Nancy Mace, a conservative primary challenger to incumbent South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, retweeted an insult to her Twitter followers Tuesday which called her opponent a “Nancy boy.”
She has since deleted the tweet, but the Sunlight Foundation’s “Politwoops,” which preserves tweets politicians have deleted, has the retweet on its website:
“RT @PaulSteel4: @nancymace we support you here in Florida. Nancy Mace vs Nancy boy graham.”
“Nancy boy” is a derogatory term used to describe “an effeminate or homosexual man.”
Mace is the first female graduate of The Citadel, where her father, Ret. Brigadier General J. Emory Mace, also attended. Mace’s father is the most decorated living graduate of The Citadel.
Graham, a member of the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” that wrote the controversial immigration reform bill passed in late June, has long faced criticism for being less ideologically pure than his conservative constituents desire.
Carolina Conservatives United (CCU), a political group created by former GOProud co-founder and conservative activist Bruce Carroll, launched the website defeatlindseygraham.org shortly before Mace announced her candidacy. CCU’s site attacks Graham for what it deems are his “Beltway Republican” values.
“The truth is Lindsey Graham only panders with conservative language once every six years,” CCU states. “But every day he shows his true stripes by bashing small government conservative activists and ‘voting wrong’ on many of the most important issues before us.”
Former South Carolina Senator and President of the Heritage Foundation Jim DeMint was asked on Tuesday’s “Daily Rundown” on MSNBC, “Do you think Lindsey Graham is a Jim DeMint conservative?”
DeMint simply answered, “I don’t think he would want to be called a Jim DeMint conservative. We’re all different. People will have to decide that for themselves.”
Host Chuck Todd then asked, “Is it fair to call him a conservative?”
DeMint replied: “Lindsey can tell you what he is himself. I’m not speaking for him.”