What Did You Think of Nikki Haley’s Speech?

 

I just finished watching Nikki Haley’s speech this afternoon about removing the flag from the statehouse grounds.  You can watch the video of it below. It’s about nine minutes or so, including applause breaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msmy-KAD6S4

I don’t usually watch political speeches. I don’t watch news shows. I don’t watch the news. For me, it’s all words on a screen and still pictures. So — while I’ve heard and seen Haley speak before — I don’t think it’s been more than a couple of times.

I’m also always pretty skeptical of politicians, what they do, what they say. One of the reasons that I don’t watch political speeches is that you can usually tell a politicians is lying simply because his lips are moving. I’m about as cynical as you can get when it comes to politicians, and consider almost all of them guilty until proven innocent.

That being said, I thought Haley knocked this one out of the park. The tone and delivery were perfect. This is an emotional and intense issue for both side in South Carolina, and she walked the line of respecting both points of view while taking the position she did. The speech writing and delivery were perfect in every way.

But that’s just me. I invite you to watch the speech. And please watch the whole thing. It was worth my nine minutes and it’ll be worth yours. And what do you think about how Haley did?

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  1. Ricochet Member
    Ricochet
    @

    Douglas:

    Conservatism has no future. That much is obvious from this thread. Too many are willing to feed the crocodile in hopes that they won’t get eaten. And some here love the crocodile.

    I don’t think this is true at all.  Why is it incumbent upon us to hold on to the flags of the Confederacy?  I’m from the South.  I feel the complexity of the emotional conflict when discussing the Civil War as a Southerner.  I also willingly admit that when all is stripped away that war was about whether or not a man can hold another man in bondage slavery.  What is there to cherish about that idea?  Removing flags from state houses that represent a time when those states sought self rule in pursuit of enslaving people is not feeding the crocodile.  It’s an admission that the South needs to move ahead and embrace the future that is looking brighter for them.  Just go look at the last census and see for yourself.

    • #61
  2. FightinInPhilly Coolidge
    FightinInPhilly
    @FightinInPhilly

    Tom Meyer, Ed.:

    It’s not just you.

    On 9/12/01, I went to a packed mass at the nearby church (this was back when I was Catholic). The priest asked parishioners to share what they felt. I can’t remember the exact answers offered, but they orbited closely around “hurt,” “confused,” and “saddened.” After hoping someone else would pipe up, I said — loudly — “enraged.”

    My comment was the only one he didn’t address. I’m still sore about it.

    At my church on the Upper West Side, (we sang The Battle Hymn of the Republic on 9/12. I was always pleased with them for striking that tone.

    • #62
  3. James Of England Inactive
    James Of England
    @JamesOfEngland

    Tom Meyer, Ed.:Two thoughts:

    • Wow, that was well dome. Really, really well done.
    • As much as I like both the content and the presentation, I can’t help but think this is too soon. Could we wait a week until the ruckas calmed down a little?

    Put me down with those who want people to have comfort while they’re hurting rather than waiting till the pain and anger have burned away. That seems helpful both politically (particularly given the united front, with all three major statewide politicians calling for it, and politicians as far away as Paul and Cruz returning donations from flag supporting political groups) and in substance. Plus, she had to speak now to give the legislature the chance to not be recalled.

    • #63
  4. user_348483 Coolidge
    user_348483
    @EHerring

    -If Sen Tim Scott says it is better to lower it at the war memorial, then it is time.  I don’t expect any good to come of it, though.  White racists are a dying breed but they will be energized.  The hate whitey crowd will not be appeased and are already calling for the removal of monuments and renaming of streets.  The Democrats will elevate the racial tension since they can’t field a decent candidate and so need the black vote.

    -While removing the flag might seem honorable, to the left it is a victory and they will move on to the next target, perhaps it will be something dear to freedom-loving Americans.

    -Meanwhile, the cause of the shooting will not be addressed since the tragedy was hijacked.  There are more troubled youths out there and future victims to cry over.

    -The country needs to address the growing problem of black racism, spawned and fertilized by the Democrats.  Republicans and tea party folks are the target of all sorts of insults and accusations of privilege and of being supremacists.  If this is allowed to continue, the coming together on display in Charleston will be the exception.

    • #64
  5. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    In an artful speech Haley completely crumbled and pandered to the SJW at such break neck speed as to be breath talking. On an issue that had nothing to do with the subject at hand. Yeah, let’s elect her President so she can surrender the country to somebody before a real fight breaks out that might involve a backbone. Jellyfish have more spine then GOP politicians.

    • #65
  6. Douglas Inactive
    Douglas
    @Douglas

    Real Jane Galt:In an artful speech Haley completely crumbled and pandered to the SJW at such break neck speed as to be breath talking.On an issue that had nothing to do with the subject at hand.Yeah, let’s elect her President so she can surrender the country to somebody before a real fight breaks out that might involve a backbone.Jellyfish have more spine then GOP politicians.

    battleflagsurrenderflag

    • #66
  7. Douglas Inactive
    Douglas
    @Douglas

    Fred Cole:

    Douglas:

    Conservatism has no future. That much is obvious from this thread. Too many are willing to feed the crocodile in hopes that they won’t get eaten. And some here love the crocodile.

    Who is the crocodile in this scenario?

    The Left, especially the Left in control of the commanding heights of the culture, media. Rob Long once criticized the concept of “Bob Hope in a hippy wig”, i.e. a symbol of an older generation trying to be hip with those that considered him obsolete. Watching Nikki Haley and the GOP pander to cultural forces that hate them  is Bob Hope in a hippy wig. It just looks pathetic, and it won’t buy them anything. No one that didn’t vote for them before is going to vote for them now. All they’ve done is earn the ire of people that were their strongest supporters, while getting nothing in return. They’re going to find this out very soon, just as John McCain found out that, no, the press wasn’t his friend, and only buttered him up as long as he was a threat to Bush. Then he became Bush. Sacrificing your friends in an attempt to quell your enemies makes the GOP the Stupid Party.

    • #67
  8. James Of England Inactive
    James Of England
    @JamesOfEngland

    Do either of you guys have proof that this isn’t the genuinely held belief of Haley, Scott, and pals, that they’re caving to others rather than doing what they feel is right?

    • #68
  9. Douglas Inactive
    Douglas
    @Douglas

    James Of England:Do either of you guys have proof that this isn’t the genuinely held belief of Haley, Scott, and pals, that they’re caving to others rather than doing what they feel is right?

    You mean like how it was their campaign positions that the flag should be where it is, until this week?

    • #69
  10. user_280840 Inactive
    user_280840
    @FredCole

    Douglas:

    James Of England:Do either of you guys have proof that this isn’t the genuinely held belief of Haley, Scott, and pals, that they’re caving to others rather than doing what they feel is right?

    You mean like how it was their campaign positions that the flag should be where it is, until this week?

    Well, until the week, keeping the flag was a safe political position.  It may well be that they had that position only because it was politically popular, and now that the winds have dramatically shifted, they can come out and say what they actually believe.

    • #70
  11. Guruforhire Inactive
    Guruforhire
    @Guruforhire

    Douglas:

    Fred Cole:

    Douglas:

    Conservatism has no future. That much is obvious from this thread. Too many are willing to feed the crocodile in hopes that they won’t get eaten. And some here love the crocodile.

    Who is the crocodile in this scenario?

    The Left, especially the Left in control of the commanding heights of the culture, media. Rob Long once criticized the concept of “Bob Hope in a hippy wig”, i.e. a symbol of an older generation trying to be hip with those that considered him obsolete. Watching Nikki Haley and the GOP pander to cultural forces that hate them is Bob Hope in a hippy wig. It just looks pathetic, and it won’t buy them anything. No one that didn’t vote for them before is going to vote for them now. All they’ve done is earn the ire of people that were their strongest supporters, while getting nothing in return. They’re going to find this out very soon, just as John McCain found out that, no, the press wasn’t his friend, and only buttered him up as long as he was a threat to Bush. Then he became Bush. Sacrificing your friends in an attempt to quell your enemies makes the GOP the Stupid Party.

    Republicans would rather put their own head in the guillotine than be thought of as rude by the people who pull the lever.

    Worthless feckless losers all.  My neutered cat has more balls.

    • #71
  12. AUMom Member
    AUMom
    @AUMom

    For those of you, not South Carolinians, who think this is nothing more than grandstanding and capitulation, stop it. We are a state in mourning. A man walked in to a sanctuary and shot our fellow citizens. Yes, we are shell shocked. Occasionally, folks do something for reasons other than political.

    Before last Wednesday, I did not care two figs whether the Stars and Bars flew on the State House grounds. Thursday morning when I heard about the tragedy at Emanuel AME, I wanted it removed without hearing any of the calls from anybody. Today I want it down before Sen. Pinckney lies in state there. It won’t happen but it should be done any way.

    It’s not personal, it’s politics… well, it’s personal to me.

    • #72
  13. Raconteur Inactive
    Raconteur
    @Raconteur

    For some of us who live in the deep south, there is another aspect to this flag controversy that is being ignored by most media outlets.

    Here in NC, we recently chose a new slate of party leaders and functionaries. Our new state party chair is Hasan Harnett– an African-American. He and his team were swept into office with almost no opposition. The national media ignored the story– but, that’s because this development does not fit into the false narrative which asserts that Conservatives and Republicans are all racists, especially in the deep south.

    Everybody in the media (even the conservative media) expected Kay Hagan to easily defeat Thom Tillis. What nobody seemed to grasp, however, was that the overwhelming majority of African-Americans in the south are both deeply Christian and, in many ways, reflexively conservative in their outlook. Here in NC, we had a battalion of young Blacks working to convince the African-American community that they were, in fact, much more in tune with Republican values and principles. And they succeeded magnificently.

    Tillis won his seat with massive amounts of help from the African-American community. That is another story that the media ignored.

    In the lead-up to the election, most of the ground game was centered in the African-American community. We experienced record numbers of African-Americans registering as Republicans, once we were able to articulate what we stood for, as opposed to what the Democrat’s stood for.

    Many– if not most– of our ground troops and volunteers were young Blacks who spent countless hours in private homes and churches in their communities. These kids carefully and intelligently explained to people in the Black community why they should flee from the Democratic party. This effort to proselytize the Black community, so to speak, was much more successful than anybody anticipated. Hagan is gone, thanks to thousands of Blacks who woke up and realized that the Democratic party stood for all sorts of things that they could not support– abortion, gay marriage, etc.

    The Hagan camp and the state Democratic party never saw this coming. They were convinced that they were going to trounce Tillis. Boy, were they ever surprised! They lost because the African-American community rose up and rejected their values and policies. And this massive rejection is something that they are STILL in denial about.

    Every Republican in this state feels a huge debt of gratitude to all of the African-Americans who broke away from Democrats and worked to elect Republicans in the last election.

    In fact, the gratitude that we feel for these folks is such that the removal of the battle flag was effortless and completely non-controversial here. It just seemed to be the decent thing to do. Nobody offered any objection when our governor signed an executive order removing the flag. It seemed a small and sensible thing to everybody here– including whites with deep familial ties to the Confederacy.

    Of all the things that are going on in the country these days, the “controversy” over the battle flag is a minuscule and irrelevant distraction.

    For years, Republicans have bemoaned the fact that the Democrats seemed to have a lock on the Black vote. Here in NC, we proved that this is not an inevitable or insurmountable situation. And distancing ourselves from the battle flag strikes me as a very small price to pay for the privilege of securing the votes of lots of Black citizens.

    The national media is covering the flag story as if it were still 1964 or something. It’s 2015– and, here in the south, it’s a very different political landscape than it was just a few years ago.

    If Republicans want to attain a secure majority nationally, there is a huge block of Black votes out there simply waiting to be tapped. It can be done.

    • #73
  14. Douglas Inactive
    Douglas
    @Douglas

    AUMom:For those of you, not South Carolinians, who think this is nothing more than grandstanding and capitulation, stop it. We are a state in mourning.

    Your problem has crossed your state lines. It’s not longer just a South Carolina issue.

    Before last Wednesday, I did not care two figs whether the Stars and Bars flew on the State House grounds. Thursday morning when I heard about the tragedy at Emanuel AME, I wanted it removed without hearing any of the calls from anybody.

    WHY? It didn’t have anything to do with the shooting. You have jumped right on to the Left wing narrative and are riding it at full speed. For God’s sake, now they’re scrubbing images of the flag from Dukes of Hazard episodes for future DVD releases. Whether you realize it or not, you’re helping to enable this progressive kulturekampf now.

    • #74
  15. AUMom Member
    AUMom
    @AUMom

    Douglas, I have friends and neighbors who realize that members of their race were shot for praying while black. The flag means something horrific to them. It’s not that big a deal to me except that I want to spread as much peace as I can. Balance will, of course, be key.

    I think it’s ridiculous to take the flag off General Lee. Good grief. But that is not my concern. It’s somebody else’s fight today. Today, I busy with folks here.

    As for spreading across state lines, it is a wee bit ironic for those who normally scream state’s rights to be involved in what we do here.

    • #75
  16. user_138833 Inactive
    user_138833
    @starnescl

    Raconteur: Here in NC, we had a battalion of young Blacks working to convince the African-American community that they were, in fact, much more in tune with Republican values and principles. And they succeeded magnificently.

    Am I the only one that had heard none of this?

    Not that you didn’t just lay it out, but I’d love to know more.  Are there no good write ups in the media?  None?!?  Can anybody else chime in and corroborate this?

    This is major if true, and seems like what should have happened a long, long time ago.

    Raconteur – thanks for posting. I’d love to know anything else possible about this.  Did any other states experience anything like this?

    • #76
  17. James Of England Inactive
    James Of England
    @JamesOfEngland

    AUMom:Douglas, I have friends and neighbors who realize that members of their race were shot for praying while black. The flag means something horrific to them. It’s not that big a deal to me except that I want to spread as much peace as I can. Balance will, of course, be key.

    I think it’s ridiculous to take the flag off General Lee. Good grief. But that is not my concern. It’s somebody else’s fight today. Today, I busy with folks here.

    As for spreading across state lines, it is a wee bit ironic for those who normally scream state’s rights to be involved in what we do here.

    It’s my sense that AUMom is not unusual in her position, and that it is entirely possible that Haley and pals feel similarly.

    Douglas:WHY? It didn’t have anything to do with the shooting. You have jumped right on to the Left wing narrative and are riding it at full speed. For God’s sake, now they’re scrubbing images of the flag from Dukes of Hazard episodes for future DVD releases. Whether you realize it or not, you’re helping to enable this progressive kulturekampf now.

    Roof used the flag as a symbol in his murderous efforts to start a race war.

    Roof failed, but that failure can be compounded. We don’t just want terrorists to fail to advance their cause. We want terrorists to actively set their cause back. Having the shooting be an occasion for the removal of a burr in race relations makes a clear statement to future killers; you’ll get more publicity through atrocities than you would by participating in the cultural and civic life of your neighborhood, state, and country, but progress in your cause can only come from the latter.

    • #77
  18. James Of England Inactive
    James Of England
    @JamesOfEngland

    starnescl:

    Raconteur: Here in NC, we had a battalion of young Blacks working to convince the African-American community that they were, in fact, much more in tune with Republican values and principles. And they succeeded magnificently.

    Am I the only one that had heard none of this?

    Not that you didn’t just lay it out, but I’d love to know more. Are there no good write ups in the media? None?!? Can anybody else chime in and corroborate this?

    This is major if true, and seems like what should have happened a long, long time ago.

    Raconteur – thanks for posting. I’d love to know anything else possible about this. Did any other states experience anything like this?

    I agree. This should definitely be a post.

    • #78
  19. Douglas Inactive
    Douglas
    @Douglas

    James Of England:

    Roof used the flag as a symbol in his murderous efforts to start a race war.

    Roof failed, but that failure can be compounded. We don’t just want terrorists to fail to advance their cause. We want terrorists to actively set their cause back. Having the shooting be an occasion for the removal of a burr in race relations makes a clear statement to future killers; you’ll get more publicity through atrocities than you would by participating in the cultural and civic life of your neighborhood, state, and country, but progress in your cause can only come from the latter.

    This is insane. Insanity, right here, from so-called conservatives.

    Roof was a madman. What in God’s green Earth do you think reason would have done for him, or anyone like him? What good is a reasoned argument like yours going to do to prevent crazies from doing what crazies do? What else are we expected to sacrifice so that future madmen won’t embarrass us when committing their crimes? How about guns themselves? How about “hate speech”… like, you know, the very existence of places like Ricochet? Just where do you draw your line when the mob demands the next sacrifice?

    • #79
  20. user_348483 Coolidge
    user_348483
    @EHerring

    Haley and Scott both knew Rev Pinkney-remember, she came out of the General Assembly.  Scott is no race baiter but rather a very religious man who acts honestly.  I don’t know about Graham.  The grief in that church was real, not the imagined and fabricated grief on display at the moveon protest in Columbia.  The Republican governor who removed the flag from the capitol in 2000 was defeated in the blowback.  Haley has no reason to believe she too won’t be victimized by blowback….and the vandalizing of Confederate memorials across  the state will increase the blowback from the crowd that warned of the slippery slope.

    • #80
  21. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    AUMom:Douglas, I have friends and neighbors who realize that members of their race were shot for praying while black. The flag means something horrific to them. It’s not that big a deal to me except that I want to spread as much peace as I can. Balance will, of course, be key.

    I think it’s ridiculous to take the flag off General Lee. Good grief. But that is not my concern. It’s somebody else’s fight today. Today, I busy with folks here.

    As for spreading across state lines, it is a wee bit ironic for those who normally scream state’s rights to be involved in what we do here.

    What retailers do and what other states do has no bearing at all on what is best for South Carolina to do on the statehouse grounds.

    In fact, I suspect that push would have happened anyway.  We cannot simply take our positions in opposition to the Left.

    • #81
  22. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Fred Cole:

    Douglas:

    James Of England:Do either of you guys have proof that this isn’t the genuinely held belief of Haley, Scott, and pals, that they’re caving to others rather than doing what they feel is right?

    You mean like how it was their campaign positions that the flag should be where it is, until this week?

    Well, until the week, keeping the flag was a safe political position. It may well be that they had that position only because it was politically popular, and now that the winds have dramatically shifted, they can come out and say what they actually believe.

    Just out of curiosity, had Tim Scott stated a position on the flag previously?

    • #82
  23. user_348483 Coolidge
    user_348483
    @EHerring

    Leigh:

    Fred Cole:

    Douglas:

    James Of England:Do either of you guys have proof that this isn’t the genuinely held belief of Haley, Scott, and pals, that they’re caving to others rather than doing what they feel is right?

    You mean like how it was their campaign positions that the flag should be where it is, until this week?

    Well, until the week, keeping the flag was a safe political position. It may well be that they had that position only because it was politically popular, and now that the winds have dramatically shifted, they can come out and say what they actually believe.

    Just out of curiosity, had Tim Scott stated a position on the flag previously?

    Never heard one….he  has a religious and moral-based approach to issues…sounds like Sowell sometimes.  Not the sort to sympathize with whiners.

    • #83
  24. James Of England Inactive
    James Of England
    @JamesOfEngland

    Douglas: This is insane. Insanity, right here, from so-called conservatives.

    Roof was a madman. What in God’s green Earth do you think reason would have done for him, or anyone like him? What good is a reasoned argument like yours going to do to prevent crazies from doing what crazies do?

    Even crazy people respond to incentives. If the Weathermen had been more successful, we’d have seen more of them.

    What else are we expected to sacrifice so that future madmen won’t embarrass us when committing their crimes?

    I feel, like Haley, that this was an issue where the two sides were finely balanced. As such, it’s not a sacrifice to come down on this side.

    How about guns themselves?

    Losing the Second Amendment would be a sacrifice. I don’t know if you think it’s genuinely plausible that Haley and Scott will come out against it, or if this is just venting.

    How about “hate speech”… like, you know, the very existence of places like Ricochet?

    If Haley and/ or Scott close down Ricochet, I will donate substantial amounts to their primary opponents. I don’t think that my bank manager needs to worry, though.

    Just where do you draw your line when the mob demands the next sacrifice?

    If I thought that they were responding to an angry mob, I’d be with you. Being intimidated into making policy changes is awful. Since I find Haley’s claim that she thinks of this as a positive move plausible, though, I’m happy that it’s going ahead.

    South Carolina is in no danger of forgetting its history; even by Southern standards. Having a reminder of its darkest days right in front of the Capitol, though (even if, yes, it’s on a memorial right in front of the Capitol) seems unhelpful.

    • #84
  25. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    For Fred.
    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/06/24/farrakhan-i-dont-get-debate-over-confederate-flag-we-need-to-put-the-american-flag-down/

    • #85
  26. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Real Jane Galt:For Fred.

    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/06/24/farrakhan-i-dont-get-debate-over-confederate-flag-we-need-to-put-the-american-flag-down/

    Usually it takes longer for the left to go from, “That’s right wing paranoia,” to “Y’know, that’s actually a good idea.”

    • #86
  27. Douglas Inactive
    Douglas
    @Douglas

    Umbra Fractus:

    Real Jane Galt:For Fred.

    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/06/24/farrakhan-i-dont-get-debate-over-confederate-flag-we-need-to-put-the-american-flag-down/

    Usually it takes longer for the left to go from, “That’s right wing paranoia,” to “Y’know, that’s actually a good idea.”

    Let me sum up the response for you:

    “Oh, that’s an extreme example. That would never happen. You’re just pouting and being paranoid. That would never happen“.

    Boy, that sounds familiar. Where have we heard that before? Hmmm.

    • #87
  28. James Of England Inactive
    James Of England
    @JamesOfEngland

    Umbra Fractus:

    Real Jane Galt:For Fred.

    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/06/24/farrakhan-i-dont-get-debate-over-confederate-flag-we-need-to-put-the-american-flag-down/

    Usually it takes longer for the left to go from, “That’s right wing paranoia,” to “Y’know, that’s actually a good idea.”

    This isn’t a new development. The Nation of Islam has always said this stuff. Indeed, it was more common in the ’60s and ’70s; comfort with Old Glory has increased since the Carter days.

    • #88
  29. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Douglas:

    Umbra Fractus:

    Real Jane Galt:For Fred.

    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/06/24/farrakhan-i-dont-get-debate-over-confederate-flag-we-need-to-put-the-american-flag-down/

    Usually it takes longer for the left to go from, “That’s right wing paranoia,” to “Y’know, that’s actually a good idea.”

    Let me sum up the response for you:

    “Oh, that’s an extreme example. That would never happen. You’re just pouting and being paranoid.

    Boy, that sounds familiar. Where have we heard that before? Hmmm.

    Usually about five years before they start calling your opposition to it “hate.”

    • #89
  30. user_138562 Moderator
    user_138562
    @RandyWeivoda

    James Of England:

    Umbra Fractus:

    Real Jane Galt:For Fred.

    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/06/24/farrakhan-i-dont-get-debate-over-confederate-flag-we-need-to-put-the-american-flag-down/

    Usually it takes longer for the left to go from, “That’s right wing paranoia,” to “Y’know, that’s actually a good idea.”

    This isn’t a new development. The Nation of Islam has always said this stuff. Indeed, it was more common in the ’60s and ’70s; comfort with Old Glory has increased since the Carter days.

    That’s right.  Mr. Farrakhan turned his back on sanity decades ago.

    • #90
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