GOP Rep On Assault Joke: People Need To Lighten Up

The Hill reports:

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said on Thursday that people need to “lighten up” over his joke mocking sexual misconduct accusations brought against President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Earlier on Thursday at an election debate, Norman quipped that “Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out saying she was groped by Abraham Lincoln.”

Norman’s comments prompted a whirlwind of criticism on social media from Democrats who called his remarks “inappropriate.” “Ralph Norman just proved he may be rich but he doesn’t have any class,” Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson tweeted. “Inappropriate doesn’t describe his remarks.”

1 of 3: My comments earlier today were meant to add a bit of levity to a very serious debate between me and my Democrat opponent and to point to the circus-like atmosphere that Washington DC has become. People really need to learn to lighten up.

— Ralph Norman (@RalphNorman) September 20, 2018

2 of 3: 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.

— Ralph Norman (@RalphNorman) September 20, 2018

3 of 3: Once again, the Democrats and the media have taken an event that was newsworthy for so many substantive reasons and are now only adding more clowns and distractions to the current circus.

— Ralph Norman (@RalphNorman) September 20, 2018

Here’s what his opponent actually thinks.

My opponent apparently thinks sexual assault is a joke. It is not. But I guess that’s the best we can expect from someone who pulled a loaded gun on his own constituents. https://t.co/1RBvMn6zIw

— Archie Parnell (@Archie4Congress) September 20, 2018