The Grand Strand Politics Segment :
These episodes will try and capture the feel of the 2024 Presidential Preference Primaries in south Carolina for both the Democratic and Republican Parties in this election year.
Grand Strand Politics Show 1 – The Set Up for the South Carolina Presidential Primaries
Welcome to this first Grand Strand Politics Segment episode. In this episode, we try and set the stage for the coming South Carolina Presidential Preference Primaries coming to our State. We do so by covering several different political events from both parties that have occured over the past month in order to set the stage for February 2024.
First, was the Republican “First in the South” Action conference held at the Myrtle Beach Hilton Hotel. It featured a number of grassroots workshops and talks with big political stars in various fields. We included parts of addresses by Robert Cahaly, the head of the Trafalgar Group, the only polling company in America that called the 2016 election correctly for President Donald Trump, & we will also hear from Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, plus our own 7th District Congressman Russell Fry.
Then we will listen in on local news coverage from the visits to the Palmetto State of Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. You will get some insights from these events as to what both sides of the political aisle think will be the important issues and messages for the campaign to come.
Finally, we will take you to a local meeting of the Horry County Republican Party where surrogates spoke for candidates Nikki Haley and Ron Desantis. By the time this episode is done you will have at least heard something from everyone of the major contenders for the 2024 race for the White House as we gear up for the South Carolina Primaries. A Primary, that in both parties, has often proven the firewall from disaster for whomever the frontrunner was and, in the case of both parties, it is safe to say it is here, in South Carolina, that this primary picks Presidents. So a lot will be at stake when February begins.
It is at this final meeting we will also hear from the 7th Congressional District of South Carolina’s popular Congressman Russell Fry, as he fires up this group of Republican activists for the work and the fun to come as we kick off the 2024 Presidential Campaign in style in Horry County S.C.
Grand Strand Politics Show 2 – The Swearing in Ceremony for the 2024 Myrtle Beach City Council and some Historic Voices too
On January 9, 2024, the City of Myrtle Beach held a swearing in ceremony in Council Chambers to welcome two new members of the Myrtle Beach City Council, Debbie Conner, and Bill McClure, and say farewell to two members John Krajc and Phil Render. This was the end of the election cycle our podcast chronicled in October-November of last year. An election cycle that found our host in the race as a candidate. He did not win.
In this episode we also saw Councilman Michael Chestnut become the longest serving city council member in city history as he was elected to his 7th term. At such a historic occasion, along with the retirement of Phil Render, our third longest serving council member, we thought it would be fun to look back at two men who were also among the longest serving in our city’s history, former Mayor Bob Grissom and former Councilman Wilson Cain. Both men have since passed away but their memories still loom large in the history of our great city, and we thought it would be fun in this episode to look back at them both, as we see on this day Dr Phil Render and Michael Chestnut set new records for longevity of public service.
We also invite you to tune in to our podcast and its special series that will start next week as we honor our city’s senior statesman and former Mayor Robert J. Hirsch.
Please tune in on this historic day in Myrtle Beach.
In this episode we also saw Councilman Michael Chestnut become the longest serving city council member in city history as he was elected to his 7th term. At such a historic occasion, along with the retirement of Phil Render, our third longest serving council member, we thought it would be fun to look back at two men who were also among the longest serving in our city’s history, former Mayor Bob Grissom and former Councilman Wilson Cain. Both men have since passed away but their memories still loom large in the history of our great city, and we thought it would be fun in this episode to look back at them both, as we see on this day Dr Phil Render and Michael Chestnut set new records for longevity of public service.
We also invite you to tune in to our podcast and its special series that will start next week as we honor our city’s senior statesman and former Mayor Robert J. Hirsch.
Please tune in on this historic day in Myrtle Beach.
Grand Strand Politics Show 3 : The Trump Wave
In our third episode of the Grand Strand Politics segment, we witness what we thought was going to be the first of many rallies in the Myrtle Beach area as we got closer to a barnburner of a fight in the South Carolina Presidential Preference Primary on the Republican side this year. Instead, it appears the race was over with in 48 hours of that rally.
In this episode we shall see the power play that shutdown the primary election cycle turning it from a contested battle between four candidates, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson. To a two person race, in name only, between Former President Donald Trump and former United Nations’ Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. In just one day you see us go from a super charges Ron Desantis rally in Myrtle Beach, we covered for you live, to Senator Tim Scott’s endorsement of Trump, and then a rally that night in New Hampshire that literally made you wonder if the entire State Leadership of South Carolina had come to New Hampshire and left South Carolina with only a lonely Maytag Repairman watching over the State.
It was a whose who of South Carolina’s political figures, Governor Henry McMaster, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, SC House Speaker Meryl Smith, Congressmen Joe Wilson, and William Timmons and State Attorney General alan Wilson and Treasurer Curtis Loftis and our state’s newest and biggest political rockstar Congressman Russell Fry, all on stage to endorse and support former President Donald Trump.
What happened next, for all intense and purposes, ended the Republican Presidential Primary, with Governor Ron DeSantis dropping out and Asa Hutchinson being swamped on election night and only Nikki Haley refusing to leave the race. It appears to me the 2024 Presidential Primary on the Republican side is over before it ever really got started, though we may still see an attempt at a challenge from Nikki Haley who is currently a whopping 60 points down in her own home state.
You can listen to it all unfold in this episode of Grand Strand Politics as we set the stage for the coming South Carolina Presidential Primary, that may or may not end up even contested in the end.
In this episode we shall see the power play that shutdown the primary election cycle turning it from a contested battle between four candidates, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson. To a two person race, in name only, between Former President Donald Trump and former United Nations’ Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. In just one day you see us go from a super charges Ron Desantis rally in Myrtle Beach, we covered for you live, to Senator Tim Scott’s endorsement of Trump, and then a rally that night in New Hampshire that literally made you wonder if the entire State Leadership of South Carolina had come to New Hampshire and left South Carolina with only a lonely Maytag Repairman watching over the State.
It was a whose who of South Carolina’s political figures, Governor Henry McMaster, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, SC House Speaker Meryl Smith, Congressmen Joe Wilson, and William Timmons and State Attorney General alan Wilson and Treasurer Curtis Loftis and our state’s newest and biggest political rockstar Congressman Russell Fry, all on stage to endorse and support former President Donald Trump.
What happened next, for all intense and purposes, ended the Republican Presidential Primary, with Governor Ron DeSantis dropping out and Asa Hutchinson being swamped on election night and only Nikki Haley refusing to leave the race. It appears to me the 2024 Presidential Primary on the Republican side is over before it ever really got started, though we may still see an attempt at a challenge from Nikki Haley who is currently a whopping 60 points down in her own home state.
You can listen to it all unfold in this episode of Grand Strand Politics as we set the stage for the coming South Carolina Presidential Primary, that may or may not end up even contested in the end.
Grand Strand Politics Show 4: The Nikki Haley Rally
Though many in the political world think this race is all but over, it still is not over. I can tell you from my many years of working in South Carolina politics that Former Governor Nikki Haley is no paper tiger and underestimating her is something you will do at your own political peril, just ask any number of leading political figures who did that in the 2000s, when she rose out of political nowhere, to end up the Governor of South Carolina. I remember “Nikki Who?”
So, here we are with Nikki Haley and Donald Trump the last two political figures standing in the 2024 Republican Presidential Primaries. Haley has a ginormous mountain to climb but I do think in fairness to her, we should let her fight the battle she wants to fight, in the end, Former President Donald Trump will end up all the stronger for it if he emerges, as it appears he almost certainly will, victorious. That is why in this show I have called on the Republican State Party leadership to make the local parties maintain at least some level of fairness for our former Governor and the second place running candidate until this primary is actually over. Nikki Haley has a perfect right to continue her campaign until she is ready to withdraw and she should be allowed to participate in party events, meetings, and gatherings until such time as she ends her campaign or she is defeated.
With that said, here is her rally in Conway, South Carolina, at Coast Carolina University . When you listen to this rally you will fully understand why I stated earlier that she is no paper tiger. This is a masterful performance and while I doubt she can make a serious run at the nomination in 2024, I would say she is clearly on the radar screen for 2028 and beyond.
This rally begins with introductory remarks from another political figure in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune. Most of her remarks are included here as well. I do wish to thank the television stations for covering this event because I was not actually able to be there in person but I have hoped to cover this primary with total fairness and at least some level of equal time to the candidates.
So, here we are with Nikki Haley and Donald Trump the last two political figures standing in the 2024 Republican Presidential Primaries. Haley has a ginormous mountain to climb but I do think in fairness to her, we should let her fight the battle she wants to fight, in the end, Former President Donald Trump will end up all the stronger for it if he emerges, as it appears he almost certainly will, victorious. That is why in this show I have called on the Republican State Party leadership to make the local parties maintain at least some level of fairness for our former Governor and the second place running candidate until this primary is actually over. Nikki Haley has a perfect right to continue her campaign until she is ready to withdraw and she should be allowed to participate in party events, meetings, and gatherings until such time as she ends her campaign or she is defeated.
With that said, here is her rally in Conway, South Carolina, at Coast Carolina University . When you listen to this rally you will fully understand why I stated earlier that she is no paper tiger. This is a masterful performance and while I doubt she can make a serious run at the nomination in 2024, I would say she is clearly on the radar screen for 2028 and beyond.
This rally begins with introductory remarks from another political figure in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune. Most of her remarks are included here as well. I do wish to thank the television stations for covering this event because I was not actually able to be there in person but I have hoped to cover this primary with total fairness and at least some level of equal time to the candidates.
Grand Strand Politics Show 5: Haley Bashing and Biden Winning
In this episode we see the South Carolina Primary starting to heat up, which is what this primary is historically well known for doing. We will feature two Donald Trump for President events , one in Columbia centered on Nikki Haley’s record on illegal immigration as compared to that of President Donald Trump , and another in Horry County at the Conway Courthouse that centers on Governor Haley’s friendly relationship with China.
It is an all star cast of speakers from Attorney General Alan Wilson, State Treasurer Curtis Loftus, to Representatives Stuart Jones and Bill Taylor, then when we get to Horry County, we will hear from Representatives Case Brittain, and Val Guest and then Congresswoman Nancy Mace and the State’s biggest rising political star Congressman Russell Fry, as they talk Chinese Spy Balloons and Nikki Haley’s supposed status as the Chinese’s favorite Governor.
This episode begins the hard hitting nature for which the South Carolina Primary has become famous and this cycle is just getting started.
Then we switch gears, and sides, to cover the South Carolina Democratic Presidential Primary which this year became the first in the election cycle on the Democratic side. It was pretty much a non event, given that after Robert Kennedy Jr decided to run as an independent that turned it into essentially a one man show on their side of the fence. Joe Biden carried 97% of the vote in a state that has always looked out for him. The big question for his campaign, however, was the extraordinarily low turn out, only 200,000 voters statewide. Is that an ominous sign for the race to come? Who knows for sure, but we do know this for sure we are now officially underway in the race for the White House.
It is an all star cast of speakers from Attorney General Alan Wilson, State Treasurer Curtis Loftus, to Representatives Stuart Jones and Bill Taylor, then when we get to Horry County, we will hear from Representatives Case Brittain, and Val Guest and then Congresswoman Nancy Mace and the State’s biggest rising political star Congressman Russell Fry, as they talk Chinese Spy Balloons and Nikki Haley’s supposed status as the Chinese’s favorite Governor.
This episode begins the hard hitting nature for which the South Carolina Primary has become famous and this cycle is just getting started.
Then we switch gears, and sides, to cover the South Carolina Democratic Presidential Primary which this year became the first in the election cycle on the Democratic side. It was pretty much a non event, given that after Robert Kennedy Jr decided to run as an independent that turned it into essentially a one man show on their side of the fence. Joe Biden carried 97% of the vote in a state that has always looked out for him. The big question for his campaign, however, was the extraordinarily low turn out, only 200,000 voters statewide. Is that an ominous sign for the race to come? Who knows for sure, but we do know this for sure we are now officially underway in the race for the White House.
Grand Strand Politics Show 6: Donald Trump Comes to Conway S.C.
Join us in this episode for the Donald Trump for President Rally. As the old saying goes poor planning on my part does not constitute an emergency on their part. I did not get there in time to get in because 20,000 plus may have been in attendance.
You will get to hear our host as he tries to get in before giving up and heading home only to be stuck in traffic on Hwy 501 all while President Donald Trump takes the stage to electrify the crowd.
You will get to hear our host as he tries to get in before giving up and heading home only to be stuck in traffic on Hwy 501 all while President Donald Trump takes the stage to electrify the crowd.
Grand Strand Politics Show 7: The Colorado Ballot Access Case Supreme Court Arguments (part 1)
In this episode , we will let you listen in on the Colorado Ballot Access case against President Donald Trump. This case rests on accusing Former President Donald Trump of being an insurrectionist, a charge of which has not been made in ANY of the 91 indictments so far being charged in the court cases in New York, Georgia, or in Federal Court in Miami, Florida.
We thought in this final week before the February 24, 2024 South Carolina Primary our listeners may want to hear the oral arguments that were presented in front of the United States Supreme Court in the same manner we presented the Nixon vs the United States oral arguments during our “Nixon and Watergate” Series, (Now re-airing on our sister podcast The Richard Nixon Experience)
This is a two part episode and presents the oral arguments in their entirety.
We thought in this final week before the February 24, 2024 South Carolina Primary our listeners may want to hear the oral arguments that were presented in front of the United States Supreme Court in the same manner we presented the Nixon vs the United States oral arguments during our “Nixon and Watergate” Series, (Now re-airing on our sister podcast The Richard Nixon Experience)
This is a two part episode and presents the oral arguments in their entirety.
Grand Strand Politics Show 8 The Colorado Access Case Supreme Court Arguments (Part 2)
In this episode , we will let you listen in on the Colorado Ballot Access case against President Donald Trump. This case rests on accusing Former President Donald Trump of being an insurrectionist, a charge of which has not been made in ANY of the 91 indictments so far being charged in the court cases in New York, Georgia, or in Federal Court in Miami, Florida.
We thought in this final week before the February 24, 2024 South Carolina Primary our listeners may want to hear the oral arguments that were presented in front of the United States Supreme Court in the same manner we presented the Nixon vs the United States oral arguments during our “Nixon and Watergate” Series, (Now re-airing on our sister podcast The Richard Nixon Experience)
This is a two part episode and presents the oral arguments in their entirety.
We thought in this final week before the February 24, 2024 South Carolina Primary our listeners may want to hear the oral arguments that were presented in front of the United States Supreme Court in the same manner we presented the Nixon vs the United States oral arguments during our “Nixon and Watergate” Series, (Now re-airing on our sister podcast The Richard Nixon Experience)
This is a two part episode and presents the oral arguments in their entirety.
Grand Strand Politics Show 9, The Weaponization of Justice, A History & an Endorsement
In our final show to air before the South Carolina Presidential Primary election, our Host Randal Wallace , will discuss what he believes is the root cause of much of the division our country faces today. It is the criminalization of politics and the weaponization of Justice in America. It is the legacy of the worst and least qualified Attorney General to ever hold the position, Robert F. Kennedy, and it has morphed into a tragic way of administering Justice in this country that has left a legacy politically of extreme bitterness that may, with a combination of a number of other factors, be driving the collective meltdown our nation seems to be facing.
This episode will cover the history of how the Justice Department began the targeting of individuals with the goal to find a crime instead of chasing crime where it occurs, and how that weaponization has mostly been aimed at Republican Officials when it has been used in the political sphere. But, understand this method is not JUST being used in the political sphere, nor at JUST the Federal level, it is being used across the board to incarcerate people who run afoul of overzealous prosecutors and people with political agendas all across the nation. It is also, I believe, being used in an attempt to prevent former President Donald Trump from getting re-elected President of the United States.
However, as horrible as what is happening to Mr. Trump has obviously become, it is ripe with possibilities that now this evil that has beset our country, divided us into tribes, and created such anger and bitterness can be changed. For the first time, the collective strategic takedown of a political figure has so far not worked, as it did in the cases of Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Ted Stevens, and countless other lesser known figures, and if Donald Trump is re-elected after the $500 million dollar onslaught of unequal justice he has been subjected too, there is a real possibility that he may very well take the actions to end, what Maurice Stans, a victim of the Watergate Special Prosecutor’s Office rightfully titled, the “Terrors of Justice” . For that reason, among many, we here wholeheartedly endorse Donald Trump for President just the day before the South Carolina Presidential Primary.
This episode will cover the history of how the Justice Department began the targeting of individuals with the goal to find a crime instead of chasing crime where it occurs, and how that weaponization has mostly been aimed at Republican Officials when it has been used in the political sphere. But, understand this method is not JUST being used in the political sphere, nor at JUST the Federal level, it is being used across the board to incarcerate people who run afoul of overzealous prosecutors and people with political agendas all across the nation. It is also, I believe, being used in an attempt to prevent former President Donald Trump from getting re-elected President of the United States.
However, as horrible as what is happening to Mr. Trump has obviously become, it is ripe with possibilities that now this evil that has beset our country, divided us into tribes, and created such anger and bitterness can be changed. For the first time, the collective strategic takedown of a political figure has so far not worked, as it did in the cases of Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Ted Stevens, and countless other lesser known figures, and if Donald Trump is re-elected after the $500 million dollar onslaught of unequal justice he has been subjected too, there is a real possibility that he may very well take the actions to end, what Maurice Stans, a victim of the Watergate Special Prosecutor’s Office rightfully titled, the “Terrors of Justice” . For that reason, among many, we here wholeheartedly endorse Donald Trump for President just the day before the South Carolina Presidential Primary.
Grand Strand Politics Show 10: Donald Trump Wins the 2024 South Carolina Presidential Primary
In this episode we close out our podcast coverage of the 2024 South Carolina Presidential Primary. We will listen in to the concession speech of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and the victory address from former President Donald Trump. We will also hear remarks from South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, and our two Senators Tim Scott, and Lindsey Graham.
It is that always fun moment when we get to hear from the candidates themselves for that brief moment when they get to savor victory or put a spin on defeat before going to the next states, as Willie Nelson sang they will be “On the Road Again”
It is that always fun moment when we get to hear from the candidates themselves for that brief moment when they get to savor victory or put a spin on defeat before going to the next states, as Willie Nelson sang they will be “On the Road Again”