MSNBC: Will a Tea Partier take on military sex-assault
MSNBC reports:
By announcing that she would challenge Sen. Lindsey Graham in the South Carolina Republican primary next year, Nancy Mace didn’t just bring another threat to Graham from the right. As the first female graduate of The Citadel military college, she’s in a position to challenge him on high-profile military matters–like whether to take the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes out of the chain of command. Mace has been outspoken about women’s issues in the military, including in a memoir. The question is, will the daughter of a Brigadier General pick a battle that sets her against military brass? So far, she hasn’t publicly addressed it, and her campaign won’t comment.The issue has defied traditional partisan lines, with Sen. Claire McCaskill opposing fellow Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s bill taking crimes including sexual violence out of the chain of command, and Republicans Ted Cruz and Rand Paul siding with Gillibrand. When Mace declared her candidacy, she name-checked Paul and Cruz for making her “hopeful that we can actually turn things around.” She is one of three candidates who have declared they’ll primary Graham for being too moderate.
