Nikki Haley’s delicate cha-cha, in heels

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Feb 17, 2023 View in browser   By Shia Kapos POLITICO illustration/Photos by Getty Images Good morning, rulers! I’m writing to you from Chicago, where the weather is below freezing but the political energy is hot! Thanks to Sophie Gardner for her help with putting this newsletter together.  In announcing she’s running for president earlier this week, Nikki Haley made a joke about being able to do the job in heels. It was a worn out line, but it’s a signal she’s leaning into being the only Republican woman — at least so far — to run for the job. The challenge for Haley is getting today’s conservative Republicans to see her as the future of their party, a younger-than-70 candidate who is a person of color and a woman with serious experience under her sash. None of that is likely to matter to the Republican base, however. “They don’t care if a candidate is a woman. What they care about today is ‘Do you make the left angry,’” Sarah Longwell, an anti-Trump Republican political strategist who ran Republican Voters Against Trump in 2020, told Women Rule. The irony, says Longwell, is that a candidate who is both a woman and Asian American could signal the future of the party. “Instead,” she says, Haley seems like a relic” from the GOP of 2004 rather than today. Haley isn’t the first woman to make a serious run for president on the Republican ticket. Elizabeth Dole ran in 2000, Michele Bachmann in 2012 and Carly Fiorina in 2016. But Haley brings more to the table than any of those predecessors because she’s been governor of a state and has worked on international issues. Haley was governor of South Carolina and served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations thanks to an appointment by former President Donald Trump, who’s also running for president. Those are two bonafides that help define presidential candidates because they show you can make tough decisions and work on the world stage. Trump or any other GOP candidate will have a hard time poking holes at that experience. But Haley isn’t even mentioning her toughest decision-making as governor. That came in 2015 after the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C.. Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the capitol, and she convinced lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to go along with it. “She talks about the moment, but she doesn’t talk about what she did that many before her weren’t able to do,” says Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “And that’s because she needs to cater to the conservative Republican electorate in the presidential primary.” Instead, she embraces a comparison made to conservative British icon Margaret Thatcher, who famously governed with “an iron fist in a velvet glove.” It’s a dance that will be difficult for Haley to manage, even in heels. Being a woman in a race that will be dominated by men will have one advantage even among Republicans, says Longwell. “She’ll be the only woman standing with a bunch of white guys” on the stage. It will bring attention to her. Haley seems ready to take on any potential misogynistic rhetoric that political watchers expect could be lobbed by Trump, given his previous campaigns. And we’re not even talking about the “grab ‘em by the p-ssy” comment. Eight years ago, Trump insulted Fiorina, saying, "Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?" The slight infuriated women on both sides of the aisle but not enough to keep Trump from winning the GOP nomination and, ultimately, the presidency. “The primary electorate Haley will face is very different than the one Elizabeth Dole faced running in 2000. Haley is facing the kind of electorate that Carley Fiorina faced. We know Donald Trump will go after her,” Walsh said. Haley seems ready. In her announcement video, she says, “I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.” It was a reference to leaders in Russia and China. Says Walsh: “The subtext is that she knows she’ll face that with Donald Trump.”   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: More than 800,000 women are still missing from workplaces compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Women’s Law Center. So, what must happen to improve the future of work for women? POLITICO Focus connected with members of Women Rule: The Exchange to discuss driving positive change. Read more here.   POLITICO Special Report Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images “Dianne Feinstein’s legacy will be defined by these moments,” by Jeremy B. White for POLITICO: “The San Francisco Democrat is the longest-serving woman in the history of the U.S. Senate. Her long-anticipated announcement this week that she would retire rather than seek another term in 2024 sets an end date on more than 30 years in Congress and has ignited a succession scramble among ambitious House Democrats. … “‘It would be impossible to write the history of California politics, it would be impossible to write the history of American politics without acknowledging the trailblazing career of Sen. Dianne Feinstein,’ Sen. Alex Padilla — who worked for Feinstein as a district staffer in the 1990s — said on Tuesday.” “Kentucky Supreme Court leaves abortion ban in place,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein for POLITICO: “The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday to keep two state abortion restrictions in place for now — dashing the hope of clinics in the deep-red state that had sued for the right to resume providing the procedure while legal challenges continue.”   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: In The Round: A conversation on the new rules of work.   Number of the Week Read more here. MUST READS EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 15: Nicola Sturgeon speaks during a press conference at Bute House where she announced she will stand down as First Minister of Scotland on February 15, 2023 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Nicola Sturgeon has resigned after eight years as the leader of the SNP and First Minister Of Scotland, taking over from Alex Salmond in 2014. Sturgeon said “I believe that part of serving well would be to know, almost instinctively, when the time is right to go. In my head and in my heart I know that time is now.” (Photo by Jane Barlow - Pool/Getty Images) “Before her decision to step down, Sturgeon faced a battle over transgender rights,” by Mark Landler for The New York Times: “A battle over her support for transgender rights is not, by Nicola Sturgeon’s account, the reason she is quitting as Scotland’s first minister. But the issue has dogged her in recent weeks, precipitating a clash with the British government and ensnaring her in a messy episode involving a convicted rapist who was held in a women’s prison. “Ms. Sturgeon’s problems began in December when the Scottish Parliament passed legislation that would allow transgender people to have the gender with which they identify legally recognized and to get a new birth certificate without a medical diagnosis. Britain’s government swiftly rejected the law, saying that it conflicted with equality laws that apply across Britain, including Scotland.” “The New CEO Is Younger and May Even Be a Woman,” by Beth Kowitt for Bloomberg. “These women journalists were doing their jobs. That made them targets,” by Taylor Lorenz for the Washington Post: “The voices of thousands of women journalists worldwide have been muffled and, in some cases, stolen entirely as they struggle to conduct interviews, attend public events and keep their jobs in the face of relentless online smear campaigns. “Stories that might have been told — or perspectives that might have been shared — stay untold and unshared. The pattern of abuse is remarkably consistent, no matter the continent or country where the journalists operate.” “Nigeria election: Women denounce poor political representation,” by Rahma Jimoh for Al Jazeera. “Doctor? Engineer? As dreams fade, Afghan girls turn to madrasas,” by Charlotte Greenfield and Mohammad Yunus Yawar for Reuters. Quote of the Week Read more here. Transitions Loren DeJonge Schulman is now associate director for performance and personnel management at OMB. She previously was VP of research, evaluation and modernizing government at the Partnership for Public Service. … Lisa Bianco is joining Perry, White, Ross & Jacobson as a partner and chair of its federal relations practice. She most recently was a senior staff member for the Jan. 6 committee and is a Joe Neguse, John Delaney and Steny Hoyer alum. … Yvonne Gutierrez is joining NARAL Pro-Choice America as chief strategy officer. She most recently was managing director at Latino Victory Project and is a Supermajority and Planned Parenthood alum. Elisabeth Coats will be director of the Homeownership Alliance at the National Community Stabilization Trust. She previously was director of policy and advocacy at the National NeighborWorks Association (h/t Playbook). ... Former Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen will be state director for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: When it comes to the state of work, there’s good news and bad news for women. Research from McKinsey, in partnership with LeanIn.Org, found that female leaders are leaving their employers at never-before-seen rates, often in exchange for opportunities that prioritize flexibility and wellbeing, along with diversity, equity and inclusion. And yet, more than 800,000 women are still missing from workplaces compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Women’s Law Center.  Now, business leaders and employees alike are considering what’s next. What must happen next to improve the future of work for women? POLITICO Focus sat down with members of Women Rule: The Exchange to discuss how women are driving change in the workplace, and what organizations and policymakers can do to join them. Read on to learn what needs to happen to help all women thrive at work.     Follow us on Twitter Katelyn Fossett @KatelynFossett   Follow us

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