Remember that famous moment at the Oscars a few years back when Chris Rock was emceeing the ceremony and Will Smith lost it and slapped Rock in the face, crying out, “Keep my wife’s name outta yo fuckin’ mouth?” Remember what a debacle that was? The political equivalent of that happened tonight when the junior senator from South Carolina decided that he was offended when the foul-mouthed (and foul-minded) Nancy Mace invoked Scott’s name at the airport recently when she got miffed at security guards. This is quite an important footnote here. This is Mace’s own party, her own state’s U.S. Senator, as a matter of fact, telling her she’s a slut without telling her she’s a slut.
“For reasons that are unclear, Rep. Nancy Mace invoked my name during and in the aftermath of her situation at the Charleston International Airport,” Scott’s post read. “So let me be clear on a number of points. I have used that airport since long before I was ever in Congress and every interaction I have had – without exception – has been positive. The women and men of the airport police are professional, courteous, and go beyond the call of duty.”
“Because I have lived with death threats for longer than I can remember, the airport police do take extra security precautions, for which I am grateful,” he continued. “I follow their lead, do what they ask, and respect the many responsibilities these officers have to balance. I have gotten to know many of them personally and try to never miss a chance to express my gratitude.”
“Those who know me know that I do not use profanity – in public or private. It is never acceptable to berate police officers, airport staff, and TSA agents who are simply doing their jobs, nor is it becoming of a Member of Congress to use such vulgar language when dealing with constituents,” he added. “Not only are these officers sworn to protect us, but we also take an oath to represent them. We work for them, not vice versa.”
Short of Scott saying, “Keep my name out of yo fuckin’ mouth,” I can’t imagine him making his case any more strongly. You can go over to Facebook and read Scott’s entire riff on the matter.
According to the police report, even after officers managed to locate Mace to escort her to her flight, she continued to yell at them, calling them “f—— incompetent” and saying “this is no way to treat a f—— U.S. Representative.” The officer who submitted the report “stated he was in disbelief regarding her behavior” and that “a U.S. Representative should not be acting the way she was.” Mace also chided officers that they wouldn’t treat Sen. Scott or Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in a similar fashion. Scott ended his Facebook post by directly addressing Mace — without mentioning her name.
“For those who want to invoke my name, please have the courtesy to note my actions and how I treat police officers, TSA agents, and fellow travelers with the respect they deserve,” he wrote.
Mace is out of control. She is a prima donna and she has an exaggerated sense of her own worth. I never thought I’d describe Tim Scott as a soulmate but on this one, narrow issue we certainly see eye to eye. Mace needs to get a grip on herself and learn one simple lesson: It’s nice to be important but it’s important to be nice.
Does she have the humility and the class to learn that? No. But does she have the political survival instinct to figure out that’s the best (if not only) course of action here? Very probably. The reptile brain is pretty much the reptile brain and I will give Mace credit for having one of those. As to higher functions, not so much. As to character, not at all. But survival instinct? Yeah, I think she’s got that. Her desperate efforts to always be in the public eye and heard are testimony to the need to stay in politics, the need to stay relevant.
She’s going to have a big portion of humble pie to eat. And she’s going to have to do it, because she did invoke both Graham and Scott and they didn’t exactly rush to her side and align with her. That was a stupid move on her part. By mentioning Graham or Scott, she set up a situation where at least one of them, if not both, were going to feel compelled to reply. And reply Scott did.
Mace looks like a complete fool and a loser here. Good for Tim Scott. He took an action here that has been a needed one for quite some time.
I know, never judge a book by its cover, but the photo of Mace above screams the very word you used in your heading.
I thought it was hilarious that Scott distanced himself from Mace and her vulgarity. He didn’t use her name but he did use the word vulgar. Mace is the essence of vulgarity. She gets attention that way and attention isn’t always what you want to get. It does need to be the right kind of attention sometimes.
there are lots of news items recounting similar behavior by republicans. tim scott seems to be one of the exceptions.