I had about six titles for this column: will Nikki roll the dice? Will she take on Trump? Will she tell the truth about him? Will she go all-in against him in South Carolina? Or will she do what all the Republican men did in 2016 and most have done this year and continue to repeat his lies in hopes they’ll get some crumb from the Trump table? You’ll notice how I characterized the rest of his opponents in that sentence: all the men. So, we should probably say right from the outset that save for Chris Christie, among Republicans, only a woman has had enough guts to stand up and say
In 1923, Hitler mounted an unsuccessful insurrection against the Weimar Republic (Beer Hall Putsch). In 1924 he was tried before judges that would make Aileen Cannon look like Oliver Wendell Holmes (they let Hitler make a four-hour opening statement!) and was sentenced to a long enough time in a cushy prison for him to write Mein Kampf. In 1932 the German electorate voted democratically to give the Nazis enough seats in the parliament that the president of the republic had no choice but to make Hitler chancellor (the equivalent of prime minister). A year later he staged a plebiscite which saw German voters democratically vote to end their democracy and give Hitler dictatorial powers. History is in danger of repeating here. And all Nikki can talk about is foreign policy? Shame on her. Especially since she will be one of the first inmates of the concentration camps if Orange Hitler wins the election.
Good historical parallel. George. As Lucian in so many words, Nikki is walking a tightrope here. if she leans too far to one side she will lose her balance and topple over, same if she leans too far to the other side. Politicians litely have to sell their soul and shred any characteristics of integrity they might of had in order to achieve positions of power. They offer opinions they feel will please most of their potential voters, and keep silent any opinions they might have that would displease them. When I lived in Southern Rhodesia in the mid 50's I met Sir Roy Welensky, the Prime minister at a fundraiser my friend's father was involved in and apart from the first words he said to me which was that he thought he'd met me before (He hadn't), anyway during our discussion he told me there were many things he privately believed but could never say in public. After I moved to LA in the early 60's I wrote to him saying I believed the white man's rule in Africa couldn't last much longer. He wrote back that he strongly disagreed with me. I still have that letter signed by him. It's sort of a historical document now.
On a side note: My friend and I were certainly n no position to donate money and would ordinarily never would have been at such a gathering as I just described. I worked for an office supply company and would drive out into te bush to service duplicating machines and sell supplies to missionaries as well as to the business district and I think an incident I experienced once had deeply influenced me. .At that time our policy was to service their machines once a month for free then hopefully sell some supplies, and one day I stopped by a customer according to our books. The address took me to a little shack out in the bush in a remote area, not a business for sure. As I was bent over the machine there was alod baning on the door and three or four burly Africans came n punching the air with their fists, "Death to the white man, kill them all. throw them into the sea, . . " I think I tried to make myself smaller as I crouched lower over the machine. It turned out they all either lived there or close by and were members of some kind of rebel organization. Apparently the government had confiscated their duplicating machine on several occasions and they had somehow gotten another one. They didn't harm me of course, they needed me to keep their machine running In fact I got to know them well enough during subsequent visits that I used to argue wir th them. I said once that when they take over the country they would exploit their own people even more than the white colonists did. "Oh, no, they'd say, but of course they did. Look what happened tp Rg hodesia after they took over, same with other African countries. Even Russia after the revolution after promising equality for all - true communism, but as soon as they get in power they all got rich, the biggest homes, fancy cars, and their own shops stocked with imported gourmet foods while the regular people were looking at empty shelves and hich prices when they found a few things. I'm not saying many don't start out with noble ambitions, and high ideals (just as some of our lawmakers do) but they get corrupted along the way. The temptations are just too great.
The strategies and tactics that work to overthrow oppressive regimes don't exactly shape the greatest political leaders for consolidation and compromises, that's for sure.
This is an important observation, and I'd extend it to the strategies, tactics, *and individuals* that work not only to overthrow oppressive regimes but to challenge those that are at least nominally democratic. I have been having this argument with Sanders supporters since 2016 (and mostly losing), because I still can't see him making the transition from opposition to chief executive -- or even to majority/minority leader in the Senate.
These days I've encountered a few people who want Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president. (She will indeed turn 35 in October.) AOC is a standout for sure, but the skills she's demonstrated so far are not necessarily the ones needed to run the executive branch. She may well develop them in the next decade or so, in which case she'll be a formidable contender. But for now? She has an important role to play, but that role isn't that of president -- yet.
Heh. There's also the "cat fight" aspect to it. Certain kinds of women -- of whom MTG is definitely one -- are just savvy enough to realize that attacking other women is safer than attacking men. Hence the ridiculous rivalry between MTG and Lauren Boebert. The curious thing is that neither of them is going after Elise Stefanik, who seems to be smarter and thus more threatening than either of them. My guess is that MTG and Boebert both realize that Stefanik has significant male protection, so attacking her would be dangerous.
Another absolutely terrific, sadly accurate column. Your choice of headline pays off in your next-to-last paragraph, because you well know that many of those awarded the Medal of Honor were men who jumped on live grenades to save their comrades.
Now he has collided with another non-submissive woman in the political arena -- which helps explain why he confused Haley with Pelosi -- just as E. Jean Carroll has publicly punched him upside his wallet. No wonder he's even more frantic than usual.
Since he's a guy who loves movies, don't think of him as Mafia Donald, but rather the Wicked Witch, in orange makeup, not green, and of course he would be using a sexist slur instead of "good little girl":
"I'm melting! Melting! Oh, what a world, what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?"
She is A Idiot. She is betting that tangeranus gets bounced off the ticket. But even if, or when imo, that happens, there's no way the gop grandees choose a female.
"Tangeranus", priceless. "The melonfelon" is another wonderful one I saw recently. To your point, of _course_ they won't choose a woman to lead their ticket. They're much too afraid of strong women. I look forward to E. Jean and Nikki continuing to make Cluckwork Orange lose his mind.
"I look forward to E. Jean and Nikki continuing to make Cluckwork Orange lose his mind." You mean they're scooping out the remainder of the seeds in the Not-So-Great-Pumpkin's head?
How perfect is this imagery: "Nikki Haley is too busy at the moment tying her tap shoes ..." She is definitely tap-dancing around various truths. She is also a mediocrity who, when she loses her "sweet state of South Carolina," will be, I think, done.
Through my then job, had possiblity to see Nikki Haley at the UN often. She's definitely not stupid. Ambitious. And seems to have had a hard time representing a confused, constantly changing Trump foreign policy. Unlike most Americans, or American politicians, she does have a pretty good handle on foreign relations. Maybe she should have stayed out of politics altogether, should have left SC when she was young and began a climb up a corporate ladder, something more challenging than family's clothing businees. She would have made a pretty good CEO with a company where the board left her alone so that she wasn't constantly trying to figure out how to be nice one minute and strong the next. She is pretty obvious and graceless with how she always puts her finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing, which politics requires. As governor, she received mixed marks on policy, but all seem to agree she was a good manager. Don't know how much she is counting on a future in the GOP -- right now she seems motivated less by a political upside and more of a personal motivation to stick it to Trump - which may pay off for her in the end. If Trump loses - and GOP crashes - don't know that she will want to be part of the rebuild - think she might go corporate for two election cycles and then come back when she is 60. After all, she's only 52. In the between - hope she really pulls that pin.
"...she does have a pretty good handle on foreign relations..."
Such as? (not trying to offend, trying to better understand how you came to that concluson)
Today she went off on killing JCPOA and has done same with the Paris Accords. So, hard to have a good handle on FP when 2 of the Blue Marble's most dangerous issues are another nuclear armed nation. a theatrocracy to boot, , in all places the cauldron of the so-called Middle East nation and Global Climate Change. Aside from the issue itself, is how many nations worked on JCPOA and the Paris Accords. So, to the subset of of FP, Foreign Relations, would argue she spit in the faces of our friends and allies as well as adversaries on those 2. She also had an aversion to Human Rights groups. A trifecta of WTF.
Previously she had next to zero FP/FR chops and her stay at the UN was 2shat-2shat to have gained diplomatic skills. Have yet to see or hear her actual Weltanschauung, then again considering her background (accounting) to the present, don't expect to ever read and hear hers.
Do agree she belongs in the corporate world however running the Accounting Department. She scored some cushy posts solely due to Trump being President. Her next venture is a book.
sorry, truly do not/did not understand quite a bit of your comment - but all good. i'm in ny - had to cover the UN for an NGO - saw her enough. did not say she was a diplomat. simply that she did OK at the UN - mike johnson would never survive there, kevin mccarthy, elise stefanik - they all would sink - she was a politician that did OK even though not a diplomat, not her field. maybe i have lower expectations of politicians than you. and maybe she did OK because as a child of immigrants she navigated two cultural worlds. not her fault that her boss was mike pompeo and his was trump and foreign policy to them was simply advancing personal and business interests. they are the ones that were doing the spitting or telling her to do the spitting. rumored that was one of the reasons she left rather quickly from that post. she didn't want to carry their water. i don't know that she had an aversion to human rights groups. please don't take this to mean that i would ever vote for her - just saying that she is not stupid. again, maybe that is a low bar. and there is something a bit misogynistic in dismissal of her as an executive. she was not simply an accountant as governor and probably would not simply be an accoutant if she went corporate.
JSYK: am from a matriarchal culture and society, one that respects and honors wimmin. My objective critique of Haley is fact and knowledge based. Her experience in any field she ventured into is marked by its lack of longevity and lack of achievements. Both are unusual for a woman. Indeed best resembles male opportunists, rather than ambitious. Her accounting experience is also limited to a small family company. In itself not necessarily a negative considering her Indian culture however it did not include senior executive management of a multinational entity of any type.
As US Ambassador to the UN, she would be by definition the 2nd highest ranked US diplomat. As I wrote, my concern are two issues she continues to embrace, the killing of JCPOA (just yesterday or the day before) and the typical denial of the Blue Marble's fever as man (not woman) made and the need to incorporate Global Climate Change into Foreign Policy AND National Security. While am in agreement a President and SECSTATE dominate Foreign Policy and set policy and direction, she has openly embraced the aforementioned. She did the same with the Trump Adm. position on US funds not going to wimmin health and reproductive care on a global scale. That stance is religious based, not morally based. And most of all not in the best interest of wimmin and their families anywhere on this planet.
Keep in mind she supported the flying of the SC Confederate battle flag and all the monuments under the guise of heritage up until the church massacre. As aMom it's like taking the keys away from a teenager after driving drunk and killing 9 people and wanting credit for it. Reminds me of her answer on the primary causation of the Civil War NOT being slavery in a state that so wrote in its secession papers.
Politics is noble service most especially in a democratic Republic. Over time the GOP has turned politics into anything other than noble service. Have zero expectations from a R-pol and they never fail to match zero. She said she would vote for Trump even if convicted of federal felonies. So, all her new found jabs at him come without her ever recanting what amounts to fealty to Trump and her own bad judgment. That statement of voting for Trump contradicts the argument she simply had to follow Trump and Pompeo because now that she doesn't have to, her statement says she wants to even if convicted of federal crimes. Again, that thought conflict and act of contradiction is exactly what one expects from a Republican. Keep in mind she twice voted for Trump. No one made her do it. The first vote in 2016 for Trump over HRC involved choosing party over both the nation and a woman with decades of noble service to the nation and to the wimmin of the world. So, I ask you, who is the misogynist, Haley or me. In my culture it is my birth duty to serve and protect wimmin, children, the disabled, elders, and others who cannot protect themselves. And that duty and obligation includes shedding blood to do so. Would protect her. That doesn't include falsely vouching for her as being representative of wimmin of good will or being qualified for positions she is not. The final straw came this week when she blamed President Biden for the deaths of the 3US servicepeople, then pivoted to prayer. Would she, as CinC, accept responsibility for any and all deaths of US Mil, whether in action, in training, or by accident, including suicide or find a way to redirect the blame elsewhere? Is rhetorical and I, for one, do NOT want to ever find out.
And closing on this note, she openly and continually disrespects and dishonors VP Harris. while flaunting her own status a WOC. Doing so goes against her own Indian culture and own identity as a woman. Doesn't get much lower on any moral scale.
Great comments, sadly, not as rotten as Trump won't get her over the big hump. The GOP men in the way are lightweights, but, white men rule in that pitiful excuse for a party.
Agree with their men are weak and most are lily-yt in all metrics including not taking wimmin seriously or respectfully. Agree, it's a pitiful political party that's been on a downward trajectory ever since Ike's last day in office. Fingers crossed they don't take the nation and its good people down w/them.
No, Nikki Haley is not stupid but perhaps naive. It’s interesting to see her change colors, after all she promoted Trump as the forerunner in this race. She said if she lost, she would support him. So if that scenario happens (the Gods forbid!), then the Donald loses none of his insanely Whackadoodle base. If she wins, his base will go apeshit. She still loses and that’s without even mentioning Biden! My summation: Haley isn’t stupid but she’s a loser.
I can't imagine that the Republicans would ever nominate a woman, so why are the billionaires
funding Haley? Furthermore, the MAGA base would not be happy with her Indian Sikh heritage. Trump has already started to demean her with nicknames and question her citizenship. Why do people give
him a pass on his German and Scottish grandparents? By his own standard, he's barely an American. Forget his immigrant wives.
I feel like I'm watching a train wreck. It's depressing to be 79 and watch sleazy people
Did Haley ever counter-attack on his newest ‘birther’ racist hate mongering that she’s not a citizen because her parents weren’t citizens when she was born? You would think that Donny Dumbass would have glanced at the 14th Amendment by now. He would have noticed that Section I addresses birthright citizenship. Nah, that’s right, he doesn’t/can’t read.
Why? Because the lemmings he's talking to don't/can't read either. They also never voted before the carpetbagger conned them to the polls. My mom used to refer to them as "the great unwashed" and now they're a valued voting block. Go figure.
Nikki Haley will not come down on the right side of history. She is a calculating political animal with no moral core. I expect her to keep tap dancing her way around Trump trying to set herself up for 2028. She will never call out the big lie of the stolen 2020 election. Because I expect that lie to be an article of faith for the Republican base for 2028 and beyond, no matter what happens to Trump. Too many believe it, and it would cause too much dissonance for them to ever acknowledge they were taken in by a lying grifter. It will be the modern day lost cause.
My big hopes for Haley have less to do with what she does; more to do with how Trump reacts to her. She is what he hates the most, a smart woman of color, and the longer she stays in the race against him the more racist and misogynistic poison will pour out of his mouth. This can be helpful. The more energy he spends attacking her the less he spends attacking Biden. And there is potential for turning off more Republicans. Trump doesn't understand the concept of unifying, not the nation, not his party, he only divides and generates hatreds. He's starting to hate Nikki Haley. So go Nikki!
"When push comes to shove, my money is on her dropping the grenade and throwing the pin."
Well now. You captured Republicans and conservatives by mixing an idiom with a dizzying combat metaphor uttered by drill sergeants.
Damn, you could speech write for them. And they be all like noddin' their noggins although not keeping time. Sorta' ;ilke how they try to clap to a tune using only their right hand.
Anytime her name comes up it transports to the day at the UN when Trump was laughed at by the General Assembly.
Haley has nothing to lose by attacking, she's not going to be part of a new Drumpf administration in any event. When the party goes down this year with their Loser Leader she'll be well positioned for a 2028 campaign. Strong women are Drumpf's kryptonite, she's clearly getting to him and she should keep up her attacks on his mental competence due to his age, which works well against both Drumpf and Biden.
I was wondering why "cable news pundits were all over the place yesterday speculating about the price Haley will pay for having said it," namely “I absolutely trust the jury [in the Carroll case], and I think that they made their decision based on the evidence.” Perhaps what she has to lose is the votes of the magats. It is possible that, if Trump gets locked up before November or drops dead, she'll be the nominee and will need those votes.
Lucian, thanks for hitting the nail squarely on the head with “Nikki”. Will she stop being all things to all people all the time, and call *Rump out for what he is: an unmitigated liar, crook, and predator. She’s going to lose the primary in SC no matter what. She burned too many bridges on the way to becoming governor, but if she’s playing a long game for 2028, and expecting *Rump to go down in flames legally and politically, then she should “pull the pin,” as you say. I rather doubt she will, and think she’ll beg forgiveness and fall into line. That I think would finish her off with independents and anti-Trump establishment Republicans. Democrats, like me, have no use for her under any circumstances because of her feckless opportunism, and rightwing ideology, so if she abandons MAGA after attacking *Rump the way he should be attacked, where is she going to go? Maybe she, Christie, Cheney, and Kinzinger could be the core of a resurrected Republican party after Donnie, when he’s broke and homeless, winds up in a down-at-the-heels assisted living facility somewhere in rural Mississippi.
Sorry, Lucian. South Carolina resident here and with this column you are committing the journalistic equivalent of urinating into the wind.
Moved here for retirement in 2003. Now have a pretty good handle on the local politics and the best way to describe it is "Good Old Boys Get Ahead and Don't Piss Them Off." In addition to the historic baggage this state carries (IMHO in too many cases proudly so rather than any degree of shame) racism and control of the masses by the few is how this state rolls. The state legislature in Columbia is controlled approximate 75% by the good old boys and those who profit from their control.
And, when I say "profit" that is exactly what I mean. Politics and personal business interests are interwoven to an amazing degree down here. It seems both those in power and their "friends" end up owning just about everything and getting a piece of the action of any state funded initiatives by being "in the right place at the right time." Remember Mark Sanford our former Representative and Governor. He was and is a real estate tycoon who just happened to throw in with a bunch of large real estate investors when he was in office and afterwards. Lots of land bought near and around facilities for the South Carolina Port Authority.
Nikki made her money another way. She used the state's funding authority to lure Boeing here and build a non union plant to build 787s so Boeing could avoid higher union wages in Washington. By last account Boeing received half a billion in either direct aid or tax deferrals. Nikki eventually got a seat on their Board and somehow was able to afford a 2.4 million dollar mansion on Kiawah Island.
As reported approximately 75% of the GOP leadership has already endorsed Trump, including one Tim Scott who Nikki Haley appointed to his first term when Jim DeMint, one of the Tea Party's founders, resigned from the Senate to take a higher paying gig with , drum roll, The Heritage Foundation! Tim proved just as reliable as Jim over the years in pushing uber conservative/anti democratic initiatives ad legislation. Talk about biting the hand?
I present all of this to simply say Nikki Haley has about as much chance of defeating Donald Trump as you do. Whatever political future she might believe she has will not come to pass without the blessing of TFG and the good old boys down here. Nikki has always been the opportunist. She will, in the end, play nice and endorse him also. She is ambitious and wants another shot at political relevancy. She will not get it playing the skunk at the cotillion.
Does anyone really think Haley has a chance of defeating Trump? Barring Trump actually being removed from the ballot, of course, and even then Haley, a woman of color (no matter how hard she tries to pass), will have a hard time holding the MAGA coalition together and/or finding the non-MAGA Republicans who may or may not exist.
Whatever significance she has lies in providing an alternative to Trump, and -- as Lucian points out -- that puts her in a very dangerous position. We shall see how that works out, won't we.
Haley announced her run quite early, Usually those running actually do their research first., then plan a campaign. Time for a new generation sounds good yet she has yet to fill in any detail as to how and what that would mean to Americans and to the world writ large. Not surprised though. Rs/cons love slogans that sound good while lacking any and all soundness.
All that said, here is to the big donor class pouring gazillions into her campaign no matter the results from the states. At a minimum it will force Trump to spend money in states as well as to show up in the states as well as in the courtrooms hosting criminal trials.
A big YES to the "big donor class pouring gazillions into her campaign" (I do hope some of it trickles down to the flunkies who work for the ad agencies, the sound techs, the chambermaids at all those hotels, et al.). It'll also give Trump the opportunity to show off his deteriorating health and/or mental condition. In this one at least, time IS on our side!
If Nikki were a man, then he would have a shot at putting the Republican Party back together after 2024. But Nikki is a woman and the MAGA base will hate her forever.
Ok. This comment is from a 78 year old idiot and graduate of a second rate university(me): I predict Trump will ask Haley to be on his ticket as the Vice President. She is, after all, definitely “his type”.
Guts? Haley has guts? What she has are people advising her, pushing her, to speak out against the orange traitor. If she had any guts, she would be shouting out against him from the rafters! Not promising to vote for him if he's the candidate.
If she's what's left in 2028 to put together the shambles that is the republican party, they're really in deep shit, worse than they are now.
Guts are what E. Jean Carroll possesses. Haley doesn't even come close.
In 1923, Hitler mounted an unsuccessful insurrection against the Weimar Republic (Beer Hall Putsch). In 1924 he was tried before judges that would make Aileen Cannon look like Oliver Wendell Holmes (they let Hitler make a four-hour opening statement!) and was sentenced to a long enough time in a cushy prison for him to write Mein Kampf. In 1932 the German electorate voted democratically to give the Nazis enough seats in the parliament that the president of the republic had no choice but to make Hitler chancellor (the equivalent of prime minister). A year later he staged a plebiscite which saw German voters democratically vote to end their democracy and give Hitler dictatorial powers. History is in danger of repeating here. And all Nikki can talk about is foreign policy? Shame on her. Especially since she will be one of the first inmates of the concentration camps if Orange Hitler wins the election.
Yes. Hitler had many, many helpers. Sadly, so does Twitler.
“We learn from history that we do not learn from history “- Fredrich Hegel
Good historical parallel. George. As Lucian in so many words, Nikki is walking a tightrope here. if she leans too far to one side she will lose her balance and topple over, same if she leans too far to the other side. Politicians litely have to sell their soul and shred any characteristics of integrity they might of had in order to achieve positions of power. They offer opinions they feel will please most of their potential voters, and keep silent any opinions they might have that would displease them. When I lived in Southern Rhodesia in the mid 50's I met Sir Roy Welensky, the Prime minister at a fundraiser my friend's father was involved in and apart from the first words he said to me which was that he thought he'd met me before (He hadn't), anyway during our discussion he told me there were many things he privately believed but could never say in public. After I moved to LA in the early 60's I wrote to him saying I believed the white man's rule in Africa couldn't last much longer. He wrote back that he strongly disagreed with me. I still have that letter signed by him. It's sort of a historical document now.
On a side note: My friend and I were certainly n no position to donate money and would ordinarily never would have been at such a gathering as I just described. I worked for an office supply company and would drive out into te bush to service duplicating machines and sell supplies to missionaries as well as to the business district and I think an incident I experienced once had deeply influenced me. .At that time our policy was to service their machines once a month for free then hopefully sell some supplies, and one day I stopped by a customer according to our books. The address took me to a little shack out in the bush in a remote area, not a business for sure. As I was bent over the machine there was alod baning on the door and three or four burly Africans came n punching the air with their fists, "Death to the white man, kill them all. throw them into the sea, . . " I think I tried to make myself smaller as I crouched lower over the machine. It turned out they all either lived there or close by and were members of some kind of rebel organization. Apparently the government had confiscated their duplicating machine on several occasions and they had somehow gotten another one. They didn't harm me of course, they needed me to keep their machine running In fact I got to know them well enough during subsequent visits that I used to argue wir th them. I said once that when they take over the country they would exploit their own people even more than the white colonists did. "Oh, no, they'd say, but of course they did. Look what happened tp Rg hodesia after they took over, same with other African countries. Even Russia after the revolution after promising equality for all - true communism, but as soon as they get in power they all got rich, the biggest homes, fancy cars, and their own shops stocked with imported gourmet foods while the regular people were looking at empty shelves and hich prices when they found a few things. I'm not saying many don't start out with noble ambitions, and high ideals (just as some of our lawmakers do) but they get corrupted along the way. The temptations are just too great.
Sounds like a famous Who song lyric -- "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
The strategies and tactics that work to overthrow oppressive regimes don't exactly shape the greatest political leaders for consolidation and compromises, that's for sure.
This is an important observation, and I'd extend it to the strategies, tactics, *and individuals* that work not only to overthrow oppressive regimes but to challenge those that are at least nominally democratic. I have been having this argument with Sanders supporters since 2016 (and mostly losing), because I still can't see him making the transition from opposition to chief executive -- or even to majority/minority leader in the Senate.
These days I've encountered a few people who want Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president. (She will indeed turn 35 in October.) AOC is a standout for sure, but the skills she's demonstrated so far are not necessarily the ones needed to run the executive branch. She may well develop them in the next decade or so, in which case she'll be a formidable contender. But for now? She has an important role to play, but that role isn't that of president -- yet.
Yes, I like AOC too. MTG hates her and easy to understand why, she is everything MYG isn't :) f
Poor Empty Greene...
Heh. There's also the "cat fight" aspect to it. Certain kinds of women -- of whom MTG is definitely one -- are just savvy enough to realize that attacking other women is safer than attacking men. Hence the ridiculous rivalry between MTG and Lauren Boebert. The curious thing is that neither of them is going after Elise Stefanik, who seems to be smarter and thus more threatening than either of them. My guess is that MTG and Boebert both realize that Stefanik has significant male protection, so attacking her would be dangerous.
Another absolutely terrific, sadly accurate column. Your choice of headline pays off in your next-to-last paragraph, because you well know that many of those awarded the Medal of Honor were men who jumped on live grenades to save their comrades.
Now he has collided with another non-submissive woman in the political arena -- which helps explain why he confused Haley with Pelosi -- just as E. Jean Carroll has publicly punched him upside his wallet. No wonder he's even more frantic than usual.
Since he's a guy who loves movies, don't think of him as Mafia Donald, but rather the Wicked Witch, in orange makeup, not green, and of course he would be using a sexist slur instead of "good little girl":
"I'm melting! Melting! Oh, what a world, what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?"
Correction... she GRABED him by the wallet. It's where it hurts him most.
Point well put, and taken.
I don’t think the gop realize her potential as a candidate. Good.
I think she could beat Biden in a general election. All the evil without the crazy
You’re not alone - not sure of it myself, but some people I know think so too.
I'll let Taylor Swift drive them crazy...seems to be working quite well!
She is A Idiot. She is betting that tangeranus gets bounced off the ticket. But even if, or when imo, that happens, there's no way the gop grandees choose a female.
"Tangeranus", priceless. "The melonfelon" is another wonderful one I saw recently. To your point, of _course_ they won't choose a woman to lead their ticket. They're much too afraid of strong women. I look forward to E. Jean and Nikki continuing to make Cluckwork Orange lose his mind.
"I look forward to E. Jean and Nikki continuing to make Cluckwork Orange lose his mind." You mean they're scooping out the remainder of the seeds in the Not-So-Great-Pumpkin's head?
LOL >:D
I agree. She's a woman. She's of mixed heritage. No way those bigots would ever give her a shot at the throne.
I don't know how so many people have managed to persuade themselves otherwise. Wishful thinking carried to extremes . . .
How perfect is this imagery: "Nikki Haley is too busy at the moment tying her tap shoes ..." She is definitely tap-dancing around various truths. She is also a mediocrity who, when she loses her "sweet state of South Carolina," will be, I think, done.
“Tying her tap shoes” is great writing.
Through my then job, had possiblity to see Nikki Haley at the UN often. She's definitely not stupid. Ambitious. And seems to have had a hard time representing a confused, constantly changing Trump foreign policy. Unlike most Americans, or American politicians, she does have a pretty good handle on foreign relations. Maybe she should have stayed out of politics altogether, should have left SC when she was young and began a climb up a corporate ladder, something more challenging than family's clothing businees. She would have made a pretty good CEO with a company where the board left her alone so that she wasn't constantly trying to figure out how to be nice one minute and strong the next. She is pretty obvious and graceless with how she always puts her finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing, which politics requires. As governor, she received mixed marks on policy, but all seem to agree she was a good manager. Don't know how much she is counting on a future in the GOP -- right now she seems motivated less by a political upside and more of a personal motivation to stick it to Trump - which may pay off for her in the end. If Trump loses - and GOP crashes - don't know that she will want to be part of the rebuild - think she might go corporate for two election cycles and then come back when she is 60. After all, she's only 52. In the between - hope she really pulls that pin.
"...she does have a pretty good handle on foreign relations..."
Such as? (not trying to offend, trying to better understand how you came to that concluson)
Today she went off on killing JCPOA and has done same with the Paris Accords. So, hard to have a good handle on FP when 2 of the Blue Marble's most dangerous issues are another nuclear armed nation. a theatrocracy to boot, , in all places the cauldron of the so-called Middle East nation and Global Climate Change. Aside from the issue itself, is how many nations worked on JCPOA and the Paris Accords. So, to the subset of of FP, Foreign Relations, would argue she spit in the faces of our friends and allies as well as adversaries on those 2. She also had an aversion to Human Rights groups. A trifecta of WTF.
Previously she had next to zero FP/FR chops and her stay at the UN was 2shat-2shat to have gained diplomatic skills. Have yet to see or hear her actual Weltanschauung, then again considering her background (accounting) to the present, don't expect to ever read and hear hers.
Do agree she belongs in the corporate world however running the Accounting Department. She scored some cushy posts solely due to Trump being President. Her next venture is a book.
sorry, truly do not/did not understand quite a bit of your comment - but all good. i'm in ny - had to cover the UN for an NGO - saw her enough. did not say she was a diplomat. simply that she did OK at the UN - mike johnson would never survive there, kevin mccarthy, elise stefanik - they all would sink - she was a politician that did OK even though not a diplomat, not her field. maybe i have lower expectations of politicians than you. and maybe she did OK because as a child of immigrants she navigated two cultural worlds. not her fault that her boss was mike pompeo and his was trump and foreign policy to them was simply advancing personal and business interests. they are the ones that were doing the spitting or telling her to do the spitting. rumored that was one of the reasons she left rather quickly from that post. she didn't want to carry their water. i don't know that she had an aversion to human rights groups. please don't take this to mean that i would ever vote for her - just saying that she is not stupid. again, maybe that is a low bar. and there is something a bit misogynistic in dismissal of her as an executive. she was not simply an accountant as governor and probably would not simply be an accoutant if she went corporate.
Be proud for your NGO work, Is noble.
JSYK: am from a matriarchal culture and society, one that respects and honors wimmin. My objective critique of Haley is fact and knowledge based. Her experience in any field she ventured into is marked by its lack of longevity and lack of achievements. Both are unusual for a woman. Indeed best resembles male opportunists, rather than ambitious. Her accounting experience is also limited to a small family company. In itself not necessarily a negative considering her Indian culture however it did not include senior executive management of a multinational entity of any type.
As US Ambassador to the UN, she would be by definition the 2nd highest ranked US diplomat. As I wrote, my concern are two issues she continues to embrace, the killing of JCPOA (just yesterday or the day before) and the typical denial of the Blue Marble's fever as man (not woman) made and the need to incorporate Global Climate Change into Foreign Policy AND National Security. While am in agreement a President and SECSTATE dominate Foreign Policy and set policy and direction, she has openly embraced the aforementioned. She did the same with the Trump Adm. position on US funds not going to wimmin health and reproductive care on a global scale. That stance is religious based, not morally based. And most of all not in the best interest of wimmin and their families anywhere on this planet.
Keep in mind she supported the flying of the SC Confederate battle flag and all the monuments under the guise of heritage up until the church massacre. As aMom it's like taking the keys away from a teenager after driving drunk and killing 9 people and wanting credit for it. Reminds me of her answer on the primary causation of the Civil War NOT being slavery in a state that so wrote in its secession papers.
Politics is noble service most especially in a democratic Republic. Over time the GOP has turned politics into anything other than noble service. Have zero expectations from a R-pol and they never fail to match zero. She said she would vote for Trump even if convicted of federal felonies. So, all her new found jabs at him come without her ever recanting what amounts to fealty to Trump and her own bad judgment. That statement of voting for Trump contradicts the argument she simply had to follow Trump and Pompeo because now that she doesn't have to, her statement says she wants to even if convicted of federal crimes. Again, that thought conflict and act of contradiction is exactly what one expects from a Republican. Keep in mind she twice voted for Trump. No one made her do it. The first vote in 2016 for Trump over HRC involved choosing party over both the nation and a woman with decades of noble service to the nation and to the wimmin of the world. So, I ask you, who is the misogynist, Haley or me. In my culture it is my birth duty to serve and protect wimmin, children, the disabled, elders, and others who cannot protect themselves. And that duty and obligation includes shedding blood to do so. Would protect her. That doesn't include falsely vouching for her as being representative of wimmin of good will or being qualified for positions she is not. The final straw came this week when she blamed President Biden for the deaths of the 3US servicepeople, then pivoted to prayer. Would she, as CinC, accept responsibility for any and all deaths of US Mil, whether in action, in training, or by accident, including suicide or find a way to redirect the blame elsewhere? Is rhetorical and I, for one, do NOT want to ever find out.
And closing on this note, she openly and continually disrespects and dishonors VP Harris. while flaunting her own status a WOC. Doing so goes against her own Indian culture and own identity as a woman. Doesn't get much lower on any moral scale.
Great comments, sadly, not as rotten as Trump won't get her over the big hump. The GOP men in the way are lightweights, but, white men rule in that pitiful excuse for a party.
Agree with their men are weak and most are lily-yt in all metrics including not taking wimmin seriously or respectfully. Agree, it's a pitiful political party that's been on a downward trajectory ever since Ike's last day in office. Fingers crossed they don't take the nation and its good people down w/them.
Am grateful for your kind words, Leigh.
true and sad. very, very sad.
No, Nikki Haley is not stupid but perhaps naive. It’s interesting to see her change colors, after all she promoted Trump as the forerunner in this race. She said if she lost, she would support him. So if that scenario happens (the Gods forbid!), then the Donald loses none of his insanely Whackadoodle base. If she wins, his base will go apeshit. She still loses and that’s without even mentioning Biden! My summation: Haley isn’t stupid but she’s a loser.
I can't imagine that the Republicans would ever nominate a woman, so why are the billionaires
funding Haley? Furthermore, the MAGA base would not be happy with her Indian Sikh heritage. Trump has already started to demean her with nicknames and question her citizenship. Why do people give
him a pass on his German and Scottish grandparents? By his own standard, he's barely an American. Forget his immigrant wives.
I feel like I'm watching a train wreck. It's depressing to be 79 and watch sleazy people
wreck the country.
Did Haley ever counter-attack on his newest ‘birther’ racist hate mongering that she’s not a citizen because her parents weren’t citizens when she was born? You would think that Donny Dumbass would have glanced at the 14th Amendment by now. He would have noticed that Section I addresses birthright citizenship. Nah, that’s right, he doesn’t/can’t read.
Why? Because the lemmings he's talking to don't/can't read either. They also never voted before the carpetbagger conned them to the polls. My mom used to refer to them as "the great unwashed" and now they're a valued voting block. Go figure.
Nikki Haley will not come down on the right side of history. She is a calculating political animal with no moral core. I expect her to keep tap dancing her way around Trump trying to set herself up for 2028. She will never call out the big lie of the stolen 2020 election. Because I expect that lie to be an article of faith for the Republican base for 2028 and beyond, no matter what happens to Trump. Too many believe it, and it would cause too much dissonance for them to ever acknowledge they were taken in by a lying grifter. It will be the modern day lost cause.
My big hopes for Haley have less to do with what she does; more to do with how Trump reacts to her. She is what he hates the most, a smart woman of color, and the longer she stays in the race against him the more racist and misogynistic poison will pour out of his mouth. This can be helpful. The more energy he spends attacking her the less he spends attacking Biden. And there is potential for turning off more Republicans. Trump doesn't understand the concept of unifying, not the nation, not his party, he only divides and generates hatreds. He's starting to hate Nikki Haley. So go Nikki!
When push comes to shove, my money is on her dropping the grenade and throwing the pin.
Lacks the experience (think of the mental equivalent for muscle memory from doing constant repetitive drills) for combat.
"When push comes to shove, my money is on her dropping the grenade and throwing the pin."
Well now. You captured Republicans and conservatives by mixing an idiom with a dizzying combat metaphor uttered by drill sergeants.
Damn, you could speech write for them. And they be all like noddin' their noggins although not keeping time. Sorta' ;ilke how they try to clap to a tune using only their right hand.
Anytime her name comes up it transports to the day at the UN when Trump was laughed at by the General Assembly.
That video ought to be circulating widely along about now.
It's on YouTube Search engine trump laughed at UN assembly
Thanks!
To be fair to Nikki, I was terrified in Army basic training that I would “drop the grenade and throw the pin”.
Haley has nothing to lose by attacking, she's not going to be part of a new Drumpf administration in any event. When the party goes down this year with their Loser Leader she'll be well positioned for a 2028 campaign. Strong women are Drumpf's kryptonite, she's clearly getting to him and she should keep up her attacks on his mental competence due to his age, which works well against both Drumpf and Biden.
I was wondering why "cable news pundits were all over the place yesterday speculating about the price Haley will pay for having said it," namely “I absolutely trust the jury [in the Carroll case], and I think that they made their decision based on the evidence.” Perhaps what she has to lose is the votes of the magats. It is possible that, if Trump gets locked up before November or drops dead, she'll be the nominee and will need those votes.
Lucian, thanks for hitting the nail squarely on the head with “Nikki”. Will she stop being all things to all people all the time, and call *Rump out for what he is: an unmitigated liar, crook, and predator. She’s going to lose the primary in SC no matter what. She burned too many bridges on the way to becoming governor, but if she’s playing a long game for 2028, and expecting *Rump to go down in flames legally and politically, then she should “pull the pin,” as you say. I rather doubt she will, and think she’ll beg forgiveness and fall into line. That I think would finish her off with independents and anti-Trump establishment Republicans. Democrats, like me, have no use for her under any circumstances because of her feckless opportunism, and rightwing ideology, so if she abandons MAGA after attacking *Rump the way he should be attacked, where is she going to go? Maybe she, Christie, Cheney, and Kinzinger could be the core of a resurrected Republican party after Donnie, when he’s broke and homeless, winds up in a down-at-the-heels assisted living facility somewhere in rural Mississippi.
Answers to questions posed in first para.: no, no, no, no, probably.
Sorry, Lucian. South Carolina resident here and with this column you are committing the journalistic equivalent of urinating into the wind.
Moved here for retirement in 2003. Now have a pretty good handle on the local politics and the best way to describe it is "Good Old Boys Get Ahead and Don't Piss Them Off." In addition to the historic baggage this state carries (IMHO in too many cases proudly so rather than any degree of shame) racism and control of the masses by the few is how this state rolls. The state legislature in Columbia is controlled approximate 75% by the good old boys and those who profit from their control.
And, when I say "profit" that is exactly what I mean. Politics and personal business interests are interwoven to an amazing degree down here. It seems both those in power and their "friends" end up owning just about everything and getting a piece of the action of any state funded initiatives by being "in the right place at the right time." Remember Mark Sanford our former Representative and Governor. He was and is a real estate tycoon who just happened to throw in with a bunch of large real estate investors when he was in office and afterwards. Lots of land bought near and around facilities for the South Carolina Port Authority.
Nikki made her money another way. She used the state's funding authority to lure Boeing here and build a non union plant to build 787s so Boeing could avoid higher union wages in Washington. By last account Boeing received half a billion in either direct aid or tax deferrals. Nikki eventually got a seat on their Board and somehow was able to afford a 2.4 million dollar mansion on Kiawah Island.
As reported approximately 75% of the GOP leadership has already endorsed Trump, including one Tim Scott who Nikki Haley appointed to his first term when Jim DeMint, one of the Tea Party's founders, resigned from the Senate to take a higher paying gig with , drum roll, The Heritage Foundation! Tim proved just as reliable as Jim over the years in pushing uber conservative/anti democratic initiatives ad legislation. Talk about biting the hand?
I present all of this to simply say Nikki Haley has about as much chance of defeating Donald Trump as you do. Whatever political future she might believe she has will not come to pass without the blessing of TFG and the good old boys down here. Nikki has always been the opportunist. She will, in the end, play nice and endorse him also. She is ambitious and wants another shot at political relevancy. She will not get it playing the skunk at the cotillion.
Does anyone really think Haley has a chance of defeating Trump? Barring Trump actually being removed from the ballot, of course, and even then Haley, a woman of color (no matter how hard she tries to pass), will have a hard time holding the MAGA coalition together and/or finding the non-MAGA Republicans who may or may not exist.
Whatever significance she has lies in providing an alternative to Trump, and -- as Lucian points out -- that puts her in a very dangerous position. We shall see how that works out, won't we.
Haley announced her run quite early, Usually those running actually do their research first., then plan a campaign. Time for a new generation sounds good yet she has yet to fill in any detail as to how and what that would mean to Americans and to the world writ large. Not surprised though. Rs/cons love slogans that sound good while lacking any and all soundness.
All that said, here is to the big donor class pouring gazillions into her campaign no matter the results from the states. At a minimum it will force Trump to spend money in states as well as to show up in the states as well as in the courtrooms hosting criminal trials.
A big YES to the "big donor class pouring gazillions into her campaign" (I do hope some of it trickles down to the flunkies who work for the ad agencies, the sound techs, the chambermaids at all those hotels, et al.). It'll also give Trump the opportunity to show off his deteriorating health and/or mental condition. In this one at least, time IS on our side!
Well framed and well filled in!
If Nikki were a man, then he would have a shot at putting the Republican Party back together after 2024. But Nikki is a woman and the MAGA base will hate her forever.
Ok. This comment is from a 78 year old idiot and graduate of a second rate university(me): I predict Trump will ask Haley to be on his ticket as the Vice President. She is, after all, definitely “his type”.
I think she has already been his type, if you receive my drift ...
Hey Margo! You're really on a roll (no pun intended).
Ooooh, I shudder to think...
Jesus ,please the image is gonna make me blow my supper on the wall ,took me all night to simmer that stew !🍲 Christ , now I need some Pepto !
Guts? Haley has guts? What she has are people advising her, pushing her, to speak out against the orange traitor. If she had any guts, she would be shouting out against him from the rafters! Not promising to vote for him if he's the candidate.
If she's what's left in 2028 to put together the shambles that is the republican party, they're really in deep shit, worse than they are now.
Guts are what E. Jean Carroll possesses. Haley doesn't even come close.