Moe Lane

This is of note for two reasons:

Republicans in Laurens and Newberry counties will host the state’s first gubernatorial debate for the 2010 GOP nomination. The debate will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Newberry Opera House.

Expected to attend are all the announced and likely Republican candidates to replace term-limited Gov. Mark Sanford. They are 3rd Congressional District Rep. Gresham Barrett, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, state Sen. Larry Grooms of Bonneau, state Rep. Nikki Haley of Columbia and S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster.

First, obviously, it’s of interest because it’ll include Rep. Nikki Haley, who was of course one of our best-received candidates at the RedState Gathering. Check out the video at the link – or check out the one below:

…and if you like that, here’s Nikki Haley’s donation page.

But the second reason why this is of interest is that the Newberry GOP is soliciting video questions for the debate.  While this is admittedly been known to produce somewhat… unusual questions in the past, it does say something about how improvements in video technology has been quietly changing the political landscape.  I mean, consider: how many breaking stories these days rely on somebody being in the right spot at the right time with a camcorder?

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Another quick interview, this time with Nikki Haley. She’s another candidate that I’ve been following, and I’m very pleased that she was able to attend the Gathering. As mentioned earlier, footage of her actual comments and question-and-answer session will be made available later.

Crossposted to RedState.

“We can’t be scared to say that we want to be conservatives again.”

I had the opportunity to speak with South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley the other day.  Rather than subject you to my stammering and verbal tics, I’ve summarized the call below, with transcribed quotes as appropriate, and three longer ones highlighted. Bottom line: State Representative Haley is a candidate that anyone interested in fiscal reform should take a good look at. The interview did not go overly into social issues, but her views on life and family issues appear solid.   Her donation page is here; Facebook group, here; and official stance on issues, here.

On her background:

Nikki Haley was born and raised in Bamberg, a small (population 2,500) town in South Carolina: “we learned accountability & responsibility early, because the second we thought about doing something wrong, someone was already calling and telling our mom.”  She’s a second-generation Indian-American with a public school education and an accounting degree from Clemson University, which she later used to help improve and expand her parents’ family business.  She is married, with two children: her husband is in the Army National Guard.

“I am the daughter of two immigrant parents who came here with eight dollars in their pocket that never let us forget what a blessing it is to live in this country: I’m the sister of a man who fought in Desert Storm and I remember what it was like to wonder if he would come home; I’m the wife of a husband in the military who loves his job; I’m the mother of two children who attend public schools and I wonder what their lives are going to be like when they grow up; and I’m a legislator who knows what good government can look like, and I want people to know what it feels like.”

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[UPDATE] Welcome, Riehl World View readers.

[Note: Google hasn't caught up yet. Her official campaign website is here.]

It’s official:

Haley Officially Enters South Carolina Governor’s Race

State Rep. Nikki Haley is adding her name to the list of Republicans hoping to become governor of South Carolina in 2010. Haley, a staunch anti-tax advocate, confirmed Thursday that she will mount a run for the seat currently held by Republican Mark Sanford, who is prevented by term limits from running for a third term.

“For more than five years I’ve sat in the statehouse and watched – sometimes in disbelief – as our state government has spent with abandon and in the process wasted taxpayer dollar after taxpayer dollar,” Haley said in a release. “I know what good government can look like. I’m running for Governor so the people of this state will know what it feels like.”

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