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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The head of
South Carolina's National Guard said Tuesday he will conduct an internal
review of the Guard's policy on social media use after Gov. Nikki
Haley's husband used Facebook to call members of the state Senate
cowards for not voting on a bill favored by his wife.
Maj. Gen.
Robert Livingston said he spoke with Michael Haley about the matter, and
Michael Haley told the general he intended to express himself as a
private citizen, not as a member of the Guard.
Michael Haley is an officer the South Carolina Army National Guard.
Sen.
Jake Knotts, a Lexington Republican who has often clashed with Gov.
Haley, called late Tuesday for Michael Haley to resign his commission if
he can't abstain from "contentious partisan issues."
In speeches,
Gov. Nikki Haley frequently talks about her husband's military service
and says she is proud that he puts on his uniform daily when he goes to
work.
At a news conference, the governor defended her husband,
saying he made the posting while away from the family and attending two
weeks of military training in Texas.
"He is a person. He is a
citizen. He has the right to get frustrated," Haley said, responding to
calls that Michael Haley apologize for the posting.
Michael
Haley's post came Thursday after the Senate failed to vote on a bill
backed by his wife that would restructure portions of the state
government.
"It amazes me that in a week that we have heroes who
have died fighting for our freedoms, we have cowards who are afraid to
take a vote in the senate," Michael Haley wrote.
Earlier that day, the Guard announced that three S.C. soldiers had been killed in an attack by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.
"We
reviewed the posting," Livingston said in a telephone interview. "It
was not a partisan expression and he did not express himself as a member
of the military."
Livingston said he wants to ensure that every citizen, including Michael Haley, maintains his freedom of speech.
But
the general noted that Michael Haley has a unique role serving as the
governor's spouse, as well as a lieutenant in the National Guard.
"I think he is very conscious of the stir this has caused," Livingston said.
Livingston
said the military has had to grapple with an "evolving" approach to
social media, and the situation offers a chance for review.
"We
will conduct an internal review and do a wash on the policy that all our
people have to deal with" on social media, Livingston said. "We will
use this as an opportunity to make sure all our people don't step over
the line."
Livingston said he hoped the contretemps does not take
away from the heroism displayed by the three members of the Guard who
gave their lives in Afghanistan.
"We have three real heroes who
have fallen. I don't want us to lose sight of the tremendous sacrifice
that they, and their families, are making," he said.
Knotts
suggested that Michael Haley's action violated the Hatch Act, which
prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political
activity.
"Michael Haley should be ashamed of himself for invoking
the memory of dead soldiers just to make a partisan political point,"
he said in a statement. "As a commissioned officer in the South Carolina
National Guard, Mr. Haley should know that he is not permitted to
engage in partisan rhetoric."
Knotts said that if Michael Haley wants to be involved in politics, he should resign from the military.
"I'm
concerned when a person uses his uniform or position in the military
for political purposes," Knotts said. He said the Facebook post was "an
insult to the families and to the Senate as a whole."
He said Michael Haley should offer apologies to both the soldiers' families and to the Senate.
On
Monday Sumter Sen. Phil Leventis said on the floor of the Senate that
Michael Haley's comment amounted to politics at its worst. He said he
didn't think the three soldiers died for a new South Carolina Department
of Administration.
"I found it difficult that Mr. Haley implied
that he knew what those three wanted. They died as Americans. They
didn't die as Republicans or Democrats," said Leventis, a Democrat who
retired as a brigadier general in the South Carolina Air National Guard
after 30 years in uniform.
After he spoke, Republican colleague
Sen. Chip Campsen of Charleston rose to say Leventis was no coward, and
had 21 combat flights in the Iraq war to his credit.
Leventis said
in a telephone interview Tuesday that he believed Michael Haley
"stepped way out of line" by using the soldiers' deaths to make a point
about a local political issue.
In April, a Marine Corps sergeant in San Diego was discharged for criticizing President Barack Obama on Facebook.
The
military has had a policy since the Civil War limiting the free speech
of service members, including criticism of the commander in chief.
Pentagon
directives say military personnel in uniform cannot sponsor a political
club; participate in any TV or radio program or group discussion that
advocates for or against a political party, candidate or cause; or speak
at any event promoting a political movement.
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