Nikki Haley calls on Republicans to 'fix' broken government during SOTU response

Gov. Nikki Haley.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In the Republican response to President Obama's final State of the Union address, Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) said that while "Democrats in Washington bear much responsibility for the problems facing America today, they do not bear it alone," and said Republicans need to "recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in America's leadership."

Haley said that Obama's record "has fallen far short of his soaring words," but added that Republicans "need to accept that we've played a role in how and why our government is broken. And then we need to fix it." If a Republican were in the White House, she said, taxes would be lower, innovation would be encouraged, and "good jobs would be available across the country."

In a swipe against GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, Haley also said "there's a tendency to falsely equate noise with results. Some think you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. That's just not true. The best thing can be to turn down the volume. When the sound is quieter you can actually hear what someone else is saying, and that can make a world of difference."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.