With the Obama campaign focused on their phony “war on women” narrative, the image of a female governor being hit in effigy by one of the GOP’s key bases of support would be a tremendous boon to their efforts. As luck would have it, just such an event took place recently in South Carolina. Unfortunately for the Democrats, it was Republican Governor Nikki Haley turned into a pinata for AFL-CIO boss Donna Dewitt’s retirement ceremony.
Dewitt is no run of the mill union member either, as she is the outgoing state president of the union. Calling the pinata effigy a “tough old bird”, Dewitt hits it repeatedly to cheers of “hit her again” and “that one’s for me” from the union members gathered.
Imagine for just a minute the reaction from the left if the roles were reversed: if this had been an NRA event in Washington state, and the governor on that pinata was Democrat Christine Gregoire. There would be media outrage, howls from liberals about the misogyny on display, and a White House address to speak on this “teachable moment”.
But because the governor in question is a rising Republican star, the media reaction has been muted. Governor Haley herself has made just one public comment about this, a post on Twitter questioning whether this was the message the AFL-CIO really wanted to have displayed. The RNC has also condemned the display in a statement from Co-Chairman Sharon Day today, yet still the reaction of many media outlets has been indifference.
As Governor Haley stands up for her state’s pro-growth policies, big union forces in the state can only resort to belittling and demonizing in response. In South Carolina and throughout the nation, the new generation of Republican leaders fighting to restore proper restraint to government are forced to endure ugly and juvenile attacks like this one from liberal stalwarts unable to win the battle of ideas.
