One of the greatest impediments to the formation of a party composed of fiscally conservative and socially libertarian legislators is the belief that elections cannot be won outside the structure of the Republican Party.
Especially in bright South Carolina red …
And so we end up with Republican majorities that govern in a way that is totally inconsistent with the pro-freedom and free market ideals declared by the party – majorities led by fiscal liberals who switch parties, like Hugh Leatherman and Luke Rankin, both “ex” Democrats.
Only a handful of “republican” politicians in the state of Palmetto consistently present the principles that the party is supposed to defend … which is why these principles are not consistently presented in the SC State Chamber.
In fact, the South Carolina General Assembly was recently named the most liberal Republican-controlled legislature in America … which is one of the reasons why the State of Palmetto remains lagging behind the rest of the nation in so many critical indicators.
One of the few Republican lawmakers who ruled in a manner consistent with the party’s stated ideals? State Senator Tom Davis Beaufort County, which has been the most consistent vote for freedom and the taxpayer in the legislature for the past twelve years.
Voters also responded …
In the 2020 election cycle, Davis punched his Democratic opponent with a 31.3 percent margin – one of the most decisive victories in a disputed Senate race in the state of Palmetto.
But the margin that we found even more interesting was how far Davis outpaced the top two Republicans in the vote – President Donald Trump and US senator Lindsey Graham. According to our calculations, Davis surpassed Graham / Trump’s average winning margin in 16.53 percent – easily the widest spread of any GOP state senator in a contested election.
Next on the list? State Senator Katrina Shealy from Lexington, who won her seat in 2012 as a candidate for the petition before joining the Republican Party (and winning the re-election twice on the Republican ticket).
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Shealy – known at SC State House for her independent mile-long streak – surpassed Graham / Trump’s average winning margin in November by 12.82 percent.
The takeaway? “For yourself, be true”, as Polonius instructed his son Laertes in William Shakespearein Village.
Well, that and “try to adopt more libertarian positions”.
As the Republican Party struggles to establish its identity after Trump’s electoral defeat (and his post-election implosion), it is worth keeping an eye on libertarian-minded legislative leaders like Davis and independent-minded state lawmakers like Shealy. Both have consistently traced their own paths since gaining public trust … and both have been rewarded for their independence in the form of expanded public trust.
While this medium of communication firmly maintains the best way to promote freedom and prosperity in our state (and nation), lies outside the failed bipartisan system, Davis and Shealy are proving that there is a way to do this within that framework as well.
If only more state legislators were willing to think independently …
-FITSNews
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Flag: Travis Bell, Columbia SC photographers
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