Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was asked Wednesday by a New Hampshire voter about the reason for the Civil War, and she didn’t mention slavery in her response — leading the voter to say he was “astonished” by her omission.
Asked during a town hall in Berlin, New Hampshire, what she believed had caused the war — the first shots of which were fired in her home state of South Carolina — Haley talked about the role of government, replying that it involved “the freedoms of what people could and couldn’t do.”
She then turned the question back to the man who had asked it, who replied that he was not the one running for president and wished instead to know her answer.
After Haley went into a lengthier explanation about the role of government, individual freedom and capitalism, the questioner seemed to admonish Haley, saying, “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.”
“What do you want me to say about slavery?” Haley retorted, before abruptly moving on to the next question.
...
Issues surrounding the origins of the Civil War and its heritage are still much of the fabric of Haley’s home state, and she has been pressed on the war’s origins before. As she ran for governor in 2010, Haley, in an interview with a now-defunct activist group then known as The Palmetto Patriots, described the war as between two disparate sides fighting for “tradition” and “change” and said the Confederate flag was “not something that is racist.”
During that same campaign, she dismissed the need for the flag to come down from the Statehouse grounds, portraying her Democratic rival’s push for its removal as a desperate political stunt.
Five years later, Haley urged lawmakers to remove the flag from its perch near a Confederate soldier monument following a mass shooting in which a white gunman killed eight Black church members who were attending Bible study. At the time, Haley said the flag had been “hijacked” by the shooter from those who saw the flag as symbolizing “sacrifice and heritage.”
Sadly, Silt is merely the small town where Ms Lauren parks her Glock. She claims she's going to move to the new district, but she doesn't have to.
As for Haley, it's amazing that she feels it necessary tap dance on the question of slavery in this day and age.
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Wisdom requires a flexible mind." - Dan Carlin
"If you vote for idiots, idiots will run the country." - Dr. Kori Schake
Yeah, Nikki, the civil war was about "the freedoms of what people could and couldn’t do" - specifically, whether they could or couldn't own people. Do you think a state's rights extend to deciding whether you can or can't be owned by another person, or is that moot because you're bought-and-paid-for already?
Rationalia relies on voluntary donations. There is no obligation of course, but if you value this place and want to see it continue please consider making a small donation towards the forum's running costs.
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"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."
Frank Zappa
"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
To be fair, it was what Republicans like to call a 'gotcha question.' The questioner brings up a topic to which the Republican feels compelled to respond by spouting party or party-associated dogma that is more or less repugnant or discrediting. The party faithful are reassured but the general public can be repelled by the response.
—huh, I just assumed she wasn’t sure what war they were talking about. A real gotcha question would have asked if racist policies in the Air Force unnecessarily prolonged the war.
—//—
KRS One has an interesting take on discussions around slavery:
The latest fad is a poverty social. Every woman must wear calico,
and every man his old clothes. In addition each is fined 25 cents if
he or she does not have a patch on his or her clothing. If these
parties become a regular thing, says an exchange, won't there be
a good chance for newspaper men to shine?
Rationalia relies on voluntary donations. There is no obligation of course, but if you value this place and want to see it continue please consider making a small donation towards the forum's running costs.
Details on how to do that can be found here. .
"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."
Frank Zappa
"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
It's really about the imposition of one interpretation of history over another. Cherished (if feculent, embracing horror as honor) myth as opposed to verifiable fact.
Haley did a common two-step. Advance some version of the Lost Cause. Then if somebody questions it, retreat to the 'well of course slavery was also a reason for the war' footnote. Meanwhile the shibboleth was broadcast and has been heard by the faithful (she hopes). The myth has been given another day in the sunshine. It's possible the questioner badgering Haley about 'politically correct' history will gain her sympathy from at least some quarters.
Isn’t racism the only connective tissue here, and even it’s unlikely to be much like the “old stuff”. I just don’t get it. There’s nothing for any of today’s Americans to lose by acknowledging history. Seriously, the Confederacy can be as rotten as anything, and they lose nothing.
The latest fad is a poverty social. Every woman must wear calico,
and every man his old clothes. In addition each is fined 25 cents if
he or she does not have a patch on his or her clothing. If these
parties become a regular thing, says an exchange, won't there be
a good chance for newspaper men to shine?
The latest fad is a poverty social. Every woman must wear calico,
and every man his old clothes. In addition each is fined 25 cents if
he or she does not have a patch on his or her clothing. If these
parties become a regular thing, says an exchange, won't there be
a good chance for newspaper men to shine?
My governor refusing 18 million from US as it would cost us tax payers 300 000.
“COVID-19 is over, and Nebraska taxpayers expect that pandemic-era government relief programs will end too," Pillen said in his statement. Pillen announced on Dec. 19 that Nebraska would not participate in the program. He has drawn a firestorm of criticism for later defending that stance at a news conference by saying, “I don't believe in welfare."
States that participate in the federal program are required to cover half of the administrative costs, which would cost Nebraska an estimated $300,000. Advocates of the program note that the administrative cost is far outweighed by the $18 million benefit, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates would benefit 175,000 Nebraska children who might otherwise go hungry on some days during the summer.
Texas hasn't accepted it either. There's a scandal in there somewhere. But what is it? Are they encroaching on church territory? Do businesses lose money? I bet people refuse to work when they get 40 per child per month in food stamps! Yeah, that's it. Are they encroaching on church territory?
The latest fad is a poverty social. Every woman must wear calico,
and every man his old clothes. In addition each is fined 25 cents if
he or she does not have a patch on his or her clothing. If these
parties become a regular thing, says an exchange, won't there be
a good chance for newspaper men to shine?
