There seems to be a pretty strong consensus on the right that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s State of the Union rebuttal speech was a badly misguided attempt to hurt Donald Trump’s chances of winning the Republican nomination. That her intent was to harm Trump was basically confirmed by Haley this morning during appearances on the TODAY show with Matt Lauer and CNN’s New Day show with Don Lemon.
What’s still controversial is whether the effort will backfire, as most right-wing commentators I’ve read or seen on television have predicted.
Take the ever-reasonable AllahPundit from the right-wing blog Hot Air:
Yeah, I don’t see the strategic value of having Haley go after Trump, even if not by name. That’s something you’d want to do if you were worried that he’s tainted the entire party’s image, especially with swing voters and Latinos, and needed a splashy way for the rest of the GOP to say “that’s not us.” But I can’t think of a single poll offhand that demonstrates in a convincing way that voters now equate Trump with the GOP in its entirety…
…But Republican leaders, for whatever strange reason, decided to be proactive about the “that’s not us” message. Haley’s the perfect messenger for that, not only because of her sex and race but because of her role in bringing down the Confederate battle flag at the statehouse, one of the most ostentatiously anti-anti-PC moves a Republican pol has made in ages. In various ways, from her bio to her governing experience to her friendliness with Republican leaders, Haley is a sort of anti-Trump. Asking her to do the rebuttal without any mention of “angry voices” or whatever would itself have been a symbolic rebuke of Trumpmania. As it is, I don’t know what they think they’re gaining by handing Trump fans a reason to object that the party is meddling in the primary by attacking him on national TV.
It’s not immediately clear to me that Haley was singling out Trump. From her comments on the TODAY show, it appears she had a broader set of targets that likely included Ted Cruz. I also don’t see precisely why or how it helps Trump more than marginally to have the Establishment seemingly gang up on him. His voters are angry with the Establishment already, but are they really going to work that much harder now or turn out to caucus when they wouldn’t have otherwise?
But this idea that Haley’s comments will only benefit Trump is very widespread. I saw former RNC chairman Michael Steele make it on MSNBC last night.
Sean Trende of Real Clear Politics expressed the idea in a Tweet:
I'm sure that having Haley dedicate her SOTU response to Trump was cathartic, but it does increase his chances of winning the nomination.
— Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) January 13, 2016
The Trump-friendly folks over at Breitbart are furious:
If Haley wants to endorse a GOP presidential candidate, hit the stump for that candidate, and rip into Donald Trump, no one is going to begrudge her that. But to use the State of the Union response to publicly attack her own frontrunner must be unprecedented, and certainly serves as more proof to Trump’s supporters that the Republican Establishment is much more interested in DC Media love than winning elections and advancing their legislative agenda.
The eyes of the entire country were on Haley Tuesday night, and rather than use that time to make a case against the Democrats, Haley squandered it by attacking the frontrunner, which is all anyone is talking about tonight.
Haley’s unconscionably selfish behavior reminds me of Chris Christie’s keynote address for Mitt Romney at the 2012 convention. Rather than make the case for Romney or against Obama, he used the opportunity to puff himself up.
The GOP Establishment has lost the popular vote in 5 of the last 6 presidential elections.
For the good of the country, this suicidal Republican Establishment temple must come down and be ground into dust.
On the other hand, the Trump-hostile Red State liked Haley’s speech and thought it would at least make things more difficult for The Donald in South Carolina.
But, again, I don’t think Haley’s intent was really to single out Trump. The Establishment probably hates Cruz more and doesn’t seem to think he’d be much better as a general election candidate.
Maybe I’m wrong, but the response to the speech seems strange to me.
You want to see furious just wade over to Freerepublic
No thanks, I’m recovering from a cold and my stomach is still queasy.
Not today, all outa brain bleach.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/13/1469307/-GOP-must-hope-Latinos-won-t-notice-this-key-diffe
rence-in-English-and-Spanish-SOTU-rebuttals
Two different versions , One in English, One in Spanish
For those who talk out of both sides of their mouth.
Trying to kill two shitbirds with one stone, perhaps?
And here I was reading commentary that said her speech was vetted through RNC. Was she the sucker they chose to deliver a RNC message? Hard to imagine since she’s often called a ‘rising star’. And I’ll be first to say I can’t begin to understand Rep convoluted logic, but it’s also hard to think that she was speaking just for herself. Someone in the bowels of the Party thought they had a plan.
assume she is/ was to be rewarded with the vp slot on the Jebya or Kasich ticket
OT:
THEY NEED TO GO TO JAIL.
IT WAS A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM!
Nancy Osborne @NancyOsborne180
Snyder’s people changed data to hide #FlintWater poisoning #TBATs http://michiganradio.org/post/... …@maddow @MMFlint
UH HUH
UH HUH
OTl
City hall office containing water documents broken into, officials say
FLINT, MI – Officials say a recent city hall break-in occurred in an office containing documents related to the city’s water system.
Flint police previously reported a break-in at City Hall, 1101 S. Saginaw St. over the holiday break, but information released Monday, Jan. 11, confirmed the break-in happened at a vacant executive office in the mayor’s suite that contained documents related to the city’s water system.
“The office that was broken into is where some water files are kept,” Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said. “However, at this point it’s hard to tell if any files were taken. The only thing we know for sure was stolen is a TV.”
Flint Police Chief James Tolbert said investigators were working to discover if any documents connected to the city’s water system were taken.
The break-in was discovered Dec. 28 by an employee when they returned from work following the holiday break. No other offices were disturbed.
“The video doesn’t show anything,” Tolbert said. “Officers are now doing a security survey.”…
yes!! but I’m kind of amazed the records room didn’t accidentally catch fire from the teevee thief’s cigarette
Q-Did Nikki Haley target just Trump?
A-No. She targeted any and all people who threaten to successfully shake up/change/derail or otherwise subvert the dercades-old Permanent Government fix. You know…two “opponents” fighting for the presidency, both of whom have proven their loyalty to the PermaGov. Win/win. For the status quo, anyway.
Duh.
Trump is…so far… simply the most successful at that effort. Should Bernie Sanders somehow prove to be as dangerous as Mr. Trump, he too would become a target. bet on it.
The Deep State/PermaGov has no other (non-violent) options remaining as far as Trump is concerned other than rhetorical attack from from both sides of the center. That is, Obama and Haley yesterday.
AG
And…I am sure that by now at least a few PermaGov political managers have figured out that any direct references to Trump only exacerbate the problem he is posing, so…”No names, please!!!” is the order of the day.
AG
Booman — Sorry, but some of the “commenters” on this specific matter sound like illiterates/boobs —> (permagovernment) — Please, folks — let’s start reading some books and less of the boob-tube!!! Trump is DAMAGED GOODS. Doesn’t matter who put Nikki Haley up to delivering the GOP’s response to the SOTU message, she was “right on point”. It will NOT help Trump! There are more than a few “Moderate” Republicans in this country. They are now being given “breathing room” to flex their muscles and cast the primary votes accordingly! Wouldn’t surprise me to see an uptick for the boring/bland JEB BUSH! Civility is not a small matter for these “moderate” Republicans. They see the writing on the wall and unless Civility is reinstalled to some degree their party (Republican) will face a long, long exile in the wilderness.
Case in point regarding moderate Republicans:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160109/ISSUE05/301099987/rauners-business-pals-are-turning-
sour-on-him
Trump has not got a chance for the leaders of the party of Nixon knows how to make things go their way.
Haley is young enough that she can blow off the 2016 election in favor of being a GOP “moderate” voice for 2020, 2024, or 2028. Bush, Christie, and Kasich are the closest the 2016 GOP contenders in this election cycle get to moderate and all three are only a could of bricks short of being full on teabaggers. Plus, their combined polling numbers are hovering around ten percent in Iowa, 30% in NH (Kasich and Christie have taken up residence there), and 9% nationally. The three are all weak but in different ways; thus, the GOP wouldn’t know which two to kick to the curb to leave one standing to beat Trump, Cruz, and Rubio. On the off chance that that could be done, Haley has positioned herself for VP this time around. However, she should be considered a second tier choice b/c she wouldn’t put a “blue” state in play and would only make the ticket not look so wacky, racist, and sexist, decent window dressing that won’t fool enough voters.
I think Chris Christie tried to position himself as the first post-Tea Party GOP presidential candidate, but it turned out he was too early, and his scandals and his personality derailed him anyway. So yeah, there is a vacancy for that role, and I figure somebody’s going to fill it, Haley or someone else.
Yes he did. Too bad for him that the competition for that slot was in Palinesque territory and he can’t catch up. So, he’s left to spar with what passes for moderate in this election cycle but in any other would be in wacko-crazyland.
The Hill – Haley responds to SOTU backlash …
Add another to the list of GOP pols that are ignoramuses.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.
Looks like another repug office holder who doesn’t know what is actually written in the US Constitution, even though she swore to uphold the same.
The Breitbart folks acknowledge that “The GOP Establishment has lost the popular vote in 5 of the last 6 presidential elections” and somehow they think nominating Trump is the answer? Alrighty then; proceed, morons, proceed.
Breitbart folks …………. think … ?????
Surely you jest.
My experience as a chemical dependency counselor has taught me that for change to happen, the person has to accept there is a problem. It’s not good enough that others point it out; they themselves need to see it’s a problem.
Now, all things said and done, the progressives, and even moderates, have pointed out the problems with the conservatives in the Republican party. But none of that will have any effect until the conservatives themselves actually articulate they have a problem.
I’m not sure if Nikki Haley is a conservative or not – I don’t follow politics intimately enough to know that. I’m aware of her name, having heard it a time or two on the news (via internet of course), but other than that I don’t really know her political ideology beyond being a Republican. However, this really is the first time a Republican has spoken out during an official forum addressing their own faults.
And this is where my point is going to come out: once someone admits to a problem, all hell breaks loose. Many, many people are invested in a persons problem. Sure, from the outside people will say “Hey, you’ve got a tail.” But from the inside, the whole system, whether it be a family, a business, or a political party, is going to resist the idea that they have a problem. So, the fact that this Republican backlash has happened towards one of their own is right in line with the beginning of healing and growth. This may possibly be the turning point for the Republican party. One that sees the nativists, the bigots, and the racists finally get flushed out of the Republican party’s power seats.
Understand, once someone truly sees they have a problem, the real chaos begins. So, I’m thinking popcorn. Lots and lots of popcorn.