Posted by Talbert Black Jr on 02/23/09 1:00 PM Last updated 03/04/09 5:41 PM   [Newer: SC SOVEREIGNTY Resolution S424 Reported favorably out of subcommittee] [Older: Interview with SCGOP Chair candidate Kevin Hall]

Karen Floyd Interview

Wednesday, February 18^th

Columbia, SC - I had the opportunity to sit down with Karen Floyd, candidate for SC GOP Chairman, for about a half hour and discuss her thoughts about and plans for the Republican Party.

The following is a summary of what she told me:

• She is a social and fiscal conservative.
• She stands firm on her principles and will not change or back down.
• She will use technology for marketing the Republican Party.
• Her goal is to unify and promote the GOP.
• She "gets" what Obama and Ron Paul did with the use of technology to raise lots of money from lots of people and she will duplicate that in SC for the GOP
• Karen said she understands how Ron Paul was able to build his movement by marketing his message through psychographic profiling of the people who logged into his campaign site, and using this analysis for targeting his message.  To clarify my lack of knowledge, Karen offered that psychographic profiling is best described as a science that studies how people react to the world around them according to their values and lifestyles
• She said the party needs to focus on what a Republican "is" and not on what a Republican "is not".
• When asked about the conflict of interest that would develop between the political consulting division of her company the "Palladian Group" and the office of SCGOP Chairman, Karen said as of last week, she had shut down that division so that there will be no conflict of interest.
• When asked what her advantage is over the other candidates, she said she is independent of special interests and politicians.  She said she is proven and tested, having experience in government from the precinct level, to county council, to her closely contested run for SC Superintendent of Education.
• When asked what she thinks about running primaries against incumbents, she said that, being a fan of Milton Friedman, she believes that competition is good for the party.
• When asked to sum up her qualifications in a just a few words she said, "Tested, Unifier, Knowledgeable"
• When asked what she would say to the C4Lers that feel the GOP does not welcome them, Karen said to come and participate, and be a part of the party.  Further, she said, "and don't let anyone ever tell you that your values are not a critical element of this party's philosophy and the issues you stand for are an irreplaceable part of this party's foundation."
• When asked about her association with Rudi Giuliani, an "anti-gun, pro-choice, big government Republican" as I referred to him, she emphatically declared that Giuliani is a "strict constructionist and for school choice".  Later in the interview, I asked again, what she would say to folks who questioned her support of an "anti-gun, pro-choice, big government" Giuliani and again she emphasized that Giuliani is a "strict constructionist".  I could get no other answer from her on this point.

After our interview, I typed up my notes and sent them to Karen to review for accuracy (I did the same with Kevin).  She responded, in part, with the following:

Talbert:

I wanted to elaborate on my association with Mayor Giuliani...I was first drawn to Rudy Giuliani's Presidential campaign because of his stance on school choice.  Remember, he is the person that first said "school choice is the civil rights issue of our time."  This issue was certainly key in my race for Superintendent of Education and something I take very seriously.  While I had some reservations about some of his socially moderate positions, I became convinced through interaction with the Mayor and his team that his focus would be on education reform, physical restraint, and he would maintain a strict constructionist attitude with judicial appointments. 

I think as social conservatives we have two key responsibilities when it comes to political candidates.  First, we must seek out like minded social conservatives and promote them for public office. Second, we need to educate existing leaders and those with real leadership potential who don't completely share our socially conservative ideology.   As part of working with someone, we can attempt to persuade using effective arguments and relevant facts on issues like life, Second Amendment, and family values.  This tactic can be far more effective in encouraging them to rethink and, in many cases, amend their positions on social issues. 

My work with Rudy Giuliani's campaign demonstrates my belief in this second responsibility of social conservatism.  I am proud of the work I did for him and even prouder of the impact I and other social conservatives around him had on his overall philosophy especially on how it relates to judges.  I know that in whatever he does next, the evidence of our conservative voices will continue to be seen in Rudy's words on the campaign trail and his actions in office.

Talbert, I hope this gives you a better idea of my Giuliani association.  If not, please email or call me and I will further explain.

I plan to speak to Rick Beltram tonight.  You should see a summary of my conversation with Rick soon. 

To see a summary of my conversation with Kevin Hall, click here.

To see a summary of my conversation with Rick Beltram, click here.

Posted 02/24/09 6:51 PM mitheralhammer Pelion, SC

Very informative. Thank you for your hard work.

Posted 02/24/09 8:38 PM MattJarfi Louisville, KY

Well done !

Posted 03/01/09 5:39 PM drmikevasovski Aiken, SC

Talbert, what a great thing to do. Give the interviewee a chance to review your notes/report before submitting it. I watched a full length interview with Sarah Palin while here in DC attending the CPAC 2009 meeting and came away with a whole different view of her. In the editing that was done prior to MSM playing her comments, they deleted the question before the answer the candidate gave and it made the statement sound totally different than in the context of an answer. Therefor I will be careful to restate questions in video/audio recorded interviews when it comes to that stage in my campaign and avoid that trap. Tomorrow I hope to go to Congressman Paul's office for a face to face meeting and also hope to meet with John Tate before returning to SC. Peace and liberty, mike

Posted 05/13/09 08:07 AM DanielCochran Conway, SC

Thanks Talbert for all your hard work. It is nice to get "real news/interviews" for a change without all the sound-bite "editing". Look forward to seeing ya Sat.