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Nikki Haley came to Aiken, SC today for a campaign rally in the Etherredge Center on the USC-Aiken campus. Your fellow Ricochetti neutral observer and I attended. The packed crowd (about 700) listened to classic rock while waiting for the event to begin:
One side note: When they played Tina Turner's Proud Mary over the speakers, people in the audience held up their "Nikki for President" sign and went "rollin' on the river" by moving them around in circles. Who says small-town people don't know how to PAR-TAY?
Anyway, our state representative Bart Blackwell came out and spoke about Nikki's qualifications. His best line was, "But you're not here to see me, so I'll be brief." Much applause . . .
Nikki came out to a standing ovation (looking smokin' hot good), and why not? She was a great governor, and extremely popular. Then she spoke:
Nikki started with a short discussion about Trump's behavior without being mean. Overall, she touched on almost every issue voters care about (well, normal voters anyway) and how Biden and the Democrats were ruining the country. She also spoke in terms of "we need to do to fix things," not what "I will do to fix things." She also never referred to herself in the third person, as politicians often do (drives me crazy).
Haley pulled no punches against Congressional Republicans, and how they are just as big spenders as Democrats—if not more. The first of her two biggest applause lines was when she said we could fix the problems with the Veterans Administration by requiring Congress to use the VA for their health care. The second came when she talked about needing more women to become leaders, and linked it to male participation in women's sports destroying that opportunity. I never thought about sports being a venue to develop leadership, but she's right. When Nikki finished, she handed out hugs, and stood at a long line to pose for pictures with her supporters. We abstained, wanting to get home to prop up neutral observer's foot (more on that in a separate post):
Overall, Nikki Haley was poised, articulate, and recalled facts and figures without notes. She called out Trump and Biden and their issues without being mean or nasty. Her speech was mercifully short (about 45 minutes), but dense with information, facts and figures, along with issues that affected her and her family personally. I came away impressed, as did neutral observer.
Look! A chicken!
Discussion (246)
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Thanks for the report, @Stad.
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Grown up men and women ought not to wear odd jeans in any professional setting. Especially too tight too short for the boots do not fit jeans. She’s applying for a serious job. Dress like it.
At this point in a campaign I would expect policy specifics, not shoulds or need to’s. More “women in leadership” isn't that, and conflicts with the principle that merit for jobs is the gating criteria. I’d expect comments on something relevant to a national news event like a terrible border control proposal. Sports as a breeding ground for discipline, accomplishment and leadership is solid. Short tactical speeches are the best. You should be able to brief just about any subject in 30-45 minutes.
I’d have trouble being comfortable with 700 +/- of my newest friends around me so thanks for going and doing the work. I’m looking forward to a visit or 2 to SC this summer. It’s so much prettier than where our boy and his family are in NC.
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For a couple of years when the Tea Party movement actually meant something, a lot of Republicans seemed to care about fiscal responsibility. Not too many even talk about it anymore. We have become acclimated to adding $1 trillion or more to the national debt every year. It's like we have become a nation of teenagers.
Thank you for the report, Stad!
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I wasn't bothered by the way she dressed at all, and neither was the audience ...
But I know what you mean. This was a personal visit, not a national stage event like a debate. Hope we see you in SC! Where are you going to visit?
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I’ve found people in the South to largely be generous and kind - if you go to an event you’re on the side of whoever is on the stage and want them to do well. They won’t mind if you forget a verse to the song.
We are beach types who like to have fun with grandkids so rent on Folly and venture out after they go home. We will go back to Charleston in the fall because we really like the city and meet a brother and sister in law. It feels like a big Carmel to us. Nice drives out of town for day trips.
We figure we have another couple of years before the oldest get too much of a life to enjoy boogey boarding for a week with grandma and grandpa. (I’m the swimmer and taught their dad and the oldest 2. BUT grandpa is taller and can go out farther into surf so you know who is in demand.) They are slick motivated kids and I can see us becoming mere spectators at wrestling tournaments before long. They are serious competitors. We told our son we would just follow him and they believe we will just follow them too. We love that they talk about their Folly traditions, although the oldest has asked why we sold the house with the pool on Martha’s Vineyard. It’s where he first jumped in a pool on his own at 2. Grandma caught him.
We’ve not been as far as Augusta. SC is high on the list if/when NH is too far from them to go when we want or too cold to stay. We like spending time outdoors and it’s very hot there longer than it’s very cold here. And i really like pretty and it’s very pretty here almost all the time. NC is not and as in-laws it pays to keep a respectful distance to adult children.
That’s more than you want to know….. I miss the NCPosse.
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