The Right Victory

This Tuesday, conservatives claimed exactly the victory they needed. November 2010 is looking more and more promising. If we can win Nikki Haley, we can win anything.

Haley’s opponents pulled out every lie they could think of. They insulted her marital loyalty, her faith, and even her race. They called her a liar and a "raghead." The media reported from their altar on high that a win was unlikely: there were too many strikes against her. They all but abandoned her.

But we proved that petty lies and smear campaigns won’t dupe us. We aren't gullible fools waiting to be preyed on by politicians and reporters. We are better than that.

It's just like Nevada. Legal Insurrection summed up the Reid-Angle war thus: "Sharron Angle only has to tell the truth about Harry Reid to win. Harry Reid has to tell lies about Sharron Angle to win." The same analysis works for the South Carolina race. In spite of the untruths propagated by Haley's enemies, voters came out to support her because of her conservative principles.

In her victory speech, Haley said:

To our friends in the media across this state and across this country who are analyzing what this victory means and what barriers this may have broken, I will tell you there might be some truth to that. But this is so much more than that. This is a story about determination and a story about a movement. This is the movement about the idea of government being open and accountable to the people.

And she’s right – this isn’t about breaking barriers. At least not the barriers they mean. This is about a new conservative movement.

We want solid conservative values that won’t waver once bitter runners-up, thrill-seeking bloggers, and the blamestream media come in full force. That strength of conviction America so desires is exactly what Nikki Haley showed us. She didn’t get distracted by rumors and falsehoods – she dismissed them and went right on back to policy. She believed in herself, Sarah Palin believed in her, and we believed in them both.

The elephant sure does look pretty in pink.