Rose Launches Campaign Talking About Fairness

Though she's been on the campaign trail since April, Democrat Bobbie Rose spent Sunday afternoon in Charleston for an official campaign kick-off event.

Speaking to assembled supporters and Democratic activists, Rose spoke about fairness, and contrasted her positions with those of Rep. Tim Scott, her opponent in November for the S.C. District 1 seat in the U.S. House.

Rose said passing the Violence Against Women Act without protections included for Native American women, immigrant women and women in the lesbian, gay bi-sexual and trans-gender community was unfair, and she voiced support for the Fair Pay Act. She called the most recent budget passed by the U.S. House unfair for cutting nearly $100 million from Veterans' programs without mentioning veterans. She called cutting food programs for the poor in the latest Farm Bill while supporting subsidies for oil companies unfair and called out Scott for supporting $70 billion in subsidies for those companies after the top three oil companies in the U.S. reported $35 billion in profits for the first quarter of 2011.

"A reporter asked my opponent 'Is this fair?' My opponent, 'TimPAC' Scott, answered 'Fairness is a relative word,'" Rose said. "Apparently he doesn't know the meaning of fair or relative."

Rose also laid out her platform to put the First District first. She wants to fully fund veteran services, fully fund public education and universal pre-K programs and raise teacher salaries. Rose said she supports implementing an infrastructure plan to improve roads, bridges, ports and schools as a way to increase American jobs. 

She said she supports responding to environmental challenges by supporting legislation that promotes clean air, clean water and clean energy. She also said she would support and sponsor legislation like the Fair Pay Act and the Violence Against Women Act.