GOP gubernatorial candidates talk about priorities
As S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster readily acknowledged, he and three other Republican candidates for governor generally agree on the issues.
"We're all conservative and sing roughly the same song," he said Monday at an Aiken Republican Club meeting, where he was joined by the other candidates, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and S.C. Rep. Nikki Haley. Each outlined what separates them as gubernatorial hopefuls who want to succeed Gov. Mark Sanford.
Barrett said he's about tax reform, education, infrastructure and overhauling government. He cited the late former governor, Carroll Campbell, as his mentor and role model for success in working with both parties.
"Some 98 percent of what the governor does is work with people and implementing plans," Barrett said. "I believe in this state. When you lose a state like South Carolina, you'll lose the nation."
As a small business owner, Bauer said he knows the difficulty of dealing with government regulations and litigation.
"I try to run my (government) office like my business," he said. "As governor, I'll be about reducing the size of government and urging us to do more with less. We have to rebuild our image."
Haley said she will focus on continuing to find and eliminate wasteful spending in government and emphasize a push for term limits during the 2010 General Assembly session.
"I want to make sure all spending is online and budgets are online so that legislators will have to pay attention on how they spent it," Haley said. "I want you to imagine a governor who is focused on small business."
McMaster cited his executive experience as attorney general and as the first U.S. attorney appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
"I have the leadership ability," he said. "I understand the problems facing the state. I'm proud of South Carolina, and you'll never hear me apologize for it. This could be the strongest Republican state in the nation. We can lead the nation and I want to be a part of that."
In his opening remarks, McMaster expressed his success in going after criminals during his career and his efforts to "go after North Carolina" for stealing the state's water.
"When Washington went with 'Obamacare,' I've led the effort to stop it," McMaster said. "Fifteen state attorneys general will stop that Nebraska kickback. I also don't believe in bailouts, and stimulus money is counter-productive."
Having grown up in Bamberg, Haley said she learned responsibility and accountably from her immigrant parents. She has worked with the family business that has gone from a mom-and-pop shop to a multimillion-dollar business.
"I know how hard it was to make a dollar and how easy it was for the government to take it," Haley said. "How we spent money matters. I have noticed at the state and federal level that government has not gotten value for a dollar, and that has to change."
She cited her work to put more transparency in voting in the General Assembly, despite the efforts of leaders from her own party to stop her.
Barrett cited his belief in God, the sanctity of life, the second amendment and the S.C. Constitution.
"I'm not going to raise your taxes, and health care decisions are best left up to you, not some bureaucrat," Barrett said. "I believe that collectively together we can bring South Carolina where it has not been before. I'm running on a new era of cooperation, collaboration and compromises without sacrificing conservative principles."
Bauer said his efforts to have the Office on Aging do more with less shows his commitment to streamline government.
"I'm frustrated how government spending has gotten out of control," he said. "We need to fix education, but it's not about putting more and more money into it. There are a lot of problems with discipline, and parents have to get involved with their children. We can't continue to help people when we never get them off subsidies, which don't do anything for anybody."
All four candidates will be invited back to Aiken on May 7 for a debate at River of Life Church, said Aiken Republican Party vice chairman David Lobb. The GOP candidates for lieutenant governor may also appear.
Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.