Governor Nikki Haley delivered the Republican Response to the State of the Union Address tonight.
I'll be delivering the GOP address immediately following the President's speech. Watch live via @periscopeco #SOTU pic.twitter.com/sFjLOH0IwC
— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) January 13, 2016
Here is the full text of the governor’s response.
Governor Haley’s mention of the Charleston shooting was touching.
“This past summer, South Carolina was dealt a tragic blow. On an otherwise ordinary Wednesdayevening in June, at the historic Mother Emanuel church in Charleston, twelve faithful men and women, young and old, went to Bible study.
“That night, someone new joined them. He didn’t look like them, didn’t act like them, didn’t sound like them. They didn’t throw him out. They didn’t call the police. Instead, they pulled up a chair and prayed with him. For an hour.
“We lost nine incredible souls that night.
“What happened after the tragedy is worth pausing to think about.
“Our state was struck with shock, pain, and fear. But our people would not allow hate to win. We didn’t have violence, we had vigils. We didn’t have riots, we had hugs.
“We didn’t turn against each other’s race or religion. We turned toward God, and to the values that have long made our country the freest and greatest in the world.
“We removed a symbol that was being used to divide us, and we found a strength that united us against a domestic terrorist and the hate that filled him.
“There’s an important lesson in this. In many parts of society today, whether in popular culture, academia, the media, or politics, there’s a tendency to falsely equate noise with results.
