A 🧵 on SC’s new voucher bill to be debated in the SC House tomorrow:

I apologize to my constituents. This week, I will not be in session as I will be in Kansas City officiating the D1 national wrestling championships.

The timing is not the best as the latest ESA/voucher … bill will be up for House debate/vote. I anticipate this new bill will pass. My colleagues know where I stand: public money shouldn’t go to private or religious institutions.

This new voucher bill is more concerning than last year’s voucher bill, which was partially sold as …

While you’re playing politics, let the adults govern.

A thread🧵:

I’m not going to post nonsense every day of this legislative year because I predict it’s going to be an insanely political year. I’ll probably just pin this post & refer people to it when they ask about the … latest “crisis.” Columbia continues to spiral downward as unserious people are making it a political circus instead of simply governing.

Yesterday was our first floor debate &, of course, the “Freedom” Caucus did their typical playbook. It’s a good case example …

1/ I’ve stayed out of the internal drama w the so-called Freedom Caucus. Frankly, I don’t care what caucus people join. But this past wk has shown how amateur & immature they are.

Last wk, the Freedom Caucus sued me as an Ethics Committee member bc they want to raise out-of- … 2/ state money. Instead of introducing a bill, the Freedom Caucus decided to sue me & others. Yes, conservatism to them apparently means suing in federal court in hopes an activist judge will strike down a state law instead of legislating a change to state law. So much for …

1/ My best friend is a surgeon. My wife is a nurse. I'm on a daily text string with four scientists - 3 run covid labs, 1 is an infectious disease expert. I reached out to Prisma yesterday after they restricted visitations again.

My red line has always been what can the ... 2/ hospitals withstand. If people want to risk weeks in the ICU or die, so be it. However, the moment other people can't receive care or visit those in care because people are getting sick to a virus with a vaccine that prevents severity, we've failed in public health ...

1/ For those who want less detail, all ⬇️ in one sentence: “The vaccine isn’t near so do what you can control.”

For those who want detail:

I’ve received a number of questions about vaccine distribution. I’ve been confused why people expect the vaccine anytime soon. 2/ As you know, I don’t watch tv news so when there’s a disconnect, I assume it’s there. So, I spent my New Year’s morning researching what has been said.

Unfortunately, President Trump & his Admin has over promised ...

1/ Reflecting on the last day of this toilet paper year ...

My top 8 of 2020:

2020 has been heartbreaking for me in 1000s of ways - 100s of conversations w family members requesting to see loved ones, nurses worried about PPE & protocols, people frantic for access to test ... 2/ broken people seeking help w unemployment, & business owners trying to navigate covid. However, it has also been the most rewarding both personally & professionally.

1st, I have missed normal friends. However, I’ve made some lifelong friends w covid work ...

1/ "Plandemic" in early May showed us covid was a conspiracy, but we didn't listen.

In July, we had a witch doctor giving us the cure, but we didn't listen.

Thankfully, now, in Sept, we have a tweet by "littleMel" saying again covid is a conspiracy. Will we finally listen?? .. 2/ I hope not.

The quickest way to refute the latest conspiracy is to point out total deaths:

1. In terms of total deaths REGARDLESS OF CAUSE, excess deaths in SC in 2020 are currently 2,400-4,000 more than the avg of total deaths in the past 7 yrs ...

1/ Once again, tremendous leadership by Gov. @henrymcmaster w today's latest executive orders & recommendations. Incredibly tough decisions.

We are in a public health crisis.

Today, Gov ordered:

* State agencies to waive any regulation to address coronavirus ... 2/ * Mandatory closure of restaurants' & bars' dine-in service.
* No meeting of more than 50 people.
* State tax deadline extended to June 1.
* The National Guard to develop a plan with hospitals
* DHEC waiver of regulations to allow medical and nursing school students to aid ...

1/ South Carolina educational leaders are not being honest with SC parents, teachers, & the public. This results in the continuing failed system for our students.

I’m speechless when the Dept & local school districts intentionally mislead the public, all for the sake of image. 2/ The facts are:

(a) despite a 22% drop in participation on ACT last year, our students were outperformed by 13 of the 15 states with 100% participation. This means 78% of our kids scored worse than 100% of AL, Arkansas, LA, NC, & TN students. This is unacceptable.