From Wikipedia – “A maverick is an animal, usually a form of cattle, that does not carry a brand. It is a word also used to describe a person who acts free from constrains or from organizational guidelines”.
Nikki Haley exemplified this form of politician until recently. Having fallen into irrelevance for supporting the indictment of Trump for his role in the January 6 putsch, she fell out of grace with that faction. Math is a female pup… she realized that if she was going to weigh as a contender, she would need to revise her tactics to ingratiate herself with the extreme right portion of the Republican Party.
Interestingly enough, I am not the only one noticing her floundering – Nikki Haley’s Time for Choosing – Politico, calls her out as well. For me, Nikki represented the middle path – a path that moderates from both side of the aisle could identify with versus volatile choices like Ron DeSanctis or another Florida basket case (known for his Medicare shenanigans) Rick Scott. She has landed, in a recent poll, at 5% along with has beens Cruz and “Little Marco” Rubio. That poll (Newsweek) also indicates Trump would be once again nominated. Such is the implosion suffered by the party.
I really do not want to focus on what is a sad state of affairs – it is evident that barring any successful voter suppression initiatives, the elections will be polarized and won again by the Democrats if the Republican party does not clean up and support a strong moderate candidate that can reconcile the nation. Another threat – should the Biden-Harris government show a modicum of success versus the challenge the economy has posed (they have) or against Corona-virus (they have), the GOP might be whipped around in the coming mid-terms (not looking good). Afghanistan is a gift-horse that might have been postponed until right after the mid-terms; that would have been provided excellent fuel for the GOP to bellyache about and point out a “failure” in evacuating innocents and no doubt it will be beaten on their drums over and over again – however, the image will have been faded by them and layered over with other scandals: In other words, the withdrawal at this juncture was a a good political, not tactical, maneuver. This brings me back to Ms. Haley, who exemplified a prototypical strong daughter of immigrants that embraced the American Dream. She has chosen the path of slander and political chicanery that will no doubt keep her at the bottom of the polls. She simply is not good at it, nor is she believable as a villain. Her opportunity to take a leadership position has passed. She is looking at DeSanctis’ tail lights and much worse, her former boss.
What is her choice then? It very well may be a Game of Thrones twist that could help the GOP actually win – bend the knee and become VP candidate next to Trump.
While she is infinitely more qualified that Trump, the extreme right would never forgive her unless Trump does – and yet he probably would versus the challenge of facing Kamala Harris, who so far has proven ineffectual in her role as a Vice President but presents the right mixes for most “progressives” as a future candidate will not be an easy one to beat. Right wing radio will descend into its usual foaming at the mouth and this will further polarize voters and alienate those that do not wish to engage in useless conversations. Haley is the opportunity for the GOP to clean up its ideological internal warfare and present an eloquent, polished politician among its top ranks. Nikki can eat up Kamala for breakfast and spit her out by brunch time. Alas, she needs a platform and an independent candidacy won’t propel her, and pairing up with Justin Amash at the Libertarian Party likely will only further confuse voters that tend to be swayed by shiny things.
Ms. Haley’s record at the UN was unreproachable and her plan to conquer the path to presidency was well laid out – for thinking people. Trumpists are not the most intellectual lot – a gross miscalculation on Haley’s part. She does not play the role of caudillo well and thus her candidacy for 2024 will not be successful for the top seat. I say this with sadness, as I was one of her supporters for a long time after seeing her take courageous stands in South Carolina as a Governor and then in the United Nations. Nikki is simply too civilized. Who is that for a shortcoming?
While she is infinitely more qualified that Trump, the extreme right would never forgive her unless Trump does – and yet he probably would given that facing Kamala Harris with a white guy on his ticket will prove an uphill battle, even if so far she has proven ineffectual in her role as a Vice President but presents the right mixes for most “progressives” as a future candidate will not be an easy one to beat. Right wing radio will descend into its usual foaming at the mouth and this will further polarize voters and alienate those that do not wish to engage in useless conversations.
Ms. Haley’s record at the UN was unreproachable and her plan to conquer the path to presidency was well laid out – for thinking people. Trumpists are not the most intellectual lot – a gross miscalculation on Haley’s part. She does not play the role of caudillo well and thus her candidacy for 2024 will not be successful for the top seat. I say this with sadness, as I was one of her supporters for a long time after seeing her take courageous stands in South Carolina as a Governor and then in the United Nations. Nikki is simply too civilized to win the candidacy. How is that for a shortcoming?
The Counter Point 