Remarks from the June 18th press conference at Columbia Flag & Sign
Good morning and thanks for coming.
I am Kasie Whitener, Libertarian Candidate for US Senate. I won my party’s nomination at convention on April 11th. Now that the primaries have concluded, I’d like to welcome my opponents to the ballot.
It’s fitting that we’re here at Columbia Flag & Sign because every day, this business helps people re-dedicate themselves to our state and our nation, by selling those people flags. The recognizable symbols of loyalty and faith in something bigger than ourselves.
I decided to run for US Senate to serve our state and our nation. This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you how awful everything is and how much we’re in a crisis. But the hyperbole and drama are just part of the political theater. And I am not.
I am a writer, a radio show host, an educator, a business owner, a wife and a mom. I have led three organizations – for writers, entrepreneurs, and Libertarians – that contributed to our community. And when asked, six years ago, if I’d consider running in this specific election, I said yes, although I’ve never run for anything before.
The advice I’d received on politics was to decide what you care most about, figure out where that’s decided, and run for that office.
I care most about the national debt. That’s decided in congress. I live in Joe Wilson’s congressional district. And I’ll need more than two years to work on this debt thing anyway, so I chose the US Senate.
The national debt is $38 Trillion. It has eclipsed our GDP – meaning it’s bigger than our entire economy. Interest payments are the third biggest portion of our annual budget. Imagine if your family’s credit card payment was a third of your monthly budget and what you paid, was only the minimum payment, you were never actually reducing the balance. That’s our nation’s debt problem.
And they’re ignoring it. Congress continues to spend. The political parties continue to raise millions of dollars and elect and re-elect the same complicit people.
The two most corrupt corporations in this country are the ones running it. Their product is government – they sell subsidies and contracts to their donors. They sell foreign wars. They sell regulations that make it harder for competitors to do business and tariffs that stifle international markets.
I’m running for US Senate to address the national debt. By electing me, South Carolina will address the rampant government corruption that is the two-party system.
Here are my campaign promises:
- I will be accessible to you and curious about you. Tell me what you think I need to know. We’re going to all 46 counties. Parades, festivals, pool parties, and football games. We’ll be wherever you invite us. We also have weekly livestreams and all the socials so you can reach me and my team at any time.
- I will talk about policies and ideas. Not people. There are other people in this race, sure, let them make their own case. I don’t have to tell you what you already know about them.
- I will not abide negative campaign ads run on my behalf. If you see ugliness, know I did not approve it. I love South Carolina and everyone in it. And that includes the others on the ballot.
Here in our nation’s 250th year, we have an opportunity to remember why the founding fathers declared independence from a government that had never acted in their best interests, but always in its own.
Our current government is not working for us. I think at least 1 million South Carolinians know that. In a three-way race, we need a million votes to win. If you’re one of the 1 million who know, join us.
The last time I was here, at Columbia Flag & Sign, I bought a new Clemson flag for my husband, Charlie, we met and fell in love there back in the 1900’s. Our daughter starts her Clemson journey in the fall. One of the best feelings our state has to offer is the pride we feel – whether it’s at Death Valley or Williams Bryce, at Brooks Stadium in Conway or Bulldog Stadium in Orangeburg – when we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.
South Carolina has a unique opportunity this election year to remind the whole country that independence is still the most American thing we do.
Thank you and I’ll take questions now.
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