While the country has been focused on her painfully convoluted and historically inaccurate comments — i.e. lies — about the Civil War, we need to be reminded that Nikki Haley talks this way about EVERY controversial issue when she is trying to walk a line between the moderates she would need to win a general election and the MAGA Christian conservatives who demand total obeisance to their medieval causes.
Abortion is a prime issue about which Haley waffles and dodges and waffles some more, until you find yourself saying out loud, ”“Huh? What did she say?!?”
First, let’s unwrap her campaign statement on abortion:
“Nikki is 100% pro-life. As President, she will bring people together to save as many babies and support as many moms as possible. She believes she can best accomplish that goal by working to find consensus at the national level and humanizing this issue instead of demonizing it.”
Word salad. I’ll translate.
She has said that she is “unapologetically pro-life,” in addition to being 100% pro-life, which means 100% anti-abortion.
She suggests that she’s open to strictly limiting abortions so that we can save as many babies as possible.
How would she “humanize” what Ken Paxton and Texas did to Kate Cox, forcing her to go through with a pregnancy that was only going to end in tragedy?
And in reality, only one side is demonizing this issue — hers. I have never once demonized a woman for having a baby. Haley’s side is the one demonizing/condemning/shaming women like Cox who choose to end their pregnancies for medical or personal reasons.
At the Republican debate in Miami, she said she would sign a federal abortion ban of any length if it were passed by Congress — but Republicans don’t have enough votes — so never mind that she just said she would sign a total ban if Congress passed it.
Word salad.
Also during a debate, she said, “Republicans need to be ‘honest’ about the country’s appetite for abortion restrictions. Let’s find consensus — we don’t need to divide America over this issue anymore.” No, we don’t need to divide America over this issue if we can just agree with her on how much we should ban abortions, even though we need to be “honest” about how most Americans support a woman’s right to have an abortion.
Word salad.
And in Iowa in November, when asked if she would sign a six-week abortion ban if the South Carolina legislature passed such a bill and she were still governor, she replied, “Yes, whatever the people decide.” Yes, she will not decide; it’s those people. Although in many states, “the people” are Republican men in gerrymandered legislatures that don’t necessarily represent the majority of voters, as happens here in Wisconsin.
Word salad.
So, let’s move beyond her words to her past actions regarding abortion. When she was in the South Carolina House in 2004-2010, she supported and cosponsored bills that would all but eliminate abortion in the state. In 2010, she cosponsored a bill that said life begins at fertilization, and, therefore, embryos deserve due process and equal protection under the law. No exceptions. Not any. Not for rape, incest, health of the woman, viability of the fetus. Nothing.
That’s Nikki Haley’s idea of consensus.
Again, in 2010, she voted to end abortion coverage for victims of rape and incest in the state health plan for employees. The State Senate defeated the measure, but she voted for it.
Yep, consensus.
Again, the media is failing to explore her record and chooses to only report that she wants “consensus,” as in, “That nice Nikki Haley wants consensus and humanizing.”
No, she emphatically doesn’t. Look at her record. Listen to what she DOESN’T say. She doesn’t say exactly how much she wants to restrict abortion. She doesn’t talk about her anti-abortion record in the South Carolina legislature, suggesting that she most emphatically does not want consensus on abortion. She does not want to humanize women who have been raped or who have medical emergencies, like Kate Cox in Texas.
Someone needs to ask her specifically about the horror that Texas inflicted upon Kate Cox. What would she have done if she were the governor of Texas? Does she side with Ken Paxton? What would her consensus opinion be on a woman who is carrying an unviable fetus and whose health is being threatened by her much wanted pregnancy?
And someone needs to ask more simple and direct questions, like, “Do you support abortions for women who have been raped, or would you oppose them as you did in 2010?” and, “Do you support abortions for women whose lives are at risk because of pregnancy, or would you oppose them as you did in 2010?”
I know a lot of people here say, “Well, she’s better than Trump and DeSantis and the rest of those guys. She would be more moderate.”
Would she? Is she the same Nikki Haley who at one time wanted to eliminate all abortions, even to save a woman’s life? That’s not moderate. Is she the same Nikki Haley who thinks that states should have had the right to support the enslavement of black and brown people? That’s not moderate.
We don’t know which Nikki Haley she is because she doesn’t really answer the tough questions. She just alludes to humanizing and consensus and fluffy words that mean nothing.
As Maya Angelou once said, when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. Regarding abortion, Haley showed us who she really is in 2010. She has said absolutely nothing that indicates that she’s changed her mind, nor has she refuted those votes.
Nikki Haley is not nice. Nikki Haley is not honest. Nikki Haley is not ethical. Nikki Haley will say or, more importantly, NOT SAY things only because it helps her politically. She will pardon Donald Trump if she becomes President. She will run as his vice president if asked. Because saying so helps her politically.
For her, best to just string together a bunch of words that make her sound reasonable and hope nobody thinks about what she may have actually said.
Waffles, anyone? With a side of word salad?