The nice candidate. The moderate candidate. Has executive experience. Has international affairs experience. A smart woman. The ideal candidate. Except for what she no longer has — a soul. Apparently, she has sold it to the Devil in exchange for the presidency — or perhaps the vice presidency. But she should not be anywhere near the Oval Office.
In a comment I made yesterday on a post about her awful exchange with a New Hampshire voter, I said that she had made previous statements along these lines. Thanks to whoever put the above photo and quote in the photo gallery. It helps prove my point: this is a pattern, not a hiccup.
There is so much to unwrap here. If you haven’t read today’s APR, it links to a great Politico piece analyzing the incident, which describes in detail her full answer and concurs with my belief that her answer is in line with others she has given on the topic, e..g. defending the right to secede and describing the Civil War as two sides fighting for different values. No soul.
[The second read I would recommend is Heather Cox Richardson’s “Democracy Awakening.” She traces America’s white supremacy thread all the way back to the early colonies. The second half of the book, about the founding of the US, is a total rebuke to anything Haley has to say at this point.]
The first problem with this incident is the answer itself, not some Democrat setting her up to say something stupid, which is where she’s placing the blame. She chose to say what she said. She has said similar things before, which totally legitimizes asking her about her views about the causes of the Civil War. And responsible reporters should keep asking her. But her answer starts with, “...the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.” She continues equating states rights with freedom, freedom, freedom. In other words, the Civil War was about white southerners’ freedom to own people who had none. I cannot believe that a presidential candidate in 2023 is promoting this “states rights” BS, conveniently ignoring the fact that the specific “state right” was owning slaves. No soul.
And after having a night to sleep on it and perhaps apologize, all she had to say was — wait for it — the questioner was mean to her. And then she added that the cause of the Civil War really was about the role of government guaranteeing the “freedoms of every individual.” What?!?!?! Just which individuals are you talking about, Nikki, because it certainly wasn’t about freeing the slaves. No soul.
Does she even have a clue how this sounds to black and brown Americans? Does she even care? Is she that tone-deaf?
And if Haley falls prey to some cunning Democrat out to get her, how is she going to deal with Putin and Orban and other dangerous autocrats around the world? If this past week is any indication, she will interact with them as Trump and the MAGA base dictate: without a moral compass.
Okay, let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Nikki Haley’s South successfully seceded and there was no Civil War. In Haley’s world, would this mean that individual freedom would ring throughout the new Confederate States of America? Only if you were a white man. If you were black or brown or, worse, a black or brown woman, you would not be experiencing any freedom. In fact, you would be experiencing many things worse than the actual absence of freedom. And how long would this “free” southern economy go on? Until the 20th century? Until the 21st century?
How was slavery going to end in the Confederate States of America, Nikki?
If Haley’s freedom-filled south had been allowed to continue as is, she, as a brown woman, certainly would never have become a governor. Of South Carolina. Or anywhere. She would have been someone’s property. Because freedoms.
Nikki Haley’s image is a sham. Is she a shrewd politician who knows she can’t afford to alienate the racist MAGA base? Or does she really believe this “states rights” BS about the Civil War and slavery? Either way — catering to racists and/or misunderstanding/misreading history — she is not qualified to be president. In some ways, she is more dangerous than Trump. She looks and acts normal and is very nice when she says these awful things. She is much more “presentable” than Trump. Because of that, people think she’s a moderate who can win a general election. But she — and DeSantis and Veeraswamy — are all just Trump-lite. She is the sparkling Trojan Horse — and we shouldn’t trust a single thing she says. Because the Trojan Horse had no soul — and neither does Nikki Haley.