...Governor of South Carolina, Ms. Nikki Haley
Southern primary elections are more like Chicago politics, instead of the civilized elections of New Hampshire and New England.
“A snake-pit for politics”, “A state known for their whisper campaigns”, “A southern state where “ugly” thrives and people say horrible things in hushed tones”, “A devoutly religious, but dirt-poor Christian state that thrives on negative rumors and personal attacks.”
And just where did all these negative comments come from?
These are things that have been said for years about the very questionable politics of the state of South Carolina. And later this month, this state will be having its Republican presidential primary, so the whispers and hushed tone are already being heard across neighborhood fences, around those morning cups of coffee and over those many glasses of beer after work.
So, what would make me say this about the politics of that particular state?
Well, let’s look at the recent political history of South Carolina.
>>> Political candidates in South Carolina have been ambushed with accusations for years. And many of the negative accusations have ranged from being just slightly distorted to being totally invented. It was during the South Carolina Republican presidential primary race in 2000 that the famous robo calls asked voters whether they were aware that Senator John McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child. (“Bush’s Brain”, Mr. Karl Rove, is rumored to have come up with this one.) This was a disgusting twist on the real fact that McCain and his wife Cindy had an adopted daughter from Bangladesh. It was probably also the main reason that McCain lost to George Bush in that South Carolina primary.
>>> In 2008, a state Senate campaign secretly paid an undocumented immigrant to infiltrate a work crew painting the house of an opposing candidate. They then accused him of hiring illegal workers. The accused lost the election.
>>> Two years later, then-candidate Nikki Haley was hit with two charges of adultery in the last days before her run-off race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Several of her critics, including a party official supporting her opponent and an evangelical radio host, also raised questions about her sincerity as a Christian. (Haley, who was born in South Carolina of Sikh immigrant parents, had become a Methodist after marrying in 1996.) The attacks were not enough to keep Haley, a favorite of the local Tea Party conservatives, from winning the governorship, but the election was close.
>>> “We have a rough-cut side to politics that really doesn’t fit with the gentle nature of the people who live here,” said former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford (R), who managed to serve out his final term despite being caught in a spectacularly public sexual and marital affair that had state lawmakers demanding his resignation.
They are already saying mean things about former governor, Mitt Romney. And this time, most of the things they’re saying about Romney are all true. As has already been promoted by the recent negative ads from Texas Governor Rick Perry, and the 28 minute video expose’ of Romney’s Bain Capital from Newt Gingrich, the locals are beginning to say that Mitt Romney has an "illegitimate, black-heart".
Defending his latest "Mitt attacks" in South Carolina, Newt Gingrich said he was concerned about the rules of Mitt’s “Vulture capitalism”. “Are they [Bain Capital & Mitt Romney] fair to the American people, or are their deals being cut on behalf of Wall Street institutions and very rich people?” Wow. Newt is sounding more like someone from the Occupy Wall Street crowd instead of someone angling to become the Republican nominee.
And why is the former House Speaker being so hard on a fellow candidate from his own party?
Newt Gingrich has always been known for his thin-skin and negative retorts. But Newt had publicly stated that he was not going to run an expensive, negative campaign against other Republicans in Iowa. After saying this, Mitt Romney then “poked Newt with a stick” as he spent millions on very negative ads against both Newt and Rick Perry in Iowa. The results were that it caused Newt to lose 10 polling points in the last week before the Iowa Caucus.
Based on Newt’s questionable history in dealing with the public, he has proven over and over that he is highly erratic, and totally unpredictable. He probably would have imploded on his own if Mitt had just left him alone in Iowa. Now, after being assaulted by Mitt in Iowa , Newt is “highly pissed off” and he, with the $5 million that was put into a Super-PAC for Newt to go after Mitt, Newt is going after Romney with a vengeance. As was recently stated by a well known radio talk-show host, “Republican bigwigs say they want to try and talk Newt “off the ledge.” The problem is that Newt isn’t on the ledge. Mitt Romney is on the ledge, and Newt is standing behind him [ready to push].”
Mitt Romney’s has been saying that all the attacks (from the negative ads and Newt’s movie) on how he made his money are totally being driven by “envy” of Mitt’s wealth and success. Of course, as we all know, Envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. This is one area that Mitt really shouldn’t be bringing up. Some of the other Seven Deadly Sins are Greed, Pride, and Vanity. And those are three terms that definitely appear in all of the opposition research that has surfaced about Mitt Romney and his Bain Capital company.
Mitt said in a recent interview with FOX, “I think it’s all about envy.” As one radio talk show host has said, “Essentially, that’s [Mitt’s] grade-school playground response to every argument, “Nah, nah, nah, you’re just jealous!”
With less than 2 weeks to go before the South Carolina primary (and in an election year, that’s an eternity), some conservatives are openly desperate to halt the momentum of the former Massachusetts governor. Voters and political operatives alike are all girding for the worst on the state’s radio, TV and cable broadcasts. Everyone is expecting the vicious whisper campaigns, viral innuendo and the loud, dubious personal attacks that have made South Carolina the state where, "politics is as harsh as their iced tea is sweet". Already, a blitz of negative ads has hit the airwaves. And due to the Citizens-United, US Supreme Court decision, the ads are being funded by unknown outside groups that have no intention of using their inside, known voices.
So far, up to now, the smear front has been somewhat quiet. But most observers say the nastiest items aren’t likely until just before Election Day. And given South Carolina’s consistent role in anointing who will be the eventual winner of the Republican nomination, they don’t expect this to be the year that the campaigns decide to slip on the white gloves. “South Carolina is a highly competitive state and it’s always been in important in the overall election process,” said Katon Dawson, a former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party. (This year, Ms. Dawson is advising Texas Governor, Rick Perry.) “There are a lot of campaign operatives and some of them are going to make mischief.”
Now there’s an under-statement if I’ve ever heard one.
Copyright G.Ater 2012
Follow me on Twitter: Gater01
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