Nancy Mace is just the absolute worst 🤮

A rant.

Before I go into all the reasons that South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace is awful, I wanted to acknowledge a few things.

1. I think it is a very reasonable debate as to whether biological men who have transitioned their gender should be allowed to play women’s sports.

2. I struggle with the whole pronoun thing — particularly “they/them” to describe a single individual

3. Whether biological males who have transitioned should be allowed into biological females’ private spaces is a very complex issue on which I don’t know exactly where I land.

I say these things to make clear that I think we, as a society, are in the midst of grappling with transgender issues. As a 48 year old heterosexual male, I know I am not on the leading edge of this conversation — nor can I possibly grasp the lived experiences of someone who feels as though they were born the wrong gender.

I also don’t think the statements above make me a bigot. Or someone opposed to transgender rights. I, like a whole lot of people, am trying to figure what I think about all of this as I go — honestly, transparently and authentically.

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These are complicated issues. There are not, I don’t think, simple answers.

I say all of that so that you know that I am not some radical liberal. I would hope you know that by now — in reading my writing and watching my videos. But, I figured it was worth saying — or typing — it out loud.

Now, to Mace — and the absolutely appalling moves she has made in recent days to target Delaware Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, who is transgender.

In case you have been on another planet this week, Mace announced her plans to introduce a piece of legislation that would ban people from using bathrooms and locker rooms that do not correspond with their sex at birth.

And Mace has made crystal clear that she is doing this in response to McBride, the first transgender person ever elected to Congress, coming to Washington.

“Yes and absolutely and then some,” Mace said when asked by reporters if she was purposely singling out McBride.

Given Mace’s aggressiveness, you might think that McBride — as her first act as an elected Member of Congress — smashed down the door to the women’s bathroom and staged a sit-in until the entire House agreed that she be allowed to use whatever restroom she wanted.

Except McBride has done no such thing. In fact, she has done the exact opposite — even in the face of Mace’s purposeful goading.

Here’s what McBride said about the controversy, which, I will again note, she played zero part in starting:

Yes to all of that. McBride is clearly trying to downplay all of this. Yes, it is true that she was born a man. Yes it is true she now identifies as a woman. But, no, she isn’t trying to use her new position as a federally elected official to advocate for her right to go to the bathroom wherever she wants.

Why then, you might reasonably ask, is Mace making SUCH a giant deal out of this?

And the answer to that question is that Nancy Mace is the absolute worst manifestation of our modern politics: She is doing it to get attention — and it’s working.

Mace has sent dozens — literally — of tweets on this subject over the past few days. And, of course, she’s raising money off of the attention:

But, Chris, you say, Nancy Mace just really believes that biological men shouldn’t be allowed in women’s bathrooms! She’s taking a principled stand against the march of wokeism in America! That she’s getting attention for it is just a by-product of standing up for what you believe!

Um, ahem:

So, yeah.

Oh, and then there was this one:

Her flip flop on the LGBTQ community is far from the only time Mace’s “principles” have changed.

Here’s Mace on Donald Trump on January 7, 2021 — the day after the riot at the U.S. Capitol:

I’m disappointed right now. I think that after last night — and I’m on my 100th hour of being a member of Congress, I’m working on about two hours of sleep — I’m distraught. We’ve got to rebuild our nation, and we’ve got to rebuild our party. This is not who we are. It’s extremely distressing. And it’s saddening. It’s heartbreaking.

And here’s Mace on January 22, 2024:

Incredible! What a revelation! And I am sure it had nothing to do with Mace’s district becoming much more Republican between 2020 and 2022 thanks to a Republican redrawing of the Congressional lines!

Give me a freaking break.

What Mace has shown since coming to Congress in 2020 is that her main, er, belief is that getting lots of attention is good for her politically. Especially when she can demonstrate to the MAGA base that, despite her past apostasies, she really is one of them and you definitely should not consider primarying her! Ever!

This sort of transparent and transactional approach to politics is just gross. And it’s the reason — or at least a reason — that we are where we are in society today.

FACT: Nancy Mace is using Sarah McBride SOLELY to forward her own political ambitions. It’s awful — and that Mace seems totally unaware (or un-caring) that she is using another human being as a political tackling dummy makes it all the more appalling.

Awful. Awful. AWFUL.