By Paul Gable
The instant Tom Rice pressed “Yes” to vote to impeach President Donald Trump, he betrayed a vast majority of the Republican voters in the SC 7th Congressional District and signaled the end of his political career.
When Mark Lazarus became the first local politician to endorse Rice for reelection after that ignominious vote, Lazarus betrayed a vast majority of the voters of Horry County.
During his entire 2022 campaign for Horry County Chairman, Lazarus has tried to portray himself as a conservative Republican leader. He is anything but! The Lazarus endorsement of Trump impeacher Rice demonstrates that fact.
Last week, Trump gave an incredible show of his strength among local Republican voters. In a seven-person primary for the 7th Congressional District nomination, a primary that included five-term incumbent Rice, Trump’s endorsed candidate polled over 51% of the vote to avoid a runoff and win on the first ballot. Make no mistake, those voters who voted for Trump’s endorsee were actually showing their support for Trump.
I don’t understand how Lazarus expects a majority of next Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff voters to cast a ballot for him when Lazarus refused to stand up for the leader of the Republican Party and instead chose to endorse Trump impeacher Rice.
In addition to endorsing Rice, Lazarus was listed as a Platinum sponsor for Rice’s campaign kickoff event at the Dunes Club earlier this year. A Platinum sponsorship cost $2,900 each, the maximum contribution for a federal election cycle this year. That means Lazarus contributed more money to Rice’s campaign, after Rice voted to impeach Trump, than he has to his own campaign for county chairman.
Of course, Lazarus and Rice are charter members of the Myrtle Beach Cabal, otherwise known as the local “Swamp.” Cabal loyalties go much deeper than loyalties to the Republican Party, the party’s leader or the voters who vote to Make America Great Again.
Four years ago, in the closing days of his last campaign for county chairman, Lazarus refused to answer questions from county police and firefighters about their working conditions. Instead, Lazarus said he didn’t have to put up with any more abuse and walked out of a candidate forum.
Several days ago, Lazarus refused to be interviewed for the primary runoff by what is regarded as the number one local talk radio show on Talk 94.5. One can presume Lazarus did not want to answer questions about his endorsement of the impeacher.
Lazarus has tried to present himself as a ‘leader’ who does not run away from the tough questions when difficult issues arise. His actions demonstrate exactly the opposite
If the voters of Horry County truly want to clean up the local “Swamp” and Make (their portion of) America Great Again, Lazarus is not their candidate.
Speak Up…