It was just two weeks ago that the pro-Ron DeSantis Never Back Down Super PAC was hit with the viral video of their door-knocker here in Charleston South Carolina using some rather foul language on a Ring camera … not to mention admitting to being stoned (HERE). Geez …
The language was one thing and seemed to excite the national news and their audiences … but we took the alternative approach and asked “who” was responsible? No one has gotten a specific answer, but we have heard there have been some changes … and it has been reported that amide DeSantis’ tanking poll numbers, he has cut one third of the campaign staff (HERE).
As for the responsible party, we think the buck stops with the SC State Director, Randy Page, who has been a nemesis in our fight for “real” school choice here in South Carolina for way too long … and has some questionable issues himself to deal with (HERE & HERE).
We suspect there is more to come on Randy Page … but first here is one big question no one has been able to answer for us …
NEIL MELLEN?
Randy Page, in 2008 hired Neil on with him at South Carolinians for Responsible Government (SCRG). Allegedly SCRG was a pro-school choice advocacy group … but failed miserably despite tens of million in out of state advocacy dollars. Neil worked directly for Randy up until 2013 when Randy handed off the reigns of SCRG to Neil so he could return to Bob Jones University to ultimately become the Chief of Staff to the now departed President, following the Ellen Weaver Master’s Degree debacle.
The problem … just a few years prior to Randy hiring Mr. Mellen, Neil received the 2003 Student Activist Award and $1,000 from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Yes, you read that right, “from” Religion … and it is a real thing. Why? Because Neil was the lead plaintiff for the ACLU in their case to rid higher educational institutions in America of prayer before meals … specifically at Virginia Military Institute where Neil was a cadet.
So … why would Randy Page, a Bob Jones University, Republican Party “establishment”, Christian Conservative, hire an anti-school prayer activist … and worse, bring Mr. Mellen’s advocacy to our K-12 Christian Schools here in South Carolina?
Seriously … “Who” are these people? Controlled Opposition? (HERE).
Well, South Carolina does have the worst rated school choice program in the nation … and maybe that is the point as the advocacy dollars keep flowing. As we teach …
#FollowTheMoney!!!
NO COMMENT: We have reached out to the Never Back Down PAC and although we heard back initially related to our deadline … the PAC had no official statement on Mr. Page’s long standing connections with the ACLU anti-school prayer advocate.
Developing story …
mySCGOP.news, July 27, 2023: The date was January 23, 2002 … the last day cadets at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) had prayer before evening mess (dinner). The Citadel held out until August 2003.
Why? Why don’t we have prayer before meals at VMI & The Citadel? Because then VMI Cadet, Neil Mellen ’02 filed a lawsuit to stop prayers at VMI … and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represented him as their lead plaintiff in the case.
The ACLU won … VMI, The Citadel, society and the rest of us all lost.
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