Nikki Haley's Primary Math Isn't Mathing

Plus: A listener asks the editors for big picture thoughts on United States foreign policy interventions in other nation states.

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Nikki Haley's Primary Math Isn't Mathing

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, Matt Welch is back, alongside Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman. The editors talk about Nikki Haley's primary defeat in her home state of South Carolina and President Joe Biden's plan to attack "corporate greed."

00:36—Nikki Haley loses in South Carolina.

15:42—Biden's plan to attack "corporate greed"

29:06—Weekly Listener Question

46:41—This week's cultural recommendations

Send your questions to [e-mail]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Donald Trump Defeats Nikki Haley in South Carolina Primary," by Joe Lancaster

"Losing the Home State," by Liz Wolfe

Reason Foundation Pension Reform

"In 2020, Teachers Unions and Police Unions Showed Their True Colors," by Peter Suderman

"Want To Challenge Your Speed Camera Ticket? That'll Be $100." by Daryl James and Bobbi Taylor

"After the War," by Matt Welch

"Sovereignty Is Such a Lonely Word," by Matt Welch

"We Are Going to the Moon," by Eric Berger

"Kevin Costner Goes Back to the Well of Westerns in Yellowstone," by Glenn Garvin

"Saturday Night Live Fires New Cast Member Shane Gillis for Using Offensive Language," by Robby Soave

"Biden's Job Approval Edges Down to 38%," by Megan Brenan

"2024 General Election: Trump vs. Biden vs. Kennedy vs. West" in RealClearPolling

"Comparison of opinion polling during the Trump and Biden administrations" in Ballotpedia

Party of the People by Patrick Ruffini

"Narrow Wins In These Key States Powered Biden To The Presidency" by Benjamin Swasey and Connie Hanzhang Jin

Trump and Milei Hug at CPAC

"How Americans View the Conflicts Between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, and China and Taiwan" by Jordan Lippert

Today's sponsor:

• A common misconception about relationships is that they have to be easy to be "right." But sometimes, the best ones happen when both people put in the work to make them great. Therapy can be a place to work through the challenges you face in all of your relationships—whether with friends, work, your significant other, or anyone. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online. Designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist, and switch therapists any time for no additional charge. Visit BetterHelp.com/roundtable today to get 10 percent off your first month.

Audio production by Ian Keyser; assistant production by Hunt Beaty.

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

• Producer: Hunt Beaty

What are we consuming this week?

Peter Suderman

• Yellowstone Season 1

Katherine Mangu-Ward

• Intuitive Machines Odysseus Lunar Lander

Nick Gillespie

• The Coddling of the American Mind Movie

Matt Welch

• Trump Sneakers, Saturday Night Live

---

Comments

[Sandra (formerly OBL)]

The Haley campaign is Reason's sugar daddy's attempt to give voters two options: "I Won't Even Pretend to Enforce a Border" (D) and "I'll Pretend but My Donors Know I'm Lying" (R).

Cheer up though. I'm still predicting a 2024 victory for the 38% approval, loose borders, dementia patient many Reason staffers voted for in 2020.

#LibertariansForBiden
#CheapLaborAboveAll

[LIBertrans]

Reason contributor Petr Beckmann confessed that since immigrating and becoming a citizen, elections were his chance to vote against the looter he hated most--until the LP became a thing. It was the practical application of Mencken's observation that every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. I cannot imagine a Reason staffer being dumb enough to waste a leveraged LP spoiler vote on a Turd or Douche. (http://bit.ly/3XV2fWQ)

[A Cynical Asshole]

...

Nikki Haley’s Primary Math Isn’t Mathing

Women… what are you gonna do?

[Its_Not_Inevitable]

As teen barbie once said: "Math class is tough".

[sarcasmic]

Reminds me of the days before Trump got his first presidential nomination. The right-wing news establishments were critical of all the candidates. The moment he won he could do no wrong and was only compared to Democrats. Everything they criticized him for a minute ago was turned into a strength. Maybe she thinks his bubble will pop and she'll get the same treatment. I don't think so. He's more than a Bush or McCain or even a Reagan. He's transcended all of that.

[R Mac]

Pour sarc.

[Fats of Fury]

I recall some dems were calling on old drooling Joe to drop out during the democratic debates. They did an about face when the other candidates were told to drop out and support FJB.

[Mother's Lament]

The right-wing news establishments were critical of all the candidates. The moment he won he could do no wrong and was only compared to Democrats.

The National Review crapped its pants and so did The Weekly Standard, in the process destroying itself. Bill Kristol started a whole new magazine, The Bulwark, just to shit on him.

[R Mac]

Answer: If you ignore all the criticism there wasn’t any criticism.

Question: What would a retard say?

[Sevo]

'Tard's gonna tard.

[Elmer Fudd the CHUD 2: Steampunk Boogaloo]

I have at least a partial explanation for Sarc……..

“Alcohol-related 'dementia' is a type of alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD).

If a person has alcohol-related ‘dementia’ they will struggle with day-to-day tasks. This is because of the damage to their brain, caused by regularly drinking too much alcohol over many years.

The person may have memory loss and difficulty thinking things through. They may have problems with more complex tasks, such as managing their finances. The symptoms may cause problems with daily life. For example, the person may no longer be able to cook a meal.”

-The Alzheimer’s Society

[Pear Satirical]

He's also never heard of The Lincoln Project...or John McCain...

[R Mac]

He’s friends of Jeffy and turd. Pretending he’s never heard of the Lincoln Project makes sense.

Quickest way the find a leftist? Ask them about MAP.

[sarcasmic]

Disapproval of Trump revealed that they weren't right-wing.

[Mother's Lament]

Okay, tiger. Right wing means doesn't hate Trump.

I guess that's why Taibbi, Greenwald, Gabbard, Brand, Weiss, etc, are all right-wing now. Right?

[LIBertrans]

Looters love meaningless scatspeak like "the" left, "the" right, Woke, conservative, liberal and racist, but mainly because any and all of these pejoratives are to them preferable to the exact technical term: LOOTER. Hired by papist Buckley to smear Atlas Shrugged, perjured communist spy Whittaker Chambers selected that one noun for his shrillest denunciations. Why? Because--especially in a post-1972 political context--it is the only descriptor that matters to voters able to define concepts like government and rights.

[I woke up when Hillary talked about Reconstruction]

Not true....and NOBODY puts NR and WS on the same level !!!!
As for Bill Kristol , ther is barely a political observer today that doesn' see him as an aging James Carville ( age 80 BTW)
EXCEPT YOU

[diver64]

Let's be honest. Haley is the Never Trumper Professional Republican hope that something will happen and she will parachute into the nomination to keep the good time military industrial gravy train rolling. She and her leftest backers seem to have forgot that DeSantis and Vivek suspended their campaigns to be reactivated in a moments notice. Something happens to Trump, they immediately get back in and a brokered/contested convention ensues with DeSantis driving a stake through the heart of The Cathedral's pick.

[Freethinksman]

I think Desantis let his ship sail. And then sunk it. There is actually talk of him retiring as governor before the end of this term. He is a broken wee little man. He isn't anywhere near as angry as he pretended to be. He's just sad.

Vivek is the most transparently cynical Hindu ever to run for President. The MAGA base might accept Nimrata because she at least looks "American".

[LIBertrans]

Makes perfect sense. Nixon beat Humphrey by 0.7% in 1968, thanks mainly to George Wallace gathering votes from people who hated YIP commies like Rubin and Jane Fonda's husband. Nixon ordered napalming of villages and pardoned mass-murderer Lt Calley. Let he who among you is without brains be surprised that another lone Manchurian Candidate shooter took Wallace out of the following race. STILL, even AFTER Teddy of Chappaquiddick drowned that girl, he was the favorite of the post-Watergate Dems, followed by Wheelchair Wallace! The unlisted Jimmy Carter was evidently nominated by SNL. Wallace: (https://bit.ly/49NoZOA)

[creech]

Libertarians have been known to donate to "obvious to lose" presidential candidates simply in order to "get the message out." I suspect the money bags backing Haley feel the same way and expect to be able to say "I told you so" and pick up the pieces in the GOP when Trump says something to cause self-destruction or the lying MSM convinces enough low information voters that a senile old man is preferable to literally Hitler.

[CE]

News flash, even billionaires can't burn money forever:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/koch-network-stop-funding-nikki-haley-americans-for-prosperity-rcna140425

[Elmer Fudd the CHUD 2: Steampunk Boogaloo]

Haley isn’t backed by libertarians.

[Sevo]

Creech is a TDS-addled shit.

[LIBertrans]

Creep here does not grok spoiler vote math. The Solomon Asch experiment proved that a lone dissenter reduces monkey-do social pressure error by 75%! Solomon Asch math (https://bit.ly/49S8j8r)
Search "The Case for Voting Libertarian" to see how small party competition has thrice amended the Constitution, legalized birth control and is now repealing looter prohibition laws.

[I woke up when Hillary talked about Reconstruction]

O !!! that you could write , you self-deluded non-Hemingway.
'To literallly Hitler" ...every English teacher in America would flunk you for not knowing what 'literal' means

[CE]

Haley's math goes like this:
2 candidates left in race
-1 candidate locked up
= Haley wins

[Mother's Lament]

The poor dear actually lost to 'none of the above' by 2 to 1 in Nevada.

[Elmer Fudd the CHUD 2: Steampunk Boogaloo]

None of the above’ would make a better president. Would probably start less wars than Neocon Barbie.

[defaultdotxbe]

"None of the above" was a stand-in for Trump (who wasn't on the primary ballot in NV) and as CE noted she's banking on him getting locked up before the convention. If she suspends her campaign she'll be on even ground with everyone else, but if she sticks it out she'll seem like the obvious choice if Trump is gone.

[Mother's Lament]

No. The obvious choice would be Ron DeSantis.

But it's irrelevant because if they imprison Trump on the donkeyshit charges they've invented for all these prosecutions, America will be over. Literally.

[Freethinksman]

A primary is nothing like the general election. She was competing only for the votes of the most rabid Maga base. Knowing Trump had it locked up, plenty of them voted for "none of the above" simply to send her a message. Primary results mean next to nothing in a general. Mike Dukakis won the Democratic nomination. It really means jack shit. If Trump ends up in a Supermax solitary and Nikki somehow ends up on the ballot she would clobber Joe. She knows that and is just hoping for Trump's demise. It keeps looking more and more like a reasonable tactic.

[Vondy]

This assumes her political math is about winning this election as opposed to raising her profile and filling her coffers for the next election. It could be she's playing checkers, but she may well be playing chess.

[Sevo]

Yes, wasting your supporter's money and making a public ass of yourself gets you checkmated.

[A Thinking Mind]

She's already burning all the political capitol she could ever have had. Some people can stage multiple runs and remain relevant, but she's absolutely fading into obscurity after this. There was a time I was saying she should build her profile to go after Lindsey Graham in 2026, but that was before she made it clear that she's just as bad as Lindsey Graham. There's something weird going on with South Carolina.

[LIBertrans]

Perhaps Nikki understands spoiler vote math well enough to offer an alternative to the girl-bulliers' "let's enslave women" fanatics. Consider A) a stroke or another Arthur Bremmer changing the lineup, or B) women voters handing the Grabbers Of Pussy yet another slamming defeat in both the electoral and popular vote--sending them back to the Prohibition Party from whence they came. Observe that the Dems already have RFJ Jr standing by as a possible fallback position. Christianofascist Anschluss Caucus bigots might even drain off girl-bullier votes and help the MAGAts crash, burn, and vandalize Congress again.

[Sevo]

Quoting Breitbart is not gonna convince TDS-addled shits, but if the whistle-blower comes forward, this might get the WH in serious trouble (assuming there are some remaining non-corrupt parties in the DOJ):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqrIc6uF1bQ

[MWAocdoc]

Also, is there anything sillier looking than a woman in a business suit trying to walk across a stage wearing high heels that are 'WAY too high?

[MWAocdoc]

My red high heels?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/south-carolina-primary-2024-nikki-haley-analysis-1.7124931

[Flaco]

I'm now in love with Liz, because she called bums and junkies "bums and junkies"!

[LIBertrans]

This has been the best Roundtable podcast yet. NOBODY said anything embarrassing and the tenor of the conversation did me proud as a Reason subscriber from back when Comments were delivered by USPS. Special thanks to Katherine for mentioning that we are part of a Solar System checking out the Plymouth Rock of Luna, the Harsh Schoolmistress. You are America's best Ambassadors.

[Sandra (formerly OBL)]

"Stick to talking shit about Trump"

Nah.

It's also worth noting that many writers for this supposedly bold, outside-the-mainstream publication endorsed the ultimate "establishment" candidate.

[Mother's Lament]

Fuck off, KAR.

[Sevo]

Fuck off and die, TDS-addled pile of lefty shit.

[Its_Not_Inevitable]

If your heroes get their way cows -> steak will be outlawed so enjoy it while you can.

[Spiritus Mundi]

Bud light?

[Sevo]

Fuck off and die, TDS-addled pile of lefty shit.

[Spiritus Mundi]

Pretty sure bud light is the correct pairing with watching CP and touching yourself you have planned for latter.

[Sevo]

Montana isn't, but it's doubtful that TDS-addled steaming piles of lefty shit would find Montana a hero; he's entirely too intelligent to continence imbecilic shits like you.

[Sevo]

My wealth is none of your business, but suffice to say buying and selling slimy piles of lefty shit like you is well within my abilities.
Fuck off and die, TDS-addled pile of lefty shit.

[Mother's Lament]

Fuck off, KAR. Go dox another dead cops family.

[Sevo]

"I would take being poor over being a senile, pathetic coward who is a burden on their family like you are."
Claims not shown in evidence, shit pile.

"You will die long before I do and your loved ones will be celebrating your death."
Perhaps, but the world will celebrate your demise far more than mine, steaming pile of lefty TDS-addled shit.

[InsaneTrollLogic]

Newer term for a pedophile: minor-attracted person.

[Longtobefree]

Back when you could use sarcasm, Virginians used to say that South Carolina existed to keep North Carolina from being the worst state to live in.

[Sevo]

You know what they say about lynn? Too fucking stupid to bother with.

[Freethinksman]

Jesus H. Fuckbutter, That's harsh.

Nikki's rationale actually makes more sense than Puddin' FIngers ever did. She might not be able to win the Republican primary, but her results show that she has a significant following of Independents and Never Trumpists. In a head-to-head matchup with Biden she does better than a head-to-head contest between the two old men. If/ when Trump is found guilty on some serious felony charges she wants to be in place to pick up the body parts and compete with Biden. It's not a crazy idea. It might be unlikely, but there is a distinct possibility she could be the default. Despite his insistence that he can distinguish an elephant from a zebra on a cognitive test, he is obviously close behind Joe in the cognitive slippage department. He could keel over, or get too crazy for all but his most devout flock. Sticking around to fill the dance card when Trump is stumbling frantically to avoid the law is a better strategy than anyone else has tried. She may be nothing but an ambitious neo-con, if Trump is sentenced to prison someone else is going to *have* to step in and fill the void. Or at least try to fill it.