The Freedom to do What, Nikki Haley?

 

Asked what caused the Civil War, Nikki Haley refuses to mention slavery: “What do you want me to say about slavery? Next question.” pic.twitter.com/cEMW3Cn9ku

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) December 28, 2023

It shouldn't have been considered a trick question, but we know that for Nikki Haley, it kind of is. Here's the exchange:

Q: What was the cause of the United States Civil War?

 Haley: Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything. I mean, 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. What do you think the cause of the Civil War was? 

Q: I’m not running for president. I wanted to hear you view on the cause of the Civil War. 

Haley: I mean, I think it always comes down to the role of government. 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. 

Q: Thank you. In the year 2023, it's astonishing to me that you'd answer that question without mentioning the word “slavery.”

 Haley: What do you want me to say about slavery?

Q: You've answered my question. Thank you.

 Haley: Next question.

The freedom to do what? The articles of secession of South Carolina and all the other Confederate states make it clear--to hold other people in slavery, which is not freedom for the people held in slavery. The proponents of slavery certainly considered it an issue of economic interest, to their mind perhaps, "economic freedom". But enslaved individuals certainly had no right to "be anything they want to be."

What she said was disqualifying in the same specific way I've called her unqualified before: she wants to know what to say to make her party like her, not say what is right, let alone what is accurate. She's going along to get along in a party that has been practicing denial regarding the history of slavery in this country. She's competing with liars like Ron DeSantis instead of trying to distinguish herself by being any better. Perhaps it might chagrin her to know she's not even above Vivek Ramaswamy on this subject.

She asks, "What do you want me to say about slavery?" because just saying the Confederacy was formed to protect slavery because it's correct isn't enough. It doesn't appeal to the base she believes she needs:

The people who carry Confederate flags. You know. The kind who don't even have to have any southern heritage but feel like it sends the right message. 

And while her answer to that question was wrong, with respects to her stance regarding who her party is, she is terribly, terribly right.