The cost of Haley’s caustic attitude

The following editorial was published in the Aiken Standard:

With only a few days left in the legislative session, the General Assembly has become so crippled by divisive and partisan politics that few, if any, of their priorities are likely to become done deals. This lack of success has to be pinned, in part, on the combative and bullish mentality of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley.

Instead of blossoming an engaging public discourse, the governor has turned politics in Columbia into an even more tumultuous and sectarian atmosphere.

Haley’s political style is one that’s essentially all or nothing. Lawmakers are either with her or against her.

She clearly has a penchant for calling people out on social media, which has become a root of her shaky relationship with the General Assembly.

During her first term in office, Haley actually issued report cards for lawmakers, which publicly shamed those who didn’t vote her way. Her Facebook page features posts firing back at individual lawmakers, or posts that simply list the names of those who disappointed her by their votes.

Tensions between the two branches sparked again earlier this month, when she chastised her fellow Republican lawmakers at the South Carolina GOP convention.

“These are the people who are supposed to be with me,” Haley said about some Republicans in the state. “These are the people who are supposed to be moving South Carolina forward.”

Haley has largely harped on legislators concerning four bills. These proposals include bumping up salaries for lawmakers, issuing $500 million in bonds, a transportation bill increasing the gas tax and an ethics reform bill, which has essentially died in the Senate.

This isn’t an environment for progression in our state. This is an environment that merely hardens the partisan lines.

To her credit, Haley has presided over some momentous times in South Carolina. This is particularly true with the amount of economic development and industrial recruitment that has occurred during her tenure. Although she’s not the state’s only salesperson, these are efforts for which she undoubtedly deserves kudos. The recent recruitment of Volvo to Berkeley County is a prime example.

However, her combative and outspoken attitude isn’t a sign of needed leadership that was shown in emphatic ways by previous governors, particularly Carroll Campbell in the 1990s.

This approach is much more reminiscent of Haley’s predecessor Mark Sanford, whose governorship was marked by few concrete successes because of, at least in part, his inability to work with the legislators.

It’s important to realize that Haley isn’t fighting just with those across the aisle. She’s shown on too many occasions an incapacity to work with members of her own party, even some of the most conservative in the legislature.

This “my way or the highway approach” is only hurting our state when there are real and concrete needs facing it.

A hard line attitude is undoubtedly needed sometimes. However, when it becomes so recurring and inflexible, it does much more harm than good in the long run.

This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 10:41 AM with the headline "The cost of Haley’s caustic attitude."