Memorial Day is much more than a long holiday weekend, it's a solemn reminder of the hundreds of thousands of American men and women who have given their lives to preserve the freedom we hold so dear.

I hope you will be joining me on Monday in giving thanks to all of those who have served before and praying for the safe return of those who are still in combat overseas.

We need to do everything we can to ensure that, when those soldiers are safely back at home and their service is done, they have every opportunity to enjoy the American dream they have been fighting to protect.

Today, Democratic Lt. Gubernatorial candidate Ashley Cooper called for an immediate moratorium on new offshore oil drilling and exploration. Cooper’s position is in sharp contrast to his opponents currently competing in a Republican primary who favor drilling despite the risk.

“What the disaster in The Gulf has shown us is that we simply don’t have the redundant safety measures to prevent these types of accidents. We just can’t afford to keep drilling with the risk of this happening again,” Cooper said. “I want a moratorium on new platforms until we can implement the additional safety measures to prevent future accidents.”

Would you notice if you misplaced $1000 dollars?

How about if you lost $60 million?

It’s incredible, but true – the career politicians in Columbia lost $60 million of our tax money.

Help our state get to the bottom of this scandal – join me today in calling for a non-partisan, independent audit of all state finances by signing this petition.

Mismanagement by the career politicians in Columbia has cost us jobs, increased our debt and forced drastic cuts to our schools and our roads. And now we learn that they’ve also lost $60 million of our tax money.

Those resources should be helping to create jobs, support our schools, or lower our taxes. But instead of a solution, the politicians are pointing fingers at each other. They’re more interested in affixing blame than fixing the problem.

It’s time for a fresh approach.

And the first step must be an independent audit of all state finances to ensure that even more of our money isn't being lost, misused, or mismanaged.

Click here to sign the petition for an audit today — and join me in holding the career politicians accountable.

Because it's our money and we deserve to know how it is being spent.