Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley: on Government Reform
Mark Sanford:
Get legislative "voice votes" on the record
A couple of weeks after the 2009 session began, our movement received a needed boost. In his State of the State address, speaking before the general assembly leadership that had fought so hard against it, Governor Sanford thanked those who had supported
the fight to get votes on the record. He singled out Rep. Nathan Ballentine and me and called us brave for "standing behind an issue that [we] believed in." Then he went off script and spoke a little truth to power:"We all need to remember that the
rarest of all political commodities is courage--that willingness to take a stand based on something you believe in, regardless of the consequences that will come your way," he said, looking up from his speech to the members of the legislature. "As we
all know, there was a price that they paid for the stand that they took, and yet change has begun as the result of the stand they took." Governor Sanford was right. Change had begun. The people were starting to demand it.
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p. 71-72
Apr 3, 2012
Nikki Haley:
Legislative mission: get "voice votes" on the record
One of the worst parts of the political culture in the legislature was the practice of not voting on the record when important pieces of legislation came up. Instead of calling the roll and recording each member's vote, the vast majority of the time the
House and Senate would pass bills by voice vote. That meant legislators would simply shout their votes, and he louder voices prevailed. The taxpayers had no way of knowing who voted for what. Most of the voters weren't even aware this was happening, but
it was a fundamental violation of what we were supposed to be doing, which was representing the people. How could the voters judge us without knowing how we voted? How could we spend the taxpayers' money without being accountable for our choices?
Unlike most states, S.C. had no constitutional or statutory requirement that legislation be passed with a roll-call vote. It was at that point that I discovered my mission: making it possible for the voters to know how their legislators voted.
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p. 63-64
Apr 3, 2012
Nikki Haley:
Real-time online check registers for government spending
Another accountability gospel I preached until I was blue in the face was the need for state and local government to show the taxpayers how their money is being spent through online check registers.
These are online databases--Web sites--that provide real-time government spending information to citizens. I knew most of
South Carolinians were too busy with work and family to go online and check on their government's spending habits, but just knowing the check register was there would keep elected officials on their toes. I compared it to having a teacher in a classroom.
If the teacher is around, students behave. If the teacher leaves, the kids cut up, not because they're bad but because they can. Online check registers keep the teacher in the classroom and make legislators more responsible for how they spend.
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p.112
Apr 3, 2012
Nikki Haley:
Term limits force real change in leadership
I learned in the legislature was that I am for term limits. I didn't think I was when I came in, but by the time I left, I knew there needed to be a limit on the time politicians can spend in government.I believe that public officials go to Columbia
or Washington with the best of intentions. But along the way people with energy & good ideas got broken. They were told not to step out of line. From business I was used to the idea that you put your most qualified, best people in positions of authority.
Government didn't work that way. The people who got the plum assignments in the legislature were the people who had gone along with what the leadership told them to do. I didn't think that was right, and term limits would fix that. With only a certain
amount of time to spend in government, legislators wouldn't have time to play the leadership's games. They would work harder at leaving a legacy of accomplishment and real change for the people rather than at satisfying the leadership.
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p.112-113
Apr 3, 2012
Nikki Haley:
Fought S.C. House leadership for roll-call voting
Lt. Gov. Bauer attacked me for missing the vote when the bill to require voting on the record had been passed in the house a few months earlier. "With all due respect," he said, directing his remarks to me, "if you're going to push for roll call voting,
you ought to be there to vote on it."I almost laughed. Then I explained how the leadership had deliberately forced through the vote on an afternoon when they knew I wouldn't be there. Still, I said, "I applaud the general assembly for moving forward
to make all its votes on the record."
I had fought for two-and-a-half years to get to that point. "I lost every position I held in the House in this fight to get legislators to vote on the record--long before there was a gubernatorial campaign," I said
I felt my emotions begin to rise. I'm not going to get caught up in the fact that you're picking on the day that I wasn't there. The two-and-a-half year fight was the reason that the House overwhelmingly voted to have every single vote on the record."
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p.146
Apr 3, 2012
Nikki Haley:
Weakened governorship today set up in Reconstruction
I had promised to return government to the people of South Carolina. That meant wholesale reform of a system that was still very much stuck in the 1800s. The structure of South Carolina's government had been created during Reconstruction following the
Civil War. Back then, the (needless to say, white) powers that be had weakened the governorship out of fear that a black man might be elected governor. The result was a system of waste, duplication and lack of accountability that has survived to this day
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p.183
Apr 3, 2012
Nikki Haley:
Good old work replaces pork-barrel politics
The one thing I wasn't willing to do to keep our legislators happy was play pork-barrel politics. This meant I had to find other ways to build support for my agenda.
Mostly this effort just meant my staff and I had to do a lot of good old, time-consuming work. one legislator desperately wanted a Walmart in his district, but the company didn't seem interested at all.
So we called Walmart and asked the company to take a look and see if it was interested. It sent out a site unit and talked to the legislator.
We didn't spend anybody's money or promise anybody anything. We just put in a little extra effort, and we built a good relationship with that legislator.
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p.204-205
Apr 3, 2012
Nikki Haley:
Voter ID is a no-brainer to protect election integrity
We passed a voter ID law this year. My thinking on this was pretty straightforward. If you need to show your ID to buy Sudafed or get on an airplane, it's a no-brainer that you should show your ID to protect the integrity of our elections.
The critics said requiring ID would disenfranchise thousands of voters who would have trouble getting identification.
The doomsayers confidently predicted that thousands of people would lose their right to vote because they couldn't get an ID.
So I told the people, "If you are having trouble, give me a call; we'll help you out." I even said I would drive them down to the DMV myself--and I meant it! We ended up driving 25 people to the DMV, all of whom we helped get their ID.
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p.219-220
Apr 3, 2012
Tea Party:
Get state legislative "voice votes" on the record
When the old guard resisted change, I went to the people to make their voices heard. It turned out that all along, those people were the Tea Party. We hadn't formally found each other yet--they didn't even call themselves the Tea Party at the time--but
they were the citizens who called the radio talk shows, wrote letters to the editor, and blasted e-mails to their friends & family to bring about change. Over time they would become my greatest friends and biggest supporters.When I introduced my bill
to get votes on the record, it was immediately and instinctively embraced by the Tea Party. As they got the word out, Democrats began to call me and ask to have their names put on the bill. Then Republicans did as well. The bill took on a life of its
own. People across the state were calling their legislators to see if they supported the bill. I had legislators coming up to me in a panic saying, "Make sure my name is on the bill!" I fought alongside the Tea Party to get votes on the record.
Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p. 72
Apr 3, 2012
Page last updated: Feb 19, 2019