SC newspaper exposed a candidate’s racist, hateful comments. The GOP needs to drop him
Will the South Carolina Republican Party or Pickens County GOP do anything about its county council candidate whose social media account called people with intellectual disabilities “lazy” and used racial slurs?
Can anyone think of an insult more unfair and dastardly than calling people with intellectual conditions “lazy?” Thomas Bradley “Brad” White, a Republican nominee for Pickens County Council whose Twitter account spewed the disgusting comments on social media, isn’t fit to be among honest, caring people much less in any elected office. The state GOP and Pickens County GOP need to call for him to exit the race immediately. Anything less is an endorsement of White’s shameful views. If the state party doesn’t take action, voters across South Carolina should note that the party stands by White’s views.
If White had any humility, he would drop out on his own volition.
For Pickens County voters in council district 1 — which includes the City of Clemson and Clemson University — whether to support White shouldn’t be about political party, but basic human decency. If your mama taught you that “if you got nothing good to say, don’t say anything,” White isn’t the candidate for you.
The Journal of Seneca South Carolina exposed White’s connection to an anonymous, now-deleted Twitter account that not only demeaned people with intellectual disabilities but called Black people “coons” and used the term “f-g.” White’s work email and phone number were registered to the account, The Journal reported.
Without The Journal and editor and reporter Riley Morningstar, White might have continued to present himself as an average conservative candidate concerned about road design instead of being outed for the uncaring, dishonorable and deplorable person he is. The Journal and Morningstar proved once again the importance of local journalism, especially in less populated parts of South Carolina.
The insult toward people with intellectual disabilities was in reference to the Shepherd Hotel in Clemson, The Journal reported. In collaboration with Clemson University, “the hotel employs people with intellectual disabilities.” A tweet from White’s account referred to the hotel staff as “lazy.”
College football fans across the nation know the Shepherd Hotel after Saturday. A television segment ran during the Clemson and Syracuse game highlighting the hotel and its mission.
White’s account posted that former President Barack Obama was a “treasonous coon,” The Journal reported. A July 2021 tweet called Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who is Black, a “dumb ignorant coon.” White’s account even hurled the slur at a musician and called for ridding the suburbs of “thugs & coons.” White’s account called the COVID-19 vaccine the “fauci ouchi f-g boy shot.”
White tried to distance himself from the account, but couldn’t get his story straight.
In a confusing set of statements, White owned up to having the Twitter account but said a “couple others” also posted on it while also claiming that the account was used by a single man in Charleston, who White called a “right wing nut job.” White attempted to denounce the comments, calling them “sickening.” White wouldn’t provide The Journal any contact information for the “couple others” or the mysterious Charleston nut job.
These excuses hardly matter because White was clearly the master of the account. About an hour after White’s interview with The Journal, the account was deleted.
If White wanted to distance himself from the comments, why didn’t he delete them before the Seneca newspaper called him? If someone else actually made the comments, why didn’t he kick out the person after the first insensitive comment was posted?
What a laughable hack White is. How bumbling can one person be?
White has so little empathy that he’s violated elementary school lessons — be kind to people, don’t bully anyone, much less those who are perceived by some to be weaker. If he hasn’t learned these lessons, he will certainly make terrible decisions on council.
Some people will scream about White’s First Amendment rights and say that calling him out is “censorship.” White can make his comments, but that doesn’t make him immune to social consequences.
This isn’t about censorship. It’s about accountability and values. Will the state and Pickens County GOP endorse White’s heinous views by not calling him out and condemning his words? Will the state and county GOP stand by White’s misdirection that the demeaning comments were posted by others? Will the party continue to uphold him as fit for council despite his own Twitter account showing a lack of caring for certain people in the district he hopes to represent?
White’s account called a Clemson-based radio station “pathetic” and complained the city “has become so libtarded,” the Journal reported. His account responded with laughter emojis after a former Daniel High and Clemson football player got cut from an NFL team. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and the school’s football “dynasty is collapsing,” White’s account posted, saying the team’s only “credible wins” were a 2012 victory over LSU and two national championship wins over Alabama.
While admittedly less demonstrative of White’s character than the hateful, racist and homophobic posts, these comments demonstrate a cynicism against the place he wants to represent on council. White’s comments about Clemson don’t celebrate the culture that make it great while offering ways to make it better, they degrade it.
That’s all White seems capable of — degrading things. Degrading things seems exactly like what he will do to Pickens County Council.
This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 1:46 PM.