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South Carolina Democrats Host Press Conference to “Call Out DeSantis’ Extreme MAGA Record” As He Travels the State

Published

1 year ago

June 2, 2023

Press Release

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Today, South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain, State Representative Annie McDaniel, and State Representative Beth Bernstein held a press conference ahead of Ron DeSantis’ remarks in Lexington County to call him out for his MAGA agenda as he travels the state for the first time since announcing his presidential candidacy. You can watch the press conference here.

Speakers highlighted his extreme record of banning abortion before many women know they’re pregnant, voting for cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and focusing on culture wars while working families in his state face rising costs and one of the highest teacher shortages in the nation.

Read highlights from participants below:

“A majority of South Carolinians want the freedom for women to choose what happens to our own bodies, they want the freedom to have affordable health care options, and they want the freedom to feel safe and welcome in their own communities no matter what they look like or who they love. Yet, DeSantis has used his time in the governor’s mansion and has given us a preview of what he wants to do on the national stage: Rip away the basic freedoms we hold dear as Americans,” said South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain. “The entire Republican Party has become so extreme that it’s turned into the Anti-Freedom Party. It’s an honest representation of the fact that Republicans don’t really care about our freedoms like they pretend to. It’s clear that 2024 Republicans – whether it be Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, or Tim Scott — are all beholden to the same MAGA agenda.”

“Governor DeSantis’ record of banning abortion, relaxing gun safety laws, censorship of books, inciting fear mongering against the LGBTQ community, supporting plans to gut Social Security and Medicare, and weaponizing his office against Disney for condemning his views are harsh and draconian. As we stand here today, he is across town espousing this dangerous rhetoric in his effort to be President of the United States. And we know these views are not good for the country or more particularly for South Carolina,” said State Representative Beth Bernstein. “It is clear that Governor DeSantis is more worried about catering to the right-wing conservative MAGA base and stoking culture wars than delivering for hard working families.”

“Let’s be honest: Republicans aren’t actually concerned for women’s health care. They just want to rip away the freedoms an entire generation has had for the sake of their MAGA agenda,” said State Representative Annie McDaniel. “DeSantis has been governor since 2019 and has made Florida just one of ten states – including our own – that has refused to expand Medicaid even though Floridians face some of the highest out of pocket insurance costs in the country. For someone who touts his record of ripping abortion access away from women, you’d think DeSantis would be interested in making sure they had access to affordable prenatal care and checkups. He is not. Is this really the kind of ‘leadership’ we want in the White House?”