Republican NC House candidate says ‘Spank That Tail’ Facebook page, company were jokes
The Republican nominee for a competitive state House district in Cabarrus County took credit for a Facebook page advocating the paddling of children, but said it was a joke.
Brian Echevarria’s Facebook page, called Spank That Tail, posted memes about spanking children who, among other things, were caught “twerking” and not going to church. It also linked to a website, spankthattail.com, which is inactive.
Documents from the N.C. Secretary of State’s Office also show Echevarria as the registered agent of a business called Spank That Tail, LLC. The business formed in December 2014. It was administratively dissolved in 2016.
The Facebook page was initially shared on Twitter by Carolina Forward, a progressive policy group.
It was all a joke and the business never actually sold paddles, Echevarria told The Charlotte Observer. He declined to comment further.
“I think it’s still OK to laugh in 2022,” he said.
One meme, showing a parent tug at a child watching a computer, says “CAN’T GET MY KID TO GO TO CHURCH W/ THE FAMILY! Oh pahleez... SpankThatTail.com.”
Another, with an image of comedian Kevin Hart, says “Throw yourself on the floor in this store... and I’ll SpankThatTail.com.”
Echevarria is running to represent state House District 73, which includes Concord and Harrisburg. He’s running against Democrat Diamond Staton-Williams, a nurse and member of the Harrisburg Town Council. Echevarria has not held elected office. The district has no incumbent.
District 73 is one of the most competitive in the state, according to composites of past election results.
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Disciplined ‘early and often’
In a 2020 interview with Life Center International, a Charlotte church, Echevarria said he supports spanking children.
“We disciplined early and often. When I say we disciplined, I mean, I mean this right here,” Echevarria said, holding up a paddle engraved “Proverbs 22:15.”
The verse in the King James version of the Bible states: “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
“We use wood — wood on the behind,” he said in the interview with Life Center International. He continued by saying spanking “created an environment where obedience is to their benefit.”
Abortion a key issue in the race
Echevarria and Williams diverge on several key policy points. One of the most prominent in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade has been abortion.
Williams said she supports abortion rights and will vote to protect them as a legislator. Echevarria said in a recent Facebook video he’ll vote for “the best bill that we can get through, the one that can save the most lives, whether that’s 15 weeks, 12 weeks, heartbeat.”
With the Supreme Court’s decision, abortion rights are in the hands of state governments. Republicans are a handful of seats away from a supermajority, which would allow them to bypass Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto.
The November elections could change that. They would need three additional seats in the state House and two in the state Senate to gain a supermajority.
