Gov. Nikki Haley Isn't Sikh-sy And She Knows It

The South Carolina governor denies that she’s the subject of any IRS probe of her father’s Sikh temple, because she never kept its books:

Gov. Nikki Haley vehemently denied Thursday that she is in any way connected to a 2011 tax audit of the Sikh temple in Chapin where her parents are leaders.

“It is flat out not true,” Haley said of speculation that has swirled around the State House for weeks that she is tied to the IRS audit of the Broad River Road temple.

“I have never kept their books. I’ve never made deposits. I never signed checks. I never did financial statements,” Haley said. “This is a church that I don’t go to. There are no issues related to me and that church.”

Haley is a Christian, for one thing.

I hate to engage in “question the timing” games, but here goes: Gov. Haley’s star has rusted a bit since her election in 2010, but she has remained in vice presidential conversations. She’s a bright young governor with a fairly strong record and she’s extremely likeable and telegenic, and she’s a female minority. She has a record of thrashing Obama’s NLRB when it assaulted Boeing in South Carolina. She’s governor of a state that the Republicans expect to win, though, so she doesn’t really haul in any electoral votes for the GOP ticket. Nevertheless, she endorsed Mitt Romney, Romney is locking up the nomination, and suddenly there are unsubstantiated rumors that she’s under some kind of investigation and possible indictment.

It’s curious, is all I’m saying. Gov. Haley’s gender, race and record all maker her a strategic target for the medialeft, which cannot abide strong, conservative minorities at all, and when they’re women then they must be destroyed.