Since his election to the South Carolina House of Representative in 2008 Rep. John Richard C. King, current Chair of the SC Legislative Black Caucus, has never been one to backdown from any challenge or any person. He is unapologetic about stating his case on what he considers the, “right thing to do.” His 2013 meeting with Nikki Haley, which led to him being uninvited by Haley to a Governor’s Mansion reception, has become a mythical tale of insiders around Columbia. King’s unwavering focus and leadership during the 2015 Flag debate was critical during that long day on July 8th. His ascension to Chair of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus has put a new spotlight on him, and has given him a platform to speak out and up for the challenges, priorities, and dreams of the African American and minority communities in SC.
We were fortunate enough to be able to spend a little time with him, which coincided with the SCLBC releasing a statement on the Republican led Senate version of the national GOP efforts to destroy Healthcare in America, or as they see it repeal and replace.
PI Question: So, what do you think of the plan put out by Senate Republican leadership?
King: After seeing and reading about the House bill, I was certain the Senate would offer something that was at least responsible and pragmatic; after all they are the deliberate body that takes their time. Gosh was I wrong. But, I am not surprised. We should remember Senate Republicans are led by a man who stated after President Obama was sworn in that Senate Republican’s number one priority was to defeat Barack Obama. How unbelievable of a statement is that…not work to create new jobs, expand healthcare, promote education, the number one priority for Senate Republicans would be a political and partisan goal. Although the Republicans now control the US Senate, I don’t believe they have changed their focus. Their whole healthcare plan revolves around defeating Obama. This is so sad for our country. There used to be a time when Republicans and Democrats would work together after an election. If your party won, you would have control but you still knew that compromised bills make the best laws.
The CBO scoring of the bill is all that needs to be read to see how destructive this partisan, politically motivated plan would be on actual American citizens. It is truly a sad time when we live in a political climate where only winning truly matters, not the needs of the people you represent. The SC Legislative Black Caucus is calling on all South Carolinians to call their Congressmen and Senators and remind them that they work for the people. That we don’t care about political wins, we care about American wins!
PI Question: What do you and the SCLBC believe are the pressing issues facing the state…what issues needs more attention?
King: Well we can start with Healthcare in this state. Because Nikki Haley didn’t expand Medicaid like other Republican Governors (like in Arizona and Florida), South Carolina is on the sideline of the national debate. Republican Governors are leading the fight for pragmatic solutions, but we are a non-player because Nikki Haley chose to play politics instead of truly leading. This has been the problem with South Carolina Republican leaders the past 15-20 years. We only have politicians that hope to become elected and not ones that truly embrace leadership. Haley’s choice to play politics has literally led to the pain, suffering, and even death of some South Carolinians. I believe this is shameful.
But issues we feel are most important include all the things we as state leaders are supposed to be addressing…including fixing the funding system as it relates to our public schools, expanding healthcare service, making state colleges and universities more affordable for SC students, and bringing new jobs to the state. The issues have been identified but progress has been slow…we believe it is time South Carolinians start asking why? Why haven’t we moved on issues that benefit us all? Issues like passing medical cannabis. Would we rather continue to play politics with outdated facts instead of helping sick children, adults, and our veterans? It bothers me that a veteran first state like South Carolina would rather have prescribed opioids, that are leading to the death of thousands of soldiers, be used to treat illnesses instead of medical cannabis that has been documented to effectively treat without the side-effects and addiction. I am truly baffled by these limited government conservatives on this issue.
I sincerely believe the people of this state are reaching a point where they are tired of politicians playing political games. It is unfortunate that the current McMaster Administration has continued to the trend of politics over commonsense.
PI Question: Your thoughts on the McMaster Administration?
King: I like many in the General Assembly were optimistic about Governor McMaster. Coming off Nikki Haley, one of the most self-centered leaders I have ever seen, but very skilled as a politician, we thought McMaster would be a positive change, a throwback of sorts to leaders like Dick Riley and Carol Campbell. We got that one wrong! It is truly unfortunate that the Governor has chosen to play campaign politics instead of leading. Easy examples of what I mean include his decision to ignore business leaders in the state and vetoing the Infrastructure bill, and his decision to place SC students in danger by vetoing new bus funding. It seems in every instance the governor has failed to truly lead and instead has chosen to focus on his reelection not citizens of our state. South Carolinians deserve better.
PI Question: So how do Democrats begin to win again in SC?
King: It will start with finding great candidates with new ideas and new messages about solving our challenges that really resonate with voters. We must begin to tell what it truly means to be a South Carolina Democrat. I believe some of what we believe in differs from what national democrats are saying. South Carolinians have more in common than not. I hope the people of this state will begin to see that it has been Republican leadership that has failed to lead on the major challenges we face. However, it is also the job of Democrats to do a better job of explaining how we would lead differently than the status quo. The status quo in SC has been failed GOP leadership. It has actually been the SC Dems leading the fight for better healthcare and more options, fighting for medical cannabis for sick kids and veterans, combating the opioid epidemic, helping our farmers after the devastating flood – I am still shocked Nikki Haley choose politics over SC farmers during that time…truly unbelievable, but predictable.
PI Question: What does the Caucus have planned for the remainder of the year?
King: We have been busy, we will be busy…planning. The best thing about the SC Legislative Black Caucus is that we are non-partisan organization. We can work without partisan labels and partisan politics. Our primary objectives include expanding healthcare services and opportunities for all South Carolinians. We believe the state should do more to protect our senior citizens. We believe in properly funding our public schools, helping small businesses start and grow. One issue we are beginning to focus in on that has not gotten a lot of attention from the media is helping minority contractors start and grow their businesses. We find that too often contracts that are designated to be filled by minority owned and/or disadvantaged businesses aren’t being filled by ethnic minorities at an acceptable rate or percentage, resulting in a lack of representation in the industry.To aid in this effort, the South Carolina Black Caucus will closely monitor the rollout of the Hemp Legislation that was passed this year. Because of the limitations placed in the bill, we want to make sure that the SC Minority Farmers Community are able to participate and access this new opportunity. This is another issue we will be focusing on during the coming months.
PI thanks Chairman King for talking with us.