Brown: Haley needs to learn to play well with others

Most politicians, if they expect to get anything done, are solicitous of those with whom they must work. Gov. Nikki Haley offers a contrasting, and lamentable, modus operandi. It is not leadership; it is condescension. She should be extending to legislators — and working to earn for herself — respect. Instead, she expresses contempt (by, for example, suggesting that people visiting the General Assembly might need to take a shower afterward).

And while some of those to whom she condescends may at times deserve public opprobrium, Haley could have expressed that without becoming governor with far fewer adverse consequences to the cause of responsible governing and to the relationship between the executive and legislative branches. Serving as governor, however, calls for a different approach, something of a higher order, something more professional — something more resembling constructive leadership. Frankly, something more mature and realistic.

Gov. Haley, in her characteristic adamantine way, suggests that the Legislature is supposed to be with her, as if legislators should capitulate unconditionally to her wishes. It all sounds darkly magisterial on her part. But the reality is that South Carolina is a legislative state, and as much as I or Gov. Haley would like to establish a better balance of power between the executive and legislative branches, that is not going to happen via Gov. Haley’s tactics. She needs to accept the status quo and work with lawmakers to do good things for the state and its people.

Most S.C. governors, of necessity, came to terms with that unbalanced relationship — all the while working to change that balance — and most could still cite significant success during their tenures, in spite of the office’s institutional weaknesses. Gov. Haley’s tactics and rhetoric could actually set back the case for an enhanced executive authority, because to the degree that such a change is associated with the governor in power, the manner in which that governor handles the power and authority she has will influence legislative votes one way or the other.

Gov. Haley’s is a self-aggrandizing style, and that does not serve the cause of enhanced executive authority well at all. Neither will it render the best policy options for the future of South Carolina, because it precludes the give-and-take necessary for good policy-making.

Conway

This story was originally published May 20, 2015 at 7:27 PM.