Republicans Are Excited About Feb. 20 SC Primary

We’re about a month away from the Saturday, Feb. 20 South Carolina Presidential Primary, and I’ve never seen more people enthusiastic about voting! South Carolina holds the First-in-the-South primary, and the outcome with have a big impact on the Mar. 1 “SEC Primary” being held in multiple Southern states.
West Of readers who have followed this column are well aware that I have endorsed Donald Trump for the GOP nomination. I will describe the Jan. 15 GOP Debate held at North Charleston Coliseum and try to describe the positions taken by all of the candidates fairly and accurately.
The Jan. 15 Debate was not on the original GOP debate schedule. It was added to coincide with the quarterly Republican National Committee conference in Charleston. It was a great showcase for Charleston, hosted by the Fox Business Network. Before, during and after the debate broadcast, the network showed lots of splendid images of Charleston. Next time we hold an event like this here, we need them to send a camera crew to West Ashley’s CharlesTowne Landing.
There were 4,000 tickets available at the North Charleston Coliseum. Most of them were reserved for Republican National Committee members, their families, Republican Party donors, and South Carolina Republican Party Executive Committee members and delegates. A lottery was held for the remaining seats available and 25,000 ticket request were made.
From the start of the debate process in the summer of 2015, the Charleston County Republican Party made the decision to hold Debate Watch parties with a Straw Poll at Cinebarre Theater in Mt. Pleasant. From the start, people interested in the South Carolina primary have packed the theater.
Charleston County GOP Chair Larry Kobrovsky, a former School Board member and Congressional candidate, decided to hold a debate watch party even though the debate was local. He understood that there were many Republicans in the area who were very interested in the debate who would not be able to get tickets.
The event was a tremendous success. For the third straight debate, there was a CNN camera crew covering the Cinebarre Debate Watch for Anderson Cooper 360. Correspondent Gary Tuchman and the crew have been top-notch professionals and have really bonded with the audience. We also had a crew from WCBD TV, Charlie James from WTMA radio, and an NPR correspondent covering the event.
Fox Business anchors Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo did a good job keeping the debate on track and asking some relevant questions. One of the big issues which hasn’t been widely covered was our annual $500 Billion trade deficit with China. Donald Trump described how China has an unfair advantage because it devaluates its currency and subsidizes its exports. He discussed tariffs on imported goods as a bargaining chip to change Chinese trade policy.
Many candidates spoke out against the treatment of U.S. Navy sailors whose patrol boats were captured and held at gunpoint by the Iranian Navy. They chided President Obama for not speaking out about the incident and Secretary of State John Kerry apologizing to the Iranian government for the incident.
Many candidates backed Trump’s position to not take Syrian Refugees into the country. There were coordinated attacks by the refugees throughout Europe on New Years Eve. In Cologne, Germany, hundreds of sexual assault charges were filed against refugees, and most of the arrests to date involve citizens from Algeria and Morocco, not Syria or Iraq. Trump calls the Syrian Refugee exodus “the modern-day Trojan Horse.”
Trump was questioned about Gov. Nikki Haley’s State of the Union address rebuttal when she said that Republicans should “turn down the volume” and not be voices of anger. He smiled and said, “I consider Nikki a friend. I will gladly carry the mantle of anger. Our country is being run by incompetent people, and we won’t settle for that!”
The most heated exchange of the debate was between Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. After Cruz described his “simple flat tax” plan, Rubio rebutted that it includes a European-style Value Added Tax, which increases the cost of producing goods. A fact check with Real Clear Politics sided with Rubio. Since Europe imposed the VAT decades ago, the Euro Zone has had limited economic growth.
The debate Straw Poll was won by Trump, followed by Cruz and Rubio. The next Debate Watch party will be held at Cinebarre in Mount Pleasant on Thurs., Jan. 28 at 8 pm.
John Steinberger is the former chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party, a leading Fair Tax advocate, and a West Ashley resident. He can be reached at John.steinberger@scfairtax.org.