While it might be easy for ordinary Americans to lament the legislative gridlock and disappointing votes on display in D.C. and their respective state capitals, the political pressure applied by lobbyists and other influential entities can often be too much for even principled elected officials to withstand.
Republican South Carolina state Rep. Adam Morgan highlighted these inescapable factors during a fiery exchange with a Democratic colleague. Although Morgan’s comments were specifically tied to a particular piece of legislation related to economic incentives to attract a corporation to the state, his broader argument has gained widespread attention due to its relevance across all levels of the American legislative system.
South Carolina Rep Adam Morgan Blows The Whistle On Washington
– Dark Money Entities Are Created Targeting Those Who Vote Red
– Representatives Are Blatantly Being Encouraged To Ignore Their Voters
– Multi-billion International Corporations Come First
– Lobbyists Come First
-… pic.twitter.com/D2ApBFclCt— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 12, 2024
“Y’all might not know this,” he told the rest of the state House. “A dark money entity that was created on Tuesday, the day after we voted for this … I went home and an attack piece went out in my home district about the fact that I voted for this.”
Morgan went on to assert that it is his constituents, not lobbyists, to whom he is accountable.
“They want their tax money spent on core government functions — on their roads, on their schools,” he said of the voters who elected him. “That’s what they want their money spent on. They don’t want us in here trying to play this government planning thing where we and our bureaus can figure out where the jobs should be, who should be employed, how much should be allocated where in the private sector.”
He compared such a system to socialism, which has “never worked anywhere before,” but Democratic Rep. Todd Rutherford chimed in with a counterpoint.
Insinuating that voters “may not understand economic incentives,” Rutherford challenged Morgan’s claim that “we should listen to the people back home in your district rather than the people at Commerce that have been successful” at brokering such deals in the past.
The Democrat’s argument fell flat with Morgan, who described it as antithetical to his own view of what it means to be an elected representative.
“I completely disagree with you,” he replied. “And I think that you believe what you just said, but no, I 100% am going to listen to the people back home who I represent in this House. And you should listen to the 40,000 people in your area and not the bureaucrats at Commerce and not the lobbyists, and not the multibillion-dollar international corporations. You should listen to your constituents like I am.”
