Thirteen members of the South Carolina House of Representatives – and one U.S. congressman – are forming what they are referring to as a ‘Freedom Caucus.’ The group will be unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday morning at the S.C. State House.
The South Carolina organization will be part of the State Freedom Caucus Network (SFCN), a national group formed by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to “fight federal overreach and stand firm against those – in both parties – who prioritize seizing political power over representing constituents.”
South Carolina’s Freedom Caucus is the third such organization to affiliate with SFCN – joining similar organizations in Georgia and Mississippi.
(Click to view)
(Via: Columbia S.C. Photographers Travis Bell)
According to a media advisory provided to this news outlet, the group is to be led by second-term state representative Adam Morgan of Taylors, S.C. Morgan (above) is listed as the chairman of the group, while state representative RJ May III of West Columbia, S.C. will act as its vice chairman.
Other members of the group include state representatives Mike Burns, Bill Chumley, Bobby Cox, Vic Dabney, Stewart Jones, Steven Long, Josiah Magnuson, Ryan McCabe, Melissa Oremus and Ashley Trantham.
U.S. congressman Ralph Norman – who represents the Palmetto State’s fifth congressional district in Washington, D.C. – is also listed as a member of the group. Norman was a member of the S.C. House from 2005-2007 and again from 2009-2017.
As a longtime advocate for freedom and free markets, I am certainly pleased to see the formation of such a group. Of course, having previously seen how the “Republican” and “conservative” labels have been self-applied to the point of meaningless … the proof will be in the pudding.
What specific policies will this group endorse? How consistently and effectively will it advocate for them? Will its advocacy help achieve meaningful reform?
The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding …
One of the very first things I am hoping to see from this new organization is an aggressive commitment to comprehensive justice reform – accompanied by a commitment to competitive tax and spending policies, an end to crony capitalism and real school choice, just to name a few.
The bottom line is simple: The extent to which any group has credibility is the extent to which it moves the needle on the issues it claims to embrace.
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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 and before that he was a bass player and a dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children. And yes, he has LOTS of hats (but he gave them up for Lent this year).
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