jake smith

For those who still don’t grasp the seedy underbelly of South Carolina’s political swamp, let me lay it out plain and ugly, what Governor Henry McMaster and his hand-picked successor Pamela Evette just pulled off isn’t “deal-making.” It’s a textbook case of raw, self-serving corruption that should make every decent South Carolinian’s blood boil. President Trump reached out to McMaster about fixing the congressional maps. The Senate said no. Fine. But instead of accepting that like a grown-up public servant, McMaster saw an opening to play kingmaker. He deliberately dragged his feet, engineered a dramatic special session for the free headlines, and then cut the sleaziest backroom bargain you’ll ever see. He told Trump: I’ll play ball on the maps… but only if you endorse Pam Evette for governor and ram my longtime security-detail driver through as U.S. Marshal for South Carolina. Oh, and in return, Evette will tap McMaster’s own son as her running mate. A three-way family-and-favor swap dressed up as “the art of the deal.” Meanwhile, a 45-year law-enforcement veteran, one of the most respected, battle-tested officers in the state, had done everything right. Year-long background check? Completed. Interviews? Done. Mountains of paperwork? Finished. He’d even announced his retirement to his family, confident the Biden holdover (the one Jim Clyburn had propped up) was finally on the way out and the President’s signature was sitting on the desk. Then, at the eleventh hour, McMaster and Evette yanked the rug out from under him. He became human collateral in their little power auction. His future, his family’s plans, his legacy, trashed so Pam could get the Trump endorsement and Henry could keep the throne warm for his kid. That’s not leadership. That’s prostitution of public office. And let’s talk about Pam Evette, the woman who now wants you to trust her with the keys to the state. Since 2017 she’s done exactly nothing except show up for horse races, ribbon-cuttings, and donor dinners. Actual governance? Forget it. There was a time McMaster himself reportedly hauled her into his office and read her the riot act, so thoroughly that she turned around and fired her closest political confidant just to save her own skin. That’s the depth of her character, throw your own people under the bus the second the boss gets annoyed. This isn’t a “fresh start” or “new generation” candidate. This is a political parasite who has spent years feeding off McMaster’s machine and is now willing to auction off a career lawman’s appointment like it’s a used car on Facebook Marketplace, all for the shiny Trump endorsement sticker on her campaign signs. Henry McMaster, the guy who loves to lecture everyone about “law and order” and “conservative values,” just proved he values his family’s continued grip on power more than merit, more than loyalty, more than basic human decency. He looked a 45-year public servant in the eye (metaphorically) and said, “Sorry, pal, my driver and my son need this more than you do.” South Carolinians, this is who they are. Pam Evette cares about Pam Evette. Henry McMaster cares about the McMaster dynasty. If they’ll casually destroy the life of a decorated officer who spent nearly half a century protecting this state, just to grease their own political skids, do you honestly believe they’ll lose a minute of sleep when it’s your job, your business, your family, or your community on the chopping block? They showed us exactly who they are. Believe them. And when you vote, remember the face of that 45-year veteran and his family whose futures were collateral damage in the McMaster-Evette favor bank. That’s the real legacy of this “deal.” It’s disgusting. It’s disqualifying. And every South Carolinian who values integrity over ambition should reject it with both hands.

My message to every Sheriff in South Carolina is clear: You will work with ICE to deport illegals, or I will take your gun, badge, and maybe even your pension. Don’t believe me? Just ask FORMER Sanctuary, Sheriff Kristin Graziano. No sanctuary. No exceptions. Just mass deportations.

South Carolina Henry McMaster has turned the governor’s mansion into a retirement home for political fossils. After nearly a decade in office, the longest-serving governor in state history thanks to a convenient loophole, he’s delivered exactly what you’d expect from a career insider who’s been riding the same tired machine since the Reagan era, endless photo-ops, zero accountability, and a string of embarrassing failures. He botched the COVID response by leaving the state health agency without a director for almost a year in the middle of a pandemic. He refused Medicaid expansion, leaving hundreds of thousands of working South Carolinians uninsured while 38 other states moved forward. He tried to illegally divert public tax dollars to private schools, only for the state Supreme Court to unanimously smack it down as a blatant violation of the constitution. Teacher pay? Still a joke. Infrastructure? Vetoed. Agency scandals at the DMV and DJJ? Crickets, no consequences, no leadership. He’s presided over a state that’s grown for the wealthy while everyone else gets scraps. Now he’s term-limited and trying to hand the keys to his hand-picked successor like it’s a family business. South Carolina deserves better than this fossilized failure. Pamela Evette’s entire case for governor boils down to one pathetic sentence: “I stood with Henry McMaster.” That’s it. That’s her résumé. As lieutenant governor she’s been a ghost, zero signature accomplishments, zero independent vision, just four years of nodding along in the passenger seat while the state’s real problems festered. Now she’s running on that “do-nothing” record and suddenly thinks she’s ready to lead? The mask slipped completely at South Carolina State University. Students at a historically Black college saw her anti-DEI extremism, Trump worship, and anti-abortion record and said, “Hard pass.” Instead of showing even a shred of gubernatorial grace, Evette threw a tantrum, called them a “woke mob,” doubled down, and then cheered Republican lawmakers threatening to defund the entire Historic Black College "HBCU". That’s not leadership, that’s vindictive, thin-skinned bullying. Add in the sleazy nepotism circus of Trump name-dropping McMaster’s son as her running mate and the dynasty-building stench is overwhelming. Pamela Evette isn’t running on ideas, she’s running on loyalty to a failed governor and a desperate desire to keep the same insiders in power. South Carolina cannot afford four more years of this empty suit and her petty stunts. She has no record, no vision, and no business being governor. Reject the McMaster-Evette dynasty before it becomes permanent. The DEI RINO is unfit for office.