I will admit that the New York Times largely did not attack South Carolina governor Nikki Haley (R) all that harshly in this article; in fact, they said some things that were actually complimentary (given that the governor is openly going after entrenched Republican interests in SC, that’s probably not a surprise).  But they couldn’t quite resist playing silly games by getting local liberal political flack Jack Bass to say “Her understanding of the role of state government appears rather limited”  – and presenting Bass as an authority.  Here’s a radical notion for the NYT: if you simply must use a liberal to attack a conservative, could you at least mention the following?

• Jack Bass disliked intensely Mark Sanford – of whom the current governor, of course, was once considered to be a bit of a protegee – which rather entertainingly got Bass to guess fairly wrong voting trends in the 2010 South Carolinian elections.  Bass was fairly sure that opposing the Obama ‘stimulus,’ and general fiscal conservatism, would hurt the GOP in South Carolina.
• Speaking of the ‘stimulus,’ and speaking of getting things wrong: Bass also completely misjudged how badly this administration’s pushing of that debt bill monstrosity would fly with national voters.  Amazingly, Bass thought that the ‘stimulus’ would help.
• And do I even need to point out that Bass fundamentally missed the appeal of the Tea Party? – I mean, much as I’d like to believe otherwise: you don’t go +63 in the House and +7 in the Senate if you’re just bringing in the conservatives.  Or elect Nikki Haley governor of South Carolina, come to that.
• And, here is the piece de resistance: Jack Bass actually wrote an article with the title “Sen. DeMint less than a shoo-in for reelection.”  That might seem unfair to point out, given that this was pre-Alvin Greene; but then, the guy that Bass endorsed was so pathetic that he lost the nomination because of alphabetical order.

In short: I suppose that what I’m asking for here is that if the NYT feels obligated to stealth-use a liberal to go after a conservative, I suppose that I can understand if not approve.  But, please.  Use one that has a better track record than I do when it comes to political outcomes.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: All that being said… really, Madame Governor?  The Black-Eyed Peas?  Did you lose a bet?