GOP ESTABLISHMENT QUEEN IS A POLITICIAN WITHOUT A PATH …
Let’s be honest: S.C. governor Nikki Haley‘s vice-presidential aspirations died a long time ago – expiring alongside the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
You know, this guy …
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(Cap via Time)
LOL …
In other words, Haley taking her name out of the running for the GOP vice-presidential nod was a “bless her heart” moment if ever there was one … a moment of comedic relief.
What was interesting about Haley’s big announcement, though? Her stated intent to support the “Republican nominee” for president … a guy whose name she refused to mention.
Yeah …
Heisenberg? Anybody?
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(Vid: Via)
Anyway, Haley’s commitment to support the “Republican nominee” signals that South Carolina’s, um, “tea party” governor isn’t interested in mounting an “independent” or “conservative” GOP establishment campaign against that individual (whose name is Donald Trump, in case you hadn’t heard).
Don’t get us wrong: We believe there will be a challenge to Trump from some “conservative” insider.
The status quo is simply too angry … and has too much invested in ensuring Trump’s defeat.
But that “someone” isn’t going to be Haley.
Why not? Several reasons …
First, while Haley’s betrayal of the conservative base of the party has made her a heroine to the Washington, D.C. GOP clique – don’t assume she is broadly-backed by the “GOP establishment.” As we noted, Haley’s decision to endorse Rubio wasn’t exactly clean. In fact, it was allegedly accompanied by pointless attempts to deceive several of Rubio’s GOP rivals – notably former Florida governor Jeb Bush and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
So yeah … the Bushes may be done with Trump, but they’re done with Haley, too.
But the end of Haley’s national road isn’t just due to the totally unnecessary sabotaging of personal relationships. There’s a bigger dimension to it.
We wrote recently of the fault lines within the GOP … fractures existing completely independent of the party nominating process. These fractures are expanding … and while Trump may never succeed in uniting them, neither will a candidate who told two-thirds of her own party to sit down and shut up.
In other words: Is Haley realistically-positioned to bring any of these diverging tectonic plates back together? No … not even a little bit.
More specifically, the establishment liberals and establishment conservatives currently promoting Haley as presidential timber fail to acknowledge that her record simply isn’t what she says it is.
Nor, for that matter, is her nationally-lauded “Confederate flag moment.”
Seriously, anyone who thinks Haley is a “conservative” needs to read this. Or this. Or this. Or … this.
And anyone who thinks she’s done good things for South Carolina needs to read this. Or this.
Haley isn’t going to run for president because she has no national base and no record of accomplishment. And even if she had those things, she could never survive the vetting.
In other words, Haley’s political future will remain confined to South Carolina … the only state that’s dumb enough to continue buying what she’s selling.
She’s discussed nationally for two reasons: She’s a woman, and she’s a minority. Beyond that, it’s abundantly clear there’s no “there there” when it comes to this status quo sycophant.