After the far-right majority on the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are actual people, Republican officials quickly came to an obvious conclusion: Given the extent to which the party has already struggled with issues of reproductive rights, this was a topic to avoid.
Politico, for example, reached out to the GOP’s congressional campaign committees this week to ask about their reaction to the Alabama ruling. “No one wanted to talk about this,” the outlet reported, “underscoring that Republicans are still struggling with this matter.”
One prominent voice in the party, however, apparently didn’t mind speaking up. NBC News reported:
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Wednesday that frozen embryos created through in-vitro fertilization are “babies,” siding with a recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that raised concerns among doctors and patients about the future of the procedure.
“Embryos, to me, are babies,” the Republican presidential hopeful told NBC News. She added, “When you talk about an embryo, you are talking about, to me, that’s a life.” [Update: Haley later tried to walk back her comments.]
For those familiar with Haley’s record, her apparent support for the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling isn’t too surprising. As part of her candidacy, she’s already publicly endorsed a six-week abortion ban, and before launching her national bid, Haley celebrated the demise of Roe v. Wade. It’s not as if her endorsement of the far-right decision in Alabama was wildly out of character.
But her position was a reminder that those who perceive Haley as a “moderate” voice in contemporary GOP politics should probably take a closer look.
The Wall Street Journal, for example, recently characterized the former ambassador as a “centrist Republican” — in a news article, not an editorial — and the description has been commonly used by major media outlets for months.
To be sure, labels such as “centrist” and “moderate” have slippery definitions, and different observers will use such descriptions in different ways. Haley doesn’t use such labels to describe herself or her political ideology, but some compare her to her party’s likely nominee; see her as less radical; and simply assume that she’s part of some amorphous middle.
The problem with this is that it fails to acknowledge just how far to the right Haley is, while stripping words such as “centrist” and “moderate” of any practical meaning.
Writing for MSNBC in December, Paul Waldman made a persuasive case that the Republican’s “greatest trick is convincing voters she’s a moderate.” Let’s set that record straight once and for all. The fact that actual moderate voters might find her more appealing than Donald Trump doesn’t make her a moderate. Nor does her style — calm, measured, and friendly in affect — make her a moderate. Yes, ideologues are supposed to be loud and angry, but you can be a quiet extremist. Just look at the current speaker of the House, Mike Johnson.
At this point, I’d be inclined to start reviewing the details of her platform, shining a light on just how conservative Haley’s ideas are, but the Republican presidential candidate doesn’t appear to have a platform. In fact, the South Carolinian’s official campaign website doesn’t even have an issues page, and her stump speech generally doesn’t include any major policy priorities. That said, Haley’s record is unambiguous. In addition to her far-right line on reproductive rights, she’s called for raising the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare; she’s a fierce opponent of labor unions; she’s endorsed destroying the Affordable Care Act; and she’s endorsed sending American special forces into Mexico. “On issue after issue,” Waldman’s piece added, “Haley is not just conservative but very conservative.” I’m mindful, of course, of the larger circumstances, and why some might be tempted to confuse “moderate” with “not quite as nutty as Trump.” But as Haley backs an outrageous Alabama Supreme Court ruling, we’re reminded anew that she’s earned no such label.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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