South Carolina GOP congressman tries to 'lighten up' the Kavanaugh assault debate with an Abe Lincoln groping joke


Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) kicked off his debate against Democratic opponent Archie Parnell at a local Kiwanis Club on Thursday with a joke he apparently borrowed from right-wing memes. It was a topical joke — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh stands accused of trying to rape Christine Blasey Ford when both were teenagers, and Washington is consumed with the allegations — but that's probably the best that can be said for it. "Did y'all hear this latest late-breaking news from the Kavanaugh hearings?" Norman asked. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out that she was groped by Abraham Lincoln."
Accused of making light of sexual assault — not to mention Justice Ginsburg's age — Norman said in a statement that "people really need to learn to lighten up." He said his joke was "meant to add a bit of levity to a very serious debate" and "clearly my opponent understood it that way since for the next hour we engaged in a substantive discussion about our many differences without mention of my comments." His opponent, Parnell, won his primary after losing support from his party due to newly released records from his 1974 divorce showing he had assaulted his ex-wife and threatened her with a metal bar. Parnell did not deny the allegation but said he's become a changed man over the past decades.
Nevertheless, Parnell said later Thursday that Norman "apparently thinks sexual assault is a joke. It is not," and alluded to an incident from April: "I guess that's the best we can expect from someone who pulled a loaded gun on his own constituents." Norman tweeted back that "perhaps we should have a debate about your own abuse and harassment of women, Parnell," and this is why you should probably stick to inoffensive knock-knock jokes during campaign events.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How clean-air efforts may have exacerbated global warming
Under the Radar Air pollution artificially cooled the Earth, ‘masking’ extent of temperature increase
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants