David Savage

Charleston attorney David Savage. Provided.

These are the full remarks of local attorney David Savage at the Jan. 11, 2021 meeting of the Charleston County Republican Party.

His name was Brian Sicknick ...

But I am here to speak to a plea made by a Republican on our GOP Facebook page, Mr. Richard Thomasson, one that asked simply if we would condemn the violence of Jan. 6. On that day I too reached out requesting a statement merely condemning the violence.

But to date, nothing — the silence is deafening and shocking to the voters of this county who we will need in the next election.

So I am here tonight asking that we get our own house in order, to take the splinter out of our own eye, look in the mirror and decide who we really are as Republicans.

 Why?

Because on Jan. 6, standing before the mob that would storm the Capitol, President Trump’s son made a declaration as to who we are. He had the audacity to state:

"This gathering should send a message to them. This isn't their Republican Party anymore, this is Donald Trump's Republican Party.”

The “their” he was referring to were the Republican senators and representatives fulfilling their constitutional obligation in counting the Electoral College votes. We all knew what the outcome of that vote was. And even the Vice President knew what the Constitution demanded of him.

Tonight we must ask — are we still the Republican Party, united by adherence to our creed and party platform, or have we in fact devolved into a cult of personality? Our creed states each of us has the right to think and act for ourselves. We have the right to do so without others accusing us of being RINOs (Republicans in name only) so as to stifle honest debate. As we approach this reckoning me must consider two undeniable facts:

1) Four years ago Republicans held the presidency, Senate and the House. And today under President Trump we have lost all three.

The Senate races in Georgia were salvageable; but the president focused on himself and not the party.

We have lost everything in four years by following him blindly, not the trajectory we wanted.

The second undeniable fact?

2) On Jan. 6th, the President incited an insurrection. He tried to intimidate his own Vice President into violating his constitutional duty. We watched live, the defilement of the people’s house and the resulting deaths.

These words "incite" and "insurrection" are not my words, but the words of our highest elected Republican leadership in the House, Senate and cabinet. I have their transcripts if you doubt.

But when the entire world was watching with us in disbelief, the President could not even muster a condemnation. His words were "Go home, we love you, you are very special."

He too was watching it all occur live on television; he knew that this was not Antifa, and we do, too.

I have seen no local response condemning the violence. But shockingly, I have seen us criticize our own Republican elected officials who did not cower in the face of mob violence.

I note a statement by one of our own, sent to me by an acquaintance who mocks me for still being a Republican.

She faults our senators for fulfilling their constitutional obligation to count the Electoral College votes? To, when necessary, stand as a check against executive overreach?

Values? What does she expect Sen. Tim Scott to do? (shows a picture of a Confederate flag in the Capitol). Do we expect Sen. Scott to accept these values?

These are not our values. They are not values at all. It is a demand for blind obedience to a single man.

The blind obedience of that mob on January 6 was chilling. The group was composed of too many QAnon conspiracy theorists, proud boys and other white supremacy groups, and private militias. This is where the party of Trump is heading and surely these do not represent our values.

Do we not categorically oppose white supremacy, militia groups, and waving of the Confederate flag in our nation’s capital? But we saw it happen. When we do not condemn them where we find them, we risk their values becoming our values.

These fringe groups do not exist only in other states…. they exist here in Charleston, among us  People who all in this room know. They call themselves the Palmetto Brigadiers — and here are screenshots of their postings before they started to feel the heat and went underground.

They claim to be silent but awaiting orders, they speak of heritage and glorifying the Confederate flag. The posts speak of their arming themselves, of serving “copper and lead” to those they oppose, calling them an invasive species. They target others who do not agree with them, including Charleston City Council members.

They instruct on how to evade arrest with the assistance of other militia members when pursued by the police. And there are instructions in these posts of how to instigate confrontation.

We would be disturbed seeing rank and file members of our local party subscribing to these values. But I was shocked to see that one among our local leadership was one of them.

Here they are if you doubt me, copies for those with the courage to look and see who they are among us. And if we fail to look and to condemn, then we become complicit with them and their values become ours.

In conclusion we are at a point of reckoning. We must be free to debate the path of our going forward without strict fidelity to Donald Trump and without our calling each other RINOs. Our creed — free thinkers.

His name was Brian Sicknick. He is dead, a Capitol police officer and a casualty of the 2021 insurrection ... the first in this nation to die because a defeated president failed to peacefully relinquish power.

Make no mistake about it, if we say or do nothing of his death we become complicit. Over four years we have failed to speak up when warranted. And each time we failed to do so, the next time the rhetoric was worse. The voters we need in the next election saw what happened in the Capitol, and they are watching us now and will be watching on Jan. 19th and 20th.

So, I ask any member of the floor or the executive committee to make two separate motions tonight.

The first: That the Charleston County Republican Party post condolences on its official page as follows:

“The Charleston County Republican Party expresses condolences to the family of officer Brian Sicknick who died January 6th in defense of the democratic institutions of this nation.”

We do not debase this motion by glorifying by inclusion the deaths of any insurrectionists. Their actions were illegal, his were not.

The second motion is to clarify for all potential voters in Charleston County whether Donald Trump Jr.’s proclamation that “This isn't the Republican Party anymore, this is the party of Donald J Trump" actually speaks for us.

So I ask motions be made that the Charleston County Republican Party post on its official page the following:

 “The Charleston County Republican Party states, without qualification, that it is not a political party of any individual; but a political party solely faithful to its Creed and party platform, as approved by its members.”

Our party is at a time of reckoning and approval of these motions will allow open discussion as we chart our path forward. We owe immediate clarity to the voters of Charleston County as to exactly who we are.

Reach Brian Hicks at bhicks@postandcourier.com.

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