Nikki Haley Answers More Challenging Questions

 

Courtesy of the Washington Post's great satirist Alexandra Petri:

... “What caused the Civil War?” is just one of a whole host of straightforward questions that no GOP presidential candidate can hope to answer. I have taken the liberty of predicting Haley’s responses to analogous questions. Try this at home and you, too, can enjoy a fun, alarming word salad where “capitalism” and “limited government” are thrown in at intervals, like pecans. Happy 2024!

Who is the current president of the United States?

Capitalism, of course, is so important.

Was it good or bad that a mob descended on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, yelling “Hang Mike Pence” and trying to prevent certification of the presidential election?

(laughs) Don’t go easy on me! I think the Capitol is certainly, in the hearts of Americans, a place, and capitalism itself is so important. What do you think?

Do the villains in “Star Wars” seem like they’re based on Nazis?

(laughs) Wow, all right! Coming in with a real challenge! So, obviously, freedom is the most important thing. And we keep coming back to that question of, what can the government tell you to do or not do? I think it comes down to capitalism, of course, is good, and we need to do things to make sure that unaccountable bureaucrats aren’t wielding excess power. And stars are wonderful. But most important of all, what role does government play? Are we compensating the contractors who build our Death Stars?

Can you say something bad about the villains in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” who were clearly Nazis?

Well, I think the villains were basically, you know, any time the free market doesn’t operate to produce maximum freedom.  [snip]

If elected, will you force more people to give birth?

Government overreach is so bad and individual liberty is of course, freedom.

Are you afraid to say that slavery was bad?

Wow, a real doozy! (chuckles) I would never be afraid of freedom. Some things go without saying.

And Donald Trump is not currently president?

Well, of course, capitalism is so important.

There's more from Petri at the link.

Lightweight windsock Haley has fooled many people (looking at you, corporate media types), but time and time again reveals herself as "an altogether uninteresting person" (Benjamin Wittes) who has managed to rise in Republican politics largely based on her novel biography (for Republicans) as a daughter of immigrants from India ("Look at Nikki Haley! See, we're not prejudiced!").  Her transparent strategy has been to temporize and obfuscate in order to win some "independent" voters while not driving away MAGAts.  Instead, her inane word salad answers to fundamental questions of freedom, democracy, and American history demonstrate a shallow cravenness that's in direct proportion to her ambition. Maybe this latest public example of her cowardice and unfitness will finally stick.

(Photo: Haley and her former mentor, "Be still, my tiny heart!" / Mark Wilson, Getty Images)

Don't Know Much About History? Nikki Haley And Slavery

 

 

Lightweight- who- will- never- be- President Nikki Haley is used to talking in front of white nationalist Republican crowds who don't like to hear "woke"/ Critical Race Theory discussions about things like, um, American history -- specifically things like the Civil War.  It might make them feel (there's that word again) uncomfortable about the institution of slavery, the North's hostility toward which was the first reason Haley's home state of South Carolina cited when it seceded from the Union in 1860.  It's not the first time she's been asked, and we're certain Haley knows all about this history but was too chickenshit to mention it when she was confronted at a New Hampshire town hall yesterday: 

Nikki Haley had talked about a litany of issues America is confronting today — including fentanyl, inflation and wars abroad — before an audience member at a town hall here Wednesday raised his hand to question the Republican presidential candidate about a 162-year-old event.

“What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” the man asked Haley, a former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor who is campaigning this week in this key early primary state.

Haley’s answer did not include any mention of slavery, which scholars agree was the main driver of the conflict. It prompted surprise from her questioner and swift criticism and rebuttals from Democrats and Republicans beyond New Hampshire, including President Biden. It also resurfaced Haley’s previous comments that the war was the result of disagreements over “tradition versus change.”

At first, when she heard the question, Haley appeared caught off guard. The recreation room in this northernmost city in New Hampshire, a place that has leaned red in recent elections, grew quiet, and Haley looked at the man dressed in a plaid shirt who stood behind his sons seated in the back row.

She paused and responded, “Well, don’t come with an easy question.” Then she proceeded to answer.

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” Haley said.

She then turned the question to the man who asked it: “What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?”

The man responded that he is not running for president and wanted to hear her thoughts.

“I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are,” Haley continued. “And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life.”

The man then responded, “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.”

Haley quickly replied with a question: “What do you want me to say about slavery?”

The man said, “You’ve answered my question, thank you.” Haley replied, “Next question.”... (our emphasis)

Our next question would be, "Where and at what point did you lose your soul?"

One of our lasting political myths is that "character counts" when selecting a presidential nominee. Any number of candidates for president (including a few Democrats along the way) have failed to meet that standard, and the most recent Republican cult leader has completely obliterated it from that party's list of criteria for eternity.  Haley, being the ambitious lightweight that she is, will happily say whatever she thinks will help her in the moment.  Of course, she's a hypocrite like all of her Republican cult mates.  A daughter of immigrants, she's all over the place on immigration policy.  She's the current darling of the Republican- wired  horse race media, which has been desperately trying to brand her as a "different kind of Republican" for years now.  She ain't no "moderate."  She was reportedly vying to be the Malignant Loser's running mate in 2020.  Don't be surprised if she doesn't try the same move in 2024.  We could go on, but when it comes to Haley, there's no there there.  Suffice it to say, this should be disqualifying for anyone running for the Office of President of the United States, and with any luck, this unprincipled windsock is not likely to get within sniffing distance of the Oval Office again.

(Image:  via Wonkette)

BONUS:

It was about slavery. https://t.co/q9bTDvtPne

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 28, 2023