S.C. Rep. Davey Hiott, of Pickens, scheduled a 9 a.m. press conference with the press today. Hiott is the newly elected S.C. House Majority leader. This puts him second in command of the S.C. House, just behind House Speaker Murrell Smith.
As Hiott took the microphone, things went downhill from there.
At issue is the S.C. Freedom Caucus. The Freedom Caucus includes the most conservative, red meat Republicans in the state. Many of these elected officials hail from the upstate, where S.C.’s most conservative residents live.
Under counsel from Starboard Political Strategist, Walter Whetsell, the S.C. Republican Party requested that all state republicans sign a pledge not to speak ill of other republicans on social media. All members were asked to sign the pledge. Whetsell is the political consultant for the S.C. House.
Statement by Davey Hiott
After our article aired earlier today, we received the following statement from House Majority Leader Davey Hiott:
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I want to take a moment and provide clarity regarding the South Carolina House Republican Caucus rules for the 2023-2024 legislative session. In recent news and blog articles, I believe some readers are confused over the rules of the Republican Caucus, and are being misled over a so-called “loyalty oath”. There is no such oath.
Like any organization, our Caucus operates under a set of rules. That is not unusual – I know even my church operates under rules. The Caucus rules are attached. I want to note that the rules were agreed upon by the Caucus and over 70+ members have already signed in agreement.
Let me also clarify that there is no effort by this Caucus to prevent any member from posting to their social media accounts or communicating with their constituents. A critical part of our democracy is communication between constituents and their representatives. Sometime later today the rules will be released to the media. Feel free to share with those whom you think would be interested.
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FREEDOM CAUCUS: We’re not signing
Today, Freedom Caucus members refused to sign the pledge, calling it a loyalty oath.
We reached out to Freedom Caucus Representative Josiah Magnuson, who represents Spartanburg. Said Magnuson, “The freedom caucus is here to fight for the future of S.C. kids, not sit around the campfire with the political left.”
Fitsnews (reporting on this earlier today), wrote: If the tiny band of potentates within House GOP leadership who are pushing this purge of dissenters bothered to open a history book, they would quickly find that forced loyalty oaths never have a happy ending – including one imposed here in South Carolina some 190 years ago.
With the exception of one, Freedom Caucus members held firm and refused to sign the oath.
Afterwards, the House went into session.
Once in session, a South Carolina Republican House Representative, who asked for anonymity, told us, “It’s a shit show up here.“
Every amendment, every issue brought before the House was questioned with other amendments then added by Freedom Caucus members.
The 2023 legislative session has begun. This will be an interesting year for sure.
During our Thursday, MyrtleBeachSC Politics broadcast, we spoke with the Grand Strand Daily’s Paul Gable for his input on this matter.
His entire comments can be heard in the video header above.
SC House Republican Caucus RULES by MyrtleBeachSC news on Scribd