August 8, 2013
Lindsey Graham Challenger Re-Tweets "Nancy Boy" Comment
Mahalel Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
It didn't take long for Nancy Mace's campaign for the US Senate to make headlines. In less than a week after announcing that she would be challenging Senator Lindsay Graham in the Republican primary next June, she has been accused of gay-baiting the three term Republican from South Carolina long plagued by gay rumors.
According to a report in Politiwoops.com (a website reporting on tweets politicians sent and subsequently deleted), Mace re-tweeted and deleted the following tweet from an out-of-state supporter:
RT @PaulSteel4: @nancymace we support you here in Florida . Nancy Mace vs Nancy boy graham
Freedictionary.com, defines the term "nancy boy" as "Offensive Slang used as a disparaging term for an effeminate man, especially a homosexual man."
As reported in Queerty, Mace's retweet isn't the first time the 58-year-old unmarried Graham has had to face gay rumors from both sides of the aisle. Called "Huckleberry Closetcase" by bloggers on the left, his sexuality has also been called into question by members of his own party.
At a Tea Party rally in 2010, ALITPAC leader William Gheen told the crowd homosexuality is "a secret that Lindsey Graham has," further stating, "I hope this secret isn't being used as leverage over Senator Graham, so today I think Senator Graham, you need to come forward and tell people about your alternative lifestyle and your homosexuality."
Mace first made headlines in 1999 when she became the first female to graduate from the Citadel, South Carolina's elite military college. A favorite of Palmetto State's Tea Party, Mace announced plans last week to challenge the three-term senator and ranking member of the Senate's committee on armed services in the Republican primary next June.
Ironically, in addition to being a wife and mother, Mace is founder and CEO of The Mace Group, a public relations firm, that, according to their website, "primarily focuses on clients embarking on political campaigns, grassroots organizations, nonprofits, and a mix of BtoB and BtoC companies. Our team includes public relations pros, social media experts."
