Fry and Other 7th Congressional Candidates Looking to Score Political Gain from Afghan Suicide Bombing

By Paul Gable

Having spent 10 years on active duty in the U. S. Navy, I find the loss of life in the line of duty by any servicemember to be a time of tragedy and sorrow not something you try to use for personal gain.

Therefore, when 13 servicemembers lost their lives to a suicide bomber at the Kabul airport last week, I was appalled at how quickly four of the candidates for the South Carolina 7^th Congressional District Republican nomination tried to score political points from these deaths.

Two, incumbent representative Tom Rice, who is still trying to get back into the good graces of Republican voters after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, and Graham Allen, who lives across the state from the 7^th Congressional District and remains a total unknown to most of the Republican voters in the district, called for President Joe Biden to immediately resign.

Political newcomer Jeanette Spurlock called for the immediate impeachment of Biden.

And state representative Russell Fry, who is trying mightily to gain the endorsement of Trump by any means possible called for Biden to appoint Trump as a special envoy to Afghanistan to oversee the continuing withdrawal of American servicemembers and civilians still in the country at the time.

All of these called for actions are outrageous in that none of them are going to happen. And these candidates know they won’t happen.

Why do it?

Because Allen and Spurlock, two of the outsiders in the race, hope their statements will resonate and gain them some traction and name recognition with the many pro-Trump voters in the 7^th Congressional District.

Rice, after drawing continuing criticism from Republican voters for his vote to impeach Trump, is grasping for any available lifeline in an attempt to keep his chances for a sixth term in Congress viable.

Fry’s special envoy proposal is more calculated. After failing to criticize Rice for six months for Rice’s vote to impeach Trump, Fry decided to enter the race and contest the GOP primary election for the nomination for the 7^th Congressional District.

Since his recent announcement as a candidate, Fry is falling all over himself to criticize Rice and attempt to get the Fry name tied to the Trump name in the minds of voters. Fry and his campaign handlers know the only chance he has of winning the nomination is to be endorsed by Trump and even with such an endorsement Fry’s chance of winning the primary is slim.

Fry’s base of support in Horry County, the largest county in terms of Republican voters and residents in the 7^th Congressional District, and Rice’s base of support are the same – the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (MBACC) members and their associated PACs.

In past elections when Fry was running for the Statehouse and Rice for Congress, the two have held events and campaigned together. Both are strong supporters of the failed Interstate 73 project, which remains a priority and would financially benefit some individuals in the MBACC joint base of support.

Some local politicos are speculating that the Fry candidacy is nothing more than a backup plan for the MBACC in the ever more likely scenario that Rice’s vote to impeach Trump kills his reelection chances.

As I have said before, Fry and Rice are two peas in the same (MBACC) pod. Fry’s candidacy and his attempts to distance himself from Rice now is nothing more than a scenario being played out for the good ole’ boys in Horry County.