Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Abraham Lincoln Insulated In One Congressman’s Off-Color Joke

“Did y’all hear the latest, late-breaking news from the Kavanaugh hearings?” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) went into a bizarre stand-up routine Thursday, Politico reports.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out that she was groped by Abraham Lincoln.”

Cue rimshot.

Norman was speaking during opening remarks at — and you won’t believe this — a political debate being held in Rock Hill, SC. The Congressman is referring to Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades ago when both were students attending the same high school.

Her accusation is that Kavanaugh attempted to force her to have sex while both were at the same party. Ford is expected to testify about these events next week, though the day of the hearing is still up in the air.

While it has been scheduled for Monday, Ford’s lawyer has stated that her client will not be prepared to testify at that time, and has asked for a later testimony date.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee want to move ahead with Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Democrats have repeatedly asked for the FBI to reopen their investigation into Kavanaugh in order to more thoroughly investigate these sexual assault claims.

Rep. Norman is running for reelection in South Carolina’s 5th district. Norman has been the focus of national media attention before, according to CBS News. While meeting with gun control activists, Norman placed a loaded gun on the table in an effort to illustrate that “guns don’t shoot people, people shoot guns.” The stunt attracted nationwide notoriety among gun control and anti-gun control enthusiasts alike.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has served as a Supreme Court Justice since 1993 when she was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton. She is notably the second woman ever appointed to the court, one of only four to ever have the honor. Ginsburg, 85, was born in 1933.

Brett Kavanaugh is Trump’s latest nomination to the court, and if appointed, he will take the spot vacated by Justice Kennedy.

Norman’s joke sparked several comments on social media, and caused an outcry among South Carolina Democrats, USA Today reports. South Carolina’s Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson tweeted that “inappropriate doesn’t describe his remarks.”

@jslovegrove Ralph Norman just proved he may be rich but he doesn’t have any class. His opening joke about RBG’s comments on the Kavanaugh hearings—“RBG, I don’t know what the problem is…Abe Lincoln grouped me…” inappropriate doesn’t describe his remarks.

— Trav Robertson (@TravRobertson) September 20, 2018

Democrat Archie Parnell, who is running against Norman in the Congressional election, released a statement about the remarks.

“My opponent apparently thinks sexual assault is a joke…it is not.”

Parnell and Norman will face each other in the polls on November 6.