By John Sweeney
Published: April 19, 2011
Updated: April 20, 2011 – 6:00 AM
FLORENCE, SC —
Political wonks would have been in a sort of heaven Tuesday night at the Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation Library in Florence.
As a matter of fact, three such wonks were serving as panelists of the event hosted by the Founders Coalition, a Florence-based organization focusing on interpreting the Constitution and intents of America’s founders, titled “Majority Rules—Minority Rights,” and they certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela, attorney and former Founders Chairman Gary Finklea and Florence City Councilman Steve Powers were led in a lively discussion by Ron Moore, chairman of the Founders Coalition, on topics that ranged from specific local items such as the nuances in language of a pending smoking ordinance to the differences between Democratic, Republic and Democratic-Republic forms of government.
To the casual citizen somewhat unfamiliar with the intricacies of political theory, it may have been difficult follow parts of the discussion. That would explain why most of the 20 or so in attendance — which included former Florence City Councilman Bill Bradham, Tea Partier Murray Jordan, former Johnsonville City Councilman Brad Richardson and several local attorneys and political activists — were relatively familiar faces at such functions.
That’s an issue Moore said he was aware of and something the coalition hopes to change through more events like this one.
“I suppose that the public likes the ‘red meat,’ more than it does the in-depth discussion and dialogue that was presented tonight,” Moore said. “But what we believe is unless we get the general public beyond the ‘red meat’ and get them into dialogue and listening to these principals and how different people approach those principals and apply the principals in every day governance, we’re going to be in the same type of situation that we have now going forward.”
That “situation” was an underlying theme in much of the panelists’ comments throughout the evening, talking about the current system of government on the local, state and federal level and its benefits and flaws.
Wukela and Powers, who have prominently held different positions over the city-wide smoking ordinance that passed first reading April 11 with a vote of 5-2 — Powers one of the dissenting votes and Wukela one of the affirmative — addressed some of those differences in their comments Tuesday night, explaining their positions from a more in-depth, philosophical standpoint, giving one a glimpse at a part of their thought process that led them to their respective positions.
Those positions varied during the discussion just as they did during the numerous city council meetings and public forums that led up to last week’s first reading vote, though the debate had a different flow with a relatively fresh perspective from Finklea.
And don’t think the Founders Coalition doesn’t favor one political philosophy over the other. One look at the group’s website and even someone with an elementary knowledge of American political could tell you the organization holds a conservative slant.
While Moore admits Founder’s leanings to the right, he also points out the group’s goal goes beyond pushing the special interests of their own philosophical interpretation of the message of America’s founders.
“To say that we don’t have an agenda would be naïve and, I think, dishonest,” Moore said. “We are who we are, but our agenda is not as much focused on issues like the smoking ordinance as it is the underlying principles. And what we want to do is create a debate and understanding of what those underlying principals are, because we believe that if people understand those principles and how to evaluate those principles and apply those principles as these hot button issues change next week, next year, next election cycle that we’re going to be more able to judge for ourselves where we stand and what we believe to be the right.”
The Founders Coalition was founded roughly a year ago and has held a variety of forums since, including a February event discussing African-American history from the perspective of founding principles.
For more information, visit the group’s website, www.founderscoalition.org.