History With Nikki

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was asked at a town hall event in New Hampshire Wednesday night, “What was the cause of the United States Civil War?”.

Haley replied, replied, “Well, don’t come with an easy question.” Except it is an easy question with an easy answer. Instead of giving the easy answer, Haley replied with a word salad of, “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 that 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.”

The questioner replied, “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.”

Then Haley said, “What do you want me to say about slavery?” Maybe the right answer?

Haley tried to clean it up today in a radio interview and said, “I want to nip it in the bud. Yes, we know the Civil War was about slavery. But more than that, what’s the lesson in all this?” she said in her radio interview. “That freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people. That’s the blessing of America. That was a stain on America when we had slavery. But what we want is (to) never relive it, never let anyone take those freedoms away again.”

Today, at another town hall, she said, “America had the decision and the moral question of whether slavery was a good thing. And whether government economically, culturally, any other reasons, had a role to play in that. By the grace of God, we did the right thing and slavery is no more. I say that as a Southerner. I say that as a southern governor who removed the Confederate flag off the State House grounds.”

It took a mass murder in a black church by a white racist to force Haley to remove the Confederate flag off the State House grounds. Now she wants a cookie?

There were other factors to the Civil War but the root cause of it was slavery. You can argue that the North didn’t fight to end slavery but you can’t argue that the South didn’t fight to preserve it. It’s just a fact. Haley skipped over the part about half the nation going to war to preserve the right to keep human beings in chains as personal servants and farm hands. You know, slaves.

Haley accused the man of asking the question of being a Democratic plant, someone from the Democratic Party sent to trip her up with a question. But so what if he was a plant. She still should have answered the question correctly. She should be prepared for questions from people who don’t like her. Her handling of this isn’t presidential. If she can’t handle a question from a goober sent by the Democrats, how is she supposed to handle Vladimir Putin? From this performance, I don’t believe she can tango with Chuck Schumer.

Florida Governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron Desantis said Haley “had some problems with some basic American history,” and called her response to the question an “incomprehensible word salad.” I don’t want a history lesson from DeSantis either, who banned an Advanced Placement course on African American studies and whose administration wants to teach students that slavery was beneficial in that it taught slaves skills for their “personal benefit.”

The Trump Campaign responded with, “Heil Trump.”

Note: The blog is late today because, in addition to this deadline, I had one with CNN. Leave me alone.

Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.

Tales From The Trumpster Fire: I have ten copies and you can order yours, signed by me, for $45.00. You can pay through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.

Knee-Deep In Mississippi: There are only 16 copies left of my first book, published in 1997. These can be purchased for $40.00

Tip Jar: If you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.

Watch me draw: