Did Vaught Endorse Lazarus or Not?

By Paul Gable

It was with several questions I watched the Facebook video, posted Monday June 20, 2022, on the Mark Lazarus for Horry County Council Chairman page, in which Johnny Vaught might be endorsing Mark Lazarus for county council chairman in the June 28th Republican primary runoff.

There were several statements by Vaught in the video which raise questions about its entire validity.

Forty seconds into the video, Vaught says, “When International Drive opens in June…” and later he says the opening of International Drive “will facilitate the widening of Carolina Forest Boulevard…”

Those two statements could mean the video is four years old. International Drive opened in July 2018 and the widening of Carolina Forest Boulevard has been completed.

Is it a video recorded four years ago to endorse Lazarus in 2018? Is it actually an endorsement by Vaught of Lazarus in 2022 or just an old video posted to make it seem that way? Or, is it a current video in which Vaught has no idea what he is saying?

Only Lazarus and maybe Vaught know for sure.

Another tidbit that brings questions about the validity of the endorsement is a mailer sent out by Vaught in the days before the first round of primary voting.

Still a candidate at that time, Vaught’s mailer said, “THE SECRETS OUT! Mark Lazarus endorsed Tom Rice for Congress & spent over $92K with Rice’s slick consulting firm. Clearly, Lazarus is no conservative. Elect a real conservative who will stand up to greedy developers like Lazarus! Vote JOHNNY VAUGHT for Horry County Council Chairman…”

So, if we believe the mailer and the video, Lazarus went from “greedy developer” to “problem solver” in a little over a week. Quite a metamorphosis.

Does Vaught even know what he says from one week to the next or does he just say what he thinks will benefit him most at the time of the utterance?

If Vaught’s video endorsement is valid, it would seem to verify what I have postulated all along, that Lazarus and Vaught were the cabal’s Siamese twins entry into the county chairman’s race because it was well known neither could defeat Johnny Gardner alone.

Is there a quid pro quo involved? If Lazarus somehow manages to win the nomination, he will have to resign from the Grand Strand Water and Sewer Board. Was this vacancy, which comes with state health insurance benefits among other perks, promised to Vaught whose health is known to be fragile?

Lazarus may not be a “greedy developer” himself, but he is the choice of the greedy developers and this little dance with Vaught is part of the overall plan to beat Gardner.

The use of false messaging by both Vaught and Lazarus has been a constant throughout this campaign season. Both based their message on the concept ‘tell the big lie (about Gardner and his record) often enough and eventually people will believe it’s true.’

And both Vaught and Lazarus have told plenty of lies about Gardner’s record and their own during this campaign.

The development and tourism cabal targeted Gardner for defeat so that improved regulations on development, passed during Gardner’s term as chairman, can be reversed by Lazarus. And local tax dollars will be used to fund construction of Interstate 73.

Now it’s up to the voters to ignore the big lie message and vote for Gardner, the candidate who really works in the interests of the people at large, not special interests.

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