Here in very red Greenwood, South Carolina, a “Greenwood for Democracy” protest occurred last weekend and it caught the MAGA natives by surprise. We welcome the organizer of the protest, Cynthia Halpin Brown, to get a behind-the-scenes view of what it was like to organize and be in a Democracy protest in a very red area.

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Opening Banter (0:00:00)

Introduction (00:00:57)

• Ms Curly McCatlady with useful dating questions (TikTok)

Your South Carolina Lawmakers at Work (00:11:13)

• Kevin Shwedo, Exec Director of the SC DMV (YouTube)
• Howie Knapp, Exec Director of the SC Elections Commission (YouTube)

Liquor Liability Bill Finally Signed into Law (00:18:20)

• 'A step in the right direction': Reactions to new South Carolina liquor liability reform (Index Journal)
• Episode 45: Torts and Dram (with Rauch Wise and T.J. Jenks)
• Montague’s Restaurant, Greenwood, SC
• H3430 Tort Reform and Liquor Liability

SC Treasurer Curtis Loftis will not be Removed (00:24:51)

• South Carolina Senate votes to remove state treasurer over $1.8B accounting error (AP News)
• SC House won't pursue removal of State Treasurer (ABC15 News)
• SC under federal investigation as auditors determine mystery $1.8B didn’t actually exist (South Carolina Daily Gazette)
• Rep Heather Bauer statement on the SC House’s refusal to take up the Senate resolution to oust Curtis Loftis (Facebook)
• Comptroller General Brian Gaines’s speech at Piedmont Tech (YouTube)
• S.35 Constitutional amendment to make the Comptroller General an appointed rather than elected position

Interview with Cynthia Halpin Brown (00:35:21 )

• liberalrocks.com - Activism for Introverts
• Moms Demand Action
• Pulse nightclub shooting (Wikipedia)
• Parkland high school shooting (Wikipedia)
• Gun Thefts from Cars: The Largest Source of Stolen Guns (EverytownResearch.org)
• Rev Melody McFadden, gun safety activist with Moms Demand Action, keynote speech (YouTube)
• Rev Melody McFadden at 2024 Democratic National Convention (YouTube)
• People gather in Greenwood to protest Trump administration (Index Journal) (Facebook post)
• 50501 movement
• 5051 South Carolina (Facebook)
• Photos of the Greenwood for Democracy protest
• The picture Bill initially thought was “Grover on a cross”
• Bill’s viral Threads post about the protest
• 5 Calls

Closing (1:10:29)

• Elie Wiesel (Wikipedia)

Mentioned in this episode:

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