Joe Cunningham bids farewell to SC seat by finally cracking a beer on US House floor
Almost two years after he got stopped while trying to bring a six-pack on the U.S. House floor, South Carolina’s Congressman Joe Cunningham finally got his brew.
Cunningham cracked the cold one during his farewell speech on the House floor Thursday afternoon, where he focused on bipartisan cooperation and the need to serve constituents over oneself.
“My grandfather always told me that you can get through about any problem if you actually sit down with somebody and have a beer together,” Cunningham said. “I’ve been trying to work with people since the day I got here. I won’t ever stop reaching across the aisle or trying to work with one another or sitting down and having a beer and listening to each other.”
Cunningham urged his colleagues in the divided House to heed his words, work together to better the country “and maybe even have a beer.”
“In the spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation,” Cunningham said, grabbing a can of beer from his suit pocket and cracking it, “I raise this glass to my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans.”
Beer has been a long-running theme in the political life of Cunningham, a Democrat who wrestled a ruby red coastal district away from Republicans after 40 years.
In January 2019, shortly after assuming office, Cunningham was turned around by House staff after being spotted with a six-pack of Lowcountry beer in hand.
“It’s Friday, too,” the freshman Democrat said after being stopped.
Cunningham later clarified that he was trying to bring some South Carolina beers to fellow Rep. Peter DeFazio, of Oregon. DeFazio was later spotted toting the six-pack.
Cunningham’s opponents tried to use the gaffe against him on the campaign trail, but the Charleston Democrat wholeheartedly embraced his newfound reputation, campaigning in breweries across the Lowcountry. Of course, COVID-19 put a dent in the festivities as Cunningham campaigned earlier this year.
Cunningham ultimately lost reelection to former S.C. Rep. Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from the Citadel.
With her election this year, Mace became the first Republican woman South Carolina has elected to Congress.
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 3:42 PM.
