By fitsnews – March 29, 2012
S.C. Rep. Jenny Horne (RINO-Summerville) is at it again.
Last week, we brought you a report on her self-serving efforts to delay a vote on school choice in the Palmetto state. Apparently Horne believed that blocking an up-or-down floor vote would help her carve out a personal power base of RINO fan boys in the S.C. House.
As we noted, her objective was to provide cover for left-leaning “Republicans” who planned cross the aisle to vote against the bill – despite the fact that an even more aggressive choice bill is part of the SCGOP platform.
Specifically, “Republicans” like Doug Brannon, Joan Brady, Davey Hiott and Gene Pinson were all set to vote against the plan to help low-income and disabled students (and, in point of fact they did vote “no”) – but Horne was hoping to delay the vote until after the close of filing period to do so.
Thankfully, the vote happened yesterday, and the bill passed 65-to-49.
Horne’s bizarre and duplicitous plot was part of – or more accurately the extent – of her larger plan to climb the ladder in the House and become a member of the GOP leadership. That would have allowed her to steer the House Republican Caucus further to the left, and probably would have worked out pretty well for all the trial lawyers and lobbyists who fund her campaigns.
In the wake of our recent exposure of Horne’s scheming, she’s reportedly told several lawmakers that she was “set up” and that she’d “always” wanted to see the school choice bill get a prompt roll call vote.
Yeah right.
After her plan blew up, Horne proved incapable of leaving well enough alone. In fact during the prolonged House floor debate on the choice bill she was seen (above) conferring with S.C. School Boards Association (SCSBA) lobbyist Scott Price.
Price, whose $150,000 taxpayer subsidized salary is totally “for the kids,” was helping Horne craft a last minute poison pill amendment to the bill. Moments later, as amendment after amendment was being rejected by her colleagues, Horne angrily tore up her amendment and threw it away.
Of course, Horne went on to vote against H. 4894. She also added a comment for publication in the journal stating how she is “in favor of parents having educational choices for their children” but that she opposed this bill “because before the General Assembly passes another tax deduction or a tax credit, it should address comprehensive tax reform.”
Hmmmm … we suppose this staunch commitment to ultra-orthodox tax code purism is why Horne recently voted in favor of tax credits for solar energy equipment (H.3346) and against the repeal of tax sales exemptions for firearms (H.4813, Amendment 44).
Obviously the need for “comprehensive tax reform” (which Horne has never offered a vision for, by the way) didn’t stop her from voting on either of those bills.
Free market supporters are sick of Republicans voting with Democrats. They’re also sick of Republicans and Democrats saying one thing and doing another. Jenny Horne is showing us the worst of both worlds … but the good news is that state lawmakers (finally) appear to be putting our children’s best interests first.
We remain convinced of the need for a much broader choice bill than the one which passed the House this week, but this legislation is a good first step in the direction of academic freedom for those who need it the most.
It’s also a good first step in exposing self-serving legislators like Jenny Horne who seek to climb the leadership ladder at the State House on the backs of South Carolina’s most vulnerable children.
***
