Carter: 'Off-Color' Comment of 20 Years Ago Meant As Joke

An "off-color comment" reported 20 years ago has reared its head in the S.C. House District 97 race.

Candidate Ed Carter, responding to the 1992 Stars and Stripes story about an allegeded sexual harassing comment that led to the relieve of his command at a Korean Air Force Base, said it was "political correctness run amok."

Neither Carter, nor the article reporting the fallout, detail exactly what was said. But as this year's GOP primary battle heats up, the story has resurfaced, and Carter has admitted making the comment to Patch. Read the article here.

"This is old news," Carter told Patch. "It was an off-color comment in front of a group of people and I was disciplined for it. It was meant to be a joke."

Following the allegation and an Air Force investigation, Carter retired from his 26-year military service. 

Carter said that the allegation of sexual harassment did not square with his previous 26 years of service, where there were no other complaints, but he admitted to making the comment as a joke.

"In the military, things they look at as important is just absolutely uneventful in the civillian world. An off-color comment, as a joke, I hear them 10 to 20 times a day, but in the military world those are taken to the extreme," Carter said.

He added that the investigation into his comment occured after political correctness had become the military status quo in the wake of the 1991 Navy Tailhook scandal in Las Vegas. 

According to the 1992 Stars and Stripes article, then-Col. Ed Carter was serving as Osan Air Base commander. Five months after the comment was made, a civilian secretary brought the complaint to authorities, Carter told Patch. Carter was reprimanded and relieved of command. The article said he was awaiting orders, but Carter chose to retire — a decision he said came before the allegation.

Carter has also come under fire recently for running as a Democrat for the seat he's now seeking as a Republican. During the Summerville Patch-Dorchester County GOP debate, Carter responded to those worried about his conservative record by saying he has always been a Republican. . 

Responding to the latest attacks, Carter said it's just a way for his opponents to discredit him. 

Carter will be at Patch's . Carter faces fellow challenger Jordan Bryngelson in the June 12 primary. . The winner of the primary will face Democratic incumbent Rep. Patsy Knight in the fall.