Nikki Haley trounced Gresham Barrett on Tuesday to win the GOP’s nomination for governor, breaking gender and ethnic boundaries, and sending a message to the Republican establishment: Conservatives are tired of entrenched politicians and they’re sick of the status quo.
Haley, a 38-year-old married mother of two who overcame unsubstantiated accusations of adultery, is the daughter of immigrant parents from India and the first woman in South Carolina’s history to win the nomination for governor from one of the two major parties.
It’s particularly notable that Nikki Haley managed to win when her opponent was better known and spent four times more than she did. November is still months away, but I hope the “Throw the bums out!” mentality persists.
David Handy+
Where else in the world can a child of immigrant parents hope to achieve such political success as in America? After all, this isn’t the first time that a first-generation American has become a governor. Not only did Bobby Jindal become the first Indian-American governor when he won in Louisiana in 2007, but Mario Cuomo was the son of Italian parents who had immigrated to NYC when he rose to become governor of NY from 1983 to 1994. There are probably other examples, but the point is how truly remarkable and even amazing it is that children of immigrant parents can rise so high in just one generation here in the US. I find that very encouraging.
David Handy+
Fr. Handy,
Well, Nicolas Sarkozy comes to mind, but your point is well taken.