The South Carolina Democratic Party has a new ad campaign against Governor Nikki Haley (R. SC) that they hope really resonates with voters:
http://www.fitsnews.com/...
South Carolina Democrats have launched a new web campaign comparing”Republican” Nikki Haley to the evil queen from the Snow White fairy tale.
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall – who is the most unethical of them all?” the Democratic ad asks.
The spot is accompanied by a letter to Haley from South Carolinians who say they “won’t stand for her ethics violations.”
Haley has made ethics reform her top priority heading into the 2014 session of the S.C. General Assembly. - FITS News, 11/19/13
Here's a little more info:
http://www.thestate.com/...
The photo accompanies this website, which asks people to "add your name to our card" that Democrats plan to deliver to Haley the week after Thanksgiving.
The photo comes as Haley and state Sen. Vincent Sheheen try to out-ethics each other, with Sheheen pointing to some of Haley's past ethics problems and Haley criticizing Sheheen for appearing as an attorney before magistrates that he has recommended for appointment.
Why all of the posturing about ethics? Veteran S.C. political consultant Richard Quinn has a theory.
"In the polling I’ve done, federal and state and local, there is such a cynical feeling out there that approval ratings for incumbents at all levels (are) pretty low," Quinn told The State last week. "Therefore, a candidate who appears to be prepared to do something to clean up the mess may have more resonance this coming cycle than it may have had in the past.” - The State, 11/19/13
We'll see if the new ad campaign resonates with the voters. Haley though has been trying to play it safe and stay coy. She recently attended an RGA meeting in Phoenix where Governor Chris Christie (R. NJ) recently took over as Chairman:
http://www.philly.com/...
One reporter asked South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley - seated next to Christie - how voters in her state would react to a candidate who had gone along with part of President Obama's health law by expanding Medicaid.
The implications were clear. South Carolina is a conservative and critical early-primary state, and Christie is one of a handful of Republican governors to accept federal money to expand Medicaid - a position at odds with many conservative voters.
"The people of South Carolina look at all issues, and they look at who is the best person who will fight," Haley said. "I think it's going to be an issue, certainly, that is talked about, just like others. I don't think it's going to be the sole issue." - Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/21/13
Haley's opponent, State Senator Vincent Sheheen (D. SC), is a big supporter of Medicaid Expansion in South Carolina. Sheheen has been making ethics reform a key issue in his campaign:
http://www.thestate.com/...
The Sheheen campaign, meanwhile, has been calling Haley hypocritical for holding a series of news conferences around the state promoting a bill that would require lawmakers to disclose their sources of income -- despite the fact that Haley, while a member of the House of Representatives, did not disclose she received more than $40,000 in consulting fees from a well-known engineering firm.
The House Ethics Committee -- at the time made up of five Republicans and one Democrat -- cleared Haley of any wrongdoing. And the state Supreme Court dismissed a case saying that Haley broke the law. - The State, 11/19/13
Another way Haley's been trying to play it safe is having a visible but limited appearance with another vulnerable Republican politician:
http://www.thestate.com/...
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley praised U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in an interview with CNN Thursday, but stopped short of a formal endorsement, according to CNN’s Peter Hamby.
“I have made it very clear I am not going to be involved in any South Carolina races," Haley told CNN while attending a Republican Governors Association meeting in Arizona. "But I want to say this: on any issue that I have had to deal with Lindsey on, whether it was the NLRB issue, whether it was voter ID, whether it's been on the fight that we've had with Obamacare, or whether its been fighting for our businesses in South Carolina, Lindsey has dropped everything to help with those fights," she said. "And so for that I'm very grateful for him."
Haley declined to say whether her support was an endorsement, Hamby wrote. - The State, 11/21/13
Meanwhile, Sheheen has been hitting the campaign trail hard talking to voters about next year's election:
http://www.thestate.com/...
Sen. Vincent Sheheen told a group of volunteers Saturday morning that "this election is not about me and getting me elected, this election is about changing South Carolina for the better."
"This election is about you," Sheheen told a group of about 25 volunteers at the state Democratic Party headquarters on Lady Street. "And this election looks tremendously, tremendously optimistic and hopeful."
South Carolina Democrats across the state are knocking on doors on Saturday to register voters as part of the party's "We Can't Wait weekend of action." Volunteers will be tweeting throughout the day using the hashtag #wecantwait.
"We've been stuck in a rut for over 10 years now," Sheheen said. "For the last three years we've seen our income in South Carolina decline per person, we've seen unemployment through the roof -- and you guys are the future. When we look at people in the eye and say we care about South Carolina, we want to make a difference, they are going to see it's because a new generation of South Carolinians are stepping up to take charge to make a difference." - The State, 11/16/13
If you'd like to get involved with Sheheen's campaign, you can do so here:
http://vincentsheheen.com/