On this date one year ago, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” first profiled the U.S. House Representative from South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, Tom Rice, who has served in that role since the district was first created back in 2012 after redistricting. Our reason for hot-shotting Tom Rice up the queue is related to his outlook on Covid-19.
You see, on May 28th, 2020, he was interviewed by CNN’s Manu Raju, and asked why in the midst of the public health crisis and with other members of Congress already ending up testing positive, why Rice was refusing to wear a mask. Rep. Rice defended it by claiming he was social distancing and standing six feet away from others and would only wear a mask when he couldn’t be apart from others…
Fast forward two weeks later, and Rep. Rice’s refusal to wear a mask apparently led to him, and his entire family testing positive for Covid-19, because he’s a stubborn jackass. Oh, and he had a healthy reaction to becoming infected, as in his announcement of his condition, he referred to it in the racist terms of being the “Wuhan flu”.
We’ll add that he supports the expensive, ineffective, stupid, and xenophobic idea that is Donald Trump’s border wall along the U.S./Mexico border, and that he’s also a climate change denier.
After winning re-election in 2020 with 62% of the vote, his voting record has continued to be staggeringly dumb:
- October 17th, 2019: Rice is one of 60 Republicans who vote against HJ Res 77, which opposed Donald Trump’s disastrous decision to abandon Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria to the mercies of a Turkish invasion.
- December 18th, 2019: Rice ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
- May 15th, 2020: Rice votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- December 10th, 2020: Rice signs his name to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, begging them to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The same election that he won re-election in.
- January 6th, 2021: Tom Rice votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election, a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup.
- February 4th, 2021: Tom Rice votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments, because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted remarks and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit).
- February 25th, 2021: Rice votes against HR 5, the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans.
- March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Rice votes against HR 1, a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box.
- March 3rd, 2021: Tom Rice votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
- March 10th, 2021: Rice votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic.
- March 17th, 2021: Rep. Rice votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
- May 20th, 2021: Rice is one of 63 Republicans who vote against the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act.
We will note, however, that Tom Rice is one of the 10 Republicans who after the Capitol Attack on Jan. 6th, still voted to challenge the election results, but after the impeachment hearings, did the right thing and voted to impeach Donald Trump, as well to create a commission to investigate the attack. That has made him a virtual dead man walking in his blood-red district in 2022, with a whole line of Trump-aligned challengers have appeared to try to knock him off in the 2022 GOP Primary.
This might be the last time we profile him, only because he might be toast by this time next year.
One Year Ago, July 15th, 2020: Tom Rice (SC)… Original Profile
Two Years Ago, July 15th, 2019: Stacey Dash (CA)
Three Years Ago, July 15th, 2018: Robert Pittenger (NC)… 2018 Update
Four Years Ago, July 15th, 2017: Robert Pittenger (NC)… 2017 Update
Five Years Ago, July 15th, 2016: Robert Pittenger (NC)… 2016 Update
Six Years Ago, July 15th, 2015: Robert Pittenger (NC)… Original Profile
Seven Years Ago, July 15th, 2014: Christine O’Donnell (DE)
