SC Freedom Caucus fights establishment Republicans | Opinion

June 14, 2022, is a day that will live in infamy for the elite establishment of the South Carolina Republican House Caucus.

It was on that night when the Republican primary totals came in that the caucus members began to panic.

Rob Harris, a devout follower of Jesus, an operating room nurse, a Constitutional conservative, and a political newcomer had defeated a sweet establishment darling with 24 years of experience, the chair of the powerful House Education Committee, 54%-46%.

Harris’s victory caused establishment eyebrows to raise.

But that wasn’t the only establishment upset.

April Comer, also a political novice from Anderson County, destroyed the incumbent establishment elite — and former chair of the House Ways and Means Committee — 60%-40%.

On the same day, another conservative newbie, Thomas Beach, beat the incumbent in his district, 50%-32%, in a three-person race.

Full-scale panic!

Could it be that the three-month-old Freedom Caucus had won races against the smarter, more well-funded elite establishment?

In July, the power brokers met. They needed a plan to destroy the Freedom Caucus.

On December 6, 2022, at the first Republican Caucus meeting of the new legislative session, the elite establishment executed step one of its plan to bring the Freedom Caucus to its knees.

At that meeting, they adopted a “never before” rule that House Republican Caucus members must sign an oath to “adhere, abide by and comply with” Rule No. 16, which says you will not campaign against any incumbent Republican representative who Is running for reelection.

Paraphrase: Give up your First Amendment right to free speech!

They knew that no Freedom Caucus member who took seriously their First Amendment rights would sign such an oath.

Those who did not were kicked out of the State House Republican Caucus.

Following the first meaningful vote of the 2023 legislative session, Rob Harris, the most vocal pro-life, anti-abortion member of the legislature, and two other Freedom Caucus legislators were attacked in texts sent to their constituents saying their vote against a Supreme Court candidate would “kill more babies.”

The next week, every Freedom Caucus member who voted in favor of a compassionate amendment to a crime bill (an amendment that did not pass) was attacked, claiming we wanted “dangerous felons” to own guns.

When the South Carolina Freedom Caucus sued the House Ethics Committee to protect our First Amendment right to be recognized as a caucus, our constituents received texts claiming we were evil men and women who are attacking the state government.

When some of us questioned the state spending $1.3 billion to lure Scout Motors to South Carolina, while never giving small businesses similar legislative concerns, we were attacked, again by texts to our constituents saying we were against jobs and anti-business.

After the final session before furlough — when we voted to approve the 2023-24 state budget, a vote in which some Freedom Caucus members voted for and some voted against — texts were sent to our constituents saying we were against fiscal responsibility, education, law enforcement, you name it!

Let me just say, if you are walking in the woods and see something that looks like poop, if you pick it up, and it smells like poop, do not taste it. It is poop.

Pray that God-honoring, hard-working, America-loving, men and women will stand up.

Pray that Freedom Caucus men and women will not “grow weary in doing good.”

State Rep. Joe White, a Republican from Newberry, represents House District 40.