South Carolina Gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley is pushing on with her message—and leading the polls by quite a margin—despite the all-too-usual disdain some hold for women in politics … and the stigma attached to her ethnicity (a state senator referred to her as a “raghead”). Oh, and she’s also been accused of sleeping around.
Will Folks, a conservative blogger, and lobbyist Larry Marchant, a former campaign worker for rival Andre Bauer, who sits at the bottom of the poll, said they’ve shared pillow talk with Haley. Then, state Sen. Jake Knotts used “raghead” to describe Haley and the president of the United States, two elected officials who may be politically opposed but are similar in the way that matters most to Knotts.
Haley, a Methodist, was born and raised in South Carolina and attended Clemson University there; her parents, immigrants from India, are Sikhs, which must make Haley some sort of stealth candidate in Knotts’ view.
The politically tainted accusations of sexual misconduct, the ethnic slurs passed off as harmless and “intended in jest,” reek of sexism and nativism that is unfortunately as American as the apple pie some would also see as under attack – maybe by a sexy dish with multicultural spices. While Americans talk a good game about welcoming everyone, it’s clear that to a lot of people some citizens are more American than others. In 1928, the Catholicism of presidential candidate Al Smith was a deal-breaker. That you have to now have Muslims or Sikhs in the family tree to engender the wrath of some Christian Americans could, I suppose, be considered slow progress.
I don’t know, I think it’s pretty sad that Nikki Haley has had to endure so much crap. However, perhaps it’s working in her favor a bit:
According to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted June 5-6, Haley leads the Republican field of four at 43 percent, with her closest competitor 20 points behind. She has actually gained four points since the last survey taken before infidelity accusations and an ethnic slur took the race to a new low.
Many South Carolinians – embarrassed by a new wave of national ridicule – have certainly had enough. They would prefer a serious debate on jobs, health care and education. Some are still plenty mad and showed it at a Haley rally in Rock Hill, S.C., on Friday. “Haley’s Comet, Bye-Bye Boys!” read one sign.
“If they weren’t so scared, they wouldn’t have to bring this stuff up,” said Lindy Wetherell, a Lake Wylie small-business owner, wife and mother of three sons. Wetherell said women “have to be so much better than a man” when they compete. Like many women in the workforce, she has a story to tell. In a former job at a printing company, when she finished first in a sales drive, Wetherell said she heard the whispers and insults about how she should be earning a secretary’s pay. She said she admires Haley’s integrity. “She’s so down-to-earth.”
Okay, I was nice to Sarah Palin yesterday. I have to get back to my usual take on the former Alaskan Governor today and mention that, while I am impressed by Nikki Haley as a strong woman (even though I disagree with her politically), it makes me very, very nervous that she is being supported publicly by Palin. Apparently, I’m not alone here.
Palin’s input is problematic. While she has supported her “good friend” Haley through her troubles, Palin’s “real America” rhetoric is fuel for those who would divide the country between true patriots and everyone else. It’s been used to contrast her supporters with those who voted for President Obama, Tea Party and/or NRA members vs. those who abstain, rural vs. urban.
Unease with “the other” is behind Knotts’ foul notion of Haley and President Obama as not authentically American. Since Palin allowed cries of “terrorist” and signs asking for Obama’s birth certificate at campaign rallies without rebuke, she has to own a piece of that sentiment. When you toss out red meat, you can’t be surprised when the crowd smells blood.
Yeah, Sarah Palin, if you’re going to allow your supporters to rip Obama’s legitimacy and then support a candidate that opens the door for many of the same, albeit absurd, “concerns,” that’s just a wee bit hypocritical.
That said, though, it’s refreshing to see a strong female minority candidate, particularly in the South. Hell, it’s nice to see a female who’s not a blithering idiot Sarah Palin stepping up to the conservative plate.
What are your thoughts on Nikki Haley?
Everything I’ve read on her has been quite impressive,she seems to be the real deal. Wants more accountability in government and knows that our deficit spending will have us singing the blues shortly. Its great she’s from SC,that place is a trip! World class chauvinists roaming the hills of Carolina,if you girls ever want to bag one.
Uh, we’re concerned that she may have slept around?? Did we just forget totally about the Mark Sanford scandal? Somehow I don’t think she slept with some douchey bloggers, and even if she did, I doubt she could top Sanford’s escapades.
To be honest I don’t care that she slept around or cheated on her husband, most women do. What is disturbing is she did so with men who were essentially the “enemy”. It shows the type of thrill seeking reckless behavior you don’t really want in an elected official. Think about it out of all the men she could have had affairs with why them?
A couple of points.
You are making the usual mistake of assuming that because something is in print, it is true.
Surely you aren’t so naive as to believe every charge that you hear during a political campaign? If you are, please contact me asap – I have a really great opportunity for you that will require only a modest investment. *smirk*
In addition, what kind of alternate reality do you reside in where most women cheat on their significant others?
I find the assertion that you and Kai both are making that conservative views aren’t aired or welcomed here interesting and amusing. We have plenty of commenters who are on the conservative side.
Personally, I have liberal views on some things, conservative on others.
Know what that is called?
I have a fucking brain. I don’t need anyone telling me that I must believe in This, but not That.
What are you talking about? I was commenting on the story, it may or may not be true. Just like every other story. Deciding whether or not to belive a story and them voicing your opinion is how commenting works. I would think you would understand that. Or are you just being dense. As for “conservative views aren’t aired or welcomed” that makes no sense. Lots of conservative views are welcome here, I read them all the time. Look at Little Joey for instance. And really where did that even come from. I didn’t write anything of the kind, did the voices in your head tell you that? As for women cheating, all women cheat. In fact you really can’t call it cheating, that would assume it is in some way out of the norm. Why do you think their have been so many restrictions on female sexuality throughout history? It has been in the misguided belief that somehow a man could force a woman to be faithful, completely impossible. Men have been trying to make women faithful for the entirety of recorded human history, and not one has ever been successful, what does that tell you. The most you can expect from any woman is that she respects you enough to hide it from you.
Blurry, why are you asking this person anything?
According to him, all women cheat and no men’s children are biologically their own.
He knows this. It’s a fact.
Too true, Alzaetia.
Delusional for sure.
I think the commenters are a good mix. The conservatives seem to be in a minority, but most people are very reasonable about discussing the issues, even when disagreeing, and I don’t see any (non-troll) castigating conservatives for being conservatives.
But the authors, on the other hand…
Some of the articles that appear seem particularly biased. The one about how it couldn’t be the ‘year of women’ in politics, because it was only conservative women, and they don’t count, for example? It’s not everyone, of course, but some of the authors seem not to welcome conservative views at all.
That’s what I was referencing below. With a good touch of tongue-in-cheek, of course.
I will fess up, I don’t know much about her politics other than the conservative thing. But I will say she has that untouchable aura going that Hillary had for a little bit in New York. Anything she does right is a super-big-deal because she is a woman. Anything she does wrong is taboo to talk about or your “picking on the girl”. Hillary picked up the aura late in her campaign and then lost it for good after she won the senate seat. I have the feeling that Nikki will use it to ride into the Governor’s office and then crash and burn. Palin and the tea-baggers are giving her a push now, but I can only see them as long-term albatrosses. Plus her personal indiscretions do not fill me with confidence.
The “You can’t say that because I’m a GIRL :*(” attitude drives me up a wall, I think we’ve seen it several times in politics and it instantly makes me lose all respect for the candidate.
I doesn’t work if she says it, she has to look offended and a little scared. That way the men rush to defend, and women have flashbacks to when men were mean to them and sympathize. It can backfire and she just looks weak and confused.
I think it’s weird that America is so obsessed with our politicians’ private lives. The moral outrage we have over cheaters and hypocrites seems to be quite unique compared to a lot of other countries. That being said, speculation about male politicians happens all the time, so I don’t see how she should be treated any differently. She’s filling the shoes of a man who was shamed in front of the nation when he was caught lying about his whereabouts to leave the country and rendezvous with his mistress, leaving his wife and four(?) children alone on Father’s Day. I think there’s an acceptable amount of room for concern about marital fidelity in the South Carolina election because the man used public resources to fund his trips and put his state at risk when he didn’t put a deputy governor in charge during his out-of-the-state vacations.
I agree about the personal lives,I don’t care who my mechanic is sleeping with as long as my car is running well.
I think it matters if the politician is running on a platform of morality. If it’s someone who keeps going on and on about the sanctity of marriage and monogamy and fidelity and the destructive influences of homosexuality and prostitution, and then he’s found in bed with an underage gay prostitute or something, then I think that’s extremely important to know and to be furious about. It’s a direct lie and a betrayal of all the values this person claimed to stand for. Even if their major thing is honesty and they’re just plain caught cheating with another hetero adult partner, that would give me a lot of doubt about them since they clearly have no problem lying to someone they supposedly love and respect, much less random voters.
But if the candidate is all politics with no moral platform attached, then yeah, it’s really between the politician and their spouse and I don’t give a crap.
Agreed. I don’t care what they do in their personal life, as long as they don’t care what I do in my personal life. But when they’re legislating one thing, and moralizing about it, and living a hypocritical life, then it becomes a problem.
When it’s just ‘potential candidate has a wild past’, I don’t think there’s any relevance.
“But when they’re legislating one thing, and moralizing about it, and living a hypocritical life, then it becomes a problem.”
Absofuckinglutely. You completely nailed it.
I don’t think it’s hypocritical for Palin to support her… Palin is supporting her because of her conservative platform. I imagine, like most conservatives, she’s more interested in the candidate’s opinions than their skin color.
Clearly you haven’t been listening long enough. Conservatives are evil, racist nonhumans! They eat minority babies for supper!
Minority babies wrapped in puppies….PUPPIES!
mmmm, puppies. They’re the tastiest thing on my conservative plate!
Pingback: Nikki Haley Wins Republican Runoff, Poised to be South Carolina’s Next Governor - Zelda Lily: Feminism in a Bra
Pingback: New Report Puts Feminists Between a Rock and a Hard Place Regarding Christine O’Donnell – Zelda Lily, Feminism in a Bra