ANDERSON, S.C. (WSPA) – The South Carolina GOP’s annual Faith and Freedom Barbeque with Congressman Jeff Duncan was held Monday evening.
Almost 2,000 conservatives attended the event. Congressman Duncan said events like these are important to bring their party together. Many Republican leaders took the stage at the Faith and Freedom event.
“The life and the soul, the DNA of what it means to be an American and I refuse to back down. I refuse to quit, I refuse to let anyone except my God to tell me who and what I want to be,” said Senator Tim Scott.
Speakers highlighted what they see as the differences between political parties.
“The difference between the red states and the blue states is just stark. They were trying to shut everything down, we’re trying to keep everything open. Common sense shows you, even based on the science we had at the time, you don’t need to shut things down,” said Governor Henry McMaster.
From their party’s stance on abortion to inflation and the housing crisis.
“Americans are feeling it at the pump, they’re feeling it at the grocery store, they’re feeling it at housing prices and interest rates are going up,” said Congressman Duncan.
“Yes, we’re in a recession. It’s probably worse than that because we probably have a recession that’s wrapped in an inflationary cycle, as well. I pray we will get conservative members elected to Congress to get the economy back on the same track, the right track,” said former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Another big topic discussed at the event was border control.
“The border is a disaster. You know we’ve got laws about people coming into the country and they’re not being enforced,” said Governor McMaster.
Officials said the event is the largest gathering of conservatives in the state.
“This is our 11th Faith and Freedom BBQ and we’re focusing on how great it is to be an American, our ability to worship, and our ability to be free,” said Congressman Duncan.
With keynote speaker Mike Pompeo saying he believes controlling education is the biggest issue facing the country.
The most important thing we’ve got going on in America today is that we are teaching our kids garbage in our schools,” he said.
The message speakers were sending on topics like the FBI raid on Former President Trump’s home is loud and clear.
“If people are looking to fight then they’ve come to the right place when coming to South Carolina, because we will fight,” said the governor.
Congressman Duncan said people should have faith in the political system now more than ever. He said the event, that started out at around 50 people, only continues to grow and spread faith and freedom throughout the GOP.
