My Thoughts on Tea Parties...

Tomorrow Republicans, democrats, and independents will come together from all walks of life in Florence, South Carolina and in other cities across America to make history and to say, “We want our County, State and Country back…and we intend to have our voices heard!” Our voices will join those of Millions of Americans across the USA today who, with one loud voice, are proclaiming NO MORE TAXES and NO MORE PORK BARREL Spending!!

The voters of the Pee Dee do care and WE do have something to say. We must make Washington and Columbia understand that we are not alone in our protest of these horrific tax increases to cover bail outs and irresponsible budget increases that will bankrupt our country. For too long there has been a divide between our ELECTED officials and the citizens of our great nation. Too often we have become discouraged by those who are entrenched in the political world of Washington and Columbia. They have forgotten that they work for the voters! Perhaps because South Carolinians have not often come out in droves to protest, it can be assumed that we do not understand or care about what is happening…but that would be wrong. We do CARE and we will get involved!

Citizens against government waste recently put out the 2009 Pig Book. In this book they identify $19.6 billion dollars worth of pork barrel spending in the 2009 Federal budget. This is shameful and I don’t care if you are a republican, democrat, libertarian or some other party…It is shameful! A portion of this report that caught my attention was an appropriation for $1.8 million in funds which are earmarked for swine odor and manure management research. In his defense of his bill, Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) attempted to sum up its absurd and ridiculous nature by saying: “I’m sure that David Letterman and Jay Leno will be talking about it because we’ve got $1.8 million dollars to study why pigs smell.” Ladies and Gentlemen, I am no swine research expert but I did grow up on a farm here in the Pee Dee of South Carolina. PIGS smell and they have smelled since they were put on this earth by God. They smell because they are PIGS! What really smells is that the Federal Government is going to waste $1.8 million of our hard earned money in an effort to find out why! This is just one of the many absurd pieces of wasteful pork included in the $19.6 Billion that the Citizens against Government Waste have identified. We must not allow a handful of people and politicians to destroy our country and our children’s futures.

We must no longer allow ourselves to be divided by savvy politicians and media outlets. As we talk to people living in the Pee Dee Area, we are hearing the whispers of a movement that will no longer be afraid of accusations steeped in political correctness with the purpose of dividing and silencing us. We will no longer be patronized and made to believe that we are powerless. Together we can make a difference…and make a difference we will! We will not go silently into the night of socialism and transnationalism. There is a ground swell of people who are bewildered by what is happening in America and South Carolina Government. WE are no longer willing to trust our elected officials with the task of keeping us free from socialism. We are living in a time that will go down in the history books as a chapter in history impacted by phrase “WE THE PEOPLE….” We can and will no longer be silent. I encourage you to stand up and let your voice be heard! As a voter in this county, state and country you deserve both answers and accountability from your elected officials!

Stephanie McLauglin Rawlinson - Candidate for Florence County Representative to the SC Republican Party Executive Committee

My name is Stephanie McLaughlin Rawlinson and I am running for State Executive Committee Representative for the Florence County Republican Party.

The Republican State Executive Committee has the responsibility of the general management of the State Party. We must elect a State Executive Committee Representative with the professional business experience to lead and manage the State party and represent Florence County and its Republicans. Currently I am a licensed real estate developer. I have owned and managed my own real estate firm since 1997 when I graduated from MUSC with a masters in Health Administration. My undergraduate work was completed in 1992 at Presbyterian College where my majors were Business and Political Science. I believe my business background coupled with my education has uniquely prepared me for the position which I seek.

The Executive Committee Representative for Florence County should be actively involved in this community. This person should be listening to those in the community and encouraging their voices and involvement in all aspects of the local Republican Party. When asked “Why should I be involved in the local Republican Party?” the Executive Committee Representative should have a answer prepared, along with a list of opportunities for involvement. You see, every Republican in Florence County has a voice and an opinion. They need to share their ideas and voices and be involved in our local party in some way. Everyone has a gift, talent and ability and it will be my job as your Executive Committee Representative to use these gifts to their full potential. Let me help you find a way to get involved; as Executive Committee Representative, it will be my personal mission to help you get involved. I will take your voices to Columbia and I will bring back the collective voices of the State Party. The sharing of information and ideas between the Florence County GOP and the State Party will be essential to helping the Republican Party progress and lead this county, state and country in future elections.

The use of modern technology is essential to the future growth of the GOP. It is the goal of our slate of candidates to help our party develop uses of technology and modernize the way our local party operates. We will have an open-door policy by which any precinct president or executive committeemen can contact our officers to offer suggestions, discuss ideas or ask questions at any time. We will develop a closed group on Facebook specifically for the executive committeemen and precinct presidents. We will also have a Florence County GOP group in which any Republicans from Florence County can obtain information or contact us. Members of the executive committee will be able to come to these groups and work progressively to share ideas, ask questions and get information. I will assist the precinct organization officers and allow these groups to grow and develop into the organizations they were originally intended to be. We will hold monthly conference calls for all county executive committee representatives and precinct presidents. We will also hold quarterly county executive committee meetings. Precinct clubs and organizations have a function and as your state executive committee representative I intend to make sure these organizations are active and are functioning in their intended capacities in Florence County.

It has been my honor to call Florence, South Carolina home for 38 years. When my relatives from Scotland settled here many generations ago, they described this area as beautiful and progressive. It is my prayer that when my children are 38 they will too call Florence beautiful and progressive. For this to happen, the Republican party must rebuild its base in this community. We must once again develop a stronghold for this party in the Pee Dee area of South Carolina. We seek to improve the future for our families, the Republican Party and the great State of South Carolina. On April 11th, I ask that you support the candidates of ARD, GRIFFIN, SMITH, ROGERS and RAWLINSON at the Florence County Republican Convention. This group of individuals believes in the Florence County GOP and its future under new leadership. Once again, I am Stephanie McLaughlin Rawlinson and I am seeking your support of my candidacy for State Executive Committee Representative.

Taking Action

It has been 21 years since I was a page for the Honorable United States Senator Strom Thurmond. What an experience for an 17 year old girl from Tans Bay, South Carolina. It was 4:30 am when I woke up and looked out of the window of the little house in Alexandria, Virginia that morning. To my great surprise, there was about 12 inches of snow on the ground, which was more snow than a girl from South Carolina could even imagine. I quickly found out that 12 inches of snow did not equal a snow day for the page school which I had to attend from 6am-9am daily. Slowly I pulled on some long underwear with snow boots and headed out in to the cold morning air. After walking about 1/4 mile, I reached my first bus stop. As I sat there, I had my first experience with a homeless person. I was overwhelmed with emotion about this person living outdoors. As thankful as I was to see the bus pull up and the big door open, I felt sorry for the homeless lady still sitting there on the bench in the snow. The bus dropped me off at the Pentagon where I successfully transferred to another bus that took me to a Metro stop. Bravely I jumped on the Metro and watched carefully for my stop. I was fascinated with the people who were on the train with me. There were military men in suits holding brief cases, business men and women reading papers and books, and of course there were a few people who looked like they had been on the train all night drinking Mad Dog 20/20. As I rode the escalator up from the Metro, the sun was rising over a snow-covered Washington, DC. The first thing I saw as I walked out of the Metro was the US Capitol. It was huge. The sun was rising behind the building and reflecting off of the snow. The building seemed to glow the most beautiful golden pink colors. I stopped still in my tracks... in complete awe! How magnificent it seemed that first time. My heart felt full and there was such a great sense of pride. Ronald Reagan was the president, the 100th Congress was being called into session, I was a Reagan Republican and I was a very proud United States Senate Page.

I tell you the things above to help you understand why I am involved in politics and the Republican Party today. I wish every Republican could have the experience of feeling this pride. Senator Thurmond was an inspiration to those of us who worked with him. He talked with us and spent time making his pages feel just as important as his colleagues in the US Senate. He listened and he let us be involved. My involvement in his office was really simple but it was important to him and to the party. I worked with Mrs. Katherine Hooks in the Senate office. By 9am every morning the Senator received the NY Times, Washington Post and every newspaper from South Carolina. Before lunch every day, I would read and cut out anything that included the Senator's name, issues being debated in Congress, any item of interest to the Senator, any event he was involved with, and all of the SC obituaries. I would then paste these articles on a sheet of white paper, write the name of the paper it was taken from and the page number on the side. I always included a phone number for the author or the phone number for the living spouse or relative at the top of each page. I usually finished the project by noon. Then I would head down to the Capitol copy room to make copies for every staff member. The Senator always got the original on which I would carefully highlight important sections in yellow. When the Senator came back to the office in the afternoon, we made the obit calls. He would sit behind his big desk with the list of obits in front of him. Mrs. Katherine and I would get the closest surviving family member on the phone and then turn the call over to the Senator. He took the time out of each day to call every widow and widower in South Carolina to extend his sympathy for their grief and loss. It was amazing to me that a man who was the President Pro Tempore of the US senate would take the time to listen and to care about someone else in their time of need. Sometimes the Senator would ask the pages what we thought about issues in the Senate. He encouraged the pages to be involved and to express our ideas. He often said...the idea is where it starts. You have to listen to ideas, examine them and build from them.

In my opinion, over the last 10 years the Florence County Republican Party has not been listening, we have not been developing, we have not been progressing, and we have not been working with our members to develop their ideas. We have got to get back to the concept that every Republican is important and every Republican has good ideas. The leadership of the Florence County Party should take the time to listen to, examine and build from the ideas of its members. You may ask, "Should we just ditch our history and build something new?" No, that is not at all what I am saying. I believe we should take our history, examine it, see what worked and what didn't. We need to build from it, add in some new ideas, new concepts, and do something great to build a stronger Republican Party for our future. I think it is important that we not discount any Republican's ability, talent or gift. We need to find our volunteers' strengths and develop them. I am involved in the Republican Party because I am a mother, a business owner and a Republican. The future can be better for my children, the Florence County GOP and the State of South Carolina. The first step to making sure this happens is to be involved and take action!