By Andy Brack | It’s been a fairly disappointing legislative session for many because it’s been all about controlling people or extending privilege, not working collaboratively to benefit all South Carolinians.
But that was fairly predictable after years of gerrymandering finally resulted in a super-majority in the South Carolina House and a Senate chamber that is more partisan and divided than ever in recent memory.
Instead of getting out of the cellar of states (Wyoming and us) without a hate crimes bill, lawmakers focused on making South Carolina less safe by pushing forward on permitless carry of guns. Most law enforcement leaders say it’s a bad idea, but the National Rifle Association and pro-gun advocates have their hooks in state lawmakers so deep that logic and reason flies out of Statehouse windows.
“It is puzzling when we are one of only two states without enhanced penalties for hate crimes,” observed Lynn Teague of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina. “Are those objecting to this bill afraid that their allies might commit a violent criminal offense that a judge would find was fueled by hatred of a group?”
Instead of protecting LGBTQ+ kids, they pick on them to score political points and marginalize opponents. Instead of treating women with respect, white male Republicans salivate to control them by pushing, pushing, pushing to ban abortion and take away vital reproductive health care services. And do you think they make things easier for unborn children after they’re born? Nope. That’s not in the talking points.
Instead of working to help tens of thousands of South Carolina’s hungry children get free or reduced-cost breakfasts or lunches, Republicans pushed through vouchers for private schools, a pearl they’ve wanted for 20 years to deemphasize public education again.
“My biggest disappointment is not passing the school meals bill,” Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, told us this week. “South Carolina, along with the money already supplied by the federal government, has the funds to feed children in this state. Children learn better when they are not hungry.”
The late U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., proved that in his 1970 book The Case Against Hunger, which led to the development of the federal government’s wildly successful Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. Millions of children have gotten a leg up to economic success because they were able to learn with food in their bellies.
The legislature of 2023 is far different from the legislature of 20 years ago when the GOP had recent control of the House and fresh control of the state Senate. Back then, there were enough moderates in both parties in both chambers to keep the state on a more moderate course.
But gerrymandering after the 2010 and 2020 censuses got rid of many White moderate Democrats and pitted mainstream, country club Republicans against hard-right zealots, who threw the red meat of fear, division, abortion, guns and race at a sleeping electorate too busy to pay attention. The result by this year was a Republican House factionalized by battles between what once would have been considered a pretty conservative group that now faces the hard right Freedom Caucus, whose cry-babying over issues leads to stagnation, capitulation and a weaker chamber where real leadership to represent everyone is becoming little more than a dream.
Teague noted: “Our legislature is behaving just as a heavily gerrymandered body would be expected to act — their priorities are often those of the small segment of the electorate that turns out for partisan primaries.”
In other words, those in the legislature want to control girls and women. They want trans kids and LGBTQ+ taxpayers to suffer. They want to increase control of teachers in public schools, she said.
“This is out of step with every reputable poll of what South Carolinians as a whole want. This is why the General Assembly refuses to send some issues to a public vote in a referendum — they know that the people of South Carolina don’t want what some of them are selling.”
The old phrase is “power to the people.” We need more of that than authoritarian “power to the General Assembly.”
Andy Brack, recognized in 2022 as the best columnist in South Carolina, is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@charlestoncitypaper.com.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!
Superb article/commentary on the abject failure of our legislature. Thank you for an excellent summary of the many disappointments that moderate South Carolinians are facing this year.
Judy Hines