Domestic violence and Joe Wilson
In case you missed it, there was a bit of a story at the White House this week regarding domestic violence and how it seems to permeate through a sizable chunk of the Trump administration. On Saturday morning, Dear Leader took it upon himself to further defend Rob Porter which should surprise absolutely no one since Trump has a history of defending white Republican men (Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Roy Moore come to mind) based solely on their denials while ignoring any and all evidence. Some members of Congress still possess some common sense and have responded to the scandal* : Ted Lieu, Peter Welch and Kirsten Gillebrand took a stand against both domestic violence and the Trump administration’s decision to allow Porter to continue his role as advisor despite his inability to receive the required security clearance.
*(Is anything really a scandal in Trumpland? Republican members of Congress refuse to provide any real oversight or enforcement on White House decisions and activities. If an unethical, incompetent tree falls in the forest, does it commit a crime if nobody wants to see it?)
So what did Joe Wilson have to say? I have yet to find any comment made by the Congressman on the subject but if one looks at his past comments and actions on the subject, a reasonable assumption can be made that Wilson would be standing behind Trump and Porter and casting doubt toward any accusations or allegations. This is despite South Caroling being “ranked fifth among states with the highest rates of females killed by males”, a statistic which with Wilson should probably be familiar.
His first major foray into defending a white man against a woman’s credible accusations of misconduct goes back to 2003 when Strom Thurmond’s propensity for being a racist collided with his healthy appetite for the African-American female demographic and it was revealed that Essie Mae Washington-Williams was Thurmond’s illegitimate daughter. Wilson first denied these allegations completely, then pivoted to saying that even if the allegations were true, they should have been kept silent to avoid smearing Thurmond’s sterling reputation. Eventually Thurmond’s own family confirmed the fact that he was the father of Washington-Williams and Wilson grudgingly apologized but maintained that the whole affair should have been swept under the rug.
In 2013, the Violence Against Women Act (“which provides federal funding for the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave un-prosecuted”) was up for re-authorization but faced fierce Republican objection over the radical attempt to offer protection to same-sex couples and battered illegal immigrants. Joe Wilson was one of those brave legislators who voted against the re-authorization, which further illustrates his disregard for the people who are dealing with horrible situations beyond their control. At one of his 2017 town hall meetings, Wilson ignored his own history on this subject and stated he “supports local prosecutors in domestic violence cases”. This may be true based specifically on his feelings toward local prosecutors but it’s hard to agree that Wilson has a track record of doing much to provide support for the actual victims of domestic violence.
Wilson’s most recent defense of a white man accused of domestic violence came in late 2016, when a South Carolina state Representative (who also fought to keep the Confederate flag up on government property) was “arrested on domestic violence charges, accused of beating his wife in front of a young child”. Wilson was quoted as saying he had “a high respect for Representative Chris Corley. He's been a very hard-charging member of the state house”; that seems to be the only quote on record regarding the matter. But guess what? Corley ended up pleading GUILTY to a charge of first-degree domestic violence.
Joe Wilson has a laundry list of qualities that make him unfit to represent the South Carolina 2nd District but his reluctance to speak out against accused domestic abusers combined with his decisions to fight against protection for victims highlights his complete misunderstanding of the concept of domestic violence. The 360,000 female residents of the district deserve a much more intelligent and empathetic Congressperson, one that realizes the damaging effects of domestic abuse and is willing to fight for protection and support for the victims.
Annabelle Robertson gives speech in Aiken, SC
Annabelle Robertson (one of the two Democratic candidates for the 2018 election) happens to be a domestic violence survivor. In January, she gave a speech in Aiken, SC at a local church and spoke “on the difficulties of being a single mother, the ethical issues raised by unequal pay, and what it's like to not have health insurance*”. She also voiced her “support of medical cannabis”, which could provide a new boost to the South Carolina economy and generate much-needed revenue for infrastructure and education. Let’s not forget that South Carolina is ranked quite low on many categories in last year’s list of best and worst cities published by U.S. News & World Report (see below).
“South Carolina ranked 45 out of 50 overall. Here's how our state ranked from worst to best in each of the categories:”
- Education - #50
- Opportunity - #48
- Infrastructure - #43
- Crime - #41
- Health Care - #39
- Government - #32
- Economy - #16
*Pop quiz: do you know who has lifetime coverage paid for by the government? The same Congressman who consistently tried to repeal Obamacare but somehow forgot to come up with a plan to replace it.
#SC02 Democratic Candidate Debate February 2018
After some initial hesitation by Sean Carrigan, a debate took place between Carrigan and Robertson last week at the Palmetto State Progressive Summit (Joe Wilson was invited but did not respond). Both candidates seem to be on the same page when it comes to progressive issues like the provision of healthcare for all Americans, improving the U.S. public educational system and reforming the criminal justice process (while fighting against the for-profit penal system). There seems to be a definite split on the subject of whether or not a “Medicare for All” model (supported by Carrigan) would be sufficient enough to discontinue the practice of “Wounded Warrior” charitable endeavors (which Robertson backs).
Robertson: “Our VA System is a mess because it does not have funding. Universal health care for all would take care of that but we also need to have programs that address PTSD, disabilities, and all of the other limb loss and very significant issues that these men and women are facing,”
Carrigan: “Once we go to a Medicare for all system, there will be no need for a wounded warrior foundation. I kind of think it is ridiculous that we have a need for a wounded warrior foundation to begin with. If we’re going to deploy them, and we’re going to bring them back, we need to be ready to take care of them.”
Joe Wilson is a former veteran but has voted to cut health care for veterans on numerous occasions.
Thoughts on the campaign
At the moment, it seems as if Sean Carrigan and Annabelle Robertson will be the main competitors in the June 12, 2018 Democratic Primary election for South Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District. If you’re a district resident, please register to vote here and take this opportunity to make your voice heard both in June and on November 6, 2018 in the general election.
To be honest, Joe Wilson has a huge advantage in this race: his incumbency and funding sources will be severe obstacles to the Democratic candidate facing him in November. It’s somewhat concerning that Robertson and Carrigan are not even coming close in terms of funding, based on the FEC information as of the 2017 year-end reports. Perhaps they are both running lean, grassroots-style campaigns that are meant to take advantage of social media and micro-donations from the entire country but that strategy has yet to show financial benefits so far. They may both be somewhat fearful of attacking Trump directly in a deep red South Carolina but in a technical sense, it might be helpful to start linking Trump and Wilson on the various social media platforms. Trump is starting to lose the support of white women as he continues to show his complete disinterest in representing anyone other than heterosexual Christian white men while he strips away protections for anyone else. Highlighting the similarities between Trump and Wilson on issues like domestic violence might help peel off white female voters and convince them to vote for a candidate who would actually protect them in a domestic violence situation.