We've made it to the end of that weird week between Christmas and New Year's where everything is in a sort of time warp. Even if you're working this week, like I am, it's hard to remember what day is what.
Even though it's a slow news week, we got some really good news here in Georgia on Thursday. The Obama-appointed judge who rejected our GOP-drawn redistricting map because it didn't include enough majority-minority districts approved the new map that the General Assembly and Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) approved.
The new map maintains the current Republican-Democrat balance in the state, and, just like the first map, targets Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), who has built her entire political career on "somebody shot and killed my son, so I'm going to target the 2nd amendment." McBath will have to run in a different district for the third consecutive election.
While I'm excited that my family remains in Rep Mike Collins' (R-Ga.) district, I'm disappointed that Rep. Rich McCormick's (R-Ga.) 6th district is the new majority-minority district. Dr. McCormick is a wonderful guy who has been an asset as a freshman Congressman, so hopefully, he'll be able to run in another district.
Even during a slow news week, Nikki Haley managed to find a mess to step into. On Wednesday night at a town hall in New Hampshire, a voter asked Haley what the causes of the Civil War were. Rather than saying "slavery and other factors," she launched into politician-speak and didn't really answer the question.
When the man pushed back that Haley didn't mention slavery — she talked about intrusive government instead — she shrugged him off. Why did she act that way throughout the whole exchange?
Over at Hot Air, my friend and colleague Ed Morrissey wrote, "How about 'Slavery was bad,' at least? Or admitting that it was the cause of the Civil War? One does not have to go far to find this out, especially in South Carolina, the state that seceded first and triggered the war. When the state attempted to secede, it published its 'Declaration of the Immediate Causes' to justify the act."
Haley later claimed that the questioner was a Democrat plant, but Matt pointed out that it shouldn't matter.
"A stupid question for a presidential candidate? Yup," Matt wrote. "But she still managed to fail when she responded with a lengthy answer that failed to mention slavery. It doesn't matter if the questioner was a plant or if she figured that slavery was merely the obvious answer; in light of her recent mistakes, she should know better."
Rather than answering the question succinctly and moving on, she sounded just like a politician. Haley's non-answer to the question about the causes of the Civil War was disheartening because she actually said some good things about the role of government in our lives while simultaneously saying nothing at all.
It's a shame because, for a long time, I had high hopes for Haley's candidacy. After all, here was a Southern woman — and just like Winston Churchill said, “The most beautiful voice in the world is that of an educated Southern woman” — advocating for an alternative to what the Biden administration has wrought. Since the summer, it's been gaffe after gaffe for Haley, which makes me wonder if she's not ready for prime time.
I really do hate what has happened to Nikki Haley's campaign, but I don't know what she can do to right the ship at this point.
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