“The Great Divide.” Democrats draw attention to ‘have’ and ‘have nots’ in SC

The majority party’s lack of ensuring the health and well-being of South Carolinians was the main emphasis of the Democrats response to Gov. Henry McMaster’s State of the State speech Wednesday night.

Rep. Roger Kirby, D-Florence, stressed the importance of focusing on issues pertinent to the people of South Carolina, not just political talking points.

“An undeniable condition in our State is something I’d like to refer to as the “Great Divide,” said Kirby, who delivered the Democratic response. “There is an essential difference in the quality of life between the “haves” and the “have nots.”

Kirby mentioned the “infighting” within the Republican party, in reference to the Freedom Caucus and House Republicans, and how they have put focus on “highly inflammatory issues” that are not actually for the good of South Carolinians.

“Democracy depends upon a system that encourages vigorous debate and seeks compromise,” Kirby said. “Today, it is obvious that we have moved from this core principle of governance into a system that has lost accountability to the people and subsequently has lost the trust of the people.”

Kirby said Democrats were glad to hear about the ideas of economic development and infrastructure in McMaster’s speech, as well as increasing teacher pay and supporting state workers, which have been what Democrats pushed for all along.

But the governor failed to mention the lack of general and women’s healthcare, food insecurity, medicaid expansion, drug addiction and suicide rates. Kirby listed off statistics for South Carolina’s education, crime and health outcomes, and said there are 14 counties in South Carolina with zero OBGYN’s.

“Even with these glaring statistics, Republicans have decided to further restrict healthcare for women,” Kirby said. “Democrats stand with South Carolina’s women. They are our daughters, our sisters, our mothers, and Democrats will always advocate on their behalf.”

Further, Kirby went on to mention the press conference the Democrats had the previous week where they called out the governor for not participating in the summer food program, which means South Carolina would not accept federal money to help feed kids from low-income families over the summer.

“These are your tax dollars and should be used for our children,” Kirby said.

South Carolina is one of two states without hate crime legislation, which has been an ongoing debate among lawmakers, specifically pertaining to the lack of action when Black people die compared to white. Kirby mentioned the lack of hate crime laws and said “I implore you to contact Republican senators and urge them to stop blocking this legislation.”

After McMaster finished his speech, Minority Leader Rep. Todd Rutherford said the most remarkable part of the speech was where McMaster said teachers would be seeing a raise with a minimum starting salary of $50,000.

“Following the Democrats lead is always a good thing to do in the state of the state address and we’ve been trying to get teacher pay raise for years,” Rutherford said.

The rest of the speech, Rutherford said, was “questionable at best.”

“Spending a lot of money and I think that he needs to take a better look at the budget. If you’re going to deny food to hungry children, we shouldn’t be giving raises to everybody across the board. I think there’s a balance we need to achieve here.”

Sen. Karl Allen, D-Greenville, also said it made his “heart feel good” that teachers would be getting a raise.

“I think we’re on the right road, but I agree with him when he says that is not enough, so we in the state of South Carolina need to do more for our teachers because they teach our most precious commodity,” Allen said.

Sen. Deon Tedder, D-Charleston, said overall he applauds the governor on his message, but there was definitely a couple things he disagreed with.

“There was a bit of divisiveness there. I think it was a bit of a low blow on the union, labor unions and longshoreman, the ILA workers. For the governor to be so divisive and try to pit the two against each other I think is disheartening.”

This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 9:58 PM with the headline "“The Great Divide.” Democrats draw attention to ‘have’ and ‘have nots’ in SC."