Six Thoughts on Haley's Slavery Gaffe in New Hampshire

As you probably know by now Nikki Haley had a bad night at a town hall meeting in Berlin, New Hampshire yesterday.

An audience member asked Haley what caused the civil war. Haley hemmed and hawed:

I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run - the freedoms and what people could and couldn't do. 

I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are. And I will always stand by the fact I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people.

Government doesn't need to tell you how to live your life. They don't need to tell you what you can and can't do. They don't need to be a part of your life. They need to make sure that you have freedom. We need to have capitalism. We need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.

The audience member then interjected stating he found it "astonishing" that Haley had made no mention of "slavery". Haley replied, "What do you want me to say about slavery?" The voter retorted, "You answered my question. Thank you." 

Here are six thoughts on the aftermath of the controversy.

First, the Republican Party was founded to stop the spread of slavery. As Abraham Lincoln said, "If slavery is not wrong, then nothing is." If a Republican presidential candidate is asked about the Civil War and cannot bring himself or herself to speak of the evil of slavery for fear of offending a portion of their constituency then you know how Trumpism has thoroughly rotted the Republican Party.

Second, for her part, Haley insists the culprit is "a Democratic plant."  There is no evidence to support her claim. But let us say for argument's sake that her claim is correct. If Haley cannot handle a question from "a Democratic plant" then how is she going to handle Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, or for that matter, Trump? Let me add President Biden while I'm at it. The fact is Haley was thrown a softball and she whiffed and now she is trying to argue balls and strikes. Now we have word that a 9-year old in North Conway, New Hampshire called Haley "the new John Kerry". Is she going to call this kid a Democratic plant?

Third, this is Ron DeSantis' best day in six months. A DeSantis spokesperson stated, “If she can’t handle a question as basic as the cause of the Civil War, what does she think is going to happen to her in a general election. The Democrats would eat her lunch.” Don't get me wrong. It's too late for DeSantis, a man who cannot tolerate questions from 15-year old boys. Still, for once, a candidate other than DeSantis is showing ineptitude on the campaign trail.

Fourth, Vivek Ramaswamy must be doing back flips. Given the enmity between the two which at one point saw Haley calling Ramaswamy "scum" after invoking her daughter, Ramaswamy is loving every moment of seeing Haley sweat. For his part, Ramaswamy was relatively mild on the slavery gaffe stating, "I think she mistook him for a Super PAC donor." Still, a bad day for Nikki Haley is a good day for Vivek Ramaswamy.

Fifth, the GOP presidential aspirant who stands the most to gain from Haley's gaffe is Chris Christie. In recent days, Christie has been called upon to drop out of the race so as to help Haley against Trump. In light of Haley's gaffe, perhaps anti-Trump Republicans in New Hampshire will turn to Christie. Not that it will help get within 10 points of Trump or fight beyond the Granite State, but Haley's gaffe does give Christie some oxygen.

Finally, then there is Trump himself. There's a very good chance that Haley won't recover from this gaffe and that her numbers will slide. But as daft as Haley's answer was concerning the Civil War, let us not forget that Trump is the man who has said immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country". But all Trump has to do is feign he didn't know Hitler had used this phrase and it is just another Thursday. The sad fact is that when it comes to politics (and perhaps when it comes to the law) there is one set of rules for Donald Trump and for everyone else as Nikki Haley is now finding out the hard way.