DON'T Let Them Eat Cake!

I can't help it, whenever I think of Nikki Haley (and I try not to, really) the word "brat" comes to mind.  I imagine her stuck in adolescence, flirting with the guys, saying "no" when she means "yes" just to prove she can.

I wish this was just my imagination run amok, but she has certainly carried that attitude into the Governor's office.  For example, in 2012 Haley vetoed a bill that would have provided HPV immunization to girls, with an opt out provision for parents not wanting the immunization.  This even baffled republicans, since in 2007 she had co-sponsored a bill MANDATING the immunization.  This doesn't confuse me at all.  I think it's just Nikki being Nikki, in other words, letting us know that if she can't force us to follow her rules, she's going to take her vaccine and go home.

And then we have Medicaid.  In a career where she is competing with Mark Sanford for the stupid award, she has determined that under no circumstances will she support a no-cost Medicaid expansion.  In a totally humiliating segment on The Daily Show, SC Policy Council President Ashley Landess got to play patsy for Nikki Haley.  She first attempts to explain how we can't afford "0 dollars," and then follows it up by saying government has never had a good idea.  It kind of reminded me of Miss Teen South Carolina back in 2007 trying to field a tough question about why so many American students can't find the US on a map:

  

...and also leaves me wondering where the former Miss Teen was when the Policy Council President job opened up.

When it comes to food stamps, Nikki wants to make sure poor people aren't having too much fun.  In 2013, she wanted to limit food stamp purchases to "healthy foods," in other words, no cake for you.  However, when she was informed that families on food stamps couldn't afford healthy foods, she shifted gears and now supports an initiative to make poor people prove that they are looking for jobs.

The food stamp program is fraught with conflicting messages, but Nikki brings her own stern mama attitude to the mix.  No precooked roast chickens and no birthday cake for the kids.  We're not going to support the unemployed, and we're not going to help the working poor.

The bottom line is Nikki and her pack don't like people getting something for nothing, and they are going to make sure what they've got isn't easy.  So if you were planning on pinching your food stamps so you can afford a birthday cake for your nine-year-old, expect to get dirty looks from your elected officials.  At least Marie Antoinette was willing to let the poor eat cake.