Nikki Haley: Where GOP presidential contender stands on abortion, other issues

WAUKEE, Iowa, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Besides being the only woman seeking the GOP nomination for president, Nikki Haley stands out for her positions on abortion rights and other key issues -- taking a "common sense" approach that seems to be resonating with voters and donors.

Haley recently won the endorsement of the influential Americans for Prosperity Action committee run by the Koch family. And the issues on which she breaks from the Republican Party line are finding favor with voters in Iowa -- a month before the caucus -- who fall nearer to the middle in the political spectrum, a key segment of the electorate in competitive races.

As a result, she is drawing fire from her Republican opponents.

The former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor was on the mind of former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, when he downplayed her momentum at a rally in Coralville, Iowa. She was also in the crosshairs of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in last week's debate in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

'Common sense'

Haley fashions herself an underdog, entering her rally in Waukee, Iowa, on Sunday to "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. It's Trump, the projected front-runner, she is out to beat.

"Don't you think it's time we put a woman in the White House," Sheryl Crow sings on the P.A. system, while Haley takes photos after the town hall. "We could use a little female common sense."

"Common sense" drew several in the crowd to Haley, favoring her style of delivery over other candidates.

Haley stuck with the "underdog" theme, recounting her win against longtime South Carolina state Rep. Larry Koon. He had been serving at the Statehouse since 1975 when Haley beat him in 2004.

After the victory, Haley said she stood alone in the well calling for a change in how lawmakers voted. They typically voted by voice, with no record taken.

Haley proposed a bill to change that in 2008 when members of the House voted in favor of increasing their retirement pay by a voice vote. Her Republican colleagues responded by stripping her of her committee assignments.

In 2010, Haley entered the race for South Carolina governor as a longshot for the Republican nomination. She earned major endorsements from eventual presidential candidate Sen. Mitt Romney and former candidate for vice president Sarah Palin.

After winning the primary, Haley edged past Democrat Vincent Sheheen to become the first woman and first ethnic minority elected governor of the state. In 2011, she signed a bill that required South Carolina's legislature to record roll call votes.

Haley served as governor until 2017, when she was appointed by Trump as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, becoming the first Indian American Cabinet-level official. She resigned from the post at the end of 2018.

She launched her presidential bid 10 months ago, on Feb. 14. Here is where she stands on some key issues.

Abortion rights

Haley made her position on a nationwide abortion ban clear early in her campaign and it is starkly different from that of DeSantis and at least Trump's first campaign.

In a prepared speech in April, Haley called for a "consensus" on the issue. She has maintained that she is a "pro-life" candidate, but she does not believe a nationwide six-week abortion ban can pass in Congress.

Instead, she says Republicans and Democrats must find some middle ground they can agree on, starting with banning late-term abortions. Her goal: to "save as many babies as possible."

Haley has stayed with this position through four Republican primary debates and nearly eight months of campaigning.

Immigration

Haley has been critical of President Joe Biden on immigration, but has said Republicans and Democrats share a role in migrants entering the country illegally, primarily from the southern border, because immigration reform has been stagnant.

"It is an absolute dereliction of duty what's happening on the border," Haley said at a town hall in Waukee, Iowa on Sunday. "I went 400 miles down the border. When you wake up, you have a cup of coffee. When ranchers wake up, they go out and see if anybody died crossing the border."

Haley was critical of the Trump administration policy that separated migrant children from their parents.

She calls for immigration reform that would include "catch and deport," meaning migrants who have entered the United States without authorization would be sent back to their country of origin.

Haley also vowed to dispatch 24,000 Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to deport immigrants who are in the country without authorization. Those hoping to immigrate to the United States would need to stay in their home country until authorized.

To address businesses employing immigrants illegally, Haley would require businesses to use the E-Verify program to prove their workers are in the country legally. She has expressed that immigrants with skills that are in demand should be given priority.

Social Security, Medicare

The viability of social safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare has been another policy issue in which Haley has carved out a distinctly different position from some of her competitors.

She often acknowledges that reforming entitlement programs is a controversial proposal, but Haley says that without change, Social Security and Medicare will dry up.

Her proposal is to leave these programs alone for those who have paid into them, millennials and older generations. For younger generations who have either not started paying into the system or just started, she wants to raise the age of retirement in proportion to life expectancy. She adds that benefits should reflect inflation rates.

"Everybody who has paid in is going to get it," Haley said. "We need to keep our promises."

For wealthy Americans, Haley said benefits from these programs should be limited.

Economy

While Haley has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration's economic policies, she has placed the lion's share of blame for the estimated $33 trillion national debt at the feet of Republicans. She has often noted that the Trump administration added $9 trillion to the debt, more than Biden, and that Republicans carved out more than $7 billion in earmarks in the latest budget, compared to less than $3 billion by Democrats.

"I would love to tell you that Biden did that to us," Haley told the crowd in Iowa. "I have always spoken in hard truths. Our Republicans did that to us, too. Now tell me who the big spenders are."

Haley said she would veto any spending bill that does not fall in line with pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. She also intends to return more than $100 million in unspent COVID-19 relief and direct the IRS to prioritize investigating COVID-19 relief fraud over enforcing violations by middle-class Americans.

In the realm of international trade, Haley said the United States should shift its partnerships exclusively to U.S. allies and end trade with countries that "hate America," such as China and Iran. India is one country she said the United States should build an alliance and trade partnership with.

Energy, environment

Haley joins her fellow Republican candidates in vowing to end the Biden administration's policies that incentivize clean energy initiatives. Instead, she plans to loosen environmental policies to allow for more domestic drilling and fracking to increase energy production.

"We will be energy dominant, pull the EPA back and speed up permitting," Haley said. "We are going to partner with our energy producers and no longer go to Saudi Arabia, Iran or Venezuela."

Haley has warned that Biden's proposal to shift to all electric vehicles as soon as 2030 would be detrimental to the U.S. economy and beneficial to China. She said Sunday that U.S. infrastructure will not be ready for electric vehicles and claimed that roads and bridges "wouldn't withstand" them.

National security, foreign affairs

The former U.N. ambassador has maintained her support for the United States providing defense equipment to Ukraine and Israel. She emphasizes that both are crucial in maintaining national security and deterring foreign adversaries.

On Sunday, she rebuked Republicans in Congress for adding conditions to aid to Ukraine and Israel that require immigration reform.

"Don't let them lie to you like that," she said. "It's a false promise. Ukraine has supported us on everything. They're being invaded by a thug."

Haley said the price tag for U.S. support for Ukraine is 3.5% of the budget for defense. With aid for Israel included, it's 5%.

She added that a victory by Russia would likely put America at war because Russia would then advance against Poland and the Baltic States, all NATO allies.

On the war between Israel and Hamas, Haley says the United States should give Israel the defense equipment it needs to "wipe them out." She opposes giving money directly to Ukraine or Israel, or sending U.S. troops to either.

"Israel is the tip of the spear in stopping terrorists in the Middle East," she said. "God help us if we don't get this right."

Haley speaks staunchly in opposition of any relationship with China, saying it is not an economic competitor but an "enemy." She says Chinese technology should be blacklisted and all trade should end until China stops its involvement with the flow of fentanyl into the United States.