Faith in Government? Talbert Black, December 26, 2011 Dear Friend of South Carolina, The good news is we almost have the votes needed to stop one of the biggest increases in government control and authority in a generation! The bad news is we still have too many Republicans members of the South Carolina House who put their faith in government. The vote on the I-95 Corridor Authority is scheduled for the first day of the 2012 session on January 10th. Please contact your South Carolina State House Representative today! Tell him to vote to sustain the governor’s veto of S211. That’s the bill number that will create this monstrous growth in government if the governor’s veto is not sustained. Does your Representative follow the faith of Representative Jenny Horne? Does your Representative believe the government knows best? I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting between Mrs. Horne, Representative Chris Murphy and a group of concerned citizens from their districts. I’ve gotta tell you, these two Representatives are convinced that government is the answer to whatever the people that live along I-95 need. Apparently, Horne and Murphy think that the people along the I-95 corridor are stupid, lazy and uncooperative. They said these people will never cooperate enough to bring prosperity to their area. They said the people will never leave welfare for less than a job that pays $10 to $12 per hour. They said these folks don’t have the skills needed to improve their lot in life. Horne and Murphy’s answer to all their claims about the inadequacy of these folks is a NEW government agency with jurisdiction over 1/3 of the land area of our state! And how will this government agency enforce what they believe to be the necessary cooperation? How will it also force companies to pay what government feels is the appropriate wage? And will it also force people to get what the government thinks is the appropriate education? Well, maybe… They are giving the new agency broad authority over the education, economy, infrastructure and leadership of the 17 counties along the South Carolina stretch of I-95. Horne and Murphy kept repeating that the SC Legislature needed to help the people in the “corridor of shame” because the people couldn’t help themselves without the Legislators wisdom!!! Wow! Are you just as tired as I am of hearing politicians say “you just don’t understand”? Please, contact your Representative and tell him or her that you do understand! We don’t need more government intervention! Please tell him or her to sustain the governor’s veto of S211. During the course of the meeting, Representative Horne and Murphy were presented with the results of research conducted by South Carolina’s own economists. This research compared decades of data from state to state and country to country. It was very clear that the more a state or national government controlled the economy, the less prosperous the people were. Jenny Horne’s response to the research? She dismissed it out of hand with, “Anyone can lie with statistics.” That may be true, but she didn’t even take the time to consider the data. Her mind was made up. Her faith is in government! The arrogance was nauseating! She told us we just didn’t understand the big picture. The government’s help was necessary. Here is the kicker… These 17 counties along the I-95 corridor have been under liberal leadership for quite some time. They have lived under the philosophy of government intervention for generations. Did it occur to Jenny Horne and Chris Murphy that the Democratic platform of more government “help” might be the problem and not the solution? At the end of this letter is a list of members of the South Carolina House of Representatives who, as far as I know, have not made a written commitment to sustain the governor’s veto. Here is what I need you to do: If your Representative is listed, contact him or her today and let him know that you expect him to sustain the governor’s veto of the I-95 Corridor Authority. It is bill S211. If your Representative is not listed, contact him or her today and let him know that you expect him to follow through on his promise to sustain the governor’s veto. Either way, let him know this vote will included on the 2012 Palmetto Liberty Score Card. NOT voting will be scored the same as voting FOR the I-95 Corridor Authority. Whatever written response you receive, please forward me a copy so I can keep a tally. We need the Representatives there, and we need them voting to sustain the governor’s veto. Remind them that absence is NOT an excuse! We are getting close to having the commitments we need to win. We started this battle with only 17 members voting against this bill. We are now up to 41 who either voted against it the first time, or who have given a written commitment to vote against this time. We only need a few more commitments to have the 1/3 we need to successfully sustain the governor’s veto and kill this new agency! Just one more big push, and we can do it! Please, contact your representative today! Oh, and I almost forgot, if you aren’t sure why the I-95 Corridor Authority is so bad, click over here and read my first couple of posts on the matter. They contain more details about the Authority and the power it will have. Also, you can find who your Representative is by simply entering your address at this link. Best regards, Talbert Black, Jr. P.S. Below is a list of Representatives who haven’t made a commitment to stop this growth in government. Check the list below. If your Representative is listed, contact him today and tell him you expect him to sustain the governor’s veto of S211, The I-95 Corridor Authority. If your Representative is not listed, contact him today and tell him you expect him to follow through on his promise to sustain the governor’s veto. Either way, let him know that not voting will be considered supporting the I-95 Corridor Authority. We need the Representatives there, and we need them voting to sustain the governor’s veto. Absence is NOT an excuse. Representatives who have not committed to sustain the Governor’s veto: (click on the name to get their contact information) Paul L. Agnew Terry Alexander Karl B. Allen Carl L. Anderson Michael A. “Mike” Anthony Jimmy C. Bales Liston D. Barfield James A. “Jim” Battle, Jr. Don C. Bowen William K. “Bill” Bowers Joan B. Brady Lester P. Branham, Jr. Norman D. “Doug” Brannon Curtis Brantley Grady A. Brown H. Boyd Brown Robert L. Brown Mia Butler Garrick Alan D. Clemmons William “Bill” Clyburn Gilda Cobb-Hunter J. Derham Cole, Jr. Kristopher R. “Kris” Crawford Chandra E. Dillard Tracy R. Edge Marion B. Frye Laurie Slade Funderburk Michael W. “Mike” Gambrell Wendell G. Gilliard Jerry N. Govan, Jr. Nelson L. Hardwick Robert W. Harrell, Jr. James H. Harrison Christopher R. “Chris” Hart Jackie E. “Coach” Hayes George M. Hearn David R. Hiott William M. “Bill” Hixon Kenneth F. Hodges Jenny Anderson Horne Lonnie Hosey Leon Howard Joseph H. Jefferson Kevin L. Johnson John Richard C. King Patsy G. Knight Harry B. “Chip” Limehouse, III Phillip D. Lowe James H. “Jay” Lucas David J. Mack, III Joseph A. “Joe” McEachern Walton J. McLeod James H. Merrill Harold Mitchell, Jr. V. Stephen “Steve” Moss Elizabeth R. Munnerlyn Christopher J. “Chris” Murphy James M. “Jimmy” Neal Joseph H. “Joe” Neal Denny Woodall Neilson Harry L. Ott, Jr. Steve A. Parker J. Anne Parks Lewis E. “Gene” Pinson Michael A. Pitts J. Todd Rutherford Ronnie A. Sabb Bakari T. Sellers B. R. Skelton G. Murrell Smith, Jr. J. Roland Smith James E. Smith, Jr. Edward L. Southard L. Kit Spires Leonidas E. “Leon” Stavrinakis Edward R. “Eddie” Tallon, Sr. Anne J. Thayer Ted M. Vick J. David Weeks J. Seth Whipper W. Brian White William R. “Bill” Whitmire Robert Q. Williams Action Alerts Economic Incentives Economic Policy I-95 Corridor Authority
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