Archive for the ‘Press Releases’ Category

Columbia, S.C. – March 10, 2010 – It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate Rob Miller. When he isn’t clinking glasses with New York liberals or kicking television cameras out of public events, Miller has been doing a lot of bobbing and weaving on exactly where he stands on government-run healthcare:

http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/03/09/1166803/joe-wilson-challenger-rob-miller.html

Which leads to the question, “Just where in the world is Rob Miller on nationalized healthcare?”

“The healthcare fight has been the single most covered, most debated, and most talked about piece of public policy in recent memory – so refusing to stake out a position means that Rob Miller is either completely out of it, or he’s making the political calculation to try and ride the fence, both of which are a problem,” SCGOP Executive Director Joel Sawyer said. “The battle lines are pretty clear – you either favor government making your healthcare decisions, or you prefer those decisions to be left in the hands of individuals. Joe Wilson has always been crystal clear that he stands against government intrusion into healthcare decisions, and Rob Miller owes it to everyone to let us know where he stands as well.”

-###-

Republicans Working To Guarantee Right To Secret Ballot Elections

Columbia, SC – March 10, 2010 – South Carolina’s Republican Senators are pushing a bill on the State Senate floor that guarantees a worker’s right to a secret ballot election in the workplace, but liberal Democrats have been working to block that right. Will they continue their fight to deny workers of their rights to secret ballot elections today?

H.3305, introduced by Rep. Eric Bedingfield, is a constitutional amendment that would guarantee a worker’s right to voting by secret ballot during union organization. The legislation is a reaction to the deceptively named federal “Employee Free Choice Act,” which would strip workers of their right to vote for unionization by secret ballot, opening them up to intimidation and harassment by unions. The legislation is being pushed on the federal level by union bosses and their liberal allies in Congress.

In arguing for the constitutional amendment, Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston) said “I don’t know of anything more basic to the essence of our nation than the right to a secret ballot election.”

Just last week Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told the Seattle Times “The overriding factor was not the business climate. And it was not the wages we are paying today. It was that we can’t afford to have a work stoppage every three years. And we can’t afford to continue the rate of escalation of wages.”

Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee) is the lead sponsor of a Senate companion bill. ” Boeing’s decision to expand its facility near Charleston serves as a reminder why we must protect our tough right-to-work laws. We are sending a strong message to the world: We want your business, and we’re committed to getting it. I want to continue sending that message by defending workers’ rights to secret ballots when deciding whether to unionize,” said Senator Peeler.

Peeler continued, “We’ve seen what happens when unions control the economy. It’s called Detroit. And we’ve seen what happens when unions fail. Congress bails them out on the backs of hardworking taxpayers. It’s unfortunate that the Democrats can’t see this clear fact.”

The Democrats argue that the bill is unconstitutional, but Senate President Pro Tempore argues otherwise. “The fourteenth amendment of the United States constitution creates a floor for protections. It does not prevent South Carolina from reaching for the stars in protecting our citizens. In fact, it lets us give our citizens more freedoms than guaranteed by the federal government. We have soldiers fighting overseas to grant others rights that are being filibustered at home.”

###

Columbia, S.C.  The South Carolina Republican Party today issued the following statement upon news that liberal lobbyist Dwight Drake has ended his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Drake’s announcement was hot on the heels of trial lawyer Mullins McLeod ending his bid, which itself happened not long after yet another liberal trial lawyer, Chad McGowan, ended his challenge to Senator Jim DeMint:

“Democrats are dropping out of statewide races almost as fast as the Obama Administration is racking up debt, and that’s no easy feat to accomplish,” SCGOP Executive Director Joel Sawyer said. “The reason is simple – like their big-spending counterparts in Washington, the only ‘solution’ Democrats are offering is more government, more debt, and more taxes, and South Carolinians aren’t buying it. By contrast, we have four outstanding candidates in the governor’s race who are offering real, conservative solutions to move our state forward – and at the rate Democrats are dropping, a Republican primary might be all we have to look forward to.”

-###-

Proactive job growth strategy created by private sector input

(Columbia, SC) – Today, to make South Carolina more attractive to new industry and help our state’s existing businesses grow, the House passed the Economic Development Competitiveness Act of 2010. This plan was developed by recommendations from an Economic Development Group of private sector leaders House Speaker Bobby Harrell created this past summer.

Some of the major recommendations included in the bill (H. 4478) are the elimination of the Corporate Income Tax, restoration of the Closing Fund and various improvements to our economic incentive tools. The Group also expressed its support for other legislative initiatives being sought by the House this year – Tort Reform, ESC Reform and Dual Rail access at the Port of Charleston.

Speaker Harrell issued the following statement about the passage of this job creation strategy:

“We landed a giant by bringing Boeing to South Carolina. And after the dust settled from the biggest economic development win our state has ever seen, many asked ‘Where do we go from here?’ Today, House members provided that answer by passing the Economic Development Competitiveness Act of 2010.

“Our state’s future hinges on the strength of our economy and the private sector’s ability to grow and create jobs. Our economy is the biggest issue facing our state for the next two decades, and the job creation strategy we passed today addresses the heart of securing our economic future.

“We’ve worked very hard over the years to create a low-tax, pro-business climate in our state. This plan takes the next step in making South Carolina more competitive in job creation. Examining how South Carolina and other states address economic development – and weighing those policies with what works and doesn’t work – the Economic Development Group incorporated the direct needs of the private sector and suggested implementing a proactive job creation strategy that promotes our favorable economic climate to business and industry around the world.

“This outside prospective on job growth is innovative and is crucial to our future economic success because it’s the private sector – not government – that will lead our state to economic recovery. These are recommendations from the private sector telling us exactly what potential industries and existing businesses need to locate, grow and expand in South Carolina. This bill shows that lawmakers are listening to the needs of the private sector and that we want their business here.”

# # #

Columbia, SC – February 22, 2010 – South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Karen Floyd today released the following statement on President Barrack Obama’s new $1 trillion healthcare plan, and state Democratic gubernatorial candidates’ silence on the issue:

“When it comes to the idea of government-run healthcare, South Carolinians have been clear that they do not want future generations crushed under the debt it will entail, and they do not want Washington bureaucrats making their healthcare decisions for them,” Floyd said. ”It is time for our state’s Democratic gubernatorial candidates to stand up and be counted on this issue. Do they stand for liberal, debt-loaded solutions pushed by the president, or do they stand with hard-working South Carolinians who want real healthcare reform? So far, South Carolina Democrats’ silence has been deafening.”

Source: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100222/D9E19OD80.html

-###-

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the one-year anniversary of the $787 billion stimulus package. Graham voted against the bill.

“The President is fighting a losing battle trying to convince the American people his gigantic stimulus package was a success. No amount of political spin will change the fact the bill created more government than jobs and dramatically increased our national debt. It’s no wonder his appeals are falling on deaf ears.

“One year after the passage of the stimulus we have lost millions of jobs and dramatically increased our national debt. All of this could have been avoided if President Obama and the Democrats in Congress had really sought out bipartisan solutions to the economic problems facing our nation. The sooner they face up to this fact, the better.”

###