VUI is not paid by anyone

Voting Under the Influence is among the most critical blogs of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Haley remarked on her facebook page that blogs daring to criticize her were being paid to do so.

VUI can not speak for other blogs. But, we are not paid by anyone. In fact, no one involved with putting this blog together gets paid by any political interests. We simply see things as they are and present things as we see them. Everyone involved with VUI makes their living through other means. This endeavor is out of love and concern for this state.

Perhaps that notion is foreign to Haley (R-Rich and friends), but there are some people who love this state and its people and put themselves out there, not for personal financial gain or personal political gain, but just to do the right thing, to call it like it is.

Further, this is America. Blogs like VUI have a right to criticize, to question, to be a thorn in the side, so to speak, of those with power. That is the American way. It is disturbing that Governor Haley seems to contend that such voices should be silenced if they are aimed at her. That notion of Governor Haley's is even more outrageous when one considers that she benefited not only from the campaign contributions of the Howard Rich gang and the Georgia port folks, but from paid bloggers singing her praises.

Perhaps that is Haley's new definition of conservative government. Government should be limited unless it can be used to silence critics. Perhaps there are some paid critics, like there are paid champions of Governor Haley. But, VUI is not paid by anyone to blog our opinions, period. Not one penny. And, we say that Governor Haley and her staff are immature, ignorant of how government works, irresponsible and arrogant. As the second President of the United States, John Adams, once stated, "facts are stubborn things."

And, the dadgummed thing about facts, you can not buy them. They are just there for the world to see.