Nikki Haley, erstwhile candidate for higher officeIt had to have been done out of some sort of misplaced sense of mercy and pity:
Just as state Rep. Nikki Haley (R) was beginning to gain momentum in South Carolina's competitive four-way June 8 gubernatorial primary -- especially after winning Sarah Palin's endorsement -- this story has the potential to dramatically alter the race to succeed Gov. Mark Sanford (R).
Will Folks, a prominent South Carolina Republican blogger who was Sanford's former press secretary, admits to having an "inappropriate physical relationship" with Haley "several years ago." Haley has been married to her husband, Michael, for 13 years, and they have two children.
Folks suggests that he's revealing his past relationship with Haley because it's being leaked to news organizations. "It is what it is, and aside from the Haley family – Michael, Nikki, Rena and Nalin – I feel no need to apologize or explain myself to anyone. People are human. We make mistakes. And as I have learned from experience, the key to life isn’t the mistakes we make, it’s how we choose to handle them."
Haley denies any infidelity. "I have been 100% faithful to my husband throughout our 13 years of marriage," she said in a statement, per NBC affiliate WIS-TV. "This claim against me is categorically and totally false." Haley added that Folks' allegations was "South Carolina politics at its worst" -- although Folks' blog reportedly has been very favorable toward Haley's candidacy.
Miss Haley is too lovely to have had relations with some goofball with a Will Ferrel complex. Here's what Will Folks looks like, by the way:
Will Folks, Blogger
Now, I'm not just a Republican, and a professional blogger, and a gentleman bounty hunter, and a retired investor and businessman--I'm also an expert on style and grooming. This sort of thing is in my wheelhouse, you see. This is what I know.
Just glancing at this picture reminds me of a sad and disturbing trend among young men, and that trend is the unshaven boho look, dirty baseball cap and all. The only thing Folks has going for him is that he's wearing a shirt with a collar--his favorite basketball jersey probably caught fire when his Winnebago burned up after he and his frat brothers tried to deep fry a turkey down at the stadium when the Gamecocks were hosting some team that beat them senselessly up and down the field. He doesn't look like he knows what grooming even is. He looks like his husky boy pants are no longer an option, and all he can pull off is a modified student athlete look, complete with sweatpants and a pair of white New Balance court shoes, untied because he can't get past his own gut and lace them up properly.
No one with any self respect would purse their lips and hide a triple chin with a beard like that and get away with it. This is a young man who is used to smirking at anyone smarter or cleaner than he is. Our colleges and universities are failing us; men used to leave college with a reasonable wardrobe and some sense of responsibility--at least, that's how it was when I left Princeton. Did I go around looking like a bag of rags and a refugee from the soup kitchen down by the Methodist Church? No, I wore a suit Sunday through Friday, slacks and a shirt with a collar every Saturday, even after Father instructed the family company to hire me and put me to work in overseas sales and distribution. Had I shown up for work wearing casual clothes, Father would have had me arrested. When I look at Mr. Folks, I can only conclude that he's never really held a job where there are standards. Anyone can wear a fleece. Few can make it look like it was their most reasonable option for the day.
Besides, he seems to prefer the rough stuff:
The 31-year-old Folks was arrested in July and accused of shoving his fiancee, Ashley Smith, into furniture during a heated argument. A week after Folks was arrested, he denied accusations that he shoved her.
Folks received a 30-day suspended sentence, meaning he will avoid jail time as long as he stays out of trouble for the next six months. He also was ordered to attend anger management classes and not to contact his ex-fiance Ashley Smith.
Folks says he hopes his guilty plea shows something about his character. He says he did not want to put his ex-fiancee or her family through a trial that would have exposed private details. He previously had denied the accusations.
Folks has spoken publicly about the case a number of times. But Ashley Smith has remained silent until now, "I think I can understand why victims don't come forward with these kind of things. Because the process, the procedures that are involved with it make it very intimidating and very scary."
There's a fellow with class--a man apart, really.
No, the issue isn't that Miss Haley may or may not have gotten horny and had a romp with the fellow in order to get a little positive blog coverage. The issue is--why him? Why have sex with an immature young man who probably owes money on his student loans and can't pay it off because, well, he's a blogger? What character defect sent her into the arms of a boy?
There must be something in the water down there:
These allegations are just yet another in a string of embarrassments for South Carolina politicians.
It all started with the fall from grace of Governor Mark Sanford, from there it's spiraled out of control.
First we had the Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer proffering up a preemptive defense against the perennial rumors that he's gay, while not addressing the other rumors that he's generally just creepy when he's gawking over the bevy of extremely young women who keep him company in most non business public settings, although I suppose they go hand in hand.
Then there was the romantic imbroglio between Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom and Republican candidate for State Superintendent of Education Kelly Payne.
This was followed up by essentially an oppo-dump by Wes Wolfe on Republican candidate for State Treasurer Curtis Loftis that included storming public court records and accusations of homosexuality and herpes.
Then there was Lindsey Graham being told to "come out" by Tea Party activists rallying against his moderate position on Immigration Reform.
Aren't there any men in South Carolina? You know, men who wash their hair with shampoo and shave once in a while? And hold real jobs?