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My Campaign Platform for the June 10, 2014 GOP Primary

It has been a privilege to serve as your Representative to the General Assembly in Columbia since 2009. During this time, I have come to know many fine people in District 18. Though our conversations, I have gained a greater understanding of the effect – both good and bad – that state government has on people and businesses.

I am honored to announce that I will be on the ballot in the June 10th Republican Primary.

As a native of Blue Ridge and a business owner in Greer, I remain committed to representing our common-sense conservative values in Columbia. We need only look around us at the quality of life that we enjoy to know that maintaining and expanding these values remains our number one priority.

I have listed below a summary of my core political beliefs. However, if you want to study my positions more in-depth, please read through this website. In the name of transparency, I have published over 200 articles on this website about my work in Columbia.

Pro – Life As a father of a son with hemophilia, I know that all children are gifts from God regardless of their condition — health, financial or otherwise. I absolutely support protection for the unborn and have actively defended their rights on the House floor.  Furthermore, I understand the emotional and financial challenges faced by those who have children with special needs and the challenges that those parents face during this financial crisis. Pro-abortion supporters are on the wrong side of history. As medical knowledge advances, we are pushing back the effects of Roe v. Wade. During March 2014, I co-sponsored the Fetal Pain Awareness Act which passed the House. Please take a look at my update entitled  Pro-Abortion Fallacies  for detail of that debate. Or better yet see my floor speech on another pro-life bill from years past.

Gun Rights I fully support the Second Amendment and the rights of gun owners to protect their families and property.  As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I consistently voted to protect our hunting and fishing rights. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings, I pointed out that it was the evil acts by humans and not guns that should be blamed for that horrible event. I even published an opinion piece in The Greenville Journal entitled Slouching Toward Depravity where I concluded that  “. . . weak-willed pundits and politicians will try to take away our guns or anything else that will grab them a headline, while we watch our children devoured by an increasingly depraved society.”

Tax Reform – As chairman of the House Republican Caucus Tax Reform Committee, I have spent the last two Sessions attempting to simplify and broaden parts of the state tax code. I sponsored seven separate bills that reformed business taxes, personal income taxes, sales taxes, fuel taxes and property taxes. Three of the bills were passed by the House and one became law. I will continue the work on tax reform in the coming session. For the latest detailed explanation of my tax reform efforts please look at my articles entitled Flat Income Tax and Tax Reform Details.

EducationAs a former trustee of Coastal Carolina University, a member of the House Education Committee and a member of the teacher incentive pay study committee, I have an in-depth understanding of what our children need to succeed in an increasingly competitive world. I remain committed to reforming our public education system to make sure tax dollars are spent in the classroom; that good teachers are rewarded; and that classroom discipline is enforced. Most importantly, I believe that each child is uniquely created by God and that parents should have the last word for their children’s education. Many people are rightly upset about the effects of the Common Core on our standards. I have spent the last year researching Common Core and have signed onto bills to repeal it and to make sure that the Legislature approves any new standards considered by the Department of Education. For more detail on my research please read my article entitled Common Core Reports.

Ethics and Campaign Reform – Good government demands that the actions of elected officials are transparent – including their campaign finances. It should be noted that my campaign account reports can be viewed at the South Carolina Ethics Commission website. Additionally, the ethics requirements for incumbents should be the same as those for challengers. The primary election debacle from 2 years ago revealed major flaws in our ethics and campaign laws. I support our current ethics bill that was passed by the House and is under review by the Senate.

Economic Growth – In my work, I have the opportunity to talk with many small business owners about the challenges that they face. I share with them their frustration at government regulations that are designed to prevent them from doing what they do best – growing the economy and creating jobs. When I was first elected, I was on the Agriculture and Environmental Affairs Committee. During my time there, I served on the regulations sub-committee where I had the opportunity to fight over-regulation at the source – when they come up for initial approval. I fully support Gov. Haley’s current efforts to control the growth and reduce the number of regulations so that our economy can have room to grow. I also believe that our poorly maintained road systems has a negative impact on our future economic development. I have spent a considerable amount of time researching possible ways to increase funding for our roads. For a more detailed list of articles please refer to Tax Reform and Gas Tax Articles.

Immigration The federal government has failed to protect our borders against illegal immigration.  We all realize that illegal immigration has become a serious local problem.  I believe that current laws should be enforced so that illegal aliens and other criminal elements do not want to come here.  During my first legislative session, I helped sponsor H4919 – The Illegal Alien Enforcement Act which was modeled on the recent legislation passed in Arizona.

Restructuring When I first ran for office, I emphasized the need to reduce the size of state government through efficient reform. After years of trying, we finally passed a Department of Administration bill this year. This bill moves the vast majority of the administrative functions of state government – human resources, information technology, state vehicles, and “general services” – under the control of the Governor for the first time. The bill also effectively eliminates the old Budget and Control Board – a quasi-legislative/executive agency that controlled much of state government.

Marriage & Family – I believe that marriage is reserved for one man and one woman. Furthermore, I believe that the traditional family structure remains the best foundation that society can be built upon and that it must be protected.

If you support my common-sense conservative agenda, I ask for your support on June 10th.