U.S. House of Representatives candidate Bobbie Rose had some harsh words to say about her opponent, incumbent Republican Rep. Tim Scott, when she addressed a sparse crowd at the International Longshoremen’s Association hall in Charleston on Tuesday.
“Tim Scott has so consistently voted against women’s issues, and other than that he’s so consistently ignored us, that I’m not even sure if he knows that we have the right to vote,” said Rose, a candidate for South Carolina’s first congressional district. Specifically, Rose objected to Scott’s stance on the Violence Against Women Act, a 1994 federal law that came up for renewal this year. After the Democrat-majority Senate proposed an expanded version of the law that included new protections for gay, immigrant, and Native American women, Scott and the Republican-led House fired back with a version of the bill that didn’t include the new protections.
“I don’t think it’s right for a group of people to decide which Americans are protected and which aren’t,” Rose said. “That’s egregious to me.”
Rose was speaking at a press event where she accepted an endorsement from the S.C. Working Families Party, a third party that advocates for paid family leave and an increased minimum wage, among other causes. Because South Carolina is one of a handful of states that still allows candidates to run as “fusion candidates” with multiple endorsements, Rose will appear twice on the ballot in November, once as a Democratic candidate and once as a Working Families candidate. The votes for both parties will be pooled.
The S.C. Working Families Party, which was originally started by labor unions but now includes non-union members, is also endorsing local candidates Carol Tempel (S.C. House District 115), Colleen Condon (Charleston County Council District 2), and Vic Rawl (Charleston County Council District 6), and Miriam Birdsong (Dorchester County Council District 6).
Rose said she is “a huge union supporter” and said paid maternity and paternity leave were important to her. “If other countries can afford to do this and our corporations cannot, then there’s a problem with our corporations and our priorities,” she said.
She also criticized Scott for his stance on labor relations at North Charleston’s new Boeing assembly plant. “I know what I wouldn’t do — and this is something my opponent has done. I wouldn’t go around talking about union busting,” Rose said. “They’re supposed to be representing all their constituents, and to set up those kind of antagonistic lines, that’s not productive for anyone.”
Rose, a former teacher and bookkeeper, is currently a member of Mensa, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Gospel Choir, and Lowcountry Orphan Relief. Read more about her platform on her website.
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