State of South Carolina Archives: on Principles & Values


Joe Biden: Coronavirus: Trump should do his job, not personalize it

Q: You can't see your grandkids due to the pandemic, can you?

BIDEN: No. But every single day, I speak to all five of my grandkids either on my phone, or I text with them. Two of them, Beau's children, live a mile as a crow flies from our home. We sit on our back porch and they sit out on the lawn with two chairs there, and we talk about being home from school, and who's driving whom crazy, and so on and so forth, but at least I get to see them.

Q: What should President Trump do differently regarding coronavirus?

When he talks to governors, he says, be careful when you talk to that governor, they're not very good, or calls another governor a snake. This is not personal. It has nothing to do with you, Donald Trump, nothing to do with you. Do your job. Stop personalizing everything. One of the governors I spoke to, when they called and asked for help in terms of masks and other things, the president allegedly told her that, no, you take care of yourself. That's not my responsibility.

Source: CNN S.C. Town Hall amid 2020 primaries Mar 27, 2020

Joe Biden: Leadership: reassure, rely on experts, management

Q: What do you believe are the most important qualities of a president in times of crisis?

BIDEN: Number one, understanding that you have to be both reassuring, but you have to look to experts to give you advice on, in this case, scientists. The second most important thing is to be able to manage. What I found was you have to manage it every single day. It's about management. It's about day to day to day. And I give you my word for the better part of that 18 months, I was literally on the phone at least three to four hours a day with my team talking about the detailed implementation.

Source: CNN S.C. Town Hall amid 2020 primaries Mar 27, 2020

Mike Bloomberg: If elected will put company into blind trust and sell it

I can tell you that what I really did was, I changed the policy in the company, which I still own. I will put into a blind trust and sell it, if I become president, because I don't want the conflicts that Donald Trump has.
Source: CNN S.C. Town Hall on eve of 2020 primary Feb 26, 2020

Elizabeth Warren: My motto is Mathew 25, about the "least of these"

Q: What is your motto?

WARREN: My motto is Mathew 25, and that is, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of these, the least of thy brethren, ye have done it unto me." For me this is about how we treat other people and how we lift them up. That is why I am in this fight. That is why I am running to be president, and it is why I will be an effective president.

Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary Feb 25, 2020

Jaime Harrison: Good citizens make good communities

Jaime's passion for public service came at an early age when he learned that good citizens make good communities. Today, public confidence in our institutions is low. In fact, Lindsey Graham used to be an example of a true statesman who stood above petty politics, but he has quickly shown that his career is his only priority. Jaime knows the best way to restore confidence in our government is to instill a love of country and community in our young people.
Source: 2020 S.C. Senate campaign website, JaimeHarrison.com Dec 12, 2019

Ralph Norman: Empower those who believe in the virtues of faith in God

Why I Am Running for Congress: As your next Congressman, I will be guided by the Tenth Amendment. I will be committed to returning power and decision-making to the states. I will empower middle class families in South Carolina; those frustrated with government, those who understand the value of personal responsibility, and those who believe in the virtues of faith in God.
Source: 2017 S.C. House campaign website, ElectRalphNorman.com May 16, 2017

Henry McMaster: Stand up for Freedom of Religion

Source: 2010 S.C. Gubernatorial campaign website HenryMcMaster.com Jan 11, 2017

Nikki Haley: State workers all say "It's a Great Day in South Carolina"

When I first ran for governor, I often heard people speaking negatively about our state, both here at home and around the country. When we first asked public servants to answer the phones at state agencies with "It's a Great Day in South Carolina, how may I help you?" they hated it. But it wasn't just some off-the-wall catchphrase--it had two purposes, in fact:
  1. It was to remind those public servants that they worked for the person on the other side of the phone and that they were there, above all, to answer whatever question might come up.
  2. South Carolina was never the state it was portrayed to be. It was time for the rest of the country, and the rest of the world, to see South Carolina as she truly is--a state of unlimited potential and unrivaled beauty populated by good, faithful, hardworking people.
So in spite of the pushback we kept saying it. Now, the first thing I hear wherever I speak is almost always, "It's a Great Day in South Carolina." Because, it almost always is.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to S.C. Legislature Jan 11, 2017

Ted Cruz: FactCheck: Yes, Cruz speaks Spanish & understands Univision

Marco Rubio accused Ted Cruz of being unable to understand Univision (a Spanish-language TV station); Cruz demonstrated Rubio wrong by responding in Spanish:Both Senators accused each other of lying; we won't comment on the other accusations, but Rubio was clearly incorrect in his assertion that Cruz speaks no Spanish.
Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on 2016 CBS Republican debate in S.C. Feb 14, 2016

Mark Sanford: Voted to impeach Clinton for affair, but should be forgiven

Colbert Busch reminded Sanford that he once used taxpayer funds to "leave the country for a personal purpose"--referring to the extramarital affair with an Argentine woman he had while governor.

Later, Sanford was reminded by a questioner that he voted to impeach President Bill Clinton because of his involvement with Monica Lewinsky and asked if he would vote that way again. "I would reverse the question," Sanford said. "Do you think President Clinton should be condemned for the rest of his life for a mistake he made in his life?"

Sanford is trying to rebound from a scandal that sidelined his political career. In 2009, Sanford, after telling his staff he was out hiking the Appalachian Trail, revealed that he was in Argentina with a woman he later became engaged to after divorcing his wife, Jenny. Before leaving office, Sanford avoided impeachment but was censured by the Legislature over state travel expenses he used for the affair. He also paid the largest ethics fine ever in S.C, $70,000.

Source: News12 on 2013 S.C. House District 1 debate Apr 29, 2013

Mark Sanford: Now engaged to woman from 2009 extramarital affair

Only one reference was made to Sanford's 2009 admission to an extramarital affair. Answering a question about spending, Colbert Busch referenced Sanford's surprise absence from the state in June 2009 during which he visited his Argentinian lover, now his fianc‚e. "When we talk about fiscal spending and we talk about protecting the taxpayers, it doesn't mean you take that money we saved and leave the country for a personal purpose," Colbert Busch said.

"She went there, Gov. Sanford," said the debate's moderator.

"I couldn't hear what she said," Sanford responded. "Repeat it, I didn't hear it."

"Answer the question," Colbert Busch said.

"What was the question?" asked Sanford, who then answered the original question on spending.

Source: The State webzine on 2013 S.C. House District 1 debate Apr 29, 2013

Sharron Angle: Don't let Sharia law take hold anywhere in our United States

CNN: Here's an audio clip of what Ms. Angle originally claimed:
We're talking about militant terrorist situation, which I believe isn't a widespread thing. But it is enough that we need to address, and we have been addressing it. My thoughts are these. First of all, Dearborn, Michigan, and Frankford, Texas, are on American soil and under constitutional law, not Sharia law. And I don't know how that happened in the United States. (APPLAUSE).

But it seems to me that there is something fundamentally wrong with allowing a foreign system of law to even take hold in any municipality or government situation in our United States.

CNN: That certainly sounds scary.
Source: CNN "360 Degrees" coverage: 2010 S.C. Senate debate Oct 14, 2010

Jim DeMint: I'd prefer conservative principles than a Senate majority

Q: You said you would rather have people who adhere to conservative principles than have the majority. The problem is that in the minority, you can't get anything done that you'd like to get done. Square that for me.

DEMINT: Well, let me clarify what I mean by conservative. I'm just talking about common-sense people who don't think balancing a checkbook is a radical idea. What I'm talking about is where mainstream America is, and it's just common sense

Q: A poll said about 19% of Americans support the tea party movement. That's not mainstream. That's not most Americans.

DEMINT: The interesting thing is, for instance, in Delaware, there are probably at most a few thousand tea party activists. But ten times that many voted for Christine O'Donnell in the Republican primary. So for every person who takes up a sign and goes to a tea party rally, there are thousands of Americans who agree with them, who don't like Republicans or Democrats, but they're concerned about the incredible spending.

Source: CNN "State of the Union" coverage: 2010 S.C. Senate debate Sep 19, 2010

  • The above quotations are from State of South Carolina Politicians: Archives.
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2020 Presidential contenders on Principles & Values:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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