Education
Greenville County Property Tax Increase Battle
By MICHELLE SHUMAN, Greenville County Taxpayer Advocate (August 7, 2023): Who am I? Why am I here? What is our situation? Where do we go from here? These are the questions I want to briefly address.
I am Michelle Shuman. Some of you have seen my writings on Facebook and Nextdoor about the Greenville County property tax increase and other issues with the finances and operations of the government of Greenville County.
First, I am a child of God and I am totally out of my element. I teach preschoolers about God and His Word on Sunday so that is my comfort zone.
I am not a native, but as close to one as you can get without actually being one. My husband is a true native, born in the old Greenville General Hospital. My parents moved here in the mid 1960’s when I was only 9 months old and this became home.
I am going to give you a little bit of my life and work experience because it ties into some of what I am doing now with the County tax issue. You need to understand, I am just one of you. I am just a taxpayer seeking answers and frustrated with my government. I don’t have any special degrees or experience. My college and master’s degrees are in education.
After finishing my master’s degree, I moved to West Virginia for 5 years in the early 90’s to teach in a small Christian school near my grandparents. In the summers, I worked in a company’s accounting department where I quickly learned data entry skills and collections. Part of the collections’ duties involved research and problem solving. I moved back here in the mid 90’s and haven’t left since. I worked in healthcare briefly then began working for a real estate developer and builder. Part of my responsibility there was again data entry and spreadsheets. In particular, I entered the information so that one of the owners could keep a close watch on the costs of each individual house. He literally nickled and dimed each one, every single house. In addition, I helped with property management on some of the commercial properties including the office we were in which included moving it into a new space at one point. I’ve also worked for Nuvox Communications where I did auditing of their commissions systems as well as other work in their commissions department. Later, I would work in the commercial real estate industry where I really picked up a lot more experience with leases, sale of commercial property, zoning, codes, etc. Eventually I would end up working for a politician who is now no longer serving so now I can talk.
I bought my house in 2004 before my husband and I ever started dating. I had big dreams. It’s a cottage on a nice 1/3 acre. I wanted to make some changes. But the change in the property tax law changed all of that. If we made the changes I dreamed of, the reassessment would cause the taxes to skyrocket.
Early this past winter after we had paid off our home in the fall, my husband and I discussed that regrettably we would never really own our home because of property taxes. Another reality is if we were trying to buy a house today, the same house would be out of our price range.
When the Greenville County Council started talking about raising our property tax millage, I started thinking about the situation and what I knew about the laws and taxes. Ever since I started working in real estate the first time, I’ve watched the real estate around me. I, like I’m sure many of you, questioned if the County isn’t getting additional taxes from reassessment and all of the sales. So, I got up one Saturday morning and started researching my own street. I knew which houses had sold and even the ones that had been remodeled or had additions. That was the start of my research. All of this information is based on public records. Anyone can easily access the information.
I did the taxable values back to 2016, but I could only see the last 3 years of tax bills online. I looked at the county tax line of the property tax bills only. In 2021, the County received an addition $294.79 in taxes over what it received in 2020. In 2022, the County received an additional $1,194.34 in taxes over what it received in 2021. The increases in taxable values were $73,250 for 2020 over 2019, $362,920 for 2021 over 2020, and $628,960 for 2022 over 2021. Most of these homes are owner occupied and only two have undergone significant remodeling or additions. All other increases are either from sales or reassessment. So yes, reassessment, remodeling, and sales is making a difference in what our County gets.
I did this same exercise to see the difference in a newly developed subdivision near my home and I also looked at some new commercial properties and apartments compared to existing commercial properties and apartments. Every time the results showed that the County is getting more money from the reassessments, sales, developments, and remodeling.
Another thing I looked at was the overall property tax revenues for the County back to 2015. The previous budgets are all online on the County’s website. I looked at property tax revenue only and not any other revenue source that the County has.
The County is increasing its property tax revenues every year on the average of 4.89%. Even in the reassessment year, the increase was 3.59%. In 2015, the County took in almost $81 million. In 2022, the County took in almost $113 million. So, in 2022 the County took in $32 million more than they did in 2015. During this time there has not been a millage increase yet the amount of money taken in has still increased every single year including the reassessment year.
This information took me to asking questions and learning more information. I discovered the SC Association of Counties website. This is a great resource of information. Among the wealth of information is definitions, tables, comparisons of the State’s counties and opinions on issues. This was a great way to start checking the information that our county officials were giving us. Among the many reports on the website is a report for each year that gives each county in the state and the different taxes and fees charged in each county. The most recent information they have is for 2022 so that is the numbers we will be using.
First, what is millage? It’s just a fancy term for the way property tax rates are expressed and is written as a percent number. A mil is equal to $1 of tax per $1000 in assessed value.
Below is the breakdown for the number that the SC Association of Counties is using for its comparisons in defining “County Base Millage Rate.” In 2022, Greenville County’s base millage rate was 59 mils: County General Fund: .03930, Greenville Tech: .00500, Library: .00800, Art Museum: .00140, Debt: .00040, Charity Hospitalization: .00230, Certificates of Participation: .00100, and Solid Waste: .00170. This does not include any other entity like municipalities, school board, fire districts, sewer, etc. This number does include Greenville Tech and the Library because that is what the SC Association of Counties included. We all pay this base amount no matter where we live. In my writings, this is the number and definition I have stuck to when comparing us with other counties.
The value of one mil is an approximate value based on a percentage of the county’s total assessed value contingent upon 100% of the tax being collected. The value of a mil is important because it shows where we rank in the state as compared to the other counties based on the assessment of our properties. It is very important to note that our county tax assessor’s office sets the taxable assessed value on each property. That may or may not be market rate.
For 2022, Greenville County’s value of a mil is $2,811,527. For 2022, we are ranked second behind Charleston County which has a value of a mil of $4.7 million. Horry County is 3rd in the state at $2.7 million.
In Greenville County we have a lower millage rate, but are paying more in taxes because our assessed value is higher. All of our neighboring counties have a much lower value of a mil. This means a house appraised for $250,000 in Greenville would be considered less house than one appraised for $250,000 in another upstate county. To raise $20 million the approximate amount our County Council is seeking to raise, Anderson would need to increase their millage by 23, Pickens by 31, Oconee by 33, Laurens by 107, and Spartanburg by 130. So, when our leaders try to make it sound like we are low in our taxes compared to others, they are not telling the full story. Yes, our millage is lower, but our properties are assessed considerably higher than they would be in other counties.
Over this past weekend I was given a piece of paper by someone not on County Council. I had not seen this information before. It was something that Joe Kernell gave to the Council but was never made public. On it, Mr. Kernell gives the 2023 value of a mil for Greenville County as $2,975,570. This number is dated April 4, 2023 long before our real property tax bills will be printed. In the budget, he bases his estimates on collecting 88% of the taxes due the County. Based on this new value of a mil, this means that without the tax increase the County’s property tax revenue was estimated to go up to $126,735,477. This is an increase of $13,775,081 over the 2022 collections. With the tax increase, the revenue is estimated to go up to $145,064,988 which is an increase of $26,258,824.
To figure your property tax: the taxable appraised value is multiplied by the assessment ratio. That amount is then multiplied by the millage rate. On the County’s website, there is a table for 2022 that shows each tax district and the total millage for that district combining all taxing entities.
I listened to the budget workshop and started reading the budget. Inordinately high budget increases started jumping out at me and when I would try to find out why, there weren’t any concrete answers. I learned we don’t do zero-based budgeting. We also don’t have a true budget, not even really a spending bill as Joe Kernell is authorized to transfer money from account to account however and whenever he desires without asking the County Council thereby changing the budget. An example of this is the time when he put a $1 million crane purchase in the budget under roads. The money for a new crane was in there to reserve the money for future use. No one is sure whatever really happened to the money. He actually referred to the crane money at this year’s budget workshop. Then I looked at the Auditor’s report for 2022 and even more questions arose.
I also took the expenses that are listed on the County’s website for both the new buildings and the Halton Road building and put them in a spreadsheet. Talk about eye-opening. Here is where I discovered we spent just under $60,000 on water bottles, coffee cups, and coffee tumblers alone. This exercise also showed how sloppy things are entered into the website. Whether it was accidental or intentional so we wouldn’t know the whole truth, I don’t know, but in an organization that size there is no excuse for the sloppiness.
A lot of my writing came in direct response to things that were said on the news and in meetings by our county officials.
I’ve had multiple people reach out to me in private to give me information or to tell me where to look. I don’t reveal my sources.
There remains a pile of questions to ask and information to sort through. There are still all of the questions I’ve asked that need to be answered.
This same research really needs to be done for each governing entity within our county.
Yes, we lost the vote on the property taxes, the battle. But we are in a war which we have to continue to fight and win. Now is the time to start working on replacing these people who voted against the tax payer. Our county government must become more open. We must put pressure on them to put more things online. They must stop giving money away to special interests. Just because it sounds good doesn’t mean we the tax payer should be paying for it. You can look for the roads to come up again soon in the form of another tax – probably either a sales tax or an additional road maintenance fee. You can also look for a discussion on the Triumph Soccer Stadium. Is the money hidden in the budget? Probably, but where? Only Joe Kernell knows for sure. We must not continue to allow the citizens to have a short memory. We must continually remind them. My goal is to continue to write on issues and keep reminding people so that we don’t forget before the local election cycle starts next year.
You can watch Mrs. Shuman’s presentation below –
Greenville County website: www.greenvillecounty.org
The South Carolina Association of Counties website: www.sccounties.org)
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YouTube 1/16/2025: HERE
Folks have been asking for the video of the Greenville County Republican Party Upstate Inaugural Gala back on January 16th, 2025 … and it is finally here.
It was a GREAT event and and we could not have been more excited and honored to be allowed to professionally video the event for our friends and family all across South Carolina … for YOU!!!
Watch HERE … or click on the video image above. Enjoy …
Start – Yvonne Julian, GCRP Chairman
4:15 – Ray Sheen, GCRP Parliamentarian – Invocation
5:25 – Linda Young, GCRP Communications Team – Introduce Bill
5:45 – Bill Frady, WORD 98.9 Noon-3PM Host & Lock-N-Load Podcast
18:03 – Jeff Davis, GCRP State Executive Committeeman
23:00 – Maureen Bannon, WARROOM CEO
59:12 – Jeff Davis – closing
Real Americas Voice
RAV – WarRoom: HERE
We don’t follow a lot of podcast or new world media … and certainly not the #FakeNews Media who have been lying to us for DECADES now … because really, WE are personally living it on the front lines on a daily basis.
But … there is one exception and it is STEVE BANNON’s WARROOM (and now we are adding in BILL FRADY’s radio show). We started noticing that a lot … and I mean A LOT … of “our people” kept talking about STEVE BANNON. I knew him generally from the first TRUMP Administration … but like I have always said, WE “live” this mess on the bleeding edge … and we don’t have time to follow all this stuff online.
However, Bannon has a very good “resume” … outstanding to be frank .. and when I started watching, all I could think is “this guy is saying the same thing WE have been saying” … and he has a lot more direct contacts in DC and TRUMP World than we do … so we started watching and now we are addicted.
So friends … if you do not know STEVE BANNON & WARROOM … you need to. We sorta do WARROOM here in South Carolina … but BANNON does it nationally, and like us, is all about grassroots, precinct strategy, and getting us all involved as a FORCE MULTIPLIER!!!
ACTION!!!
ACTION!!!
ACTION!!!
I’d highly recommend watching on Roku or FireTV by downloading the RAV (Real Americas Voice) App. They run a live TV … but you can catch up on WARROOM recordings anytime using the app.
#JoinUS
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jeff Davis is co-founder of mySCGOP.com. Jeff is a ’89 graduate of The Citadel and in 1993 received his Law/MBA from USC. A tax attorney / CPA licensed in Georgia, Jeff is an uncompromised school choice advocate for K-12 children with special needs. Originally from Charleston, and having practiced in Atlanta, Jeff and his wife Olga now live in Greenville. Jeff completed his two year term as Greenville County Republican Party Chairman and is currently serving as GCRP State Executive Committeeman.
Jeff is also “barred” from attending the SCGOP State Executive Committee Meetings (HERE). Why? Because he dared to run against Drew McKissick for SCGOP Chairman – coming in 2nd with Drew only being reelected by 1.8% (HERE & HERE) – and in September 2021 he told the State Executive Committee that Chad Connelly had been under SLED investigation for a year and a half … and it was true (HERE & HERE).
Send us your opinion on this great debate … and how you would like to see it solved … by emailing us at team@mySCGOP.com.
SUSTAINING & INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS:
Make a Charitable Donation TODAY: HERE
Friends, the term “Radical Transparency” is being used a lot in Washington DC and with D.O.G.E. right now … and people are loving it. That is fantastic as we have been preaching it for years.
To us … radical transparency is a LITMUS TEST issue. If your elected official won’t meet … they are not to be trusted … and should be primaried … PERIOD!!!
Now, I am not saying they have to meet with every crazy and “unstable” guy off the street that wants to get together and hear themselves talk about the same thing … 5 days a week … but if you are an “honest broker” looking to ask questions … especially hard questions … of your elected “leader” and they are not willing / able to meet in a timely manner … the general rule (99% of the time) they are HIDING SOMETHING!!!
Elected Officials … in order to be an “elected official” that The People are willing to accept .. must practice RADICAL TRANSPARENCY … and more importantly we must DEMAND IT!!!
We do not need to keep falling for their tricks … DEMAND RADICAL TRANSPARENCY!!!
My Story = Your Story
And don’t think it is just you … I personally have been in elected leadership of the Greenville County Republican Party (GCRP) for 4 years now … 2 years as Chairman and 2 years as the State Executive Committeeman. At this stage, I really know what is going on (although we learn more every day) … I have really HARD questions to ask our elected officials … and I was elected to ask those questions.
And, there are certain elected officials who won’t meet with me (like the SC Freedom Caucus, Drew McKissick, and a bunch of RINOs) who obviously have something to hide … and fortunately there are quite a few that will meet, answer the tough questions, and often change course when they hear our perspective.
But for the ones that won’t meet … that is OK. If I was doing bad things and trying to hide it, I would not want to meet with me either … just like the DOGE “targets” that don’t want to explain themselves to Elon Musk or Donald TRUMP.
[NOTE: And know too … it is not just me. I know many an elected official that say other elected officials won’t meet with them either. It is everywhere … and they know which ones are BAD and doing corrupt things. And guess what, like with the DOGE “targets”, the bad people here in South Carolina that won’t meet are simply SELF IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES … so to me it is a good thing!!!]
Everyone wants DOGE South Carolina … we do too … but guess what, you already have it. You are DOGE, we are DOGE … and anyone who won’t meet, needs to be DOGE’d (aka Primaried) next June 9th, 2026.
It all starts with a simple question to your elected official … “will you meet” … and if they do meet, don’t be DUPED. lol Do your homework and be prepared … call us for tips … and we will happily JOIN YOU … and as we always teach, remember to TRUST NOTHING & verify everything … even what we tell you!!! (mySCGOP.news, 12/09/2024: HERE).
mySCGOP.news 06/22/2023: HERE
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jeff Davis is co-founder of mySCGOP.com. Jeff is a ’89 graduate of The Citadel and in 1993 received his Law/MBA from USC. A tax attorney / CPA licensed in Georgia, Jeff is an uncompromised school choice advocate for K-12 children with special needs. Originally from Charleston, and having practiced in Atlanta, Jeff and his wife Olga now live in Greenville. Jeff completed his two year term as Greenville County Republican Party Chairman and is currently serving as GCRP State Executive Committeeman.
Jeff is also “barred” from attending the SCGOP State Executive Committee Meetings (HERE). Why? Because he dared to run against Drew McKissick for SCGOP Chairman – coming in 2nd with Drew only being reelected by 1.8% (HERE & HERE) – and in September 2021 he told the State Executive Committee that Chad Connelly had been under SLED investigation for a year and a half … and it was true (HERE & HERE).
Send us your opinion on this great debate … and how you would like to see it solved … by emailing us at team@mySCGOP.com.
SUSTAINING & INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS:
Make a Charitable Donation TODAY: HERE
Education
mySCGOP Online Precinct ReOrg Manual
Empowering South Carolinians Though Precinct Engagement
We have been teaching Precinct ReOrg here in South Carolina since 2021 … and participation has increased substantially for The People in 2021 & 2023 … it worked … and we want to make #ReOrg2025 will be the BIGGEST EVER!!!
And obviously we have gotten A LOT of questions over the years.
We believe ReOrg should be a transparent & fair process … but the RINOs don’t want you to know about it … and they cheat. Y’all know our theory … the RINOs want to “Keep it small to control it all.” We however what EVERYONE to know about ReOrg … because we trust The People … and we don’t want anyone controlling the Party … especially RINOs.
Over the past four years we have shared A LOT with our morning emails (like this) … and shared these articles on www.mySCGOP.news … everything from data, Rules, tactics & strategies to further the MAGA America First Agenda here in South Carolina … to empower The People to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!
But … we still get A LOT of questions on the nuts & bolts of ReOrg … the “basics” … especially from the sooooooo many new Patriots getting involved every day … so we thought it would be helpful to put our REORG MANUAL online … on a dedicated website with all the basics … all the ABCs … on “.xyz” ….
Take a look … let us know your thoughts, any edits, any additions … and let’s teach EVERYONE about ReOrg. We will be adding more … but email us at team@mySCGOP.com.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jeff Davis is co-founder of mySCGOP.com. Jeff is a ’89 graduate of The Citadel and in 1993 received his Law/MBA from USC. A tax attorney / CPA licensed in Georgia, Jeff is an uncompromised school choice advocate for K-12 children with special needs. Originally from Charleston, and having practiced in Atlanta, Jeff and his wife Olga now live in Greenville. Jeff completed his two year term as Greenville County Republican Party Chairman and is currently serving as GCRP State Executive Committeeman.
Jeff is also “barred” from attending the SCGOP State Executive Committee Meetings (HERE). Why? Because he dared to run against Drew McKissick for SCGOP Chairman – coming in 2nd with Drew only being reelected by 1.8% (HERE & HERE) – and in September 2021 he told the State Executive Committee that Chad Connelly had been under SLED investigation for a year and a half … and it was true (HERE & HERE).
Send us your opinion on this great debate … and how you would like to see it solved … by emailing us at team@mySCGOP.com.
SUSTAINING & INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS:
Make a Charitable Donation TODAY: HERE
#ReOrg2025 … the SOLUTION
ReOrg is our “big deal” right now … actually it should be the ONLY DEAL … and we wanted to remind everyone why given all the crazy legislative mess going on in Columbia.
It really is easy to understand. By winning ReOrg, we are able to use the voice (and the Bully Pulpit) of our local and state GOP to get better Candidates / Elected Officials … so we can ultimately get better LEGISLATION.
We all know TRUMP would not have won the White House if Chair Ronna McDaniel & Co-Chair Drew McKissick were still in charge of the RNC. They would have sabotaged the TRUMP Campaign from within the RNC … and we would have 4 more years of Biden / Kamala. All the excitement out of DC would not exist if TRUMP had not replaced Ronna & Drew with our friends Michael Whatley & Lara TRUMP.
In Greenville, when our 10 Republican & 2 Democrat “liberal” County Council passed the biggest property tax increase in our history back in June 2023 … the Greenville County Republican Party (GCRP) got busy!!! We produced the below PALM CARD by the tens of thousands and distributed them all across the county in our 151 Precincts. We also officially CENSURED the 6 Republicans that voted for the tax increase – and mobilized our precincts for the June Primaries.
Do you think the general public listened MORE because it was the GCRP saying it? We do!!! And, they must have, because on June 11th, 2024 we flipped 3 of the 4 seats (in the 4th race our candidate had to back out last minute for family issues) … and on June 9th, 2026 we will get the other two that were not up in 2024.
ReOrg is that important!!! Get Involved!!!
Bonus Content:
BONUS CONTENT: And, if you are curious why certain people & elected officials “oppose” us so hard (and especially me individually) … and why all the lies, slander and actual HATE? It is because RINOs, and even folks you would think should be on our TEAM, do not want to be held accountable. Seriously, no one wants to be held accountable … especially elected officials … and holding people accountable is the JOB of the GOP!!! #JoinUS!!! Join us and really WIN!!!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jeff Davis is co-founder of mySCGOP.com. Jeff is a ’89 graduate of The Citadel and in 1993 received his Law/MBA from USC. A tax attorney / CPA licensed in Georgia, Jeff is an uncompromised school choice advocate for K-12 children with special needs. Originally from Charleston, and having practiced in Atlanta, Jeff and his wife Olga now live in Greenville. Jeff completed his two year term as Greenville County Republican Party Chairman and is currently serving as GCRP State Executive Committeeman.
Jeff is also “barred” from attending the SCGOP State Executive Committee Meetings (HERE). Why? Because he dared to run against Drew McKissick for SCGOP Chairman – coming in 2nd with Drew only being reelected by 1.8% (HERE & HERE) – and in September 2021 he told the State Executive Committee that Chad Connelly had been under SLED investigation for a year and a half … and it was true (HERE & HERE).
Send us your opinion on this great debate … and how you would like to see it solved … by emailing us at team@mySCGOP.com.
SUSTAINING & INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS:
Make a Charitable Donation TODAY: HERE
The past 7 days … since TRUMPs inauguration on Monday, January 20th at 12 O’clock Noon … have been one of the most exciting 7 political days in history. Donald J. TRUMP, a man who had the entire apparatus of the United States Government against him … the entire Department of Justice & the FBI hunting him … and he NEVER GAVE UP … he came back and showed us exactly what it meant to #NeverSurrender!!!
One thing in Greenville that we DO NOT allow people to speak about are “EXCUSES”!!! There are no excuses … Donald J. TRUMP did not use excuses to quit … and he had plenty … so we will not either.
Folks will try to say there is too much “apathy” out there and they can not find anyone to come to their Precinct ReOrg meeting. You have got to be kidding me!!! Friends, this is the most exciting time in HISTORY to get MAGA / America FIRST Patriots involved. This is the best time EVER to RECRUIT, RECRUIT, RECRUIT!!!
GROW PERSONALLY & PROFESSIONALLY: I remember 4 years ago, the first time I knocked on a random “Republican” door to invite them to our Precinct ReOrg meeting … it was scary!!! I had a law degree, I was a CPA, I had given presentations to large groups … worked with CEOs, professional athletes & billionaires … but I was nervous not knowing “who” was behind that door and what they would say.
Guess what … it is normal to be nervous … but I pushed through … and it made me a better person individually & professionally. I’ll knock on any door and talk with anyone today. I have learned to LISTEN and connect with people. YES … LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!!! It was one of the best things I ever forced myself to do (since the Citadel) … and it will be GREAT for you too!!!
Sure … find what works for you … door knocking, phone calls, text messages … social media canvasing … whatever works … but CHALLENGE YOURSELF to bring 10 people to your Precinct ReOrg meeting. Push Yourself!!! We all have friends and family living all across South Carolina that SUPPORT TRUMP and want to Make America Great Again!!! Get out there and TELL THEM about #ReOrg2025 … and get them to attend their local precinct ReOrg meeting IN MARCH and vote for the MAGA / America First Patriots.
NOW … get out there and keep recruiting!!!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jeff Davis is co-founder of mySCGOP.com. Jeff is a ’89 graduate of The Citadel and in 1993 received his Law/MBA from USC. A tax attorney / CPA licensed in Georgia, Jeff is an uncompromised school choice advocate for K-12 children with special needs. Originally from Charleston, and having practiced in Atlanta, Jeff and his wife Olga now live in Greenville. Jeff completed his two year term as Greenville County Republican Party Chairman and is currently serving as GCRP State Executive Committeeman.
Jeff is also “barred” from attending the SCGOP State Executive Committee Meetings (HERE). Why? Because he dared to run against Drew McKissick for SCGOP Chairman – coming in 2nd with Drew only being reelected by 1.8% (HERE & HERE) – and in September 2021 he told the State Executive Committee that Chad Connelly had been under SLED investigation for a year and a half … and it was true (HERE & HERE).
Send us your opinion on this great debate … and how you would like to see it solved … by emailing us at team@mySCGOP.com.
SUSTAINING & INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS:
Make a Charitable Donation TODAY: HERE
(#1) Money & (#2) Ego / Access
This week so far we have shared with you the “Why” of ReOrg … Part 1, “Why Don’t I Know About Precinct ReOrg?” (HERE) … Part 2, “Why Does ReOrg Matter?” (HERE).
It is pretty simple … you never heard of ReOrg because the RINO “establishment” did not want you to know about it so that they could “KEEP IT SMALL TO CONTROL IT ALL” … and ReOrg matters because it is the ONLY way we are going to get good America FIIRST candidates / elected officials, and ultimately good America FIRST legislation … which is the reason ultimately why we are all here and involved, right? It better be!!! lol
By it occurred to us to share with you what drives the RINO “establishment” … and it is NOT policy or a desire to “Save America”.
Understanding RINOs
As we mentioned yesterday, most of us here are involved because we have a CAUSE. It may be something like “real” school choice for me personally … or right to life … or election integrity … or judicial reform … etc., etc., etc. RINOs & the “establishment” may have started off with a cause too, but the have long since given up the desire to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT … and “eased” into the go along to get along mode.
But know that there are TWO types of RINOs … and they are motivated by TWO things only:
(#1) MONEY: These are the real dangerous RINOS … although you can sorta understand them if you understand greed. Basically all they care about is $$$$ and they do what they do to line their pockets. They support (and are) the Lindsey Graham type politicians because that is how they do business and access the TRILLIONS of taxpayer dollars spent annually by the government. They are ok selling out America if it will keep them in their accustomed lifestyle … or get them an even bigger house or bigger boat. They look nice, talk nice … will sound nice (and smart) as they tell you “why” things have to be the way they are, and that you just don’t understand. And they will tell you they are “conservatives” … as they promote bigger government over and over. These are your lobbyists, donors (to RINOs), senior staffers / appointees, and high-end social types who have actual business & non-profit interests to consider and protect. These are truly dangerous RINOs and are the ones you should be watching … not all the social media ego types detailed below.
[NOTE: Most actual elected officials fall into this MONEY category as they have to be smart / savvy enough (at least initially) to actually get elected … and they have to understand the financial and donation “grift” in order to get re-elected … but the twist with the elected official is they also have a lot of ego and desire for access. As such, most elected officials are a hybrid of both types of RINOs.]
(#2) EGO / ACCESS: Now these are the real scary RINOs … these people are involved because they have literally nothing better to do in their life. They enjoy talking with politicians / elected officials … and taking selfies with them for Facebook and to show their friends. Heck, we have a lot in the SCGOP leadership that simply LIVE for their annual photo at the Governor’s Christmas Party to show all their friends back home at Sunday Church … or perhaps, if they are lucky one day, they will be given the “ORDER OF THE PALMETTO” so that their family members will have a legacy to talk about … as they are “groomed” as the next generation of RINOs. They have no substantial business interest or cause related to government, they just like hanging around like rock band “groupies” … and if you say anything negative about “their elected friend”, get ready for the INSANITY on social media. They will trash and defame you online … and they are “used” (although they are too stupid to know it) by their elected “friends” to trash political opponents in ways the elected official personally could never do. In exchange, the elected official will talk with the person before / after legislative / county council sessions, they will like and share their social media posts … maybe appoint them to a “Board or Commission” … and they will talk “inside baseball” and gossip with these RINOs to string them along like they are “special”. And on special occasions, for the real nasty ones willing to do really nasty things to others … these RINOs may actually get a “job” with the elected officials campaign (little $500 / $1,000 type tasks paid by the campaign) … or an actual “government” job for which they are absolutely not qualified for.
These folks are only relevant if you let them be … so generally try to ignore them … however, BEWARE the politicians that associate / use these types. Any elected official that gives too much credibility to the INSANE crowd … they are someone you don’t want representing The People for another term.
Give it a try. Watch the politically involved (and your elected officials) and try to figure out what bucket they fall in (or will fall in in the future). We think you will find this classification system very eye-opening.
Future RINOs?
BONUS CONTENT – WHAT ARE “FUTURE RINOs”?: We hint at this as a bit of an inside jab at those we have seen “flip” to the RINO side … but future RINOs are folks like us that got involved (after 2020) because they said they had a cause … or wanted to “Save America” … but you can tell they care more about the MONEY or the EGO/ACCESS when push comes to shove. They initially think being a “Patriot” is easy … but when someone threatens their job / business (MONEY) … or they risk losing access to their elected “friends” (EGO / ACCESS) … they fold like a cheap suit.
You probably know what we are talking about. You now see them going to the RINO “parties” and hanging with the same people a few years ago they got involved to fight. Learn to identify them, and stay as far away as you possibly can. We tend to give them a chance to “figure it out” and come back into the fold … we don’t want to become what we are fighting so hard to PURGE … but they should NEVER (at least not for many years) be given any leadership positions within our movement as they are likely to “flip” again when the going gets tough.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jeff Davis is co-founder of mySCGOP.com. Jeff is a ’89 graduate of The Citadel and in 1993 received his Law/MBA from USC. A tax attorney / CPA licensed in Georgia, Jeff is an uncompromised school choice advocate for K-12 children with special needs. Originally from Charleston, and having practiced in Atlanta, Jeff and his wife Olga now live in Greenville. Jeff completed his two year term as Greenville County Republican Party Chairman and is currently serving as GCRP State Executive Committeeman.
Jeff is also “barred” from attending the SCGOP State Executive Committee Meetings (HERE). Why? Because he dared to run against Drew McKissick for SCGOP Chairman – coming in 2nd with Drew only being reelected by 1.8% (HERE & HERE) – and in September 2021 he told the State Executive Committee that Chad Connelly had been under SLED investigation for a year and a half … and it was true (HERE & HERE).
Send us your opinion on this great debate … and how you would like to see it solved … by emailing us at team@mySCGOP.com.
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