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Rep. Eric Bedingfield
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House Republicans, business leaders vow to fight Federal lawsuit on “card check”

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The House Republicans stood with business leaders Saturday to resist a Federal threat to sue our state over the “card check” constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters in November.

“This is another example of an overreaching Federal government that the Republican Caucus has vowed to resist,” said House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston. “We had a right to pass the amendment to protect and improve our state’s business climate. The resolution, and its approval by voters, received broad bi-partisan support – showing that this is about protecting the basic right of a worker to have a secret ballot.”

A letter was sent from the National Labor Relations Board to S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson stating that if he did not prevent ratification of the amendment within two weeks, the Board would sue.

“This is why Republicans were swept into power in the U.S. House of Representatives last November,” said Rep. Eric Bedingfield, R-Mauldin, the author of the amendment. “This is a clear overreach of liberal Federal power when all the people of our state wanted to do was ensure a secure, secret, and fair election.”

The constitutional amendment, which was approved by more than 86% of South Carolinians, ensures a secret ballot when a union election takes place. The stated purpose of the amendment was to prevent intimidation — by the union or by the employer — from influencing the election.

“It is unbelievable to me that a Federal agency would stand in the way of a secret ballot in ANY election,” said House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, R-Cayce. “Once again, the Obama Administration shows that it will use any means necessary to advance an agenda for its friends in the big labor unions. The S.C. House Republican Caucus welcomes this fight, and asks for the support of all South Carolinians who support the basic right to a secret ballot.”

Business groups ranging from the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business in South Carolina, the S.C. Manufacturers Alliance, and the Upstate Chamber Coalition supported the original amendment and told Republican leaders they will continue their support.

“This is hardly a surprise. President Obama has virtually given the NLRB over to organized labor,” said S.C. Manufacturers Alliance President Lewis Gossett. “The union’s card check scheme is nothing more than an effort to force South Carolinians into unions against their will. The SCMA will do everything possible to assist the State as it resists this union-driven lawsuit.”

Otis Rawl, President of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce added:  “There is no mistaking the will of South Carolina’s workers on this issue. Nearly 9 of 10 voters said the right to a secret ballot should be preserved and protected.”

“We are grateful for leadership of the General Assembly, our Attorney General and the 86 percent of the state’s voters standing up to protect the right to a secret ballot,” said NFIB SC State Director J.J. Darby. “Small businesses and their employees just want to work to grow jobs in the Palmetto state, not worry about bureaucrats in Washington or union intimidation.”

Mark Cothran, who represents the Upstate Chamber Coalition — an organzation representing 11 local chambers of commerce and more than 8,000 businesses — echoed their sentiments.

“The Upstate Chamber Coalition was in full support of Rep. Bedingfield’s legislation last session to protect the secret ballot. It was evident that the general electorate agreed with the business community when the referendum was approved by an overwhelming 86 percent of voters. In developing its 2011 legislative agenda, the Coalition vowed to continue supporting efforts that ensure S.C. remains a right to work state. One of the primary goals of the Coalition is to work with lawmakers to improve our state’s business conditions. Remaining a right to work state is at the top of that list.”

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My father (a veteran) just attended a strings concert at Blue Ridge Middle School to honor veterans. The event was especially meaningful to him because both his grandsons participated in the concert.

I’m very proud of my father’s service to his country and honored to know so many veterans in our community. Always remember; freedom is never free, and we should humbly pay our debt to our veterans by providing them with the utmost respect.

Tom Corbin attended a crowded rally for Nikki Haley in downtown Greenville on October 30th.

Pictured above is Tom with Robert Ryggs.

HOW I PLAN TO REPRESENT SC HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 17

Throughout my entire life, I have lived in SC House District 17, which encompasses the northern part of Greenville County.  Since early childhood, my parents instilled in me Conservative Christian values, which define who I am today.  I have been blessed with a beautiful family and a wife, Leann, who has been its solid foundation and the glue that has bonded us so strongly.  She has done a tremendous job in raising our two boys, thus allowing me to pursue and achieve a successful business career.   I give you this short background because it saddens me everyday as I see less people being able to make these claims about their lives and families.

Over the past decades I have witnessed the erosion of America’s greatest asset, the family.  America is hurting, and South Carolina is hurting even more.  We have strayed away from the American way of life.  We have gone from moral absolutes to moral relativism.  As a nation, we have abandoned our Christian principles; we have abandoned God.  Narcissism, greed and materialism are the rule rather than the exception.

Many of our elected officials possess these negative attributes that have contributed to the demise of our society.  Even though when they are elected to office they take an oath to uphold the US Constitution, many have no clue what it says, particularly since many admit that they have never read it.  I saw this in SC House District 17, where a 20-year incumbent became so detached from our community that our citizens in general and I in particular felt that we had no representation in Columbia.  Not being someone that sits on the sidelines and watches for something to happen, after much prayer and reflection I decided to run for the SC House District 17 seat.  I was humbled when on June 8, 2010, in the Republican primary, the voters overwhelmingly chose me over the incumbent to be the Republican nominee.  But the race is not over.  I must win in the general election so that I can represent the citizens of our district and bring back constitutional principles to our legislature, state and local governments.

My parents taught me to always give 100% to any task I chose to take.  Campaigning for this office was no different.  During the primary season I knocked on thousands of doors to listen to my fellow citizens of district 17.  By listening to them, I have a much better understanding of the concerns and needs of our community.  I plan to address these issues, once I am elected to office on November 2.  I continue to campaign, as I want the voters to know that I will always listen, and represent them to the best of my ability.  Once elected, I will hold town hall meetings so that I will have a chance to communicate with the voters of our district.  My doors will always be open to the citizens of our district.  My phone lines will always be available to my constituents.

The problems we face today did not occur overnight and some will take time to overcome.  However, some of them, if addressed properly, can be fixed, and I plan to introduce and promote legislation to that end.

From what I have heard from the voters, jobs are at the top of everyone’s mind.  As I have stated before, our state has many assets that are available for job creation.  We must always be a right to work state.  We must keep a low tax business rate to encourage business and industry to locate here in SC.  If we create the right environment for businesses, then we won’t have to bribe them to locate here.   I will introduce and promote legislation to do away with these so called “tax incentives” to lure businesses to our state.

We have seen our manufacturing jobs move overseas.  And at the same time, illegal aliens have taken many of the jobs that we do have.  Whereas I am not against legal immigration, we must stop the illegal alien invasion that we are experiencing here in SC and across the nation.  Illegal immigration is sucking the life out of our nation and our state.  Our legislators have led us to believe that SC enacted one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration laws in the US, the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act.  But the legislature allocated very little money to enforce the law, thus making it quite ineffective.  Most of the SC law has been in place since June 2008.  Our law has some serious loopholes that were put in place to surrender our state to the demands of the open-border lobby.  I intend to introduce and promote legislation to close these loopholes.  Furthermore, I support an Arizona-type legislation that was introduced at the end of the 2010 session.  I plan to co-sponsor such a bill in the House, once I am elected in November 2.  We must create an environment that will make it uncomfortable for illegal aliens to move here.  If we do that the illegals who are here will self-deport and our American citizens and legal immigrants will be able to get employment.

Our government spends too much money and the legislature has no clue how much money some of the agencies need or have.  Many agencies collect fees and no one knows how much money these agencies hold.  We need transparency in all aspects of government.  Many agencies are run by legislative appointed boards that answer to no one.  Legislative oversight is needed and I will introduce and promote legislation to accomplish this.  There should be no hidden pots of gold in our government.  It is our money, not theirs and we must constantly remind them of this fact.

We keep talking about education.  Whereas we have some of the best schools, teachers and students, our system as a whole is broken.  We spend too much money in administrative positions and professional development that do absolutely nothing but harass and intimidate and waste teachers’ time.  We need to let teachers teach and guarantee them and our students an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.  We keep pouring money into education as if it was the solution to the problems within the system.  South Carolina is using a funding mechanism that has been in place since 1977, the Education Finance Act.  It is time to stop studying the issue and start acting on it.  Let’s update the funding formulas and let the schools spend the money as they see fit.  We need to shift our focus from inputs to outputs.  After all, does it really matter which pot of money is spent where if it results in our teachers becoming successful in increasing the achievement of ALL our students?

The problems we face as a state are many, but with your help and guidance I am willing to promote legislation to correct this situation and put South Carolina on the road to recovery.  However, I need your vote on November 2 to win the election and become your state representative.

The Dixie Republic has been kind enough to host a fundraiser for two of its favorite locals:

Please join Republican Nominee for House District 17 Tom Corbin and County Councilman Joe Dill for a joint fundraiser.

Brunswick Stew – $10 per person

WHERE: Dixie Republic on 1315 N. Highway 25, Travelers Rest

WHEN: Saturday, October 23, 2010 12:30pm-2:30pm

The meet and greet at Poinsett Park in Travelers Rest with Tom Corbin was enjoyed by more than 60 people over a two hour period last Thursday evening.

The weather was great, the kids had a place to play, and it was a great evening to fellowship as well as make some new friends.

If you missed Tom at this, please consider joining him for the fundraiser coming up on October 23rd at the Dixie Republic.

We’ve added an events section to our website so we can keep you informed of any upcoming events.