On Wednesday, the day after Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary, a Democratic South Carolina congressman slammed him, asserting, “South Carolinians don’t want socialism.”
U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham stated to The Post and Courier that he would not offer an endorsement of any candidate before South Carolina’s February 29 primary, but would “defend our Lowcountry values of opportunity, pragmatism and common sense,” adding, “South Carolinians don’t want socialism. We want to know how you are going to get things done and how you are going to pay for them. Bernie’s proposals to raise taxes on almost everyone is not something the Lowcountry wants and not something I’d ever support.”
Cunningham, who is only one of two Democratic congressmen from the state, and won his seat in 2018 after the GOP had held it for 40 years, said flatly, “Bernie Sanders will not be the nominee.”
South Carolina Republicans spokesman Joe Jackson derided Cunnungham’s remarks, asserting that the Democratic Party is already “the party of socialism” and adding, “Joe Cunningham has a right to be nervous that Bernie Sanders’ radical socialist agenda will drag his party down in defeat. But it is laughable that he would actually stand up for ‘Lowcountry values’ — that was made clear the day he decided to put party over country and voted to impeach President Trump.”
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of Columbia, the only other South Carolina Democratic congressman, has indicated he will not endorse a candidate until after the primary, although he is known to be close to former Vice President Joe Biden.
One week ago, Cunningham told The Post and Courier that he would vote against an pro-labor bill in the House favoring unions, saying it “will just hurt our thriving economy in South Carolina … The economy is humming right now and we don’t want to do anything that would throw sand in the gears. This piece of legislation would simply overturn our state’s right-to-work laws, it would force workers into one-size-fits-all union contracts and deprive workers of flexibility and independence.”
He added, “Out of 435 members, I’m the only one who represents the Lowcountry and this is a vote for the Lowcountry. This is what I’m hearing from folks back home and businesses, and it doesn’t really matter what other members think, in my opinion … “People would have to worry about union organizers or folks showing up on their doorstep. It doesn’t put employees in a good position. There are some things that the federal government should decide on, however, I think that should be limited and to the extent possible states should have as much say as possible over what goes on within their boundaries.”