“We've lost our moral compass, we've got to get it back.” said the newly announced Republican gubernatorial candidate Rom Reddy as he campaigned in Greenville this past Monday.
The Isle of Palms businessman spoke to about 150 invited potential supporters at the Hotel Hartness, each of whom was required to pass through a security checkpoint before being admitted to the meeting room.
The newest Republican candidate has joined an already crowded field of five other candidates – Lieutenant Governor Pam Evette, State Senator Josh Kimbrell, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, Congressman Ralph Norman and Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Reddy is the only one of the six who has not held prior elective office. In fact, he counts his non-political experience as an asset. “My qualifications are that I am not part of the political ruling class,” he said to a round of applause, adding that what is needed is someone outside of the ruling class. “This state lacks leadership because they do not know how to lead,” he added.
The governor's office in the Palmetto State is constitutionally weak. Reddy opined that it should be strengthened. “The executive authority has to be restored,” he declared.
Reddy articulated four guiding principles that he said he will follow as governor.
- "I will only kneel to God, not government,” he promised, lamenting that “we've taken God out of everything and so, guess what, we've replaced God as our Shepherd with government as our shepherd.”
- “I will always respect the origins and sanctity of the US Constitution.” He said that the founders would want today's citizens to fight for their dream. He said that all bills that he signs into law must pass Constitutional muster.
- He said that he would practice selfless leadership. “For too long we've been captive to a stale, arrogant ruling class that specializes in dividing.” He added, “This is not Republican versus Democrat, this is not black versus white, this is citizens versus a broken system.”
- “I will end once and for all the weaponization of government against the citizens. Government's job is to protect our God-given rights. They have taken this power and they have subcontracted it out to a vast agency state.”
“On these four principles I will not bend,” he promised.
Reddy gave several policy goals that he would pursue if elected governor, including eliminating the income tax as well as property tax on automobiles. He would also get rid of sales tax exemptions for select entities. He said there are currently 110 such exemptions.
“We need to return money to the citizens,” he said.
“The boards and commissions need to be gone. The agency state must be dismantled,” Reddy declared. “It is totally anti-citizen,” he added.
Reddy said that there are currently 101 agencies, which he wants to reduce to 35. “We must tear down the agency state,” he said when asked what he would do during his first 12 months. “We've got to privatize a lot of stuff.”
“People coming into government believe their job is to go after the citizens and that is not their job. The ruling class will not touch this. . . I will end it.”
He said that his number one target is DSS (Department of Social Services.). “I believe they're complicit in trafficking,” he said. He said that it is the most corrupt agency in the state. “We'll tear it down. It can't be fixed.”
Reddy wants to overhaul the regulatory state, lamenting that there are 85,000 regulations which are treated as law by judges. He said that in many cases, judges defer to the agencies' judgment, even though, he said, judicial deference has been ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.
Touching education, Reddy said that South Carolina ranks 42 out of the 50 states. He wants to raise the state into the top 20 in four years. He also wants to reassert state sovereignty over education.
“You don't need 81 administrations in 46 counties. Absolutely absurd,” he said.There is administrative bloat in the state, he said. He added, “We can make massive splashes in local spending.” He also noted that state spending on higher education has risen from $700 million in 2015 to $1.8 billion in 2025.
“My job is to do what God wants me to do in this world,” said Reddy near the end of his remarks.
