Five Reasons Conservatives Should Be Picky and Give the Presidential Primary to Nikki

My American and conservative friends, America has taken a negative turn with the election of Joe Biden as president in 2020.  Inflation permeates the economy, hiking the price of essential goods (e.g., food, gas).  The national deficit and debt continue to grow.  The Woke Left continues to corrupt traditional American culture with the values of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in the military, public schools, and entertainment industry.  Illegal immigration on the southern border has skyrocketed.  Russia invaded Ukraine, and Hamas attacked Israel resulting in an ongoing war.  For all these reasons, stellar national and international leadership is imperative in order for the U.S. to restore its greatness and glory.  That is precisely why conservatives need Nikki Haley in the White House.

1. Haley has the most diverse executive experience of all presidential candidates, which makes her ideal to preside as America’s chief executive. That is to say, she has directed, managed, and supervised, corporate management, workers, teams, committees, processes, and organizations, all of which are executive functions in one way or another within the public, private, and civic sectors.

As governor of South Carolina, Haley served as the chief executive of that state.  In the state’s house (as a law maker), she chaired some committees, namely, the Freshman Caucus and Women’s Caucus (Vice-Chair) and the Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee.  In the private sector, Haley was a supervisor for a recycling company, sat on Boeing’s board of directors, and served as the chief financial officer of Exotica International (a women’s clothing business started by her mother).  In the civic sector, Haley sat on the board of directors for both the Orangeburg County and Lexington Chamber of Commerce.  She served as president of the South Carolina chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and chaired the Lexington Gala in order to raise funds for a local hospital.

2. Haley is an accountant by trade, not a lawyer, as many politicians are. While attorneys are mandated to serve the law, many of them exploit their legal expertise for financial gain or advancing their political ambitions. That has put Haley in a unique position to look at the federal budget through a non-partisan lens, hence prompting her to be critical of both political parties on excessive federal spending.  It was such a fiscally conservative perspective, which appealed to the Tea Party and catapulted her into South Carolina’s gubernatorial office in 2010.
3. Haley is an accomplished public servant.
   • As South Carolina’s first female and Indian governor, she enacted tax-cutting and regulatory-descaling policies that turned the state’s 11% unemployment rate to 4%. More than 20,000 manufacturing jobs were created from reputable companies like BMW, Boeing, and Michelin. The economy was so robust that it was coined as “the Beast of the Southeast.”

• • She signed an election integrity bill into law, which requires voters to present a photo ID.
• • Being the daughter of legal immigrants and a defender of the rule of law, she enacted strict immigration laws that empowered law enforcement to check the legal status of immigrants, and enforce South Carolina’s E-Verify program.
• • She signed a charter school bill that broadened school choice and eliminated the federal government’s Common Core standards in South Carolina.
• • She signed a bill that repealed some of South Carolina’s anti-gun laws and a bill that expanded concealed carry rights to bars and restaurants. She herself is a concealed carry permit holder.
• • Assuming the role of a crisis manager while governor with the onset of Hurricane Matthew, she successfully evacuated South Carolinians, and kept them updated twice a day on further developments. Haley’s performance was so stellar that even one of her critics, state Rep. Mike Pitts, commended her for her “leadership during a very stressful time” and described it in South Carolinian lingo as “Top Shelf.”
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  • As UN ambassador, she demanded countries receiving foreign aid align with U.S. policy on the threat of being defunded.
  
  
  • She urged Trump to transfer America’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
• • She condemned Iran for its development of ballistic missiles, aiding and abetting terrorists throughout the Middle East, and refusing to cooperate with international inspectors, hence persuading President Trump to repeal the Iran nuclear deal that President Obama put in place.

4. Haley has the most foreign policy experience and is a military spouse and sibling. As UN ambassador, she has dealt with America’s allies and enemies on a daily basis.  Haley’s expertise in this area is most suitable for the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Israelis and Palestinians, and the specter of China with regard to trade, fentanyl smuggling, technology theft, and expansion in the South China Sea.

She has even demonstrated her grasp of geopolitics in her admonition of presidential rival Ron DeSantis’s characterization of the Russian-Ukrainian war as “a mere territorial dispute,” in which the U.S. should not prioritize.  “If Russia wins,” stated Haley, “there is no reason to believe it will stop at Ukraine.  And if Russia wins, then its closest allies---China and Iran---will become more aggressive.”

The active military service of Haley’s husband and brother would give her a personal stake in her decisions as commander-in-chief.  Not only would she be able to empathize with other men in uniform and directly know and apprehend their needs, she would think twice before deploying troops overseas or engaging in hostilities with other countries.

5. Haley is the most electable candidate. A Wall Street Journal national poll shows her leading by 17 percentage points (51% to 34%) in a hypothetical one-on-one match with Biden.  The same poll shows DeSantis at a tie (45% to 45%), and Trump leading by only 4 percentage points (47% to 43%).

As I have pointed out in my commentary entitled “Why Conservatives Must Dump Trump to Defeat Biden in 2024,” Trump’s excessive baggage of scandals and controversy (whether innocent or guilty) could cost conservatives the election in a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024.  Haley, on the other hand, has no such baggage and could garner the support of independents, as well as Never Trump conservatives, moderate Republicans, suburban mothers, and perhaps, conservative Democrats.  The independents, in particular, are significant, since they frequently decide tight races in swing states, and would be more inclined to pick Haley over her other Republican contenders.  This is due to the public perception of her as being a unifying public servant, although she is simply being a practical conservative.

Consider the removal of the Confederate flag from South Carolina’s capitol.  This was the result of the 2015 mass shooting in which the lives of nine blacks in a Charleston church were taken by a white supremacist.  Due to the deep divide between South Carolinians of opposing sides with equally strong convictions (blacks who perceive the flag as a symbol of racism and slavery and whites who perceive the flag as a symbol of southern culture and heritage), the task of removing the Confederate flag from the state capitol necessitated the collaboration of community leaders and a bipartisan group of state legislators---a seemingly impossible task, considering the failed attempts by previous governors.  However, Haley succeeded, as former GOP executive director Alex Stromon pointed out via “her diplomacy in navigating tough issues and getting things done by having people come on board who were initially completely opposed to bringing the Confederate flag down.”

On the heated issue of abortion, Haley claims, “I am unapologetically pro-life, not because the Republican Party tells me, but because my husband was adopted, and I live with that blessing every day.”  That is her personal perspective due to her personal situation and religious faith.  However, Haley is keenly aware of influential contrarians who are pro-abortion, but could be persuaded on a national, bi-partisan “consensus.”  For example, banning late-term abortions, encouraging adoptions, not forcing doctors who don’t believe in the procedure to perform it, and making contraception accessible.  “It’s about saving babies and supporting moms,” stated Haley.  “I am fighting for all of them.”  Who could argue with that?

Another area in which Haley could get bi-partisan support is on her policy of mandatory mental competency examinations for public office holders or aspirants, who are over the age of 75.  She noted the dysfunctional demeanor of Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Mitch McConnell, and President Joe Biden when they appeared or spoke publicly, or, in Feinstein’s case, was excessively absent from the Senate due to some health complications.  According to NBC’s poll, “68 percent of voters said they're concerned Biden doesn't have the necessary mental and physical health to be president.”  Even the liberal NBC host Chuck Todd admitted, “The concern among Democrats [about Biden's overall health] has doubled since 2020.”

Those are just a few issues in which independents and other voters could “reasonably” align, not to mention that should Haley defeat Biden in the general election, she would be the first female American, born to legal immigrants from India, to be president of the United States.  All of those factor her into posing a serious threat to Democrats, so much so that even renowned Democrat strategist Chris Hahn admitted, "I worry about Nikki Haley. . . . She would have cross-partisan appeal. . . . Joe Biden would lose to Nikki Haley, as it stands right now, without a doubt in my mind."

Consequently, Haley’s electability could bring Republican House and Senate majorities and gubernatorial wins, which many commentators and pollsters erroneously predicted Trump would do in the 2022 midterm elections.  Their expectations were so high, they referred to the anticipated victories as a “red wave” or “red tsunami.”  Perhaps they should have been more accurately coined a “red drop” in the political bucket.

In conclusion, my American and conservative friends, vote for Nikki Haley in order to defeat Joe Biden in 2024.  Despite acknowledging her stellar presidential qualifications, many conservative voters are simply guided, or, rather, misguided, by the current polls, wherein Donald Trump appears to be far ahead in the race for the Republican nomination.  Hence, they believe they are erring on the side of political caution by putting their support behind him.  However, the journalist Jeremy Markovich observed that in South Carolina, everyone warns, “Do not underestimate Nikki Haley. . . . Do not underestimate her ability to move the needle, even in a race that Trump is forecasted to win. And do not underestimate her ability to fight back. Especially if Trump starts going on the offensive against her.”

My friends, that sounds like a president America needs. Indeed, Haley was Trump’s first challenger to join the primary.  We can make her the last candidate standing as champion before stepping into the White House.