurity crime, protection of individuals, and protection of children.

…

Basically, the amendment closes a loophole but opens a door. It takes away some of the language that allows overreach of the bill, but then explicitly endorses the exact things people were worried the government would do with that language—as in, start using the data to investigate and build cases against American citizens without regard for the laws that would normally protect their privacy.

Is that an improvement? CISPA would now grant the government less vague power, which is good, but would also grant it brand new specific powers, which is bad and frankly pretty insulting.

CISPA abruptly passed a day ahead of schedule, 248-168. Quite shockingly, our very own conservative freshmen heroes were party to this surveillance bill:

• Jeff Duncan
• Trey Gowdy
• Mick Mulvaney
• Tim Scott
• Joe Wilson

What gives??

Jeff Duncan defended the bill on Facebook:

(Note: you should be wary when a politician tries to “explain it to you.” More often than not, they’re either spinning the facts, or outright lying. Do your own research and be prepared to hold even the “good” guys accountable if they stray. Verify, then trust!)

To become law, CISPA must now pass the Senate and be signed by Obama, who may veto the bill. Wanna bet?

In case you missed it, the SC Superintendent of Education Mick Zais recently took a stand against “green ribbon” schools. I sent him a quick “thank-you” for this by way of encouragement, knowing that he would be hearing the opposite from the NEA-directed school establishment.

Often when writing to an elected official, you get a form letter. This one appears to be a direct reply! [Read more →]

At our Jan. 5th TEA Party meeting I announced that we are seeking candidates to run against several incumbent RINOs here in Anderson county. Kirk Brown with the Independent-Mail was there, and graciously provided this write-up:

A tea party organizer is searching for “citizen candidates” to take on Anderson County’s two longest-serving legislators — Sen. Billy O’Dell and Rep. Brian White — in the June GOP primary. “I think we can find some conservatives in their districts who are up to the challenge,” said Jonathan Hill, a Townville resident who organized the Anderson tea party.

…Hill’s harshest comments were directed at O’Dell, the dean of the local legislative delegation who was first elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1988. O’Dell switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in 2003. “He may have changed parties, but he didn’t change the way he votes,’ Hill said. He criticized O’Dell for voting in favor of last year’s state spending plan, which Hill described as the biggest budget in South Carolina history.

…O’Dell defended his vote for last year’s spending plan. While the plan included a significant amount of federal money, he said, the size of the state’s general fund has shrunk in recent years. “If we don’t have a budget, everything shuts down and I was not going to be a party to that,” he said. “The money is being used wisely.”

[Read more →]