CHARLESTON, SC — Almost from the minute Elizabeth Colbert Busch won the Democratic primary to fill the vacant congressional seat here in South Carolina’s first district, Republicans began a demeaning campaign to dismiss her significant business accomplishments by equating her political experience to that of her famous brother, comedian Stephen Colbert.
Moments before Monday’s debate between the two candidates, ThinkProgress spoke with Chad Connelly, chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, to get his take on Sanford’s special election opponent, and he too similarly dismissed Colbert Busch as little more than a famous name:
CONNELLY: We’re voting for somebody for Congress. So being a comedian or a famous person’s sister isn’t a whole lot of a qualification for what the vote is. I think our voters know Governor Sanford is a reliable vote for conservatism and less spending, and that’s what on people’s minds.[…]KEYES: So main claim to fame is a good last name then?
CONNELLY: Yeah, that’s kind of what it’s boiled down to.
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Connelly’s remarks echo similar statements made by Sanford himself over the last few weeks. During an appearance on Morning Joe last month, Sanford told host Joe Scarborough that “Stephen Colbert is a very popular, well-regarded comedian, but at the end of the day he’s not on the ticket.”