I will always say I’m not a fan of Republicans going after Republicans because the only ones that win when that happens are the Democrats and the media, and we have to keep our eyes on 2022.
Nikki Haley (February 1, 2021)
I had an epiphany after observing the reaction to Justice Alito’s draft opinion (reversing Roe): if this is how the left reacts to Alito’s careful and considered argument, then no wonder Trump made them crazy. Biden’s got to go, but why knowingly stoke the seeds of division in 2024? The GOP has a deep bench, any of whom can make America great again just by not being Joe Biden.
Haven’t the last two presidents sown enough doubt about this house divided surviving threats foreign and domestic? It will not help to replace mad-liberal Biden with trouble-bound Trump. The next president must be competent and collegial (think Reagan); and younger, because a gathering of top Democrats (Biden-80, Pelosi-82, Sanders-80) looks like Grandparents Day to millennial voters. Trump (78 in 2024) should make way for a younger Republican (with a less toxic personality).
Ron DeSantis (age 43) is crushing it as governor of Florida, notably his COVID management and standing up to woke Disney. Nikki Haley (age 50) has the most complete state-and-national resume. Mike Pompeo (age 58) has Washington expertise, especially in national security. Glenn Youngkin (age 55) is the “business outsider” many Republicans hoped Trump would be in office. All four would continue Trump’s policies and discontinue the tweet-fights. Still, their paths all run through Trump, either with his endorsement or by TKO in the primaries – and why is that?
Because Trump won 74 million votes in 2020, and his base wants the “big steal” vindicated. That’s not enough, because his 2020 popular-vote deficit of 7 million is a red flag: the GOP base CANNOT elect its nominee without the help of independent voters (who broke for Biden). Most Republicans (56%) get this and, therefore, want a fresh face in 2024 (source: Gallup). Any of the four above will beat the hapless Joe Biden, but Haley alone has natural immunity to Democrat identity attacks.
Haley’s best offense is a shut-down defense. If Democrats claim her support for law and order is a “racist dog whistle” or that “xenophobia” is behind her immigration policies, they will hasten the shift of Asians and Latinos to the GOP. No way Joe Biden blames “sexism” for her pro-life position. The far-left is vulnerable to a non-white woman defending the American Dream or preaching less government from the bully pulpit. I hear Maggie Thatcher when Nikki Haley talks about conservatism:
“Going back to the basics, reminding everyone that government was never intended to be all things to all people. When you allow government in your life, they start to take more and more.”
That’s the Republican argument in a nutshell and the antidote to Biden progressivism, because the 2024 election is a referendum on President Biden (CNN polling now has him underwater on every issue). Haley’s detractors point to the Capitol riots, her words, and Trump’s behavior. It might be overblown.
In January 2021, she said Trump “went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him [or] listened to him.” In February, he refused to receive Haley at Mar a Lago (source: Politico). In April, she said she wouldn’t oppose Trump for president in 2024. In June, she credited Trump for “one of the hottest economies in American history; families thrived and businesses grew” (source: The Hill). Last December, Trump received her at Mar a Lago.
Remember that she called candidate Trump a “bully” in 2016 in support of Marco Rubio, and President Trump still named her UN ambassador, with a cabinet seat. After her surprise resignation in 2018, Trump had only praise: “She’s done a fantastic job and we’ve done a fantastic job together.”
Actually, Haley’s history suggests a carefully curated resume: state legislator in 2005, governor in 2011, UN ambassador in 2017, and go-to campaign surrogate in 2020. I’d argue her 2018 resignation from Trump’s cabinet was strategic: no more hearings with House Democrats forcing her “on the record” for or against Trump. It says a lot that now-governor Youngkin campaigned in Virginia with Haley rather than Trump, and out-polled Trump in every county.
That opened Haley’s eyes to MAGA (“a movement like the Tea Party coming from economic frustration [and] elected officials not listening”) because the policies – not Trump’s coattails – carried Virginia. Having the right policies without the wrong baggage has Haley atop the GOP “rock star sisterhood” and campaigning for Republicans all over America today.
Haley readily admits she is “paying it forward” by stumping for so many GOP candidates: Hunt, Luttrell and Van Duyne (TX), Mowers (NH), Walker (GA), Kim and Steel (CA), Feenstra, Miller-Meeks and Reynolds (IA), and even Sarah Palin (AK). She is at once perfecting her stump speech, getting exposure, and making the friends she’ll need in the 2024 primaries. Read what she’s telling mid-term crowds, and tell me you don’t hear Reagan.
Business Groups – My parents started a business out of their living room, so don’t tell me [they] didn’t build their business. American businesses deserve a federal government that doesn’t stand in their way [or] chase them overseas.
Immigrants – I had a white senator call me a rag head and an African-American legislator call me a conservative with a tan. Look at my parents, here legally with love for America and all the freedoms it has to offer.
Parents – Government took away parenting from the parents [and] took kids out of school. What is happening in our education system? Because you have to make this right.
Police Officers – Lawmakers should do everything in their power to support these brave men and women – not slander or defund them.
Women Executives – I’m a huge fan of women; I think we’re great. I wear heels, and it’s not for a fashion statement – it’s ammunition.
Working Families – We have to fight for the American family when [they’re] seeing higher prices at the grocery store [and] the gas pump. I’m not going to stop beating up on the Democrats for wasteful spending.
These pages have long credited Donald Trump for his marketing acumen. The man could size up an audience and speak to their situation. Now imagine that message coming from a woman. I did. Thus, the epiphany.