Daria DiGiovanni: Palin, Haley and the Palmetto State Primary

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This commentary by Daria DiGiovanni at Parcbench.com is worth the read. We've excerpted the first few paragraphs:

When it comes to Sarah Palin, one thing’s for certain: her critics on both the left and right are incapable of constructive criticism. To the everlasting shame of the current state of our cultural and political landscape, we’ve become tragically accustomed to the depraved, illogical and relentless attacks on her from the Obama-worshipping crowd hell-bent on destroying their messiah’s most vocal, principled and courageous opponent.

But as the reaction of many Facebook conservatives to the South Carolina primary results indicates, at least some on the right have either lost the ability to respectfully debate on substance, or fallen victim to a less virulent, though equally unattractive strain of Palin Derangement Syndrome. If they are disappointed in Palin for endorsing Nikki Haley, it necessarily follows that her entire proven track record of reform, good governance and principled leadership suddenly disappears in puff of self-righteous indignation.

Thus the woman who successfully triumphed over Alaska’s “Corrupt Bastards Club” (CBC) is chastised as a “sell-out”, a self-serving member of the establishment and—most reminiscent of our friends on the Left—a dumb hick who, on second-thought, really doesn’t bear that much of a resemblance to Ronald Reagan after all. Never mind that Reagan often endorsed candidates with whom he had a few policy disagreements.

Ms. DiGiovanni is the author of a novel, Water Signs: A Story of Love and Renewal, and co-host of the "Conservative Republican Forum" program on Blog Talk Radio. Read her full Parcbench op-ed here.

- JP

Nikki Haley: Palin endorsement gave campaign 'amazing boost'

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Republican SC State Rep. Nikki Haley acknowledged Sarah Palin for the former Alaska governor's key endorsement in her come-from-behind victory in the SC GOP primary last night:

In an interview with MSNBC Wednesday morning, Haley said ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) had given her campaign a key boost. Palin appeared with Haley at a rally in Columbia, then in a TV ad as Haley's numbers surged.

"Gov. Palin has been fabulous at getting people to understand the power of their voice," Haley said on "Morning Joe." "She gave us the push we needed at the time."

- JP

The Hill: Sarah Palin racks up two more wins

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At the Ballot Box, The Hill's campaign blog, Shane D'Aprile gives Sarah Palin due credit for helping two South Carolina Republicans who received the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate's endorsements achieve victory in Tuesday's runoff elections:

Palin had endorsed gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley and publicly stuck with her amidst allegations of an extra-marital affair. She also endorsed Republican Tim Scott against Paul Thurmond in South Carolina's 1st congressional district.

That makes Palin two for two Tuesday -- she stayed out of the Republican Senate runoff in Utah between Tim Bridgewater and Mike Lee. That brings Palin's win-loss record for this cycle to 9-3, according to an analysis by The Hill.

But The Hill's analysis is not quite accurate.

The Beltway newspaper lists as wins for Gov. Palin Senate candidates Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul and Rob Portman; gubernatorial candidates Terry Branstad, Nikki Haley, Susana Martinez and Rick Perry; plus congressional candidates Tim Scott and Adam Kinzinger. But our extensive research revealed no formal endorsement of Portman by Gov. Palin, only a contribution to his campaign by SarahPAC, her political action committee. Also, the Palin endorsement of Kinzinger was made in March, the month after that candidate had already secured his GOP nomination. The Hill also overlooked the former governor's endorsements of Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie, so adding those two and subtracting Portman and Kinzinger (at least until the November general election), she still has nine wins.

The Hill lists her losses as Burns, Ward and Bledsoe, but Gov. Palin had also endorsed Doug Hoffman, who narrowly lost in New York's 23rd Congressional District. So she has four losses -- all in congressional races, by the way, where she is more likely to support the underdog. In contrast, Mitt Romney has fared better with his endorsements -- 13 wins and one loss -- but as D'Aprile notes, the former investment banker has taken a more risk-averse approach:

Unlike Palin, Romney has opted to avoid the cycle's most contested Republican primaries. While Palin backed Ward in Idaho's 1st district primary in May, Romney stayed out of the race until after the primary. The day after, Romney made several endorsements in the state, including the candidate who defeated Ward, state Rep. Raul Labrador.

Romney had endorsed Utah Sen. Bob Bennett who was forced off the ballot at the GOP state convention in May.

- JP

Nikki Haley and Tim Scott win SC primary runoffs (Updated)

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With just 31 percent of the precincts reporting, the Associated Press declared Nikki Haley the winner in South Carolina's GOP primary runoff election for governor. Haley's lead over Gresham Barrett was such a commanding one that the AP declared her victory only about an hour and a half after the polls closed at 7 PM Eastern Time Tuesday:

Nikki Haley became South Carolina's first Republican woman nominated for governor Tuesday.

Her win came as she rode the public backlash against the state's notoriously rough-and-tumble politics and with the backing of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and popular former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford. In her three House terms, she has been known as a close ally of Gov. Mark Sanford and a boat-rocker who sparred with leadership.

It was a winning mix in a year where tea party activists and GOP conservatives are anxious to reshape the Republican Party. Now she'll face Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen to succeed term-limited Gov. Mark Sanford.

[...]

Tuesday night, preliminary results showed Haley leading with 63 percent of the votes to 37 percent for U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett.

Tim Scott won the GOP primary runoff contest in South Carolina's 1stCongressional District:

Scott hopes to become South Carolina's first black GOP congressman in more than a century. He beat Paul Thurmond, the son of the late U.S. Sen. and former segregationist Strom Thurmond in the runoff after securing the backing of several Republican leaders in Washington. With 83 percent of precincts counted, he led with 69 percent of the vote to 31 percent for Thurmond.

Like Haley, Scott was also endorsed by Sarah Palin.

Update: Gov Palin congratulates the winners via Twitter:

"Congratulations to Nikki Haley and Tim Scott! On to November!"

- JP

The Campaign Spot: South Carolinians Go to the Polls Again

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It's runoff day in The Palmetto State, and two of Sarah Palin's endorsements are on the line in the candidacies of Nikky Haley and Tim Scott:

In South Carolina, Republicans will pick their gubernatorial nominee between Nikki Haley and Gresham Barrett. The past two weeks have seen no anti-Haley bombshells, so she is expected to win; in the first round, she had 49 percent to about 22 percent for Barrett. But because a little over 50 percent voted for someone else last time, it’s possible this might not be the rout that the first round’s results would suggest. Haley represents overturning the established order of Palmetto State GOP politics, and there are a lot of folks who are comfortable with the way things are already.

[...]

Down-ticket in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district is the GOP runoff for U.S. House; Tim Scott is expected to finish ahead of Paul Thurmond, son of the longtime senator. This is an R+10 district, and so the winner is likely to go on to win in November; if elected, Scott would be the first African-American Republican in the House since J. C. Watts retired.

The State, SC's largest newspaper, will have updates from the runoff election here throughout the day. The South Carolina State Election Commission will be reporting unofficial results here after the polls close.

- JP

Quote of the Day (June 21, 2010)

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Mark J. Goluskin:

"If both Mr. Scott and Mrs. Haley win, this is great news for Sarah Palin. It shows that she has the real pulse on the Republican voter nationwide. And that is what the Republican establishment fears the most."

- JP

RGA: Nikki Haley Won; Stop the Madness

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The Republican Governors Association, in not so many words, is suggesting that Gresham Barrett should withdraw from the GOP gubernatorial runoff in South Carolina:

The Republican primary contest in South Carolina is now headed to a runoff, while Democratic voters have selected Vincent Sheheen as their nominee. Republican Governors Association Executive Director Nick Ayers today issued the following statement:

“The voters of South Carolina made a clear choice in Nikki Haley, notwithstanding the possibility of a runoff. The outcome is all but certain.

“Nikki Haley withstood a barrage of innuendoes and slurs in the closing days of the primary season and persevered to the finish with dignity, determination and confidence. Moreover, receiving half of the votes against two other statewide incumbent Republicans and a sitting Congressman speaks volumes of her strength as a candidate and bodes very well for her in the General Election. We congratulate Nikki for her grit and determination.

“Meanwhile, South Carolina Democrats have again served up the same old Washington, D.C.-style solution to any problem: expanded government. Vincent Sheheen promises more regulatory interference, bureaucratic red tape and impediments to free enterprise. Exactly what The Palmetto State does not need.”

But Politico's Ben Smith reports that the Barrett campaign is not taking the RGA's hint:

No way, says Barrett aide Todd Harris, who tells me Barrett will "totally" stay in for a second vote.

We don't understand the Barrett camp's thinking here. Unless that contributor cash is burning a hole in the campaign's collective pocket, and they feel like they absolutely must spend it. To us, this is a pretty good indicator of what Gresham would do with the taxpayers' money. It's what Sarah Palin has referred to as "Opium Addiction" -- OPM, for "Other People's Money." The urge to spend, when doing so serves no attainable end, is a powerful one, and when politicians cannot resist it, just another symptom of what is wrong with politics as usual.

- JP

Nikki triumphs, a big win for Sarah and the libertarian wing

- by Eric Dondero
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AP: She's "Libertarian" with a Capital "L"

Nikki Haley finished with 49% of the vote in the GOP primary last night. Her nearest rival gained 22%, which makes the outcome of any run-off all-but-certain.

Her huge win is being heralded, even by the liberal media, as a victory for libertarians and for libertarian-leaning Sarah Palin.

From Google News via the AP:

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's Nikki Haley entered a runoff for the Republican gubernatorial primary with a substantial edge over her GOP rival, deflecting attacks on her marriage and her ethnicity using an antiestablishment message that resonated with the state's voters.

"We saw us push against the establishment, we saw us push against the power and push against the money and boy did they push back," Haley, a three-term state lawmaker and tea party headliner, said after coming close to winning the four-way race outright.

Continuing:

Haley blamed an entrenched "Good Old Boy" system for conspiring to derail a campaign that gained steam with a slew of television ads and a spirited endorsement by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She pivoted off the claims to underscore an antiestablishment message that has so far resonated.

Haley's politics are familiar to the state's conservative voters. She hews to the Libertarian, limited government policies favored by Sanford, though she distanced herself from him. He backed her candidacy and she won the endorsement of his ex-wife, popular former first lady Jenny Sanford.

- E.D.

Regular contributor Eric Dondero is a Texan and the Publisher/Editor of Libertarian Republican.

Quote of the Day (June 7, 2010)

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Peter Hamby:

"It's easy to forget that for a while there, the South Carolina governor's race was a pretty tame affair... The race was turned upside down on May 14 when Sarah Palin stood on the steps of the State House in Columbia and endorsed state Rep. Nikki Haley, earning Haley boatloads of exposure and helping rocket the long-shot candidate to the front of the race."

- JP

Erickson: The Most Dangerous Woman (Updated)

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RedState's Erick Erickson reports on the results from the GOP primary election for governor in South Carolina:

They called Nikki Haley a whore. They called her a raghead. Now they better start practicing calling her Governor.

Nikki Haley came within a percentage point or two of avoiding a runoff for the Republican nomination in South Carolina. Despite all the smears and all the foul play, she is a winner.

The second place finisher, Congressman Gresham Barrett, goes into the runoff roughly 27% behind Haley.

[...]

This race also makes Nikki Haley the most dangerous woman in South Carolina. The old order, the old way of doing things, has been decidedly defeated. The runoff becomes the last stand — a TARP voting establishmentarian versus the outsider accountant they threw everything at.

With 99% of the precincts reporting, Haley had 49 percent of the vote to Gresham Barrett's 22 percent. Henry McMaster got only 17 percent, and Andre Bauer only managed 12 percent.

Update: From The Garnet Spy:

Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol said on Fox News Tuesday night that he has spoken to influential party officials in Washington who say they expect South Carolina Congressman Gresham Barrett, who appears to have earned a runoff for the Republican nomination for governor against State Representative Nikki Haley, will drop out of the race on Wednesday.

- JP

Washington Post tries to minimize Gov. Palin's impact on SC race (Updated)

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Though the polls haven't closed in South Carolina, Democrat Party house organ The Washington Post is already trying to downplay the impact of Sarah Palin's endorsement and steadfast support of gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley.

In an entry on its Obamacentric "44" blog, the Post's Philip Rucker shamelessly quotes an anonymous "Haley staffer":

"Haley's rise preceded the Palin endorsement," said a Haley adviser who discussed the race only on the condition of anonymity. "But no question it was helpful."

No internal poll result from the Haley campaign or other corroborating evidence is furnished by Rucker to support the staffer's remark, not does he appear to have asked for any. Furthermore, apparently based on this one unattributed comment, Rucker writes:

"Yet despite the attention Palin's endorsement received, Republican operatives in South Carolina said Haley's surge was as much -- if not more -- a result of her conservative-reformer message and support from tea party groups."

The only other "operative" quoted by Rucker is -- again -- an anonymous one, this time a "national Republican official":

South Carolina is a small enough state that many Republican primary voters have had a chance to see the candidates in person. Haley began taking the lead, GOP operatives said, in part because she is a polished campaigner with a message that is resonating in this conservative state.

"She's someone who can communicate well, who has a brain and, most importantly, has a real agenda of cleaning house," said a national Republican official watching the race closely who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

According to Rasmussen Reports polling, a survey taken in March, prior to Gov. Palin's endorsement, Haley was in fourth place at 12 percent, trailing McMaster (21 percent), Bauer (17 percent), and Barrett (14 percent). The first Rasmussen poll conducted after Sarah Palin's endorsement shows that Haley had vaulted from last place to way out in front with 30 percent, followed by McMaster (19 percent), Barrett (17 percent) and Bauer (12 percent).

Not to take a thing away from Nikki Haley. She's a great candidate, and Gov. Palin would not have endorsed her were she any lesser of a person or politician. And she has demonstrated remarkable courage in light of the worst kind of personal attacks on her. Not to take anything away from the local Tea Party groups in South Carolins who endorsed Haley, either.

But for the Washington Post to attempt to minimize the force of Sarah Palin's support of Nikki Haley, without providing a shred of evidence, and by quoting two people who were not willing to put their names where their mouths allegedly are, seems to us to be just par for the course for the lamestream, pro-Obama, anti-Palin media.

Update: The questionable WaPo piece and its writers' vague "sources" are contradicted by this Politico report by Andy Barr, in which he quotes a named source inside the Haley campaign:

Perhaps Palin’s most powerful demonstration came in South Carolina, where her endorsement propelled a major swing in the polls for Haley’s primary campaign for governor and sustained the state representative through accusations of two separate affairs.

"Her decision to get - and stay - involved in the race here in South Carolina was a huge boon to our campaign, because it caused a lot of South Carolinians to take a second look at a rising in the polls but once-little known state legislator who was fighting to give them back their government,” Haley spokesman Tim Pearson said of Palin.

Palin was quick to defend Haley from blogger Will Folks, who claimed to have had an “inappropriate physical relationship” with Haley, writing on her Facebook page that Folks was trying to “make things up.”

Palin recorded a robocall for Haley in the closing days, urging South Carolinians to ignore the “made-up nonsense.”

- JP

Haley Breaks Through Barriers in SC Governor's Race

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Here are some excerpts from Walter Shapiro's primary day profile of Nikki Haley at Politics Daily:

As the front-runner in Tuesday's Republican gubernatorial primary, 38-year-old Nikki Haley is writing the most improbable political success story of 2010. In a state defined by church, flag and family, the once little-known state legislator is transcending such barriers as her Indian-American heritage (her parents are Sikhs who emigrated from the Punjab in 1963).

But in the final two weeks leading up to Tuesday's four-candidate primary, Haley has faced down the worst accusations that can be hurled at a married woman politician – unproven public charges of adultery. Smear attacks like this are supposed to prove fatal in a state that has elevated dirty politics to an art form. But even when a Republican state senator called her a "raghead," the immediate reaction appeared to be not secret nods of agreement but public embarrassment.

[...]

There will be a run-off primary June 22 if no candidate hits the 50-percent mark on Tuesday. With Haley at 43 percent in the latest poll, the GOP battle, in essence, is a fight to make it into the runoff with her. The three other GOP candidates -- all vying to prove their conservative credentials -- each suffer from a near-fatal flaw in this topsy-turvy political season.

Gresham Barrett, whose Citadel education and Army service is an asset in this military-minded state, entered the race as the winter-book favorite. "Barrett is the one everyone looked to," said GOP consultant Chip Felkel, who is not working for a gubernatorial candidate. "This should have been his race, except for two problems – being in Congress in an anti-incumbent year and voting for TARP." In an interview, Barrett conceded the political difficulties caused by his vote for the bank bailout, but added, "It was a very different situation in 2008. We had the national economy, we had the global economy, on the brink of disaster."

State attorney general and former state GOP chairman Henry McMaster, who has been running for office since the 1980s, suffers from a hard-to-shake image as a career politician. A bland candidate, prone to endlessly repeat catch phrases like "a new day for South Carolina," McMaster seems out of step with the angry anti-establishmentarian mood in South Carolina.

Andre Bauer, whom Mike Huckabee champions in a TV ad as "Tea Party before there was a Tea Party," has developed a frivolous reputation partially based on a series of high-profile speeding stops (once clocked at 101 miles an hour) as lieutenant governor. There was a fatalism in Bauer's tone as he said during our interview, "The vast majority of people voting in this election won't really know the real issues and who stands for what because it's all sound bites...If they did, Andre Bauer would win hands down."

[...]

It just goes to prove that dirty-pool politics can go too far – even in South Carolina.

Sarah Palin endorsed Nikki Haley, appeared at a rally with the candidate on the steps of the State House in South Carolina and recorded a telephone ad for her. The full PD article is here.

- JP

New PPP Poll Shows Haley Staying Strong in SC

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Despite the attacks from her opponents on her character, her faith and her ethnicity, Public Policy Polling's Tom Jensen says that results of his firm's latest survey indicate that Nikki Haley hasn't suffered any significant political damage from from the unsupported allegations:

Nikki Haley hasn't suffered any damage whatsoever after accusations of multiple extramarital affairs and is headed for an easy first place finish in Tuesday's Republican primary for Governor of South Carolina.

Haley has a 20 point lead, getting 43% of the vote. Gresham Barrett looks like the favorite for the second runoff spot. He's at 23%, followed by Henry McMaster at 16%, and Andre Bauer at 12%.

Two weeks ago Haley held a 21 point lead in the race. Since then she's gained 4 points, Barrett's standing has improved by 7, McMaster's has dropped by a couple points, and Bauer's gone down a single point.

Only 13% of voters believe the allegations about Haley's marital infidelity.

A PDF document showing complete poll results is here. Sarah Palin endorsed Haley May 14 and has staunchly defended her against the unproven charges.

- JP

What was GMA weekend host insinuating?

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What was a lamestream media morning show moron insinuating with her lead-in to a segment on how Sarah Palin is standing by a candidate she endorsed in the midst of unsupported allegations against the candidate? Was the mediot dissing the candidate, Gov. Palin, or both? Was she implying that there may be something to the allegations of adultery made against Nikki Haley, who is running for the GOP nomination for governor of South Carolina? Or by expressing shock that Sarah Palin, a champion of family values, would come to Haley's defense, was the lamestreamer insinuating that the governor herself is guilty of something salacious?

Bianna Golodryga, co-host of ABC's Good Morning America weekend edition, was obviously attempting to cast dispersion on Nikki Haley, Sarah Palin, or both women Sunday morning with her loaded tease of an upcoming segment. NewsBuster Mark Finkelstein reports and comments:

BIANNA GOLODRYGA: "If this political year has taught us anything, it's to expect the unexpected. Take the South Carolina governor's race for example. Allegations of extramarital affairs are flying against the leading GOP candidate there. And Sarah Palin of all people has rushed to her defense."

"Of all people"? So Golodryga is ostensibly surprised by Palin's support of Haley. Why? Haley has categorically denied the allegations. By professing shock that family-values Palin would come to Haley's defense, it certainly sounds as if Bianna is implying there's substance to the accusations. If Golodryga's got proof, other than the allegations of men with possible political axes to grind, she should produce it. Otherwise, Golodryga should lay off the invidious insinuations.

If Golodryga was not implying something about Nikki Haley, then she was clearly implying something about Gov. Palin. Her use of the innuendo here manages to smear both conservative women, which was probably the point all along. ABC is a smear machine. This is how our corrupt media operates -- with lies, distortion and innuendo. When Sarah Palin says you can't trust the lamestream media, she's right as rain.

Update: Golodryga, as it turns out, is White House OMB Director Peter Orszag’s fiancee, and she appears to already be playing for Team Obama. So her not-so-subtle little dig, it seems, was aimed at Gov. Palin.

h/t: Travis McGee

- JP

Sarah Palin: When you take on the entrenched powers, they come after you

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Sarah Palin continues to give Nikki Haley her total support. The governor recorded this telephone ad for the Haley campaign:



h/t: The Other McCain

- JP

Just when you think SC politics couldn't get any dirtier...

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South Carolina politics reminds us of the scene in the 1969 cult movie "The Magic Christian," where the characters played by Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr stage their most outrageous of a long series of stunts intended to demonstrate that everyone has their price. The two fill a huge vat with a mixture of blood and animal excrement and sprinkle thousands of bank notes on the top. People wade into the filthy mess to recover the cash, and some of them even submerge themselves to grab at the money that had sunk beneath the surface.

Substitute political power for money in the film's script, and you have a fitting metaphor for SC politics. In this year's GOP primary for governor of South Carolina, candidate Nikki Haley was mostly ignored by her opponents while she was back in the pack. But Sarah Palin endorsed her, Haley sprinted into the lead, and now her competition sinks ever deeper into the vat of filth as they try to destory her.

It is a story best told by the bloggers who have been following it. Just follow the links...

Eric Erickson:

Andre Bauer’s campaign to paint Nikki Haley as a two-timing wh*re — and you’ll have to forgive me if you object to the word, but that is exactly what the dribbling out of “I slept with Nikki Haley” stories was designed to do — blew up in his face.

Now he’s moved on to her being a raghead.

[...]

Jake Knotts is the guy. You know him. He’s allegedly the guy who hired a private investigator to look into Will Folks. He is the guy whose private investigator allegedly took a picture proving the affair.

It’s all too convenient. Let me break it down for you: Andre Bauer failed in his bid to paint Nikki Haley as a wh*re, so now he’s trying to paint her as a raghead. David Brody is serving as the useful idiot, most likely willingly. The story got out there [Thursday] morning and Jake Knotts let loose [Thursday] afternoon. It’s all designed to move the conversation from “is she a wh*re?” to “is she an American?”

Allahpundit:

This latest bit started with David Brody of CBN, wondering why Haley’s campaign website in 2004 emphasized her Sikh faith and why her current one emphasizes her Christian faith. Just a case of a reporter doing a little digging on his own initiative? Not quite.

[...]

The good news, I guess, is that there’s not much further to go until rock bottom.

Brian O'Connor:

It seems that after Knotts’ comments aired, the State Senator attempted the old “apologize” by reinforcing your comments trick...

[...]

So, Knotts not only called Nikki Haley a “raghead”, he called President Obama a “raghead” as well.

I do not know what Haley should be more upset about, the racial slur, or the comparison to [Barack] Obama. Either way, Knotts clearly believes that Haley is lying about her Christianity. The problem for Knotts, career politicians only make hate filled, racist comments when their heart is hate filled and racist.

Stacy McCain;

I’m having a hard time imagining a contextual defense of Knotts’ remark. The South Carolina GOP chairwoman [Karen Floyd] has denounced Knotts’ comment...

[...]

It would have been nice if Floyd also condemned the sexual smear campaign against Haley. It’s clear Haley’s opponents have so dehumanized her in their own minds that they no longer recognize any boundaries between fair tactics and foul.

Dan Riehl:

Does every political race in South Carolina look like a screening of Deliverance?

I realize many conservatives love DeMint, but isn't he mostly a wash by the time you take Lindsey Graham into account?

[...]

And where are Graham and DeMint in all this? Both fashion themselves as national GOP leaders of a sort. Maybe their time would be better invested cleaning up the cesspool of antiquated racial politics in which they cut their political teeth?

One good lesson to be learned from this sorry mess is this: For those on the conservative side who argue that the best way to beat the leftists is to adopt their "the ends justify the means" political philosophy and the tactics which it leads to, just look at the result when those tactics are employed by Republicans against other Republicans. It's not only a sight that is not pretty, it stinks as badly as that vat of filth in "The Magic Christian."

The better way is to learn about Alinsky's methods, but only to recognize them, not to try to use them ourselves. If we do, we end up like Nikki Haley's opponents in South Carolina, whose attacks are only making her stronger and themselves more despised. Instead, we should counter Alinsky's tactics with those of Sun Tzu, the Chinese general whose book on military strategy, The Art of War, was written in the 6th century BC. The general's tactics have been applied to a number of situations in modern life, and the book has helped many leaders and business people succeed in their chosen fields. The wisdom of Sun Tzu is valuable knowledge for those who fight the battles of modern politics and want to win the war.

- JP

Jim Geraghty: Nikki Haley Still Flying Like a Comet

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National Reviews Jim Geraghty says Will Folks' allegations designed to derail Nikki Haley's campaign could end up being a non-factor:

Three weeks ago, South Carolina state representative Nikki Haley was one of the Republican party’s brightest rising stars: the first Indian-American GOP state legislator in the country, a reformer who demonstrated a willingness to take on her own party over accountability, and a surprise front-running gubernatorial candidate. A November victory would make her instantly a subject of presidential-ticket talk for either 2012 or 2016.

Today, more than a week after a bombshell accusation of an affair that made national headlines . . . she’s in pretty much the same spot.

[...]

Two weeks before the primary, and shortly after former Alaska governor Sarah Palin attended a rally for Haley at the state capitol, Haley’s campaign hit the kind of bump that every campaign manager dreads: Will Folks, a former spokesman for South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, former consultant to Haley, and blogger, declared he had had, before his marriage, an “inappropriate physical relationship” with the candidate.


Folks is an unusual character, even by South Carolina standards. He was charged with domestic battery in 2005; he pled guilty while insisting he was innocent, discussing the charges in an op-ed in The State newspaper. Before the public claim of the affair, his website offered a parody interview that quickly turned bizarre, with a faux-Folks telling faux-Haley “Shut your mouth, don’t you know I beat up women? Like, all the time?” to canned laughter. Then there’s the less-than-reassuring characterization that Folks “shrugs off accusations that he is paid to publish certain stories.”

Haley denied the affair. Folks’s initial post indicated he would not be making additional comments about the relationship, but it quickly became clear that he intended to post regular teasing updates, often remarking how everyone in the state wanted to know the details of his claim. Yet after a week of infuriating posts, neither he nor any other publication has shown something that definitively refutes Haley’s denials; the state has been left waiting for a smoking gun.

Folks began his original post by claiming that “within the last forty-eight hours several pieces of information which purportedly document a prior physical relationship between myself and Rep. Haley have begun to be leaked slowly, piece by piece, to members of the mainstream media. I am told that at least one story based upon this information will be published this week.” But more than a week after his claim, no publication has come forward with any evidence documenting that physical relationship. Folks himself has released phone records indicating a great number of calls between the two, including some lengthy late-night calls, but after-hours calls between a candidate and a consultant don’t really prove the “inappropriate physical relationship” he alleged. South Carolina’s largest newspaper, Columbia-based The State, flatly concludes: “Folks has not provided proof.”

According to Geraghty, for now, at least, the unsupported allegations against Nikki Haley don't seem to be a factor for South Carolina's voters. She has held on to double-digit leads in the polls, including one which was conducted after Folks made his wild claim. Her lead in that one was a still-commanding 11 points. The SC Republican primary takes place next Tuesday.

- JP

More South Carolina slime from Haley's political enemies

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We used to think Louisiana took the cake for corrupt politics, but even with all that BP/Obama crude washing up on the Pelican State's shores, it can't hold a candle to South Carolina for filth, at least as far as intraparty mud wrestling and slime slinging goes. From the Associated Press today:

A lobbyist who resigned from a rival political campaign is claiming to have had a tryst with a South Carolina lawmaker trying to become the state's first female governor.

The allegation made Wednesday by lobbyist Larry Marchant is the second leveled at Republican state Rep. Nikki Haley in the past two weeks. Her campaign vehemently denies both allegations.

Neither claim has come with proof.

And which campaign did Marchant resign from before he went to the press with his unsupported allegations? Does the name Andre Bauer ring a bell? He just happens to be one of Nikki Haley's opponents in the GOP primary race for Governor of SC. Stacy McCain is on the case:

OK, as readers might guess, this was the “very interesting report” I’d heard earlier about Marchant’s resignation from the Andrea Bauer campaign: Marchant had gone to media outlets telling them this story and, when Bauer found out about it, Marchant got the ax.

We’ll wait to see how this plays out, but frankly it looks to me as if Haley’s enemies have become desperate to destroy her. It seems to me that voters in South Carolina now must ask themselves which of two things was true: Either (a) Haley was just spreadin’ the love around to every GOP operative in South Carolina, or (b) she is the victim of a vicious smear campaign.

My guess is that they’ll believe (b).

Stacy has much more at The Other McCain.

Seriously, this makes the Bush-McCain smearfest of 2004 look like choir practice.

Update: Sarah Palin tweeted some moral support to Nikki Haley Wednesday (here and here), paraphrasing (due to Twitter's 140 character per tweet limit) Hellen Keller, whose original quote was:

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”

- JP

No Haley exposé surfaces, Folks’ claim in doubt

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The Daily Caller's Alex Pappas calls out Will Folks:

Will Folks claimed he was pressured to admit his extramarital affair with South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley last week because of a soon-to-be-broken news story detailing his “inappropriate physical relationship” with the Republican. But, a week later, that damning newspaper article is nowhere to be found.

Speculation now centers on what Folks’s motivation might have been for hurting Haley just two weeks before her name appears on the Republican ballot in the Palmetto state.

From day one, Haley has denied an affair ever took place. Folks has countered those denials by disclosing a few phone, text records and conversations on his political blog that he says show the two had late-night phone conversations and hence an illicit relationship.

On his website, Folks insinuates the Columbia Free-Times newspaper was about to break a story about his affair with Haley, and indeed the newspaper itself has admitted one of its reporters did investigate such a rumor. But according to one knowledgeable source, while a Free-Times reporter did talk to Folks on May 13, no story was ever budgeted to run that week.

The reason? The Daily Caller has learned that around the time Sarah Palin endorsed Haley at a Columbia rally, an attorney for the paper advised editors not to run the story because the paper only had one source alleging the affair.

At Hot Air, Ed Morrissey comments, calling folks' apparently bogus claims "The shoe that didn’t drop":

Not only has a media exposé failed to materialize, the major media outlets now deny that they had anything in the works at all...

[...]

Folks has been shown to be wrong, if not entirely then at least about one key aspect of the story. That’s certainly reason for skepticism about the rest of Folks’ claims.

Unfortunately, there is no real vindication in stories like these. Once someone has thrown out an accusation like infidelity, racism, or some other charge that’s impossible to prove wrong, that bell can’t be fully unrung. That’s probably the reason that news media like those mentioned above avoided the story like the plague. Their reluctance is like the shoe that didn’t drop in l’affaire Folks, and it should put an end to this sideshow.

Folks made his allegations less than two weeks after Sarah Palin endorsed Nikki Haley.

- JP

Folks Fails: Nikki Haley extends her lead in the polls

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South Carolina voters don't appear to be buying claims made by blogger and political operative Will Folks that he had an affair with state Rep. Nikki Haley. A new InsiderAdvantage/Statehouse Report poll shows Haley, who has the endorsement of Sarah Palin, with a 10.6 percent lead over Andre Bauer, in the GOP primary race for governor. A PPP poll taken May 22 and 23 showed Haley leading by 9 points, so, despite the negative press coverage, her lead has actually grown, although slightly.

Results of the newest poll show Haley ahead with 31.3 percent, followed by Bauer in second place at 20.7 percent. Gresham Barrett had 14.1 percent, and Henry McMaster 13.8 percent. This has to be driving those who are out to destroy Nikki Haley up a wall.

- JP