Letter posted to Nikki Haley on her recent disappointing comments

I posted the following note to Nikki Haley, who came to the national public eye as Governor of South Carolina. She is one Republican who has stood out at times in a positive way, as when she showed leadership and empathy after the Charleston church shooting a few years ago. Yet, just when she shows promise, she will backslide, often intentionally to appease the more extreme base of followers in the GOP.

Recently, she has noted that Senator Raphael Warnock should be deported by ICE to stir up distrust to counter the existing and growing negativity surrounding his opponent in Georgia. It should be noted the Senator is a Black man born in Savannah, Georgia which last time I checked is in the United States. Haley should know better especially being a minority, which is why this is even more disappointing.

“Dear Former Governor and Ambassador Haley, as an independent and former Republican voter, I applaud your accomplishments. This is why your latest attempts to appeal to the worst part of the GOP and discredit Senator Warnock of Georgia with disinformation is so disheartening. We need you and other politicians to be better than this. We need you to be truthful and lean to the side of your better angels, which you have done in the past.

Your finest moment is what you did after the Charleston shooting. What you did with Warnock is the opposite end of the spectrum. Thanks for listening.”

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Friday foibles and fumbles

Since I am struggling for a longer topic and did not want to repost an old post, here are a few foibles and fumbles for this Friday.

• Help me understand how a person gets elected to Congress that believes in things like a Jewish laser from space is causing the wildfires? But, she must be OK in the eyes of many as she believes everything the former president says.

• Speaking of said former president, taking a page out of deceased war hero and Senator John McCain’s op-ed a few years back, how can the actions of the former president before, leading up to and during the insurrection on a third branch of government not be viewed as “traitorous.”

• I cite Senator McCain’s words as he called the former president’s siding with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki over the input of his own intelligence people as “traitorous.” It should be noted President Biden is getting kudos from Republican legislators for pushing back on Putin in his first call. Putin is a malevolent and deceitful person, the kind of person the former president holds in high regard as a strong leader.

• House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy traveled to Mar-a-Largo to kiss the former president’s ring. Some may use a body part in this sentence, but let’s keep it clean. McCarthy has ranged from blaming the former president for a role in the insurrection to it is not his fault over the last twenty days. Between him, Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz and, disappointingly, former UN Ambassador and SC governor Nikki Haley, groveling at the feet of the insurrectionist former president to woo his followers is rather insulting and distasteful.

• President Biden has been a busy camper with executive orders. I am delighted he has rejoined the US into the Paris Climate Change agreement and is taking actions to help heal the planet. And, I am glad to see a president who actually considers the pandemic a problem. Mind you, it is not as important as trying to overturn a just election or inciting an insurrection which was the focus of the last president, but over 400,000 citizens dying is a problem that needs to be dealt with.

• On a sad note, two US treasures passed away this week, Cicely Tyson and Cloris Leachman, both terrific actresses. Tyson had key roles in movies like “Sounder,” “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” to name only a few. Leachman was the consummate supporting actress, often in a comedic role. Her roles in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Young Frankenstein,” and “The Last Picture Show” were compelling.

• Let me close with a note about collaboration. Collaboration is hard work, which is why it is not done as often as it should be. Working with others toward a common purpose is essential to gain buy-in and sustainability. As noted above, executive orders are easy to do and easy to change. Yet, they are not laws. Congress must do their job and work together to enact laws. If the US flip-flops with every new president on working with other countries, then those countries will find more predictable trading partners.
  

That is all I have for today. Have a great Friday and weekend. Let me know your thoughts and reactions.