Nikki Haley and the Senile Racist

 

I was honestly just going to post about the weirdness of trying to pretend this is a not-racist country when one's former boss calls you out as "Nimrada" (is that an upgrade from "birdbrain"?) and for a second act, practices birtherism against you. She knows exactly what's up--he wants to disqualify her because of her race and gender because he's legit scared she actually is capable of challenging him. In fact, maybe her race and gender make him more afraid, because it challenges his entire world view. 

(Does that worldview, that by now so many on the right wing of the aisle have signed onto, have a name? Might it rhyme with "face-ism"--which is the thing of when other folks' faces just make you want to start a whole political movement against them? Is it just a "complexion problem" or something worse?)

He upgraded his play on her name to "Nimbra". It's not hard to see he avoided a nickname that ended in a hard "r". It could have easily been "Nimber". Just as with "Ron DeSanctimonious", he's losing his edge. He could have just called Ron, "Nose-Picker." He always seems to be digging in his faceholes. 

But just a minute ago, he forgot who his Ambassador to the UN and current primary opponent was and accused her of being the head of security during 1/6--the usual target for that still-wrong claim is Nancy Pelosi. He mixed up his Nancy Pelosi grievance for the new female threat to his supremacy?  Honestly, Haley should be flattered by the comparison, but I don't think it's that, any more than it's a metaphor of any kind when Trump mixes up Biden and Obama. 

Trump mixes up his various misogynies and racisms calling out Haley, and of course he does. But the problem with her riposte is that she's been a shield for white racism in the party, and now stands watching Marco Rubio, who she endorsed in 2016, endorse Trump and Tim Scott, who she appointed to US Senate, also endorse Trump. She's very unlikely to be in the running for VP. She ran against him--a stab in the back! he likely won't forget, even if her name and whatever else sometimes escapes him.

She can hit him harder now if she really wants to--for the good it will do, and I think she should regardless--but she already gave up and said she'd pardon the old fuck if he was convicted. She already has over time, pardoned every lie and every racist slur from his dribbling bronzer-smeared, looking like a Hollywood Western Indian circa 1956 face. It truly is too little, too late.  And here's the other thing:

Same thing happened to Ted Cruz in 2016. Amazing the long memory a campaign can have, even when its candidate has problems sorting out what happened yesterday. I think that was a "shot fired" by the TrumpWorld oppo machine that they want her wrecked. Which feels really fresh coming from a guy determined to be a rapist who defamed his victim and also paid hush money to a porn star because he thought it was bad for his presidential campaign. 

She's had no problem calling him out for his age, though. And he just said something very senile, and it's also embedded in his recent misogynist and racist hits. Here's the biggest opening a candidate has ever been given in the history of ever to beat a whole, corrupt, 4 times indicted rapist racist, fraudulent ass. Let her rip into whether an old perv like him has any real standing to judge her. 

Now let's watch her fuck this up and not do any of that. Because she won't do that because the party doesn't do that and the base wouldn't know what to do with that. 

It's a party that always remembers how to do racism and never remembers how to do decency. Always was a thing--one I learned at like, 15.  They don't have a place for women or minorities who don't toe the line. Here she is learning it at 51 in the midst of a presidential campaign. 

I don't know whether to hate this for her or love this for her. It's a bad thing, though.