“This Income is Often the very Source of Conflict of Interest and Corruption”
Harry Kibler, founder of RINO Hunt and host of Conservative Voice Talk radio program that airs on WORD, FM 106.3 each Saturday afternoon, Delivered a frank and sobering message to the Greenville County Legislative Delegation during their Monday, July 8 meeting at Greenville County Square.
Kibler’s five-minute message is presented verbatim to insure clarity and avoid misunderstanding or distortion of his stern message.
“I would like to express my concerns about the condition of our state and South Carolina Government in general.“For decades we have been asking our legislature for laws concerning such things as school choice, real tax reform, real government reform, real ethics reform, registration by party and a host of other issues. Each year legislation gets sponsored dealing with these issues, but each year the legislation dies in committee or on the floor.
“Since South Carolina is known as one of the most conservative states in the nation, and the fact that our state has a majority of Republicans elected to the state house, it causes one to question why such legislation fails to become reality in our state year after year for decades.
“After much research, the root of the problem has come to light. Our legislators, Republican and Democrat, no longer listen to the will of the people. For too long we have approached problems from the standpoint of conservative versus liberal or Republican versus Democrat, when in fact legislators pay lip-service to their constituents regardless of political persuasion and ideology.
“Who are legislators listening to? Each year, millions of dollars are given to the legislature by special interest groups, such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield and dozens of associations throughout South Carolina. In addition to this glaring example of distorted responsibility to our citizens, we have another troubling situation to deal with. Many legislators have manipulated their legislative authority to personally benefit from legislation and from the budget process. This can be evidenced by recent revelations concerning Representative Cobb-Hunter, Senator Ford and Speaker Harrell.
“We have asked repeatedly for an opportunity to curb the tide of legalized corruption that thrives in South Carolina. South Carolina is the only state in the nation that does not require disclosure of non-governmental income. This income is often the very source of conflict of interest and corruption. At this time more than 30 lawmakers have voluntarily disclosed their non-governmental income sources. Voluntary income source disclosure does not prevent every incident of abuse of office, but it will certainly help curb the practice of personal gain from public service.
“I am not accusing any legislator in this delegation of abuse of office, corruption or personally gaining from your service, however, I am asking you to show great leadership in our state by setting an example for other legislators.
“Your participation will not cost you anything, but failing to lead on this important issue will cost us plenty.”
