Education
Legislative Update (3/17/2025)
Case Study … S244 … and what happened to School Choice?
As we teach … pick a legislative topic, and go deep!!! Understand it from top to bottom … and follow the “bill” through the process. That is the only way to figure all this “political” mess out.
Right now, two of the top legislative initiatives of the year are being completely held hostage … in the SC Senate. First, the overwhelming desire of SC Citizens to HELP our small businesses suffering under the liquor liability issue. Second, school choice and the utter debacle that these ESAs have become.
So what is going on?
TORT REFORM … waiting on votes?
We have been following S244 as a case study … mainly because we knew just by the politicians involved it had a nefarious purpose (protect BIG INSURANCE) … and we knew it would be crystal clear that it was not about helping our small business establishments.
Well … it has been an interesting saga (HERE, HERE, HERE & HERE) … and we were right all along.
Now, the Senate Republican Majority Leader Senator Shane Massey (R – Edgefield) is sitting on S244 … reportedly “working votes” for his monied special interest bill … while the clock is ticking on anything to help small businesses.
Nothing has happened … and the 2025 legislative session adjourns on May 8th … just 53 days from today.
Meanwhile SC House bill H3497 (HERE) is sitting there, passed the House, reported out favorably from Senate Judiciary … yet Senator Massey won’t let it come up for a VOTE because he wants “his bill” S244.
It is a total stalemate … and the loser is SC Small Business & The Citizens!!!
Do legislators care about anything except special interest MONEY?!?!?!
BONUS CONTENT: We were clued in this past weekend to a little provision in S244 which really proves our point that it is all about serving the BIG INSURANCE special interest. This gets a little “legal” … but consider this example.
Dad gets killed and it is 1,000% undeniably the fault of the insured, a client of ALLSTATE (as an example). It is an open & shut case … the deceased Dad’s family lawyer requests policy limits (which everyone agrees should be paid) … but guess what … the BIG INSURANCE company can wait 10 MONTHS to pay. Why? The family will get the money … it is not debatable … but the BIG INSURANCE can sit on the claim, earning interest on the cash in the bank … for a full 10 months!!! The SOUTH CAROLINA family suffers needlessly … can’t pay for funeral expenses without taking out a loan … all while ALLSTATE (as the example) sits around and earns 5% interest keeping the money in their bank.
Seriously Senator Massey … why???
FYI … Tuesday, June 13th, 2028 – 1,185 days from today … will be the 2028 PRIMARIES. Will Senator Massey have an opponent? He did not have a challenger in the 2024 primaries … even though he endorsed NIKKI HALEY … and SC Citizens are suffering. #FigureItOUT!!!
SCHOOL CHOICE …
… they have no idea what to do!!!
This is the most atrocious legislative case study … it will literally go down in history as the legislation that cost more jobs & political careers in South Carolina than anything else … including past (& future) legislative criminal investigations.
First, know this fight has been going on since about 2003 … and SC, twenty-two years later, still has the nation’s worst rated school choice program. Par for the course … but sooooooo many pockets have been lined with consulting payments & political donations. The kids come last … if they are ever considered at all.
The monied special interest ESA (S62 – HERE) was RUSHED through the SC Senate … it went to the SC House and returned “changed” on February 27th … and now the SC Senate has no idea what to do because they have now (reportedly) figured out, as we told them, that no matter what they do it will be found UNCONSTITUTIONAL for the 4th time!!!
So the SC Senate is just sitting on it … having no idea what to do in order to satisfy their monied special interest donors. We have watched it for nearly 12 years now … it is all about the $$$!!! #FollowTheMONEY!!!
CONCLUSION: We now have two easy fixes for the SC Citizens. The SC Senate could just pass H3497 and fix the liquor liability issue and SAVE OUR SMALL BUSINESS, but our legislators won’t do it. And, the SC Senate & SC House could easily pass S50 / H3420 … the “constitutional” PACE / ACE Scholarship Bill we have followed for years … and all the kids would be taken care of before the end of this semester … without a lawsuit being filed by the opposition as the program is sooooo constitutional they would be laughed out of court.
Our guess is legislators won’t do it. They know how to fix it … but they won’t because the solutions won’t benefit their monied special interest donors.
Now … what is your solution??? More popcorn??? Kids are suffering … Small Businesses are suffering … but let’s all be “friends” with the people responsible for the suffering. DO YOU AGREE???
Expanded View of Image: HERE
Let us know your thoughts … more popcorn, or more FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT???
team@mySCGOP.com
Business
Coffee & Politics – Greenville Edition – September 12th, 2025
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by Jeff Davis
Charlie Kirk
October 14th, 1993 – September 10th, 2025
WikiPedia: HERE
Assassinated at 31.
We are utterly shattered by the assassination and tragic loss of Charlie Kirk, a radiant and relentless voice in our movement. His passing tears at our hearts and leaves a void that echoes with grief.
Charlie was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, while speaking to thousands at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, during his American Comeback Tour. A single shot was fired from a nearby building, striking him as he sat at his trademark “Prove Me Wrong” table, engaging with students and attendees. Law enforcement has confirmed a manhunt is underway for the shooter, who fled after the attack.
In moments like this, it is easy to cast blame on the Democratic Party and the mainstream media, which have too often enabled the conditions for political violence in America. On a national level, they bear much responsibility.
But here in South Carolina, we must also confront the painful truth within our own ranks. Hatred and anger have taken root in the SCGOP as well. From the 2021 ReOrg FRAUD in Greenville, to the refusal to seat Pickens delegates at the 2025 SCGOP State Convention, and so much in between—these acts are desperate attempts, no different than what Democrats do nationally, to cling to perceived power and influence in our state.
We will not stand for it. Lies and hate will be called out, exposed, and rooted out. They have no place anywhere—not in our political community, not now, not ever, and certainly not in South Carolina.
Leaders in South Carolina must learn to truly lead. Too few do today. While true America First conservatives lead with courage, too many politicians, candidates, party officials, and activists choose instead to tolerate deception, to go along to get along. But know this: if you tolerate lies, you are part of the problem.
In the shadow of this fresh grief, we also pause to remember the enduring wound of September 11, 2001—a day that forever altered our nation’s sense of security and unity.
Charlie’s memory demands that we rise above, uniting in truth with an unwavering commitment to honor his legacy—not with bitterness, but with compassion, strength, and steadfast opposition to evil in all its forms, wherever it may arise.
Next Man Up.
Dum spiro spero
(“While I breathe, I hope”)
Best,
Jeff Davis, JD, MBA, CPA(GA)
Chairman & Co-Founder, mySCGOP.com
Chairman, Greenville County Republican Party
jeff@apogeetax.com
843-901-8036 (cell)
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Business
Coffee & Politics – Greenville Edition – September 5th, 2025
JOIN US every Friday (11am-1pm)
Coffee & Politics – September 5th, 2025 – YouTube (HERE), RUMBLE (HERE) & X (HERE)
Friends, we have been running a weekly Coffee & Politics Meeting out of our Greenville Headquarters for nearly 3 1/2 years now … and it has been a huge hit. It is how we communicate our vision and #Mission to or local Volunteers and Community … and it one way we RECRUIT more people to the MAGA America First movement.
WHEN: Every Friday from 11am – 1pm
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Coffee & Politics – August 29th, 2025 – YouTube (HERE), RUMBLE (HERE) & X (HERE)
Friends, we have been running a weekly Coffee & Politics Meeting out of our Greenville Headquarters for nearly 3 1/2 years now … and it has been a huge hit. It is how we communicate our vision and #Mission to or local Volunteers and Community … and it one way we RECRUIT more people to the MAGA America First movement.
WHEN: Every Friday from 11am – 1pm
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Coffee & Politics – August 22nd, 2025 – YouTube (HERE), RUMBLE (HERE) & X (HERE)
Friends, we have been running a weekly Coffee & Politics Meeting out of our Greenville Headquarters for nearly 3 1/2 years now … and it has been a huge hit. It is how we communicate our vision and #Mission to or local Volunteers and Community … and it one way we RECRUIT more people to the MAGA America First movement.
WHEN: Every Friday from 11am – 1pm
JOIN US!!!
NOW ON RUMBLE!!! (HERE)
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by Jeff Davis
As we head into the 2026 South Carolina Primaries next June 9th, Republican (and Democrat) voters will be faced with picking which Republican (or Democrat) they want to represent them in the general election. It will be a choice we each have to make among the available options … the 2, 3 or 5 candidates that filed and are on the ballot … and there is no “None Of The Above” option. Sure, you don’t have to vote … but don’t complain later when you sat out the election.
We are seeing already … the jockeying by political consultants and their operatives to push their candidate (and tear down the opponents) … and the “PERFECTIONISTS” that complain about every candidate, but offer no solutions (and are not willing to run for office themselves).
A THOUGHTFUL APPROACH: Selection of a candidate to support is not easy. None of them are perfect, and how much can you really believe from what you hear on the campaign trail. What we like to encourage is that everyone think critically and logically about candidates and their campaigns, and steer clear as best you can of the emotional knee-jerk reactions that often dominate the discussions.
IT IS NOT JUST THE CANDIDATE – LOOK AT THEIR TEAM: While it’s tempting to focus solely on the candidate, it’s equally important to examine the people they surround themselves with. If you’re unaware of a candidate’s consultants (and their motivations), staff (and their roles), or the candidate’s supporters (who will inevitable have the ear of the candidate), it’s wise to hold off on offering your support. Ultimately, it’s not just about the candidate—it’s about their TEAM (or the “baggage” that comes with them).
We like to prioritize two key qualities when evaluating candidates:
(#1) Electability: A candidate (a) willing to run for office and (b) capable of winning. You may know the “perfect” person, but if they won’t run for office or are not capable of winning … what good are they?
(#2) Collaboration and Integrity: A candidate open to working with The People, with the grassroots, willing to listen, eager to include The People as part of their TEAM, and genuinely committed to doing what’s objectively right for the people—not just themselves (or their monied special interest backers). Here is where experience and judgment comes into consideration because you really don’t know what a candidate might do once elected. We have helped candidates get elected – and then never spoken with them again (not by our choice). Being lied to is a hard lesson to learn.
This process of selecting a candidate to back is both an art and a science, and while we may never find the “perfect” candidate, we can identify and support those who meet these two criteria and give us the best odds of promoting the conservative cause … at least until the next election when we will have another chance to try again.
THE TRUMP OF 2016: Reflecting on the field of “candidates” in 2016 … and the original “candidate” DONALD J. TRUMP … I believe that original candidate TRUMP, embodied these qualities, and that approach has proven effective in helping Save America.
STOP LOOKING FOR A “POLITICAL SAVIOR”: Most importantly, let’s remember, no candidate will save us. There is only one true “Savior”, and He is not running for office. Our work continues, so don’t think you are off the hook if your person gets elected. But having the right people – dedicated TEAM players – in elected positions from top to bottom can make all the difference.
Be smart … be logical … don’t be emotional … and don’t just complain, complain, complain.
Dum spiro spero
(“While I breathe, I hope”)
Best,
Jeff Davis, JD, MBA, CPA(GA)
Chairman & Co-Founder, mySCGOP.com
Chairman, Greenville County Republican Party
jeff@apogeetax.com
843-901-8036 (cell)
mySCGOP.shop
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