Area Democrats on Tuesday blasted a statement from national Republicans that labeled U.S. Rep. John Spratt an "amnesiac" with a failing memory.
Spratt disclosed in March that he has Parkinson's disease. The 67-year-old York native said he wanted to end rumors about his health by explaining the reason for his stooped posture and trembling right hand.
A statement issued Monday by the National Republican Congressional Committee referred to "Amnesiac John Spratt" and contained six bold-lettered allegations that he's forgetting what's happening in Washington.
One example: an interview last week with Politico in which Spratt says it's "difficult to remember" differences between the House and Senate health care bills.
An NRCC spokesman said the statement did not refer to Spratt's health.
But the 14-term congressman denounced the allegations late Tuesday afternoon, saying he found the Republicans' assertions "beneath contempt."
"I did not decide to run for re-election until I had seen my neurologist, Dr. Marc Stacy at Duke," Spratt said. "The symptoms of Parkinson's disease vary greatly from case to case."
"Mine consist of a tremor in my right hand and a slightly stooped posture, and do not include any loss of mental capacity, and especially amnesia."
Memory loss can be a symptom of Parkinson's disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Spratt challenger Mick Mulvaney told The Herald he had no advance knowledge of the NRCC's release. Mulvaney, a state senator from Indian Land, said he told Republican operatives he wants the race to stay focused on issues.
"Congressman Spratt has repeatedly put the needs of Obama and Pelosi ahead of everyday South Carolinians, and that's wrong," Mulvaney said. "This race will be run on those issues, nothing else, and I've reminded the NRCC of that."
Democrats mount defense
York County Democratic Party Chairman Richards McCrae slammed the NRCC statement as a "despicable" dig at Spratt's health.
"This is the worst kind of Washington politics and Mick Mulvaney is just as culpable as his handlers at the NRCC," McCrae said.
State Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, took to the Senate floor Tuesday to make similar comments. Leventis said he did not see Mulvaney in the chamber at the time.
"It certainly should embarrass Sen. Mulvaney that anyone would say that," Leventis said in an interview. "While he doesn't control them, he certainly could condemn them."
Later Tuesday, NRCC spokesman Andy Sere accused Democrats of twisting his words for political gain. Sere, author of the original statement, said it was not a swipe at Spratt's health.
"We have no issue with the congressman's fitness to serve; in fact, we think he's been far too effective at pushing the Obama-Pelosi agenda through Congress," Sere said. "That is the point, and any attempt by Democrats to spin it otherwise is little more than diversionary grandstanding."
Tough contest ahead
Spratt has come under sharp criticism for supporting President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on health care reform, the stimulus package and Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), often derided as bank bailouts.
Questions also have emerged over annual budget talks. House Democrats might not pass a traditional budget resolution this year, putting Spratt in an odd predicament given his role as budget guru.
In 2006, when Republicans were fighting to keep control of the House, Spratt was quoted as saying: "If you can't budget, you can't govern."
This time, Spratt told Politico that his party will be able to control spending with other measures, including a newly passed "pay-as-you-go" budgeting law.
"I think we say to the American people, 'Look at the substance rather than the form,'" Spratt said.
Political strategists say Spratt is in for his toughest challenge in years.
The New York Times reported last month that Spratt and Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri were "warned by party leaders to step up the intensity of their campaigns to help preserve the Democratic majority."
After originally saying he would kick off his campaign in March or April, Spratt still has not held a formal kickoff event. Other moves reflect the trappings of a campaign operation: Campaign manager Wil Brown, a Latta native, has moved into an office on Ebenezer Road in Rock Hill.
Supporters have been invited to gather Sunday for a Spratt fundraiser at a home on Lake Wylie.
Expect more subtle and not-so-subtle swipes as the race unfolds, said Scott Huffmon, a political scientist at Winthrop University.
"This is South Carolina," Huffmon said. "Very few things are 'beyond the pale,' and in the whisper campaigns that our state is embarrassingly notorious for, nothing is beyond the pale."
