Dr. ESP, this is the third post in a row referencing Nikki Haley. And not in a positive light. Are you afraid she really could win the election in November if she is the GOP nominee?
~Imaginary Subscriber
Dear Imaginary, thank you for your question. In the tradition of my people, I will answer your question with a question. Are you suggesting I share the Biden campaign’s assessment the best hope of victory in the 2024 contest is a rematch between the incumbent and Donald Trump? If so, the answer is absolutely NOT. I am pulling for Haley, knowing that Trump will not take a defeat lying down. He will either run as an independent, start a write-in campaign or preemptively declare Haley cannot win and urge his voters to stay home (just to prove himself right). He has to somehow stay in the race if he wants to continue arguing his indictments, trials and likely convictions are politically motivated.
Consider the following. Every protest Trump vote will be one less for Haley. Abraham Lincoln could not survive a defection of 15 to 30 percent of expected Republican ballots. And imagine the chaos if down-ballot Republicans have to pick sides. The civil war within the party will go from tepid to ultra-thermal overnight ensuring a Democratic house and senate in 2025.
So count me among the cheerleaders hoping Haley wins the nomination, but here is why she will not. She may be the only person in America who could give Donald Trump an opportunity to tell the truth for once. It began when a nine-year-old boy in Iowa asked Haley how her position on Trump could “flip-flop” so often in eight years. Once accused of straddling the fence, the best way to make it stick is to provide more examples. It did not take long.
During the second Republican debate, Haley proposed eliminating the federal gas tax. On December 30, the Trump campaign released a statement citing Haley’s “troublesome record” when it came to an increase in the South Carolina gas tax during her governorship. “She pushed for a WHOPPING 60% increase in the state gas tax in South Carolina after promising voters she would never do so.” In essence, Trump was asking potential Haley voters, “She reneged on a promise once before. Why would you believe she won’t do it again?”
But the back story about the financing of South Carolina highways eclipses the current fray over any inconsistent messaging. If you have ever driven through South Carolina on I-95, you notice gas prices are considerably lower than in the states to its north and south. However, you also observe something else. South Carolina is the only one of the three immediate states and most of the others along I-95 that is limited to two-lanes in each direction. And maintenance is spotty at best. Don’t take my word for it. A May 2023 article by Forbes contributor Gary Stoller included the following on-line testimonials.
FITSNews: Traveling from Georgia, the highway narrows from six lanes to four lanes — with rusty guardrails flanking the roadside. Trash is everywhere, greeting visiting motorists as they pass through a 1990s-era stucco display that might as well be the entrance to a drug kingpin’s barn — or a trailer park…Worst of all is the pavement which resembles an Afghan airstrip following a sustained bombing barrage.
REDDIT: Seriously, just did Boston to Miami and then back, and the stretch through South Carolina feels like driving in a Third World country. What gives?
Therefore, the question is not whether Haley promises to eliminate the federal gas tax and then does not? The issue is whether she is promising she will make the entire U.S. interstate system emulate South Carolina’s share of it. Maybe it is a plank in her “bring down inflation now” campaign. Except it will more likely apply to shredded tires than to the price of consumer goods and services.
For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP