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by ROM REDDY
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I saw a recent article bragging about Henry McMaster’s high approval ratings. Let me tell you something about approval ratings. It is easy to be popular when you never rock the boat. It is easy to have high numbers when you avoid tough fights and never do anything that risks upsetting anyone. Popularity is not leadership.
Henry McMaster has been governor longer than anyone in South Carolina history. No one has had more time or more opportunity to reshape our state. And what did we get in return? The lost decade. Ten years of the state General Fund almost doubling, a bloated agency state that is two to four times the size of competitive states like Florida on a per capita basis and a South Carolina that continues to sit at the bottom of every measurable category that matters for families.
Our roads are still a disaster. Our K-12 education system is ranked 42/50 which is a disgrace and our judicial system is still controlled by lawyer legislators which is unconstitutional. Our small businesses are still suffocated by regulations that are almost twice that of California on a per capita basis. Our families are still crushed by one of the worst tax structures in the entire country.
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Approval ratings do not fix any of that.
It is not hard to be liked when you do nothing. It is not hard to maintain popularity when you avoid bold reforms. It is not hard to look good when you refuse to challenge the insiders and instead let the bureaucracy run the state while you cut ribbons and give speeches. Meanwhile, the Legislature consolidates power, the agencies grow, the Constitution gets ignored, and South Carolina continues to fall behind states like Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and North Carolina.
The truth is simple. Leadership is not about making everyone happy. Leadership is about doing the hard things that move a state forward.
Popularity is not progress. Approval is not achievement. And South Carolina deserves better than a governor who spent a decade watching the ship drift while other states sprinted ahead.
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It is time for a new era of leadership in this state. Bold leadership. Courageous leadership. Leadership that is willing to disrupt the insiders, dismantle the bureaucracy, restore the Constitution, and rebuild South Carolina into the greatest citizen first state in America. It can be done as long as we don’t fall for the BS we have been fed and foster divisions that benefit the politicians. We are all made in the image of God and we are God’s children. God wants us to find the common good not divide and hate each other. That is the dream our founders fought and died for. Our Revolution is fighting to restore that dream.
Henry McMaster should have been more like Ron Desantis. Do bold things. Rock the boat. Get results. And to hell with the approval ratings.
The lost decade must end. And the Palmetto Revolution will make sure it does. It starts with all of us not buying into these polished messages that put lipstick on a pig.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Rom Reddy, a businessman from Isle of Palms, S.C., is the founder of the DOGE SC movement.
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7 comments
McMaster has high approval ratings because Sanford and Haley rocked the boat so much that it got swamped.
While I agree that our road systems are poor (we get a “D” average on our road systems and a “C-” on our bridges), and the Governor’s penchant for taxpayer funded industry recruitment has deservedly earned its moniker of “crony capitalism,” when you look at the broad-based social and economic factors, SC has fared pretty well over the last ten years under McMaster. Our overall tax burden has decreased (although it should decrease more), per capita and gross GDP growth has steadliy increased over that time and outpaced inflation, crime rates across the board fell continuously, and while our education system still is in the bottom 20% of the nation, graduation rates improved from about 80% to just over 86%. Could we have done more with our own version of a DeSantis? Yes, probably so – but that is a far cry from being a “lost decade.”
Isn’t this the guy who wants to dump shit on the beach, public property, to protect his house? I have no sympathy for him. McMaster actually did fight him on this. That’s why he’s mad. I rarely agree with McMaster, but I was grateful when he stood up for our natural resources.
It was his dream to be governor. He has done nothing significant for the state during his administration. I support Alan Wilson. My only reservation is if we will find someone competent enough to take his position as attorney general.
He has recruited more high paying jobs than any governor ever, raised teacher pay when no previous Republicans had the stones to do it, upgraded the state Highway system years ahead of schedule, and put Teddy Roosevelt like money into conservation. And that’s just off the top of my head. All Allan knows how to do is not prosecute child molesters, and joining litigation that is redundant and cost the taxpayer. You should come see me in Panama next time the House leadership comes to “see the canal”
As a Florida resident, I encourage you to think again about wanting a governor more like Ron DeSantis. Yes, he rocked the boat, but to what end? Like South Carolina, we continue to rank near the bottom in all important measures. We are ready for fresh leadership as well.
Don’t worry, Alan will do worse.