Nikki Haley's Aborted "Storm Plow Queen" D.C. Rescue Mission

BOONDOGGLE OR STANDARD PROCEDURE? WE’LL NEVER KNOW …

South Carolina’s “Republican” leaders claim they don’t have enough money to adequately maintain the Palmetto State’s roads and bridges, but S.C. governor Nikki Haley was reportedly preparing to spend untold sums of tax money leading a fleet of S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) trucks and equipment on a rescue mission to Washington, D.C. last month.

One SCDOT official privately confirmed this proposed caravan – organized in response to Winter Storm Jonas – however they said it had nothing to do with Haley.

“I’m not sure she even knew about it,” the official said.

Uh-huh.

The official said the agency’s leaders followed “standard regional emergency assistance protocol,” however multiple sources at the agency insisted the whole convoy idea was conceived as a public relations ploy for the governor.

According to an SCDOT maintenance employee, workers in the Midlands and Lowcountry regions of the state were told “to get all our trucks and equipment for snow removal ready because we were leaving the next morning to go to Washington, D.C. to help them handle the huge snowstorm.”

Upstate crews were reportedly not involved in the operation due to the threat of inclement weather in that part of the state.

The crews readied as instructed, but the next day the employee was reportedly told to “forget about it.”

“The trip’s been cancelled,” the employee’s supervisor allegedly said.

So … what happened to “Nimrata the Snow Plow Queen’s Magical D.C. Winter Adventure?”

A transportation watchdog tells us officials in the nation’s capital informed SCDOT leaders that the agency’s assistance was not required as part of the emergency response to the snow storm.

Lucky Washington, right?

“This incident says a lot,” the watchdog told us.  “Haley was willing to illegally spend state tax dollars outside the state just so she could get some more national publicity?  As though (SCDOT) is an expert in handling snow and ice?”

The watchdog added that SCDOT maintenance equipment is in “poor shape,” and that workers in this division – who recently received a “D” grade from Haley’s transportation secretary Christy Hall – ought to be “fixing potholes on our crumbling roads” instead.

We agree …

Haley has been a fixture on the national stage after delivering the “Republican” response to U.S. president Barack Obama‘s final State of the Union address last month.  How’d she manage her time in the limelight?  Eh …

Still, Haley is widely viewed as a possible vice presidential candidate … vetting issues notwithstanding.

One reason?  Her widely praised handling of last October’s “Floodmaggedon” – credit we maintain was not earned.

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