Our media outlet has repeatedly reported on the internecine warfare at the South Carolina State House pitting groups of ostensibly similarly motivated conservative lawmakers against one another. Political insiders are by now familiar with the conflict between members of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus (SCFC) and members aligned with the GOP party leadership.
State representative Jordan Pace of Berkeley County is one of SCFC’s most vocal members. Pace made his voice heard on the House floor throughout the most recent legislative session.
He and his colleagues have recently come under fire for blocking the passage of a healthcare agency restructuring bill which aimed to consolidate the control of all of the state’s health related agencies under one gubernatorial appointee. A change of this sort has long been advocated for by many Palmetto State conservatives, many of whom argue the bill should advance despite the concerns raised by SCFC members.
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Pace recently attempted to justify his vote against the bill through the submission of an opinion editorial to The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier. This resulted not in the publication of his column, however, but in an an editorial excoriation by the newspaper’s staff. The publication is under no obligation to print anything – and some of their arguments made against Pace’s ideas even hold water. Nonetheless, at FITSNews we believe our state’s policymakers must have a venue to freely speak their minds.
With this in mind, I reached out to Pace and conducted an interview in the hopes of respectfully challenging him to explain his position on both the healthcare restructuring bill and on the legislative tactics his caucus employs – which some have argued amount to little more than political showmanship.
Pace also discussed the recent criminal conviction of former president Donald Trump, delving into the Roman historical record for examples of how the destruction of political norms often leads to disastrous outcomes.
I concluded the interview by asking Pace what he and his colleagues would pursue first if given the reigns in the State House. Pace prioritized reforming the earmark process – citing the blatant corruption and quid pro quo incentivized by the current system.
Pace said he would next work to reduce the state’s income tax rate in order to better compete with other southern states like Florida, Texas and Tennessee.
“We need to get to zero, that should be the goal,” he said.
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South Carolina’s roads also factor into Pace’s plan. According to him, the state legislature’s lording over the Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has led to corrupt politicians prioritizing their personal enrichment over road improvements. Pace’s plan to rectify this situation has little to do with increasing funding, but instead suggests giving the lieutenant governor oversight of the agency in the hopes that their political ambition might spur them to produce the results that the state’s current legislatively dominated system has proven itself incapable of.
While we doubt that every listener will agree with all of Pace’s opinions, it is our hope that this interview might benefit the public debate surrounding both the healthcare agency consolidation and the S.C. Freedom Caucus.
At FITSNews we pride ourselves on our open microphone policy, and aim to continue to serve as an idealogical proving ground for anyone involved in the Palmetto State’s public discourse.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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1 comment
Enjoyed this informative discussion! Learned a lot! Thank you Rep. Pace and Dylan.