Nikki Haley Ping
South Carolina Governor 
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Posted on 01/13/2016 3:03:28 PM PST by conservativejoy
Man alive. I would have bet cash money, and not a small amount, that Haley would eventually endorse Rubio in South Carolina. I've operated under the assumption for months that she’d be his VP if he wins the nomination. Sure, there's bad blood between Haley and some of Rubio's advisors, but bygones will be bygones when there's a place on a national ticket at stake. Haley's political persona has always seemed to me much more like Rubio's than Ted Cruz’s - sunny, disinclined to bomb-throw, self-conscious about being a "next generation Republican," willing to make common cause with the left even on fraught policy matters (immigration, the Confederate flag debate). The playbook, I thought, was for Rubio to perform well in New Hampshire, earn a bunch of influential vote-of-confidence endorsements from prominent Republicans in South Carolina (starting with Haley), surprise everyone with a strong showing there, and then battle Cruz and Trump on an even footing in the SEC primary and Florida. You can remove Haley from the playbook now.
The most striking thing about this is how gratuitous it is. It's not a case of some reporter badgering her to answer, yes or no, if Rubio's too far left on immigration. Haley volunteers it. And not only does she volunteer it, she uses the word "amnesty." It's practically an attack-ad soundbite. If she wanted to respectfully disagree with Rubio, she could have either said "I disagree with him about comprehensive immigration reform" or just omitted him here altogether. That's the difference between this and other cases of potential VPs criticizing the eventual nominee, as Biden did to Obama during the 2008 Democratic debates. Biden was a fellow candidate and had to try to dent O; Haley didn't have to say a word here about Rubio, and she certainly didn't have to ding him on his biggest liability. The fact that she made a point of bringing it up makes me think she must have already quietly committed to another candidate. Some righties on Twitter are suggesting Christie, but c'mon. Nikki Haley's endorsement in South Carolina is a precious thing. She’s not going to waste her influence on him unless he shocks the world in New Hampshire and comes into SC with all kinds of momentum. Occam's razor says she's on Team Cruz and is helping him out here with a splashy attack on his establishment rival. In fact, she's specifically asked here about whether Cruz, like Trump, is one of those "angry voices" she criticized in her SOTU rebuttal last night. Any Rubio fan would eagerly answer that in the affirmative. Haley's answer: Nope, not really - but have I mentioned that Marco Rubio is pro-amnesty? Damn.
So there's your ticket, I guess: Cruz/Haley. We could do worse. Here's Haley, plus a new ad from a pro-Cruz Super PAC attacking Rubio on - ta da - amnesty.
but you do believe in importing 1000’s of potential terrorist islamics into this country, and you do support gay marriage and you do hate conservatives- so tell us how yer ‘better than’ Rubio again Nikki? Just go away traitor!
But the Spanish version of her speech says she does. Shame on her for this stunt.
Baloney. If she isn’t backing Rubio she is a Bushbot.
Tell that to your GOPee masters.
How can you trust a person who ran as a Tea Party person with Palin’s endorsement, and then pulled the crap with the Battle Flag.
She went to the Dark side like Darth Vader. She attacks the guy most responsible for bringing up the border issue, the illegals, the fact that radical Islam is crossing the border.
Haley attacks our own people and gets praised by Obama and all the Democrat’s for making their job easier.
I can see Haley featured in Democrat anti Trump and Cruz commercials, as a “see I told you so” attack AD.
Haley should be primary-ed and Trump should start a PAC to get rid of her. She isn’t a good Conservative Governor.
More than that she is a traitor to our side.
John McCain says the same thing. I think she means it the same way he does.
She’s being consistent - she doesn’t believe in amnesty, she does believe in amnestia.
LOL
Didn’t she support amnesty in Spanish version? And she criticized D. Trump for opposing amnesty? She also had promised not to remove the Confederate flag and yet the first chance she had she not only removed it but blamed it for causing homicides.
Her speech was more like Hillary than a REpub.
Buh bye gal
Damage control?
Yep. Somebody’s seeing the light after feeling the heat.
Mark Levin is ripping her apart, he played how she talks about illegals loving our laws and traditions? She sounds so dumb. Levin points out she makes no sense.
She does the Democrat’s job attacking her own party.
Useful Idiot for the Dems.
Anyone picking Haley would make me less likely to vote for them.
No need for the “?” mark.
She’s toast, IMHO.
She hoped to join the gravy train of tax payer money for life as do 99.999999999% of immigrants.
She’s 3rd world trash.
What she did last night insulting Trump with the RNC’s approval is mind-blowing. Should get the attention of the rank & file, we hope.
Haley remorse. Her political career is over.
I believe the GOPe told her what things to include and promised her a spot on the ticket when they give it to bush or kasic at the convention.
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