Ralph Norman is a South Carolina Republican congressman.
Thursday, at the beginning of a debate against his Democratic opponent, Archie Parnell, Norman made a joke about Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg getting molested. Not only that, he also named her offender as President Abraham Lincoln.
Norman is a freshman lawmaker. He won a special election last year and is currently running for reelection. Perhaps given his freshman status some would think we should cut him a little slack, but a lot of people think not.
Norman's exact words about RBG were,
"I thought I was going to be late."
"Did y'all hear the latest, late-breaking news from the Kavanaugh hearings? Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out that she was groped by Abraham Lincoln."
"I thought I was going to have to get back there but we don't."
The comment was an attempt to joke about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's accusations against President Trump's SCOTUS nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, as well as a jab at Justice Ginsburg's age.
Watch his comments here:
Dr. Ford accused Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her when she was 15. She has been met with an overwhelming amount of support from alumnae from her all-girl's high school.
Kiwanis International, the civic organization that sponsored the debate issued an official statement condemning Norman's remarks. Kiwanis International governor Mary Jo Brubaker stated:
"The club was disappointed with Rep. Norman's joke about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, alleging she had been groped by Abraham Lincoln. The joke was not funny, it was in poor taste, and it absolutely does not reflect the values of our club."
"Video and audio recordings of the debate clearly demonstrate that a very small minority of the audience laughed or clapped at his joke. The audience included club members and their guests, as well as a number of guests invited directly by the two campaigns."
After the video received national attention, Representative Norman, who has been endorsed by Trump, defended himself on Twitter after his remark sparked outrage instead of laughter. Norman placed the blame for his choices where he felt it belonged: his opponent, the media, Washington and anyone who did not laugh.
Norman also suggested people needed to "learn to lighten up."
His opponent, Archie Parnell, also took to Twitter to make it clear that he did, in fact, take issue with Norman's comment.
Parnell's "loaded gun" reference is touching on the fact that earlier this year, Norman met with gun control activists then put a loaded gun on the table.
His stunt was to prove:
"guns don't shoot people; people shoot guns."
People are beyond tired of the GOP's blatant disregard for the seriousness of sexual misconduct in all its forms.
Midterm elections are slated for Tuesday, November 6, 2018. If you are not registered, you can register to vote here.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram