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So-called “Republican” leaders in the South Carolina House of Representatives resorted to undocumented allegations of anti-semitism and homophobia against one of their own after they repeatedly tried (and failed) to take out the leading social conservative lawmaker.
State representative John McCravy of Greenwood, S.C. – leader of the S.C. Family Caucus – was accused of using anti-semitic and homophobic slurs against two of his colleagues this week by S.C. House majority leader Davey Hiott.
Hiott told left-leaning reporters from The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier that McCravy called state representative Beth Bernstein a “Jew” and former state representative (and current state senator) Jason Elliott a “gay.”
The paper cited no sources for these comments aside from Hiott – who leveled the allegations against his fellow Family Caucus member mere hours after FITSNews exposed the origins of a deepening political rift between McCravy and “Republican” leadership. That rift culminated in Hiott embarking upon a failed bid to have McCravy ousted as leader of the Family Caucus.
McCravy has denied making the comments attributed to him by Hiott.
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“I hope and pray that no one believes what they read about this attempted political character assassination and those who perpetuated it are exposed for what they have tried to do,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “I am confident that those who know me and what I stand for will not believe such dastardly accusations.”
McCravy’s allies immediately called out the source of the attack against him.
“Davey Hiott is a liar,” state representative Stephen Frank wrote in response to Hiott’s allegations. “John McCravy is one of the most decent human beings I’ve served with in the House.”
April Cromer is co-vice chair of the S.C. Freedom Caucus, another group which has been repeatedly targeted by “Republican” leaders with false allegations. Cromer echoed Frank’s statement – attributing Hiott’s smearing of McCravy to the failure of GOP leaders to do what they said they were going to do on the issue of abortion.
“Davey Hiott is not an honest man,” she wrote. “Maybe he used to be. But now he’s a tool of political convenience. Under his watch, a Planned Parenthood-endorsed Democrat chairs a key family law subcommittee. Instead of owning it, he slanders conservatives to cover his tracks. Davey Hiott is enabling Planned Parenthood’s agenda by allowing their preferred candidate to chair a family law subcommittee.”
Josiah Magnuson, another member of the Freedom Caucus, referred to Hiott as a “backstabber.”
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“Lies like this… show how corrupt the Columbia Swamp really is, and how low they’re willing to go,” Magnuson wrote.
As FITSNews reported last week, the drama began when a national pro-life group – Students for Life Action – began aggressively calling out embattled S.C. House speaker Murrell Smith and S.C. House judiciary chairman Weston Newton over their ongoing refusal to advance H. 3457, a.k.a. the ‘Human Life Protection Act.’ This bill would ban all abortions in South Carolina, extending the current six-week ban to the moment there is a “clinically diagnosable pregnancy.” It would also rescind exceptions for rape, incest and fetal anomalies.
Smith and Hiott are lead sponsors of H. 3457 – but Hiott told The Post and Courier this week that “the overwhelming majority of the caucus said we don’t want to take (the bill) up this year.”
Which caucus members voted as part of that “overwhelming majority?”
Hiott didn’t say… and there’s no way of knowing because the vote was taken behind closed doors.
When Students for Life Action – which was instrumental in ousting three incumbent GOP senators over their purportedly pro-choice votes last year – began criticizing Smith, Newton and other “Republican” lawmakers for their failure to move the bill, Hiott and other GOP leaders went apoplectic.
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RELATED | ANOTHER S.C. REPUBLICAN SCHISM
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After trying and failing to force McCravy to condemn the group and its tactics, Hiott and other establishment “Republican” members tried and failed to have him removed as chairman of the Family Caucus. When that effort also failed, they tried to force lawmakers to abandon the Family Caucus en masse.
“Family Caucus members were asked repeatedly whether they want to resign, and were advised to do so,” the group’s executive director, Somer Flowers, told this outlet.
So far, only Hiott has submitted a resignation notification, Flowers said.
Sources familiar with the situation told FITSNews an effort will be made early next week to remove McCravy as a member of the S.C. House GOP Caucus, which threw out all of its fiscally conservative members two years ago.
The bid to oust McCravy is being led by “Republican” Gil Gatch, a trial lawyer and tool of the über-liberal plaintiffs’ attorney lobby.
Needless to stay, Students for Life Action did not take kindly to the heavy-handed response from the GOP establishment.
“This is dirty politics, plain and simple,” wrote Kristan Hawkins, leader of Students for Life Action.
Her group isn’t the only pro-life organization tracking the dust-up.
Flowers told FITSNews the attack against McCravy “has definitely caught the attention of conservatives – I’ve received nothing but supportive phone calls from all over the nation.”
Expect these pro-life groups to redouble their advocacy against House Republicans in the aftermath of this latest kerfuffle.
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OUR TAKE…
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FITSNews has consistently editorialized in favor of the right to life – referring to it as the “indispensable liberty.” As of this publication, however, we have taken no editorial position on H. 3457. In fact, we have previously expressed support for the existing six-week ban – with the rape and incest exceptions included therein.
Having said that, if House leaders had no interest in advancing new abortion restrictions this session – they shouldn’t have been lead sponsors on a bill seeking to advance them. Nor should they have made promises to advance such legislation to pro-life lawmakers – and then reneged on their word. Furthermore, GOP leaders shouldn’t remotely be surprised that national groups which support abortion restrictions are upset at their failure to advance this legislation – and are voicing their displeasure.
These conveniently timed allegations against McCravy reek of desperation and dishonesty on the part of a flailing “Republican” establishment – one eager to deflect attention away from yet another colossal tactical error.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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4 comments
My God, calling Davey Hiott a liar is disingenuous. Hiott has been a staunch conservative his entire political career, but bc people are paying for so-called paid journalism, he is slandered. I guess op-eds continue to be “pay to play.” What about the Cromer girl and her comments? She is a complete fraud in every sense of the word. I challenge you to examine her record and statements. LIAR. FRAUD. IMPOSTER. She writes about a sex offender in Anderson before trial but doesn’t condemn RJ
May. Something smells fishy and it’s her.
My favorite part of this article is where you talk about the newspaper not sourcing its quotes. You literally make up stories.
Well one is Jewish and the other is gay and those aren’t slurs he is correct.
Beth Bernstein is a Jew. How is stating that fact, “anti-semitism”? Or is she one of the self-loathing Jews who hates being reminded of the fact? I doubt that as she has helped ushure in AIPAC state level variety, within the last couple of weeks so that Israhell has its clutches on our state government as well as our national government.