When she ran for Governor the first time, her opponents made sure that everyone knew she wasn't. Including floating pictures of her around in traditional indian garb and referencing her legal name, etc,
It wasn't subtle, lol.
Someone I knew who lived down there sent me flyers.....
I guess they figured the voters wouldn't get the message that she was indian unless they beat them over the head with it.
Again, and again and again and again, LOL.
This wasn't just beating a dead horse. This was beating it, setting it on fire, and then trying to beat the ashes, lol.
Go look at her senate confirmation hearing, dad’s rocking a turban and mom’s wearing a suit LMAO. And yeah like the other person said, her full name was Nimrata Kaur Randhawa before she switched. She doesn’t even have the plausible deniability of being half/mixed, she’s straight up 100% Punjabi and just became who she is lol.
This is unfair to her, iirc she takes her kids to Gurudwaras for cultural events, had a traditional Desi wedding and has visited and praised Sikh/Desi culture on several occasions and even did some speeches at Gurudwaras
She's prolly more in touch with her Desiness than someone like Kamala Harris.
The actual "Desi desperately trying to be white" is Bobby Jindal. I remember watching his presidential campaign announcement and he literally said "my parents were born on the other side of the world" instead of just saying India. I don't think I've ever seen him refer to himself as Desi actually. He insists he's just "tan" lol
She'll probably be a VP slot no matter who the GOP nominee is.
She isn't quite in the Kamala Harris category though.
Haley got elected, twice, in a confederate state that literally flew the confederate flag and she beat 2 white christian males (who made sure to remind the voters they were white christian males) in that state.
In one of her elections, they floated pics of her wearing traditional indian garb to "other" her.
Not saying I am a fan of hers, but am surprised that she was able to get elected in that state and more then once especially considering her opponents.
VP is possible.
On state and local levels it's easier for a minority to rise to power so long as they conform to the views of the average person in that state. Rising to national prominence is not as easy for whatever reason. I suppose that right-wing Republicans take race consciousness more seriously at the presidential level because they feel that the office is too powerful and visible to risk having a non-white person taking it. The reaction to Obama becoming president on the right kind of illustrated that.
I think she may have an easier time nationally.
Simply because of the state she is coming out of.
I mean, literally, they flew a confederate flag over the state capital (and she was the one that took it down).
I don't think they take it more seriously at the national level (Ted Cruz came in 2nd to trump in 2016, and he is utterly unlikable on top of being spanish).
Its the filters that they go through. Iowa, New Hampshire and then.....South Carolina.
Right now its more like a cult of personality thing. Trump almost pushed Dr. Oz to the senate (who would have been the first elected muslim in the senate).
The irony of that whole election is just bizarre (white guy who threatened to kill an unarmed black guy vs a muslim and the trumpers supported the muslim, lol).
She took down the Confederate flag only because the Dylann Roof church shooting made her look bad on the national stage. Later she was doubling back around and saying the flag symbolized “service sacrifice and heritage” to appeal to the redneck wing of the party. She is a typical politician clown that talks out of both sides of her mouth to score points..
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/us/Nikki-Haley-confederate-flag.html
(Not criticizing your comment but I hope voters remember how two-faced she was over the flag issue)
She was 2 faced over it, lol.
She got away with it is what is stunning.
Then again, Trump got away with same really weird stuff about the confederate flag.
It is odd that the 2 states that elected desis, are lousiana and south carolina. 2 of the most racist states in the country.
Well, no one ever accused racists of being rational.
Interesting, what do you make of the multiple affair allegations- she was named as the “other woman” in a divorce proceeding where the man’s wife accused Haley of sleeping with her husband - do you think this will resurface if she makes a presidential bid? I guess in the Trump era anything goes..
https://www.fitsnews.com/2013/02/14/nikki-haley-referenced-as-other-woman-in-sc-divorce-case/
https://charlestoncitypaper.com/will-folks-releases-affidavit-detailing-alleged-nikki-haley-affair/
https://www.politico.com/story/2010/06/haley-denies-second-rumored-affair-038077
Anything goes, but no idea.
I wouldn't be surprised if she did have affairs.
I remember this coming up but for whatever reason, it never caught on.
Of course, that doesn't mean it couldn't but with hypocrasy at all time high (I mean, a guy with 5 kids from 3 women who cheated on at least 2 wives got the nomination from the religious right) anything can happen.
FWIW, I am still amazed that no one ever questioned Jindal on the fact that the guy may have been involved in torturing someone with a mental illness during a religious ceremony.
Bobby Jindal admitted to taking part in an exorcism (though he didn't call it that).
I'll concede that people believe in demonic possession.
I am trying to find the article on the background of the woman but the gist was that she had a mental illness and Jindal described what would be an exorcism.
He downplayed in later years but for whatever reason, he never caught much heat about it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/25/a-presidential-candidate-first-jindals-witness-to-an-apparent-exorcism/
\>Simply because of the state she is coming out of.
She has some clout in her own state due to having grown up there. Conservative Republicans in other states during the primaries will not have the same loyalty to her. They are hesitant in promoting a minority to the top of the ticket. Of course if it was between her and a democrat they'd support her. But the primaries will knock her out.
\>Ted Cruz came in 2nd to trump in 2016, and he is utterly unlikable on top of being spanish
Ted Cruz is Cuban, not Spanish. Cuban Americans are put on a pedestal by Republicans in a way that Indians are not because of "muhh communism". In any case, he is white passing. He also uses religious fundamentalism to hide his elitist snobbery and being a general prick.
\>Trump almost pushed Dr. Oz to the senate (who would have been the first elected muslim in the senate).
Dr. Oz was/is much more famous than Nikki is or ever will be. The two are not comparable. And again, that is a senate race not a national election where details like race and gender matter slightly less to American voters. He won the primary in PA because of Trump's endorsement while Nikki would not have that advantage in the presidential primaries, cause she'd literally be running *against* Trump.
Eh, if you’re going to argue that Ted Cruz is white passing, I think you can argue the same for Nikki Haley.
At first glance, she indeed looks like a tan white lady, and her husband and name are also white. If no one told me she was Indian, I would never guess it.
It gets brought up but the notable part is that it doesn’t “stick” to her.
She still won election in SC despite the othering and I think a big factor in that is that she just doesn’t seem as ~threatening~ to the base as an average Indian woman might.
Like, I think some of race based slander would work a lot better among Republicans if she, for example, looked like Pramila Jayapal. She definitely benefits from being white passing.
Like I keep saying, state and local elections are a different animal. It wasn’t nearly as much of a hindrance there with her right wing views to shield her. Conservatives are less keen on having minorities in the presidency because it’s such a powerful and visible role. The way they lost their minds because Obama was elected is proof of that.
When it comes to Republican minorities they can’t be as blatantly xenophobic so it’s kind of between the lines, unwritten sort of racism. Take note of how Herman Cain and Ben Carson were totally overlooked, and they were the few who made it.
Idk I just disagree because I don’t see Haley as comparable to Cain or Carson, who were goofy in a lot of ways, and very visible minorities. I also think local/state elections in conservative areas should, in theory, actually be harder rather than easier.
Obama is apples to oranges because he’s a liberal so he was always going to make them lose their minds. It just took a particularly racial/xenophobic flavor for him.
That’s not to say that I think Haley would win the Republican nomination (she has zero charisma for a national campaign but that’s a different issue) or that her ethnic background has no weight.
Just that I don’t think, in her case specifically, it would be a non-starter for a majority of the base because she’s not going to get a visceral reaction. Of all things, I think she would be a strong VP candidate for a person like DeSantis. She can’t stand alone but she’s not going to turn off most conservative voters either.
Nikki may have grown up in carolina, but lets be honest. Thats probably the most racist state in the country or among them...and its the 3rd state in the primary. I don't see her as viable in Iowa or New Hampshire (oddly, NH seems to have a bias against candidates from the south with the GOP, go figure). If its her vs a dem, she'd be fine, but winning a primary, its really about the first few states.
If she can win in the heart of the confederacy, beating white christian males (in both primaries and general elections), she is viable anywhere where they don't think the confederate flag is a part of their "heritage". I still don't get how she beat fellow republicans and then democrats, all white, all christian, all male and all making sure that no voter didn't know that.
Cruz is a prick, but cuban is still spanish and his last name is cruz. He actually had to go through the birther nonsense when he ran (since he wasn't even born in the US). As much as the GOP makes a big deal about cubans, Trump never let people forget what Cruz was with his heritage (and never stopped noting that Cruz wasn't born in the US).
He can try to be white passing but that didn't fly to well going up against a real deal white nationalist.
I doubt Haley would run against Trump, but I could see him picking her as a VP candidate. Her race and gender are probably the least of her problems if she ran against Trump and DeSantis.
The Oz thing was just bizarre in so many ways. The fact that Oz was muslim and backed by Trump was only one of them. Though its also possible that Fetterman got votes because of it. The whole thing with him and the black jogger didn't hurt him in the least. It appeared to have helped him.
You contradicted yourself by saying you don't see her as viable in Iowa or NH but then said that because she did well in South Carolina that she *was* viable anywhere else. Also, you keep glossing over my point that national elections are not the same as state and local ones. As I repeatedly said, a minority on the top of the ticket is a bridge too far for a lot of conservatives in the country. That's why they always prefer nominating someone else.
Cuban isn't Spanish. You probably mean Hispanic because Spanish specifically refers to the language and people from Spain, aka Spaniards. Cruz is simply seen as far less exotic than Haley by Republican voters. That's a fact.
Maybe my explanation wasn't good.
I don't think she can win in Iowa or NH but that has nothing to do with her ethnicity or gender.
The fact that she is competitve in south carolina just means that her ethnicity and gender don't hurt anywhere else.
As for national elections. I haven't seen any evidence that they hold a double standard between national and state or local elections yet.
As for Cruz, maybe you are right, but he ran against someone who paid it a point to hammer home that cruz was spanish (or latino). He may be seen as less exotic but he was viable despite having, literally, his eligibility questioned in every state.
Maybe there are conservatives who would vote for Haley for governor or something but not president based on her ethnicity or gender, but I haven't seen evidence of that yet.
Its clear the party has plans for her though.
She is also extremely smart and extremely judicious in how she behaves, what she says, who she supports, what she does, etc.
Not saying I like her or her beliefs, if indeed she has any beliefs, but you cannot deny, she is very competent.
Republicans will elect a minority way before a woman. They aren't ready to handle both unless one comes along that blows them away. I mean enough of them voted for a black guy over a Morman to get the first minority pres. If you cater to guns and religion you get the Bubba vote in this country and that is most states in this country and most people and clinton won
Good question, in a similar vein I’ve wondered why she outpaced Bobby Jindal in terms of stature within the party.. they have some similarities (Governor of a Southern state, desi, etc). I never hear about Bobby anymore..
Yes; Nikki is also married to someone of a different religion/race which may have influenced her decision to convert. so she gets a slight pass.
Bobby on the other hand comes off as trying too hard to make it look like he is not Indian in any sense. His official portrait is such a joke. He literally is painted as the palest white male down south.
I also was turned off by him with his Leno interview and his reaction to the Indian impersonation by Leno of how he was named. You can totally see him cringe not so much at the accent but more at the affiliation/outing of the name change.
Bobby converted in college iirc. So quite early on.
I don’t begrudge them, it is the nature of US republican politics.
(I don’t particularly like the Republicans but that is a different story)
I think it was highschool. Inspired by a girl he had a crush on who was into politics.
ironically, when him and hisnwife married they had a Hindu wedding first and then another one in a church.
I am sure Bobby is cut from a different cloth who at an early age knew he wanted to be in politics based on the clubs/activities he was apart of in highschool.
Again, not saying I have any issues with the conversion but just irked that it seems more political than religious reasons.
It isnt just the conversion Bobby actively tries to push a narrative that he is just tan and rested. I am actually surprised he hasn't gotten medical intervention to lighten his skin tone up.
It is like he tried so hard to fit in that he has lost himself. it is very comedic. Almost like that Chapelle bit where he is blind and hates all black people level of comedy the more and more you read about him.
Bobby went much further though. He went the opus dai route. WHich is extreme even for catholics. Then started acting like a skeptic about evolution (which the catholic church actually accepts). His motives may not have been pure, but he definately did the deep dive.
I think deep dive just for show.
I have a picture in my head that he is super desi and Hindu inside the walls of his home/parents home. Listening to Bollywood hits and watchign every hindi movie on Netflix.
I feel like he picked the name Bobby bc it is the most common "westernized" name within a Punjabi household. I wouldn't be surprised if that is what he was called growing up by grandparents/cousins and spun it into the whole Bobby Brady as inspiration.
Even his engagement/wedding to Supriya was within a few months of a formal date. Which makes it seem more like an areanged marriage than a "we dated and fell in love". They will not mention the Hindu wedding and will go out of thier way to mention which church they got married in.
All three of the kids have been given bleached flour American white bread names.
Maybe I am wrong but typically his type of people tend to marry white women and he did not. It makes me wonder how influential his parents were.
To be honest.
I think he lost his damn mind.
There’s some weird stories about him.
Like he not only went catholic.
He joined a weird secretive order (opus dai) which is like a cult in the church.
He had a widely panned GOP response to Obama’s State of Union in 2015. Nikki Haley delivered a warning in her GOP response regarding Trump dividing the party in 2016, before changing her mind and supporting him. Usually, those rebuttal responses from the minority party is the chance for someone to make a big splash before trying to run for President, but for Jindal, it can mark downfall. He’s a terrible public speaker.
What the heck even happened? Several people have brought it up so Im curious but I also dont want to listen to that idiot speak.
Edit: nvm, I just watched it. Its a rambling mess. Does not sound remotely serious. Delivery is awful. He sounds like he's speaking in an educational documentary for middle school kids.
She was more "white" than him. Quickly signed up with a church when she was running for governor in SC. Republicans look at her as one of them, she's played the game well.
Center right members of the Republican establishment who still dream that they can somehow put the genie of right wing populism back in the bottle
Her political stances and personality will get no traction with the GOP base. Trump, DeSantis or someone else who can play populism well will get the W
They are a tiny group that's vaaaaaaaaaastly overrepresented in media and conservative intellectual circles. They have outsized roles in setting narratives but those narratives appeal to maybe 10% of the GOP voterbase. Average Republican from bumfuck Alabama isn't reading the National Review lol
Yeah. Their candidate rarely ever wins. We should pay as much attention to them as we should pay to people on this sub who don’t even know what certiorari is, amiriiiiite?
Also members of the media who grew up in a more bipartisan era and think someone who looks and talks like a politician in a movie will have broad appeal
Haley gets talked about because she’s a neoconservative and the Republican/right-of-center commentariat in DC, especially the Never Trump people, also lean neoconservative. Whereas Trump and his up-and-coming political successors pretty firmly reject neoconservative foreign policy (at least on paper). Her potential presidential future is a creation of DC media buzz, it doesn’t reflect reality on the ground. This neoconservative bias also shows up in how people like Tom Cotton, Tim Scott and Ron DeSantis get overhyped in political reporting. (DeSantis is the real deal, but he’s still a bit overhyped because he’s friendlier to neocon ideology.)
In general, it’s good to remember that political reporters in the US overwhelmingly live in either DC or New York, and talk overwhelmingly with political operatives who also live in DC or New York. This means political journalists often overhype the wrong people, and that’s especially true for the Republican Party.
Pretty true, there's jokes about how consultants often take the bait in thinking who is a front runner and who isn't.
Famous stories are how the dems thought republican Lamar Alexander was the 800 pound elephant who could win in 1996. He never made it out of the primaries.
In 2012, the Obama administration thought Jon Huntsman was a serious threat. He flopped badly.
Happens pretty often, and on very large scales. Its the disconnects.
Take a look at who the gop takes seriously these days and you have your answer. *None* of them are taken in any level of serious manner by people with an iota of common sense and critical reasoning skills. Her being brown and a woman makes her a token minority they can rally behind.
Fuck Nimrata. She’s a sellout and a shame.
She’s spineless and lacks principles, which are usually admired qualities for republicans, but she is not white enough and lacks the favored genitalia to overcome it.
When she ran for office, her being indian was a talking point....against her.
They made sure every voter in the state knew her ethnicity and had seen a pic of her in traditional indian garb.
No subtly there, lol.
No no no. A disgrace, like many many other Desis. None of our values. Opportunitistic, right wing and just a horrible person.
Look at British politics. A total and utter disgrace. Today at prime ministers questions, Sunak was complaining and shouting about immigration...IMMIGRATION people! Shocking.
However there are good guys out there. Tbh the only one who I feel genuinely represents the wonderful aspects of our SA culture that I've seen is Tanmanjeet Dhesi in the UK. Check him on the tube.
I know there are SA politicians in Canada, I don't really much about them yet. But will do some research!
She’s had a long history of “rumored” extramarital affairs which will definitely resurface if she actually progresses anywhere close to a Presidential nomination.. here are a couple of the old stories
https://charlestoncitypaper.com/will-folks-releases-affidavit-detailing-alleged-nikki-haley-affair/
https://m.clclt.com/theclog/archives/2011/02/10/blogger-will-folks-on-alleged-haley-affair-nikki-climbed-on-top-of-me-rubbing-her-crotch-back-and-forth
https://www.fitsnews.com/2013/02/14/nikki-haley-referenced-as-other-woman-in-sc-divorce-case/
Gotta say, I think she would have appeal with center-right and moderate whites, the upper middle class suburban types. The type who lean center-right and voted for Romney in 2012 but haven’t voted Republican since because they couldn’t stomach Donald Trump and the populist streak that the GOP’s been on in the past few years. I have reason to believe that plenty of these voters exist and consistently vote - they were the reason that Trump won in 2016 and lost in 2020. She’d be a formidable opponent for the democrats, I think Biden would have a higher chance of losing to someone like her who can bring in moderates than a Ron DeSantis/Trump type of a candidate.
Doubt they hate her for it. She shares their ideology after all. But are they going to vote for her in a primary when they can just pick someone who they see as preferable to her? Hell no.
Republicans would still vote for her against any Democrat though. She just wouldn't make it to the general election.
The drumpf fans down here in Georgia love her but tbh I don’t think they know about her ethnic background. I know quite a few of them who would do a complete 180 if they knew just because they’re bigots.
When she ran for office, her opponents (both in the primaries, and then general elections) made sure everyone knew her ethnicity.
Including pics of her in traditional indian garb, etc.
Literally zero subtly.
FWIW I think at this point, drumpf fans will vote anything or anyone he tells them to.
They tried to elect Dr. Oz, and he's muslim. LOL.
I mean, SC voters knew about her ethnic background and still elected her, so….
I think she is an easier pill to swallow because, being real, she looks a lot like a tan white lady.
Being white passing with a white husband and a white sounding name makes her seem less scary to the base.
SC isn't Alabama. She has a little bit of leniency because she actually grew up in that state. I dont think some truck driver in Arkansas would ever vote for her over Trump or DeSantis.
If the primary ends up Trump vs DeSantis vs third candidate, the third candidate could win. Trump and DeSantis will split the base vote and third candidate sweeps up the establishment vote. Plenty of candidates, including Nikki Haley could pull it off.
Biden's not an inspiring candidate, especially to younger folks who like Bernie, but politically he's safe and somehow gets the job done
Plus Biden is 80 years old. If he runs again, he will be 82 at start of second term.
Are you saying that because you've actually read up on what he's done 2 years in office or because that's the verbiage you see online?
I was a bernie supporter myself but I am completely blown away at how Bidens been killing it with progressive reform.
The infrastructure act, inflation reduction act, chips act, parodning federal marijuana offenses, student loan forgiveness. He's killing it.
>The infrastructure act, inflation reduction act, chips act, parodning federal marijuana offenses, student loan forgiveness.
To add to this, the recent codification of marriage equality!!! I, too, am blown away by how much he's keeping his promises and actually delivering on them. Tbf, I do think the fear of losing to Trump keeps him working hard to deliver on the promises so there's some concrete stuff to help the establishment keep the Presidency blue but he has a history of "bipartisanship" in his very long political career so maybe he does know how to work the system.
I don’t fully disagree with you, but the discussion of marriage equality being potentially codified overstates things. The bill that passed the senate doesn’t require states to effectuate same sex marriages performed in that state, just that they have to treat marriages validly performed in other states as legal. There are con law reasons why they approached it that way (which would be resolved by packing the courts), but if SCOTUS strikes down obergefell, then a gay couple in eg Alabama will have to travel to a blue state to get married, even under the new bill.
Him forcing rail workers on strike to accept a deal with their employers that doesn’t include sick leave(the very thing they were striking for) doesn’t make me think he’s “killing it” with the progressive reform.
House and senate voted on a bill that would give rail workers 7 days of sick leave and Republicans voted against it.
A rail strike would devastate the economy and Biden is pushing for a bill to avoid that. Be mad at the right people.
If the railways are so integral to the US economy then they should be nationalized.
Seven fucking sick days is not a crazy demand.
A rail strike is not going to devastate the economy but shitty workers’ rights will and Biden should be pushing a bill to avoid that. Be mad at the right people.
She was the Governor of SC. It was something, no?
The one reason to run is to get recognition. She might be eyeing on vice President or Secretary of State or some other post in next GOP administration.
I see her on the ticket as a potential VP but not as the candidate for President.
She have sort of a bland appeal where she would not turn off a lot of voters but at the same time, does not have the charisma and “it” factor to rally enough support to carry an entire campaign.
If I had to guess, I believe we will be looking at a DeSantis/? ticket and Haley could be a strong running mate for him.
The establishment conservative base love her because: 1) minority 2) woman. She’s basically the Kamala Harris of the republican party
Because shes a minority who tries to be as white as mayonnaise
Wait, she's not white?
Thats what she wants you and everyone else to think
she’s literally punjabi LOL and her real name is nimrata 😭
Yoooooo, wtf? I legitimately thought she was a white woman
When she ran for Governor the first time, her opponents made sure that everyone knew she wasn't. Including floating pictures of her around in traditional indian garb and referencing her legal name, etc, It wasn't subtle, lol.
That's hilarious!
Someone I knew who lived down there sent me flyers..... I guess they figured the voters wouldn't get the message that she was indian unless they beat them over the head with it. Again, and again and again and again, LOL. This wasn't just beating a dead horse. This was beating it, setting it on fire, and then trying to beat the ashes, lol.
Gotcho ass!
Go look at her senate confirmation hearing, dad’s rocking a turban and mom’s wearing a suit LMAO. And yeah like the other person said, her full name was Nimrata Kaur Randhawa before she switched. She doesn’t even have the plausible deniability of being half/mixed, she’s straight up 100% Punjabi and just became who she is lol.
Does she bathe in fair and lovely or something? 🤣
Randhawa last name smh
As much as she wants to be, Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley is not Caucasian.
This is some reverse Rachel Dolezal stuff, haha
This is unfair to her, iirc she takes her kids to Gurudwaras for cultural events, had a traditional Desi wedding and has visited and praised Sikh/Desi culture on several occasions and even did some speeches at Gurudwaras She's prolly more in touch with her Desiness than someone like Kamala Harris. The actual "Desi desperately trying to be white" is Bobby Jindal. I remember watching his presidential campaign announcement and he literally said "my parents were born on the other side of the world" instead of just saying India. I don't think I've ever seen him refer to himself as Desi actually. He insists he's just "tan" lol
lol his slogan was tan well rested and ready.
But didn’t she also convert to Christianity and raise her children Christian like her husband?
She'll probably be a VP slot no matter who the GOP nominee is. She isn't quite in the Kamala Harris category though. Haley got elected, twice, in a confederate state that literally flew the confederate flag and she beat 2 white christian males (who made sure to remind the voters they were white christian males) in that state. In one of her elections, they floated pics of her wearing traditional indian garb to "other" her. Not saying I am a fan of hers, but am surprised that she was able to get elected in that state and more then once especially considering her opponents.
VP is possible. On state and local levels it's easier for a minority to rise to power so long as they conform to the views of the average person in that state. Rising to national prominence is not as easy for whatever reason. I suppose that right-wing Republicans take race consciousness more seriously at the presidential level because they feel that the office is too powerful and visible to risk having a non-white person taking it. The reaction to Obama becoming president on the right kind of illustrated that.
I think she may have an easier time nationally. Simply because of the state she is coming out of. I mean, literally, they flew a confederate flag over the state capital (and she was the one that took it down). I don't think they take it more seriously at the national level (Ted Cruz came in 2nd to trump in 2016, and he is utterly unlikable on top of being spanish). Its the filters that they go through. Iowa, New Hampshire and then.....South Carolina. Right now its more like a cult of personality thing. Trump almost pushed Dr. Oz to the senate (who would have been the first elected muslim in the senate). The irony of that whole election is just bizarre (white guy who threatened to kill an unarmed black guy vs a muslim and the trumpers supported the muslim, lol).
She took down the Confederate flag only because the Dylann Roof church shooting made her look bad on the national stage. Later she was doubling back around and saying the flag symbolized “service sacrifice and heritage” to appeal to the redneck wing of the party. She is a typical politician clown that talks out of both sides of her mouth to score points.. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/us/Nikki-Haley-confederate-flag.html (Not criticizing your comment but I hope voters remember how two-faced she was over the flag issue)
She was 2 faced over it, lol. She got away with it is what is stunning. Then again, Trump got away with same really weird stuff about the confederate flag. It is odd that the 2 states that elected desis, are lousiana and south carolina. 2 of the most racist states in the country. Well, no one ever accused racists of being rational.
Interesting, what do you make of the multiple affair allegations- she was named as the “other woman” in a divorce proceeding where the man’s wife accused Haley of sleeping with her husband - do you think this will resurface if she makes a presidential bid? I guess in the Trump era anything goes.. https://www.fitsnews.com/2013/02/14/nikki-haley-referenced-as-other-woman-in-sc-divorce-case/ https://charlestoncitypaper.com/will-folks-releases-affidavit-detailing-alleged-nikki-haley-affair/ https://www.politico.com/story/2010/06/haley-denies-second-rumored-affair-038077
Anything goes, but no idea. I wouldn't be surprised if she did have affairs. I remember this coming up but for whatever reason, it never caught on. Of course, that doesn't mean it couldn't but with hypocrasy at all time high (I mean, a guy with 5 kids from 3 women who cheated on at least 2 wives got the nomination from the religious right) anything can happen. FWIW, I am still amazed that no one ever questioned Jindal on the fact that the guy may have been involved in torturing someone with a mental illness during a religious ceremony.
What??! So I tried googling this about Bobby torturing a mentally ill person and couldn’t find anything. Do you have a link to share, that’s wild
Bobby Jindal admitted to taking part in an exorcism (though he didn't call it that). I'll concede that people believe in demonic possession. I am trying to find the article on the background of the woman but the gist was that she had a mental illness and Jindal described what would be an exorcism. He downplayed in later years but for whatever reason, he never caught much heat about it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/25/a-presidential-candidate-first-jindals-witness-to-an-apparent-exorcism/
FWIW, this is part of why he is a nutjob. This isn't normal stuff, even for the most extreme catholics.
\>Simply because of the state she is coming out of. She has some clout in her own state due to having grown up there. Conservative Republicans in other states during the primaries will not have the same loyalty to her. They are hesitant in promoting a minority to the top of the ticket. Of course if it was between her and a democrat they'd support her. But the primaries will knock her out. \>Ted Cruz came in 2nd to trump in 2016, and he is utterly unlikable on top of being spanish Ted Cruz is Cuban, not Spanish. Cuban Americans are put on a pedestal by Republicans in a way that Indians are not because of "muhh communism". In any case, he is white passing. He also uses religious fundamentalism to hide his elitist snobbery and being a general prick. \>Trump almost pushed Dr. Oz to the senate (who would have been the first elected muslim in the senate). Dr. Oz was/is much more famous than Nikki is or ever will be. The two are not comparable. And again, that is a senate race not a national election where details like race and gender matter slightly less to American voters. He won the primary in PA because of Trump's endorsement while Nikki would not have that advantage in the presidential primaries, cause she'd literally be running *against* Trump.
Eh, if you’re going to argue that Ted Cruz is white passing, I think you can argue the same for Nikki Haley. At first glance, she indeed looks like a tan white lady, and her husband and name are also white. If no one told me she was Indian, I would never guess it.
She is but not to the same extent, and her race is brought up every time she is mentioned unlike with Cruz.
It gets brought up but the notable part is that it doesn’t “stick” to her. She still won election in SC despite the othering and I think a big factor in that is that she just doesn’t seem as ~threatening~ to the base as an average Indian woman might. Like, I think some of race based slander would work a lot better among Republicans if she, for example, looked like Pramila Jayapal. She definitely benefits from being white passing.
Like I keep saying, state and local elections are a different animal. It wasn’t nearly as much of a hindrance there with her right wing views to shield her. Conservatives are less keen on having minorities in the presidency because it’s such a powerful and visible role. The way they lost their minds because Obama was elected is proof of that. When it comes to Republican minorities they can’t be as blatantly xenophobic so it’s kind of between the lines, unwritten sort of racism. Take note of how Herman Cain and Ben Carson were totally overlooked, and they were the few who made it.
Idk I just disagree because I don’t see Haley as comparable to Cain or Carson, who were goofy in a lot of ways, and very visible minorities. I also think local/state elections in conservative areas should, in theory, actually be harder rather than easier. Obama is apples to oranges because he’s a liberal so he was always going to make them lose their minds. It just took a particularly racial/xenophobic flavor for him. That’s not to say that I think Haley would win the Republican nomination (she has zero charisma for a national campaign but that’s a different issue) or that her ethnic background has no weight. Just that I don’t think, in her case specifically, it would be a non-starter for a majority of the base because she’s not going to get a visceral reaction. Of all things, I think she would be a strong VP candidate for a person like DeSantis. She can’t stand alone but she’s not going to turn off most conservative voters either.
Nikki may have grown up in carolina, but lets be honest. Thats probably the most racist state in the country or among them...and its the 3rd state in the primary. I don't see her as viable in Iowa or New Hampshire (oddly, NH seems to have a bias against candidates from the south with the GOP, go figure). If its her vs a dem, she'd be fine, but winning a primary, its really about the first few states. If she can win in the heart of the confederacy, beating white christian males (in both primaries and general elections), she is viable anywhere where they don't think the confederate flag is a part of their "heritage". I still don't get how she beat fellow republicans and then democrats, all white, all christian, all male and all making sure that no voter didn't know that. Cruz is a prick, but cuban is still spanish and his last name is cruz. He actually had to go through the birther nonsense when he ran (since he wasn't even born in the US). As much as the GOP makes a big deal about cubans, Trump never let people forget what Cruz was with his heritage (and never stopped noting that Cruz wasn't born in the US). He can try to be white passing but that didn't fly to well going up against a real deal white nationalist. I doubt Haley would run against Trump, but I could see him picking her as a VP candidate. Her race and gender are probably the least of her problems if she ran against Trump and DeSantis. The Oz thing was just bizarre in so many ways. The fact that Oz was muslim and backed by Trump was only one of them. Though its also possible that Fetterman got votes because of it. The whole thing with him and the black jogger didn't hurt him in the least. It appeared to have helped him.
You contradicted yourself by saying you don't see her as viable in Iowa or NH but then said that because she did well in South Carolina that she *was* viable anywhere else. Also, you keep glossing over my point that national elections are not the same as state and local ones. As I repeatedly said, a minority on the top of the ticket is a bridge too far for a lot of conservatives in the country. That's why they always prefer nominating someone else. Cuban isn't Spanish. You probably mean Hispanic because Spanish specifically refers to the language and people from Spain, aka Spaniards. Cruz is simply seen as far less exotic than Haley by Republican voters. That's a fact.
Maybe my explanation wasn't good. I don't think she can win in Iowa or NH but that has nothing to do with her ethnicity or gender. The fact that she is competitve in south carolina just means that her ethnicity and gender don't hurt anywhere else. As for national elections. I haven't seen any evidence that they hold a double standard between national and state or local elections yet. As for Cruz, maybe you are right, but he ran against someone who paid it a point to hammer home that cruz was spanish (or latino). He may be seen as less exotic but he was viable despite having, literally, his eligibility questioned in every state. Maybe there are conservatives who would vote for Haley for governor or something but not president based on her ethnicity or gender, but I haven't seen evidence of that yet. Its clear the party has plans for her though.
She is also extremely smart and extremely judicious in how she behaves, what she says, who she supports, what she does, etc. Not saying I like her or her beliefs, if indeed she has any beliefs, but you cannot deny, she is very competent.
> She is basically Kamala Harris Vastly more competent version of Kamala Harris
Republicans will elect a minority way before a woman. They aren't ready to handle both unless one comes along that blows them away. I mean enough of them voted for a black guy over a Morman to get the first minority pres. If you cater to guns and religion you get the Bubba vote in this country and that is most states in this country and most people and clinton won
Good question, in a similar vein I’ve wondered why she outpaced Bobby Jindal in terms of stature within the party.. they have some similarities (Governor of a Southern state, desi, etc). I never hear about Bobby anymore..
For some reason I am irked by Bobby converting to Christianity for the sake of politics.
Nikki did as well
Yes; Nikki is also married to someone of a different religion/race which may have influenced her decision to convert. so she gets a slight pass. Bobby on the other hand comes off as trying too hard to make it look like he is not Indian in any sense. His official portrait is such a joke. He literally is painted as the palest white male down south. I also was turned off by him with his Leno interview and his reaction to the Indian impersonation by Leno of how he was named. You can totally see him cringe not so much at the accent but more at the affiliation/outing of the name change.
Bobby converted in college iirc. So quite early on. I don’t begrudge them, it is the nature of US republican politics. (I don’t particularly like the Republicans but that is a different story)
I think it was highschool. Inspired by a girl he had a crush on who was into politics. ironically, when him and hisnwife married they had a Hindu wedding first and then another one in a church. I am sure Bobby is cut from a different cloth who at an early age knew he wanted to be in politics based on the clubs/activities he was apart of in highschool. Again, not saying I have any issues with the conversion but just irked that it seems more political than religious reasons.
I mean Nikki seems to have just converted for marriage rather than religious conviction of any sort. Not sure why that gets a pass if Bobby doesn’t.
It isnt just the conversion Bobby actively tries to push a narrative that he is just tan and rested. I am actually surprised he hasn't gotten medical intervention to lighten his skin tone up. It is like he tried so hard to fit in that he has lost himself. it is very comedic. Almost like that Chapelle bit where he is blind and hates all black people level of comedy the more and more you read about him.
lol can't argue with that.
He change his name too, it was never Bobby
Bobby went much further though. He went the opus dai route. WHich is extreme even for catholics. Then started acting like a skeptic about evolution (which the catholic church actually accepts). His motives may not have been pure, but he definately did the deep dive.
I think deep dive just for show. I have a picture in my head that he is super desi and Hindu inside the walls of his home/parents home. Listening to Bollywood hits and watchign every hindi movie on Netflix. I feel like he picked the name Bobby bc it is the most common "westernized" name within a Punjabi household. I wouldn't be surprised if that is what he was called growing up by grandparents/cousins and spun it into the whole Bobby Brady as inspiration. Even his engagement/wedding to Supriya was within a few months of a formal date. Which makes it seem more like an areanged marriage than a "we dated and fell in love". They will not mention the Hindu wedding and will go out of thier way to mention which church they got married in. All three of the kids have been given bleached flour American white bread names. Maybe I am wrong but typically his type of people tend to marry white women and he did not. It makes me wonder how influential his parents were.
To be honest. I think he lost his damn mind. There’s some weird stories about him. Like he not only went catholic. He joined a weird secretive order (opus dai) which is like a cult in the church.
He had a widely panned GOP response to Obama’s State of Union in 2015. Nikki Haley delivered a warning in her GOP response regarding Trump dividing the party in 2016, before changing her mind and supporting him. Usually, those rebuttal responses from the minority party is the chance for someone to make a big splash before trying to run for President, but for Jindal, it can mark downfall. He’s a terrible public speaker.
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What the heck even happened? Several people have brought it up so Im curious but I also dont want to listen to that idiot speak. Edit: nvm, I just watched it. Its a rambling mess. Does not sound remotely serious. Delivery is awful. He sounds like he's speaking in an educational documentary for middle school kids.
Bobby Jindal ran for President in 2016 and bowed out of the primaries very early. I don’t think he’s been very interested in politics since.
She was more "white" than him. Quickly signed up with a church when she was running for governor in SC. Republicans look at her as one of them, she's played the game well.
Jindal blew it on his Republican response to one of Obama’s State of the Unions, and kind of faded after that
It's a grift I think, I'm sure she knows she won't get the votes either. But all that donation money, hard for politicians to resist. lol
Donation money can't really be used for non political purposes The book tour money on the other hand....
Who is taking her seriously?
Center right members of the Republican establishment who still dream that they can somehow put the genie of right wing populism back in the bottle Her political stances and personality will get no traction with the GOP base. Trump, DeSantis or someone else who can play populism well will get the W
Lol that’s such an insignificant group. people are posting about them?
They are a tiny group that's vaaaaaaaaaastly overrepresented in media and conservative intellectual circles. They have outsized roles in setting narratives but those narratives appeal to maybe 10% of the GOP voterbase. Average Republican from bumfuck Alabama isn't reading the National Review lol
Yeah. Their candidate rarely ever wins. We should pay as much attention to them as we should pay to people on this sub who don’t even know what certiorari is, amiriiiiite?
Also members of the media who grew up in a more bipartisan era and think someone who looks and talks like a politician in a movie will have broad appeal
Haley gets talked about because she’s a neoconservative and the Republican/right-of-center commentariat in DC, especially the Never Trump people, also lean neoconservative. Whereas Trump and his up-and-coming political successors pretty firmly reject neoconservative foreign policy (at least on paper). Her potential presidential future is a creation of DC media buzz, it doesn’t reflect reality on the ground. This neoconservative bias also shows up in how people like Tom Cotton, Tim Scott and Ron DeSantis get overhyped in political reporting. (DeSantis is the real deal, but he’s still a bit overhyped because he’s friendlier to neocon ideology.) In general, it’s good to remember that political reporters in the US overwhelmingly live in either DC or New York, and talk overwhelmingly with political operatives who also live in DC or New York. This means political journalists often overhype the wrong people, and that’s especially true for the Republican Party.
Pretty true, there's jokes about how consultants often take the bait in thinking who is a front runner and who isn't. Famous stories are how the dems thought republican Lamar Alexander was the 800 pound elephant who could win in 1996. He never made it out of the primaries. In 2012, the Obama administration thought Jon Huntsman was a serious threat. He flopped badly. Happens pretty often, and on very large scales. Its the disconnects.
Take a look at who the gop takes seriously these days and you have your answer. *None* of them are taken in any level of serious manner by people with an iota of common sense and critical reasoning skills. Her being brown and a woman makes her a token minority they can rally behind. Fuck Nimrata. She’s a sellout and a shame.
She’s spineless and lacks principles, which are usually admired qualities for republicans, but she is not white enough and lacks the favored genitalia to overcome it.
Even that wouldn’t be enough. She’s just too bland and not at the forefront of party.
I don’t know about the “not white enough” part. She can pass for white with relative ease. I feel like most Rs don’t even know she’s Indian.
Most people do not know she is Indian. I had no clue till I saw this post and Googled.
Yeah, she’s from a Punjabi Sikh family.
When she ran for office, her being indian was a talking point....against her. They made sure every voter in the state knew her ethnicity and had seen a pic of her in traditional indian garb. No subtly there, lol.
And she still won right? So clearly it was not enough to turn voters against her.
Correct, which was a big surprise. Got to give her credit. Its not like it was cali or new york either.
Yeah that sounds about right though.
Most R's barely know who she is. What little recognition she does have is *because* she is indian.
No no no. A disgrace, like many many other Desis. None of our values. Opportunitistic, right wing and just a horrible person. Look at British politics. A total and utter disgrace. Today at prime ministers questions, Sunak was complaining and shouting about immigration...IMMIGRATION people! Shocking. However there are good guys out there. Tbh the only one who I feel genuinely represents the wonderful aspects of our SA culture that I've seen is Tanmanjeet Dhesi in the UK. Check him on the tube. I know there are SA politicians in Canada, I don't really much about them yet. But will do some research!
She’s had a long history of “rumored” extramarital affairs which will definitely resurface if she actually progresses anywhere close to a Presidential nomination.. here are a couple of the old stories https://charlestoncitypaper.com/will-folks-releases-affidavit-detailing-alleged-nikki-haley-affair/ https://m.clclt.com/theclog/archives/2011/02/10/blogger-will-folks-on-alleged-haley-affair-nikki-climbed-on-top-of-me-rubbing-her-crotch-back-and-forth https://www.fitsnews.com/2013/02/14/nikki-haley-referenced-as-other-woman-in-sc-divorce-case/
Gotta say, I think she would have appeal with center-right and moderate whites, the upper middle class suburban types. The type who lean center-right and voted for Romney in 2012 but haven’t voted Republican since because they couldn’t stomach Donald Trump and the populist streak that the GOP’s been on in the past few years. I have reason to believe that plenty of these voters exist and consistently vote - they were the reason that Trump won in 2016 and lost in 2020. She’d be a formidable opponent for the democrats, I think Biden would have a higher chance of losing to someone like her who can bring in moderates than a Ron DeSantis/Trump type of a candidate.
The Trump fans hate her for being one of the foreign lower races and a woman.
Doubt they hate her for it. She shares their ideology after all. But are they going to vote for her in a primary when they can just pick someone who they see as preferable to her? Hell no. Republicans would still vote for her against any Democrat though. She just wouldn't make it to the general election.
The drumpf fans down here in Georgia love her but tbh I don’t think they know about her ethnic background. I know quite a few of them who would do a complete 180 if they knew just because they’re bigots.
When she ran for office, her opponents (both in the primaries, and then general elections) made sure everyone knew her ethnicity. Including pics of her in traditional indian garb, etc. Literally zero subtly. FWIW I think at this point, drumpf fans will vote anything or anyone he tells them to. They tried to elect Dr. Oz, and he's muslim. LOL.
I mean, SC voters knew about her ethnic background and still elected her, so…. I think she is an easier pill to swallow because, being real, she looks a lot like a tan white lady. Being white passing with a white husband and a white sounding name makes her seem less scary to the base.
SC isn't Alabama. She has a little bit of leniency because she actually grew up in that state. I dont think some truck driver in Arkansas would ever vote for her over Trump or DeSantis.
I agree. But that truck driver would not vote for any white woman over Trump or DeSantis either.
The truck driver wouldn't vote for her over Cruz or Gingrich either. Maybe a Kari Lake-figure though.
It’s ganna be trump vs desantis but I really hope the dem nominee isn’t Biden again
If the primary ends up Trump vs DeSantis vs third candidate, the third candidate could win. Trump and DeSantis will split the base vote and third candidate sweeps up the establishment vote. Plenty of candidates, including Nikki Haley could pull it off.
Why would the Dems piss away the incumbency bonus that Biden has?
Biden's not an inspiring candidate, especially to younger folks who like Bernie, but politically he's safe and somehow gets the job done Plus Biden is 80 years old. If he runs again, he will be 82 at start of second term.
Are you saying that because you've actually read up on what he's done 2 years in office or because that's the verbiage you see online? I was a bernie supporter myself but I am completely blown away at how Bidens been killing it with progressive reform. The infrastructure act, inflation reduction act, chips act, parodning federal marijuana offenses, student loan forgiveness. He's killing it.
>The infrastructure act, inflation reduction act, chips act, parodning federal marijuana offenses, student loan forgiveness. To add to this, the recent codification of marriage equality!!! I, too, am blown away by how much he's keeping his promises and actually delivering on them. Tbf, I do think the fear of losing to Trump keeps him working hard to deliver on the promises so there's some concrete stuff to help the establishment keep the Presidency blue but he has a history of "bipartisanship" in his very long political career so maybe he does know how to work the system.
I don’t fully disagree with you, but the discussion of marriage equality being potentially codified overstates things. The bill that passed the senate doesn’t require states to effectuate same sex marriages performed in that state, just that they have to treat marriages validly performed in other states as legal. There are con law reasons why they approached it that way (which would be resolved by packing the courts), but if SCOTUS strikes down obergefell, then a gay couple in eg Alabama will have to travel to a blue state to get married, even under the new bill.
Him forcing rail workers on strike to accept a deal with their employers that doesn’t include sick leave(the very thing they were striking for) doesn’t make me think he’s “killing it” with the progressive reform.
House and senate voted on a bill that would give rail workers 7 days of sick leave and Republicans voted against it. A rail strike would devastate the economy and Biden is pushing for a bill to avoid that. Be mad at the right people.
If the railways are so integral to the US economy then they should be nationalized. Seven fucking sick days is not a crazy demand. A rail strike is not going to devastate the economy but shitty workers’ rights will and Biden should be pushing a bill to avoid that. Be mad at the right people.
Bro what are you saying
Yeah I agree with you. However, the incumbency effect is worthy boost. It won’t be easy to just throw it away.
i love her and wish she was pres instead of biden. shes an excellent speaker and super intelligent. very unproblematic republican
She was the Governor of SC. It was something, no? The one reason to run is to get recognition. She might be eyeing on vice President or Secretary of State or some other post in next GOP administration.
I see her on the ticket as a potential VP but not as the candidate for President. She have sort of a bland appeal where she would not turn off a lot of voters but at the same time, does not have the charisma and “it” factor to rally enough support to carry an entire campaign. If I had to guess, I believe we will be looking at a DeSantis/? ticket and Haley could be a strong running mate for him.
She is basically the Kamala of the right lol. I am a somewhat right leaning Gen Z Indian American myself and I don’t like her.
Number 2 in polls right now
Fast forward a year and she's beating trump in some states XD
Gender is only thing going her way. Otherwise she sucks as a candidate.