By FITSNews || S.C. Rep. Nikki Haley resigned from her job as assistant executive director of the Lexington Medical Foundation last week, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Haley is one of four candidates seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination – a campaign that is now entering its home stretch.
A spokeswoman for Lexington Medical told the AP that Haley quit her job so that she could devote all of her time and energy to her gubernatorial bid, but that strikes us as a rather odd explanation considering that Haley has basically been splitting her time already between campaigning and serving in the state legislature.
Since entering the race last summer, Haley has struggled to raise the money needed to compete with the GOP’s three establishment candidates, S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and S.C. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer. As a result, most polls have her battling it out with Barrett for third place.
So … why would she give up a $110,000 a year job with six weeks to go in an election she seems unlikely to win?
That’s the question a lot of Palmetto politicos are asking themselves right now.
Adding fuel to insiders’ speculation is the fact that Haley’s campaign appears to have been caught flat-footed in responding to the original news reports.
Stay tuned …
By Willie P April 27, 2010 at 4:40 pm
The fact that her and husband have been seperated might have something to do with, and her new boyfriend….stay tuned going to get good….
By Sarah April 27, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Willie P I can assure you Nikki and Michael have and are still together. There has never been marital issues between them. If you yourself have personal issues with your significant other don’t hate on others because of it.
By Richard April 27, 2010 at 5:28 pm
It sounds like to me Rep Haley has made a serious commitment and is ready to play ball! My vote is with Nikki Haley. All others are status quo, it is time our state move forward and change its image.
By Steven April 27, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Fantastic!! Go get em Gov Haley!!!
By CNSYD April 27, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Well Richard, I recall you saying the exact same thing when Sanfraud ran. He sure changed our image.
By IMHO April 27, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Nikki Haley: Following in the footsteps of Sarah Palin. Quitting the day job to make time for the cameras.
Stick a fork in her. She’s done.
By Willie P April 27, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Hey Sarah, you know Jenny Sanfraud said the same thing until that idiot she married backed her into a corner and she could no longer deny it. Haley will never be governor in this state so you can calm down now.
By Groundball April 27, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Come on guys, Nikki is toast. Who knows what is going on at the Foundation, but I don’t think it has anything to do with the campaign. And Willie P, I don’t think we can stand another marital situation in the Libertarian Party!
By 803andy April 27, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Could be one of these…..
She got a motivational call from Bobby Jindal.
She wears the pants and went against her husband’s objection and well-advised advice.
She knows something we don’t know.
By No Way! April 27, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Richard is just wronG!
By Ynotfirst April 27, 2010 at 9:10 pm
I’m with 803 and say “she knows something we don’t”.
After all , she is representing Sanfraud and Company.
By brian April 27, 2010 at 9:27 pm
This isn’t that hard to figure out. Lexington Medical likes having a state rep on the payroll, that’s the only reason she had the job in the first place. Her employers realized that while $110k is a fair price to have a state rep in your back pocket….it’s a bit steep for a washed up has been. She’s about to become completely irrelevant.
By Alex April 27, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Nikki Haley is just the sort of governor we need.
Fresh air.
Not obligated to “the system” (to my knowledge).
Smart.
Honest.
Sincere.
Good looking. (That doesn’t hurt.)
Lacks “beetle-brow” and false sincerity of McMaster as seen on the top of the FITSnews web site, and also here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00043/neanderthal2_43183t.jpg
I am an independent and intend to vote for her.
So are all my friends!
Go Nikki!
By EM April 27, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Nikki
By Cam H. April 27, 2010 at 9:54 pm
The Haley campaign is coming along rather well.
She is in it to win it.
Kudos to Nikki and Tim.
All of you are gonna be sorry come June!
By David Weasley April 27, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Nikki Haley has rode Sanfrauds dick to long, she is like a used up porn star, wants to marry everyone but know one will have her including this state.
By Allen April 27, 2010 at 10:17 pm
As intelligent as Nikki is I am certain there is more to the eye, and to her favor. I really think many have underestimated her and based on political operatives taking jabs on this site gives a good indication of her momentum and leverage. I have already committed my vote to her, and I originally was with another candidate.
By tardolman April 27, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Doesn’t much matter who gets to be Gov’nuh in this state, now does it? Haley’s still the pick of this crappy litter. Weasel must have gone to school in SC.
By WorkingTommyC April 27, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Strange how many of the naysayers regarding Nikki Haley’s campaign are the nastiest posters here.
Oh, wait, I live in South Carolina and that’s just typical politics.
I can’t wait to see some of the establishment RINO good ol’ boys get hoisted by their own petards soon. The times, they are achangin’ . . .
By JDC April 27, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Well, the one thing accomplished by this thread is that now, everyone knows that Willie P is a gossip queen with less merit than most middle school girls, and David Weasley should proofread before making idiotic comments….. congrats!
By Concerned Constituent April 27, 2010 at 11:05 pm
…stay classy, Columbia.
GO NIKKI!
By Michael Bay April 28, 2010 at 12:54 am
Nikki Haley is a waist of folks money she has no chance of winning the election period.
By Gene J April 28, 2010 at 12:58 am
The only person to vote for is Vincent Sheheen, if you dont want to waste your vote, because he will be the next governor of south carolina.
http://www.vincentsheheen.com/
By Roger April 28, 2010 at 1:02 am
Our next Governor, yeah right..Hah..
http://web.comhem.se/harryperonius/india/face/woman_beetel.jpg
By Skeeter Wilson April 28, 2010 at 1:09 am
http://i39.tinypic.com/1zdwt5h.jpg
By Calhoun Fawls April 28, 2010 at 4:31 am
It is amazing to me how people who know nothing about people’s personal lives comment behind internet nicknames. I probably will not vote for Haley. But, that said, she and Bauer have been subject to more internet bullshit rumors than they deserve. I smell a McSkunk.
By Casey April 28, 2010 at 6:27 am
I 100% agree, stay classy. What you don’t realize is negative and distasteful comments only reflect bad on your candidates, not Nikki. I am looking forward to seeing a real conservative and true leader run our state, vote Nikki Haley for governor 2010!
By Jeffy April 28, 2010 at 7:46 am
Seriously….who is she? I’ve never heard of her. Is she really running for office?
By Dang April 28, 2010 at 7:49 am
Where do I apply for this job?
By John Steinberger April 28, 2010 at 7:51 am
Everyone knows those Board positions are part-time jobs in which members often only “serve” at periodic board meetings. It would be pretty sweet to make $110,000 to attend occasional meetings!
By They call me Mr. Sinister April 28, 2010 at 9:46 am
As so many on this site have stated in some form or fashion this is South Carolina where politics is a blood sport, with that in mind, do you really think a women has a snowballs chance in hell of winning a state-wide race? Nancy Stevenson is the only woman to do it and that was 30 years ago, others have tried since and gone down in flames. For those who question why or think that this time will be different, remember that this is SC where women have been and at this point will continue to be kept out of serious political contention. She may be qualified,smart,better looking(even Andre’s supporters would have to admit she looks better in a dress than he does), etc. but at the end of the day this is still SC where women are kept on the sidelines and not in the game…
By schousehopeful April 28, 2010 at 9:59 am
She has my vote, but if she can’t win then maybe she’ll run against Jake Knottzy. We need a new face in his seat!
By Carpe Jugulum April 28, 2010 at 11:20 am
People, people, people!! Calm down.
This is not an earth shattering event. She spent her last day at that Hospital job days ago. If there was any mud to be flung at her over it, it would have been airborne days ago. There is no way she could have avoided having anything unflattering ooze out if it existed. Remember who she is up against. They live for political gossip. “They Call Me Mr. Sinister” has a good point, but consider this:
Henry McMaster would wear a white pantsuit if the trial lawyers association suggested that he might look good in one. He would probably install a dance pole in the AG’s office. When it comes to the legal community, Henry might as well have an ad on Craig’s List.
Andre Bauer is jealous because he knows he will never look as good as Nikki in a white pantsuit no matter how many of them are hanging in the closet. Prada accessories? Forget about it! No wonder he is so angry at stray animals.
Although Gresham Barrett would probably try to take advantage of anybody in a white pantsuit, he is much too busy hanging around construction sites and doing strange things with his hands (has he ever supervised a construction project? Does he know anything about construction? ) If you haven’t seen that commercial you need to go to his website before his team sobers up and pulls that thing off!
Just look at these clowns. You couldn’t make a bunch up like this if you tried. Can you imagine them doing anything other than hanging around the statehouse trying to pick up a buck? What kind of job would these guys have (or be able to get) if they weren’t in politics? The image of a fry machine at McDonalds comes to mind.
Haley stands out, not just because she is attractive and actually possesses a marketable education, but because she is the only normal candidate the Republican’s have. She won’t have any problems finding a new job. Unlike her opponents, she realized, when it counted, that those SAT scores really do matter. Elect an adult. Vote for Nikki.
By proudof sc April 28, 2010 at 11:21 am
Something still bothers me: I sat in a coach seat for 13 hours on a flight to Beijing. It is something I will NEVER forget.
By Better B Glad April 28, 2010 at 11:49 am
Yawn….
By Toyota Kawaski April 28, 2010 at 11:59 am
Lexington Med Foundation does not want Loooooser on its board!!
By lewis April 28, 2010 at 12:15 pm
niki haley vs vince sheheen. indian sikh vs. lebanese arab. tell me that would not be the craziest/best governor’s race in the history of this state, if not the no.1 most interesting governor’s race nationally. i pray south carolinians have to make this choice. PLEASE yahweh, vishnu, zeus and hera, PLEASE make the citizens of SC have to choose between an indian sikh and a lebanese arab. it wouldve happened, too, if the sanford taint hadnt kill haley’s chances. now we’ll be left with that george bush clone, barrett.
By Carpe Jugulum April 28, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Lewis,
You don’t get into town much do you?
By neocon April 28, 2010 at 2:41 pm
She’s a loser, and I know for fact her and the hubby are on the rocks…just ask Sic
By CNSYD April 28, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Sheheen is lebanese??? Well what is wrong with that? I like wimmen too.
By LMF April 28, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Ladies and gentleman, the Lexington Medical Foundation is not a board. It is a job and those that work for the foundation of any hospital have position descriptions as most jobs at the hospitals do. Some of you just make assumptions that really show how ignorant and uneducated you really are. Mr. Fairtax, John Steinberger even displaying arrogance and ignorance. Way to represent us Fairtax believers (major sarcasm).
By congaree April 28, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Nikki Haley is a talented and rare politician with a record of fighting for limited government, transparent government, and a government that focuses on measurable reults. Most Republican and Democratic politicians in SC seem to dedicate their waking hours to the accumulation of power and the perks that go with it. You get ‘em Nikki.
By Rylyn April 28, 2010 at 6:33 pm
So correct LMF – Board positions on Lexington Medical Foundation as well as Lexington Medical Center are appointed positions with no pay. Haley was an employee of Lexington Medical Foundation and never served on either board. As for her running against Knotts in the future – First that would be a step down after running for Governor but she lives in Ronnie Cromer’s Senate District. Does anyone on this site actually do their homework before posting.
By CNSYD April 28, 2010 at 8:01 pm
congaree, Nikki is for transparency all right. We all see right through her claim that she doesn’t remember what class seat she had on the state paid overseas trip.
By colleen April 28, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Nikki may have been advised not to tell the media where she sat in case this trip would be under the Ethics investigation. If this was ever brought to a trial she would testify where her seat was.
By S Patrick April 28, 2010 at 11:40 pm
A $110,000 a year job from a non-profit organization where she maybe worked a few hours a week at most. She also collects checks from other non-profit groups like the Lexington County Sheriff’s association. Dirty as they get, I hope she loses big.
By A person that knows April 29, 2010 at 12:44 am
I do not support Haley but 1) her campaign has been doing well and is building steam and 2) she and Michael are most certainly together and doing fine.
As a matter of fact, three GOP candidates are progressing with their campaign while one (McMaster) is going backwards.
By SherryTaylor April 29, 2010 at 6:15 am
I love the way dumbasses comment on here like they are her best friends in the world, unless you sleep in the bed next to her you dont know shit. She has no chance of ever being Governor in this state.
By WorkingTommyC April 29, 2010 at 11:05 am
Nikki Haley has won beating the odds before. The establishment do-nothings know that when a fighter like Haley shows up on the scene, the paradigms of establishment wisdom go out the window.
The only polls that count will be when the actual primary, run-off, and fall election ballots are cast. If they did not consider her a threat, they’d not be spending any time attacking her or her positions.
I’ll take a fighter like Nikki Haley any day over the lazy, good ol’ boy candidates who seem to think we OWE them the governor’s office as a reward for their years of public self-service.
There are a lot of folks out there who have a major disconnect when it comes to politics. They complain about the same old stuff every time but allow establishment politicians to woo them and then screw them. How gullible can you be?
For every “problem” some folks claim they have with Nikki Haley, there are dozens of very real problems with bauerbarrettmcmastah. The good ol’ boy symbiotic candidate is a sick joke being played on us by political machines like Richard Quinn and Associates.
If nothing else, I would hope folks would want to see a fight in Columbia. Nikki Haley will take the fight to the corrupt politicians like McConnell and Jake Knottzi who are currently fighting our right to know how they vote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOYGf_rMysY&feature=player_embedded
By More April 29, 2010 at 11:56 am
http://free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992209084141467&act=post&pid=11862904103312811
“The conservative Republican’s departure from her full-time job appears abrupt.
A week before she left, Free Times had been questioning Lexington Medical Center officials about her employment and benefits at the foundation. No one mentioned she had plans to leave.”
By Jeffy April 29, 2010 at 3:42 pm
She should run for State house of Reps first. Then run for Governor.
By CNSYD April 29, 2010 at 4:35 pm
WorkingTommyC, whenever you use new age, trendy words like “paradigms”, it automatically tells me that whatever your position is, it is horse shit.
By $110,000 Salary June 5, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Ms. Haley has been on my radar screen for several years as she fought to stop the good ole boy system in Columbia. I was so impressed with her that I contributed to her capaign. I liked that she was a small business owner. Then I found out that she was not a small business person as claimed, but was being paid a nice salary by the Lexington Hospital. Nikki was earning $110,000 annually for a job at the hospital at the same time she was claiming to be a small business owner, a fulltime mom, a three day aweek legislator and a fulltime candidate for governor. There is no way Haley could have been earning a salary of $110,000 when she was busy juggling her already full schedule of mom, legislator, small business owner and candidate for governor. What was Lexington Medical paying her $110,000 for? (With her hospital salary you could pay three South Carolinians the average South Carolina salary of $30,000 and still have $20,000 to pay a fourth South Carolinian part-time wages.)
So why was Lexington Hospital paying Nikki $110,000 for a job she couldn’t possibly work at? As a paid employee of a large medical and hospital organization did she recuse herself from every healthcare vote taken during the last legislative session as dictated by State Code and Law? And why did Ms. Haley tell the people of SC she was a small business owner while neglecting to disclose she worked for a large hospital system earning $110,000? None of this adds up to be honest.