State Rep. Nikki Haley has announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for Governor of South Carolina.  No news there.

As soon as she announced, the knives came out.  No news there, either.  Sad, but not news.

Rep. Haley is tough enough and smart enough to handle herself, but I take personally one of the “put downs” to her political efforts.

She’s a woman and,  according to some

To become governor, Haley will have to overcome questions about her Indian heritage and whether S.C. voters will accept a woman chief executive.

The strongest people I’ve known or worked with are women.  From my mother, material grandmother, aunt, wife, mother-in-law, daughters-in-law and professional acquaintances, I have been blessed by the presence of brilliant, tough and dedicated women.

It belittles the women of South Carolina and the voters of the Palmetto State to question if they “will accept a woman chief executive.”

Yeah.  They will.  In droves!  Some may not agree with her politics or have other favorites in the race – that’s fair.  But in the 21st Century, Nikki Haley will neither win nor lose the Governor’s office because of her gender.

Any “controversy” or questions about her electability on that will be as inaccurate as they will be disgusting.  Yeah, I know, politics is about inaccurate and disgusting – Nancy Peolsi is certainly evidence of that – as is Barney Frank, Harry Reid, Bill Clinton and Keith Olbermann.

But let’s stomp this insect now.  Nikki Haley is a woman – and a helluva woman at that.  The only people who will have problems accepting her as the chief executive are those she crosses.

And may God have mercy on them, ’cause I know what it was like to cross my mother, my grandmother, my aunt, my wife, my mother-in-law, my daughters-in-law and my female professional acquaintances.

SHUDDER