OPINION: Warren is just another big-business Republican

Mr. John Warren talks a good game - he says he wants a "conservative reform movement" to support candidates that are "conservative, capable and courageous." He has also, it seems, pulled together a PAC out of nowhere to support that vague platform that he insists will be "very well-funded." A polite observer might ask how a political action committee founded by a Greenville banker, with large donors from who-knows-where is going to contribute to a grassroots conservative revival in South Carolina. It seems fishy!

What are the issues facing conservatives in South Carolina? And what kind of courage will it take to stand up to them? Mr. Warren ran against the Trump-endorsed candidate in the last gubernatorial race, and lost. Donald Trump won the popular vote in South Carolina by a landslide, and will likely do so again. He has been successful in our state because he has been willing to stand against the rising Chinese influence in our politics, he has been able to unilaterally move to extend coronavirus relief while Congress is gridlocked and has stood against far-left radicalism often far out in front of his own party.

This is the kind of courageous, conservative leadership America and South Carolina need. Courageous, conservative leadership in South Carolina right now is following Donald Trump and condemning the evisceration of historical monuments. John Warren has shown no conviction on this issue. He is just another big-business Republican who once said "we'd made great strides with Mark Sanford and Nikki Haley, and over the past year we've gone backwards." Mr. Warren may be able to buy an election or two, but right out of the gate this looks like more of the same old Haley machine, big business, anti-Trumpism.

RICHARD T. HINES

Mayesville