Nikki Haley

[G.Subramaniam]

Yes two entirely different religions cannot be practised together. This is hypocrisy.



She got donations from Sikhs (from outside SC) and votes from Christians.

[G.Subramaniam]

Tony Beam, the interim pastor of Mount Creek Baptist church in Greenville, hosts a radio show called “Christian Worldview Today.” He recently posed a question to his listeners: Is Nikki Haley being honest about her faith?



Beam said several callers were not sure if Haley had completely abandoned her Sikh beliefs.



“People want to know if she is being completely forthright about it,” said Beam, a Barrett supporter. “Once you commit to Christianity, it excludes other religions. I am not saying she is not who she says she is, but I do know those questions are being raised”

[G.Subramaniam]

It is difficult to imagine that Haley will ultimately lose to run-off challenger Gresham Barrett next week, or even to her Democratic opponent, Vincent Sheheen, in November. But if the ‘crytpo-Sikh’ charges continue to circulate around the state, they may end up depressing voter turn-out among a certain segment of the state’s Republican-leaning voters who like Knotts are afraid of ‘ragheads’ getting into positions of power. That could make it a closer race than she likes and drive opposition within her party to her serving more than 4 years or possibly becoming a more national figure.



But what’s really interesting about this conflict is what it ultimately may mean for the GOP in the longer term. How many people of color who once may have found the GOP’s principles appealing will again be turned away from the Republican Party as they see a prominent person of color cast as mendacious and disloyal? Will another higher office-ready Indian-American woman or Latino man who might have been the party’s next Haley or Marco Rubio decide to sit out politics or worse yet, go to bat for a more welcoming Democratic Party because Republicans are simply incapable of ostracizing a racially antagonistic core that is so prominent and powerful among their base?

[G.Subramaniam]

State Sen. Jake Knotts -- who introduced the derogative "raghead" into the political conversation -- has accused reporters of giving Haley "a free ride" on the religion issue, the CNN report says. "Have you ever asked her if she believes in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and that he died on the cross for her sins?" he asked a reporter last week.

[G.Subramaniam]

think, instead, that if Haley felt compelled to revise her campaign materials this way, it says a lot about what's still acceptable to the voters she's courting. She's campaigning in a state where politicians feel it's okay to call her and the president "ragheads." It may be cool to have more South Asians on TV and in the movies, but if we aren't properly sanitized through the rinse cycle of Christianity, I wonder whether one of us could get elected to an important office in the South.

[G.Subramaniam]

BOB, said

>>> I hope SC Christians will not forsake their King for an elephant.<<

[G.Subramaniam]

In April, this is how Haley's website answered the question about whether she is a Christian -- something she has often had to do given her background, much as Obama did:

Truth: Nikki is a Christian. In her words: "I believe in the power and grace of Almighty God. I know, and have truly experienced, that with Him all things are possible. I have looked to Him for leadership throughout my career and will continue to do so as governor."

As of this month, the item has been tweaked and now says:

Truth: In Nikki's words: "My faith in Christ has a profound impact on my daily life and I look to Him for guidance with every decision I make. God has blessed my family in so many ways and my faith in the Lord gives me great strength on a daily basis. Being a Christian is not about words, but about living for Christ every day."

Brody asked Haley spokesman Tim Pearson about the shift in emphasis but said Pearson didn't answer directly. He said only that Haley "attends Sikh services once or twice a year in respect for her family."

[G.Subramaniam]

But now that a Palmetto State Solon has called Haley a "fucking raghead," like such other sober-minded religion-and-politics commentators as David Brody and David Gibson, we feel entitled to turn our attention to Mrs. Haley's suddenly parlous situation and make so bold as to suggest that such language falls outside the pale of propriety established by the Constitution's proscription of religious tests for office.



Unfortunately, Mrs. Haley, who until recently proudly embraced her South Asian heritage, has now sort of suppressed it, and is about the business of expressing her devotion to Jesus and the Methodist Church to which her husband belongs and in which her children are being raised. Which kind of confirms the point Sen. Jake Knotts was making; i.e. "She's a raghead that's ashamed of her religion trying to hide it behind being Methodist for political reasons." And which makes us wonder how they're feeling about her candidacy at the gurudwara in Columbia and elsewhere in the Sikh community that used to celebrate her progress as a politician. As for what the South Carolina voting public makes of her, we'll see on Tuesday.

[G.Subramaniam]

Nikki Haley, born Nimarta Kaur Randhawa has received a mixed reception from the Indian, Punjabi and Sikh communities some of whom support her for her ethnic background and others who consider her a turncoat because of her conversion to Christianity.

[G.Subramaniam]

Ms Haley's religion would, similarly, not be a big deal, if it weren't for her increasing tendency to use the word "Christ" as often as possible. The intent is clearly to assure religious voters that when she says "God", she means the Christian God, not the Sikh one. I have to say, as a non-Christian, that the presence of political pressure on a candidate to advertise her specific faith in Jesus Christ creeps me out.

[G.Subramaniam]

She's a f---ing raghead...We already got one raghead in the White House; we don't need another in the governor's mansion.



Knotts says he believed Haley has been set up by a network of Sikhs and was programmed to run for governor of South Carolina by outside influences in foreign countries.



She’s a raghead that’s ashamed of her religion trying to hide it behind being Methodist for political reasons...We need a good Christian to be our governor. She’s hiding her religion. She ought to be proud of it. I’m proud of my god.



CBN's David Brody published a piece charging that Haley has, over the course of her career, gradually changed her image to reflect a "more Christian tone." While claiming not to be "questioning her Christian beliefs," Brody--like Knotts--suggests that Haley has gradually erased evidence of her Sikh heritage for political purposes. Reposting the story, David Frum put it more bluntly: "Nikki Haley Donwplays Sikh Background." The implication, again, is that Haley's all-American Christian image is a ruse designed to hide her true origins. (The narrative seems to be taking hold: Politics Daily columnist David Gibson headlines that Haley "Stresses Christian Faith Over Sikh Heritage.")

[G.Subramaniam]

From PoliticsDaily.com:



Haley converted to Christianity when she was 24—she is a Methodist—but as CBN’s David Brody shows in a detailed accounting of Haley’s religious makeover, until recently she stressed her Sikh roots and even the fact that she still attended both a Methodist church and a Sikh temple.



Her 2004 campaign for the Legislature, for example, played up her Sikh upbringing, as Brody notes, saying that “Nikki was proudly raised with her Indian traditions and her husband, Michael, was brought up in the Methodist faith”—no mention of her Christianity. Brody also pointed out that newspapers at the time ran headlines such as the one declaring Haley was “The First Member Of The Sikh Religion To Join A State Legislature In The United States.”



These days, Nikki Haley is making no mention of her Sikh religious upbringing, noting only that her parents are Indian-born. And Brody also discovered that Haley’s official website recently modified its description of her religious beliefs to reflect a more explicit and enthusiastic embrace of Christianity.

[G.Subramaniam]

Bobby Jindal’s persona is probably authentic — I have no reason to think otherwise — but it’s clear that his Christianity, his unassuming name and his recognizable accent are all part of his appeal to white Southerners. It’s hard to imagine a Piyush Jindal rising as rapidly through the ranks of Southern conservative politics. The same goes for Nikki Haley, whose birth name is distinctively South Asian, and who repeatedly stressed her Christianity in order to dispel rumors about her religious beliefs. This doesn’t make her any less authentic, but it does suggest that it might be difficult to succeed in Southern conservative politics if you insist on retaining the cultural markers of your ethnic heritage.

[G.Subramaniam]

out this conflict is what it ultimately may mean for the GOP in the longer term. How many people of color who once may have found the GOP’s principles appealing will again be turned away from the Republican Party as they see a prominent person of color cast as mendacious and disloyal? Will another higher office-ready Indian-American woman or Latino man who might have been the party’s next Haley or Marco Rubio decide to sit out politics or worse yet, go to bat for a more welcoming Democratic Party because Republicans are simply incapable of ostracizing a racially antagonistic core that is so prominent and powerful among their base?

[G.Subramaniam]

“She’s a f#!king raghead,” Knotts said.



He later clarified his statement. He did not mean to use the F-word.



Knotts says he believed Haley has been set up by a network of Sikhs and was programmed to run for governor of South Carolina by outside influences in foreign countries. He claims she is hiding her religion and he wants the voters to know about it.



“We got a raghead in Washington; we don’t need one in South Carolina,” Knotts said more than once. “She’s a raghead that’s ashamed of her religion trying to hide it behind being Methodist for political reasons.”



...



Knotts says he believes Haley’s father has been sending letters to India saying that Haley is the first Sikh running for high office in America.



He says her father walks around Lexington wearing a turban.



“We’re at war over there,” Knotts said.



Asked to clarify, he said he did not mean the United States was at war with India, but was at war with “foreign countries.”

[G.Subramaniam]

She was raised as a Sikh and converted to Christianity. Her parents are still Sikhs, but Sikhism tolerates apostates, so they haven't disowned her like Muslim parents would.

[G.Subramaniam]

"There is this essential contradiction in being a South Asian, or a person of Indian origin, in America... South Asians are mostly perceived in America as being too white to be black, and too black to be white. But with the increase in post 9/11 attacks against South Asians, at least some are being forced to come to grips with the myth that equates Indo-Aryan with Caucasian and with being white.But for a hundred years South Asians have been harassed, intimidated, assaulted, humiliated, abused, and even killed because of what they represent through their color, their religion, their language, and their culture. And it continues to this day."

http://www.indolink.com/displayArticleS....1605113928

[G.Subramaniam]

June 4th, 2010 12:18 am ET



“'We already got one raghead in the White House, we don’t need a raghead in the governor’s mansion," Knotts said"



"Haley was raised in a Sikh family but is now a practicing Methodist."



Yeah, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal and Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa Haley. They really accept you. Change your name, change your religion to be one of them, and this is what you'll get in return.



I'm keeping my name, my religion, my dignity, and my distance from the GOP.

[G.Subramaniam]

Jake Knotts called Lexington Rep. Nikki Haley, an Indian-American Republican woman running for governor, a “raghead” several times while explaining how he believed she was hiding her true religion from voters.



“She’s a f#!king raghead,” Knotts said.



He later clarified his statement. He did not mean to use the F-word.



Knotts says he believed Haley has been set up by a network of Sikhs and was programmed to run for governor of South Carolina by outside influences in foreign countries. He claims she is hiding her religion and he wants the voters to know about it.



“We got a raghead in Washington; we don’t need one in South Carolina,” Knotts said more than once. “She’s a raghead that’s ashamed of her religion trying to hide it behind being Methodist for political reasons.”



President Obama’s father is from Africa. His mother is a white woman from Kansas.



On her website, Haley says, “Being a Christian is not about words, but about living for Christ every day.”

[G.Subramaniam]

Nikki Haley: Sarah’s ‘kindred spirit’ in Christ? Or …. not?? (updated)

Filed under Archivist's Opinion, Featured Post

23 comments



UPDATE follows this original blogpost.



Nikki Haley is running for Governor of South Carolina; most of us had never heard of Nikki Haley until she received an endorsement from Sarah the Endorser! ”I’ve been there, I know your story, I know what you’re going through and I feel as though I’m a kindred spirit,” Palin said.

Curious, I visited Ms Haley’s website to find out more about Sarah’s “kindred spirit”; the website has a section called ‘Truth in facts’ which she introduces by saying:



I got into this race to make a difference for the people of South Carolina, to reform government and stop the corruption. The need for a forum like this is representative of an unfortunate part of campaigning, but it is necessary, and so we will continue to update it as others push out misinformation about me, our campaign, and the direction we believe our state needs to move.



Consider this our campaign’s way of going directly to you – around the noise and the distractions and the biases – to set the record straight.



My very best,

Nikki



Yep! Sounds like Palin’s Kindred Spirit already! End corruption! Reform Government! Get around the bias!! Yep ……. they are out to get YOU Nikki!



Yawn, I thought, until I got the last question:



Question: Is Nikki a Christian?



Truth: Nikki is a Christian. In her words: “I believe in the power and grace of Almighty God. I know, and have truly experienced, that with Him all things are possible. I have looked to Him for leadership throughout my career and will continue to do so as governor. My faith in Almighty God defines me and my conservative beliefs stem directly from my faith.”



Weird question to include, I thought … but given the climate of “Laws should be based on the 10 Commandments” Sarah called for last week, I wasn’t really surprised that the Haley campaign felt a need to clarify this. What did pique my curiosity however, was the wording of the answer to that question.



Nikki is a Christian, it says … THEN goes on to quote Nikki with a generic type of comment about almighty God etc …



And, I asked myself: Why not quote Nikki Haley actually SAYING she is a Christian?? So, I googled a Bio and found out that Nikki is an Indian-American, raised as a Sikh. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it did make me wonder, why doesn’t SHE say in the quote that she IS a Christian???



The wording of the quote is, as I said, generic. She believes in an Almighty God … looks to Him for guidance …. blah blah blah.



Since that quote could be said by most religions, it doesn’t really identify her as a Christian, does it? Fact is, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians ALL believe in an ‘Almighty God’ ……. the belief that sets Christians apart from the others, is their belief in Christ.