Deuce Bigalow, Blogger Gigolo: Latest Developments in the Folks-Haley Saga; BUMPED: ‘Dangerous and Unreliable’

Posted on | May 25, 2010 | 68 Comments

* BUMPED 9:15 p.m. ET – SEE UPDATE BELOW *

If blogger/consultant/man-whore Will Folks has accomplished nothing else by his boast of an “inappropriate physical relationship” with Nikki Halely, there’s no denying that he has provided a target-rich environment for snark. (Ace was classic.)

The fundamental question is this: Out of all the bloggers on the planet, why would an attractive married woman like Nikki Haley choose to have an affair with a complete douchebag like Will Folks? Even if you consider such a scenario as being within the realm of possibility — as does Michael Brendan Dougherty — there can be no doubt that Folks has made a complete laughingstock of himself, and destroyed whatever career prospect he ever had as a political consultant. He’s as radioactive as Chernobyl.

But let us suppose, hypothetically, that Folks is the irresistible stud he claims to be and that, like untold thousands of other women, Nikki Haley fell victim to his seductive magnetism. (She unequivocally denies it.)

Now further suppose that the rumor-mill is turning and reporters are asking questions. What do you do, if you’ve got half a brain in your head? You shut the hell up, is what you do.

The fact that Will Folks can’t seem to shut up about his “inappropriate” relationship is Exhibit A in this case. Exhibit B is that he writes his blog with weird third-person references to “our founding editor,” as if he expects readers to believe that this is anything other than sock puppetry. Typical of been-too-long-in-the-basement paranoia, he’s spinning tales of persecution by “Team Haley” and talking about “our lawyers.” And now — get this — he’s suggesting e-mails and phone records as proof of what he calls “Haley-Gate”:

All we can tell you for now is that the record of correspondence between the two of them began on November 20, 2005 – with an email sent at 8:33 a.m. from Haley’s State House email address ([email protected]) to Will Folks’ personal address ([email protected]) in which Haley complimented Folks on an article he had written praising her gubernatorial ambitions. . . .
That four-and-a-half year record of correspondence ended on Saturday, May 22, 2010 – three days ago – with a text message sent from Folks’ cell phone to Haley’s cell phone at 1:04 p.m. alerting her to the fact that he had been placed in a position where he felt that he had no choice but to address the rumors regarding their relationship on his website.

(Via Memeorandum.) Hey, douchebag: Publish the e-mails or shut the hell up. I’ve got $20 that says you can’t produce an e-mail proving an affair with Nikki Haley. What you are doing is demanding that Haley prove a negative.

Will Folks has already proven one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt: He is a vicious monster.

If he did have an “inappropriate” relationship with Nikki Haley, his actions were dishonorable, proving him to be untrustworthy and disrespectful. And in that case, he would have been doubly dishonorable to “admit” to a rumor that he himself probably played a key role in spreading.

On the other hand, if Will Folks is lying — and who would accept his word against hers? — he is unspeakably vicious.

I’ll get back to laughing at this douchebag later, but right now I’m thinking that if I was Nikki Haley’s huband, the next news story about Will Folks would be his obituary.

Ace goes back to the Comstock Lode of comedy gold:

On the one hand, Will Folks assures me he’s a straight shooter who calls it like he sees it and is so full of integrity and courage that in some countries the oath to tell the truth is made upon one of his incorruptible bowel movements. . . .
I really, really have a problem with guys who never shut up about how uncompromising and courageous and principled they are.

Ace calls attention to this interesting story:

[Folks] says he was pressured to disclose the affair by the campaign of fellow candidate Gresham Barrett. . . .
Folks elaborated in an email Monday night that he believes Barrett is behind the takedown. “All of my sources pointed their fingers directly at the campaign of Gresham Barrett,” Folks wrote. . . .
Barrett spokesman Luke Byars categorically denied that any pressure on Folks came from the Barrett campaign. “This is absolutely not true,” Byars said. “Mr. Folks seems to be full of allegations lately without any proof.”

So, while Folks claimed that he was reluctantly making an admission, he’s now exchanging e-mails with reporters throwing more dirt at people. Politics ain’t beanbag, as James Carville likes to say, and if Will Folks thought he could play this kind of game without consequences, I ssupect he’s about to get a very brutal education.

By the way, because I’m so uncompromising and courageous and principled: I categorically deny any accusation that I ever had “inappropriate” thoughts about Dede Scozzafava.

UPDATE 9:15 p.m. ET: Will Folks was considered “dangerous and unreliable” by some Republicans in South Carolina, according to one source who knows him.

“He’s very smart, but at the same time, he’s stupid, too,” the source said.

Folks’ loose-cannon reputation and his blog’s frequent attacks on powerful Republicans in the state have long made him an object of intense scrutiny. It has been rumored that politicians he’s targeted have been digging for dirt on him for years.

As to the question of whether Folks actually had an affair with Haley, my source gave it a “50-50” chance of being true. Folks is known to “have a way with the ladies,” said the source, confirming Michael Brendan Dougherty’s report.

True or false, what would have been Folks’ motive for making the “admission”? My source was as puzzled as everyone else. Rumors had circulated for more than a year in South Carolina about Folks and Haley, but rumors are just rumors.

A post Tuesday afternoon at Folks’ blog says he was “pressured by impending media reports that would damage his family.” But if his spouse already knew the truth, what harm could Folks suffer from these “impending media reports”? A couple of wild guesses on my part:

Reckless as ever, Folks could have spoken to a reporter and been bluffed into saying something about Haley that — once it made news — she would know could only have come from him. So he panicked and issued the Monday statement.
It may be that Folks was in essence being blackmailed, threatened with disclosure of other damaging information about him — not the Haley rumors — and published his “admission” to forestall that disclosure.

The Tuesday afternoon post at Folks’ blog said “the story of the Folks-Haley affair was being pushed by several operatives with ties to the campaign of U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett.” You have ask yourself: What other secrets could someone know about Folks “that would damage his family”? What else might he be threatened by?

Folks is now married (he says the Haley affair was before he was married) but, according to Dougherty, Folks was once reported to have seduced “nearly every female consultant in the state.” In fact, when he worked on Sanford’s gubernatorial campaign in 2002 — and was living in the basement of Sanford’s mansion on posh Sullivan’s Island — Folks was said to have been romantically involved with a TV reporter for a South Carolina station.

Does such a compulsive womanizer drop his philandering habit on his wedding day? Does a leopard change his spots?

Well, so much for wild guesses. One thing my source is sure about — Haley has offended the “old boys network” in South Carolina. In addition to Barrett, her opponents in the GOP gubernatorial primary include the state attorney general Henry McMaster — who obviously would have access to any law-enforcement records on Folks.

Politics is a dirty business everywhere, but especially rough in South Carolina, where the legendary GOP operative Lee Atwater learned his craft. Nikki Haley is paying a heavy price for taking on the “good old boys.”

Category: Republicans, Scandal, South Carolina

Comments

68 Responses to “Deuce Bigalow, Blogger Gigolo: Latest Developments in the Folks-Haley Saga; BUMPED: ‘Dangerous and Unreliable’”

Brian O'Connor
May 25th, 2010 @ 5:57 pm

It is interesting that the man who is not going to discuss things further is discussing things further the very next day.

Stay tuned for tomorrows unseemly revelations.

And if Mr. Haley does off Folks, what will be on Sic Willy’s tombstone?
Brian O'Connor
May 25th, 2010 @ 12:57 pm

It is interesting that the man who is not going to discuss things further is discussing things further the very next day.

Stay tuned for tomorrows unseemly revelations.

And if Mr. Haley does off Folks, what will be on Sic Willy’s tombstone?
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:01 pm

The more I discuss this stuff the more real… uhhhhh, the more my memories come back. But I am not going to discuss this any more. Well at least not for the next fifteen minutes.

She sent me an email thanking me for an article I wrote. That shows she loved me.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:01 pm

The more I discuss this stuff the more real… uhhhhh, the more my memories come back. But I am not going to discuss this any more. Well at least not for the next fifteen minutes.

She sent me an email thanking me for an article I wrote. That shows she loved me.
Dell
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:04 pm

Just for the record, as a contributing writer at UNCOVERAGE.net, I feel compelled to say “I did NOT have an inappropriate physical relationship with that woman, Mrs. Haley”.

Our relationship was entirely appropriate.

That is all.
Dell
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:04 pm

Just for the record, as a contributing writer at UNCOVERAGE.net, I feel compelled to say “I did NOT have an inappropriate physical relationship with that woman, Mrs. Haley”.

Our relationship was entirely appropriate.

That is all.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:05 pm

Okay. Here is another bombshell. Several years ago, prior to my marriage, I had an inappropriate physical relationship with Senator Strom Thurmond.

That’s it.

I will not be discussing the details of that relationship, nor will I be granting any additional interviews about it to members of the media beyond what I have already been compelled to confirm.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:05 pm

Okay. Here is another bombshell. Several years ago, prior to my marriage, I had an inappropriate physical relationship with Senator Strom Thurmond.

That’s it.

I will not be discussing the details of that relationship, nor will I be granting any additional interviews about it to members of the media beyond what I have already been compelled to confirm.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:05 pm

Okay. Here is another bombshell. Several years ago, prior to my marriage, I had an inappropriate physical relationship with Senator Strom Thurmond.

That’s it.

I will not be discussing the details of that relationship, nor will I be granting any additional interviews about it to members of the media beyond what I have already been compelled to confirm.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:07 pm

And Stacy I can’t show any emails with Strom becuase he hated email. So there.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:07 pm

And Stacy I can’t show any emails with Strom becuase he hated email. So there.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:07 pm

And Stacy I can’t show any emails with Strom becuase he hated email. So there.
Robert Stacy McCain
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:09 pm

It is interesting that the man who is not going to discuss things further is discussing things further the very next day.

Yeah. It’s the sock-puppet shtick that’s the giveaway he’s wacked: We are legion!

What do you want to bet that this clown’s got the Mother Of All Porn Caches on his hard-drive?
Robert Stacy McCain
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:09 pm

It is interesting that the man who is not going to discuss things further is discussing things further the very next day.

Yeah. It’s the sock-puppet shtick that’s the giveaway he’s wacked: We are legion!

What do you want to bet that this clown’s got the Mother Of All Porn Caches on his hard-drive?
Robert Stacy McCain
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:09 pm

It is interesting that the man who is not going to discuss things further is discussing things further the very next day.

Yeah. It’s the sock-puppet shtick that’s the giveaway he’s wacked: We are legion!

What do you want to bet that this clown’s got the Mother Of All Porn Caches on his hard-drive?
Moe Lane
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:20 pm

You malign porn viewers, sir.

Seriously, is this SOP for South Carolinian political blogging? – because if it is, that’s going to inform my site’s coverage of the November elections.
Moe Lane
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:20 pm

You malign porn viewers, sir.

Seriously, is this SOP for South Carolinian political blogging? – because if it is, that’s going to inform my site’s coverage of the November elections.
Moe Lane
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:20 pm

You malign porn viewers, sir.

Seriously, is this SOP for South Carolinian political blogging? – because if it is, that’s going to inform my site’s coverage of the November elections.
LibertarianAdvocate
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:27 pm

He appears to be yet another fame Ho who obediently observes the P.R. flack rule that there is no such thing as bad press. That was his 29 minutes of fame, very soon it’ll back to oblivion.
LibertarianAdvocate
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:27 pm

He appears to be yet another fame Ho who obediently observes the P.R. flack rule that there is no such thing as bad press. That was his 29 minutes of fame, very soon it’ll back to oblivion.
Robert Stacy McCain
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:43 pm

Seriously, is this SOP for South Carolinian political blogging?

Moe, people in a position to know have told me that there are no rules in a Republican primary in South Carolina. It is to GOP politics what Chicago is to the Democrats.
Robert Stacy McCain
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:43 pm

Seriously, is this SOP for South Carolinian political blogging?

Moe, people in a position to know have told me that there are no rules in a Republican primary in South Carolina. It is to GOP politics what Chicago is to the Democrats.
Bo
May 25th, 2010 @ 6:44 pm

Folks was probably “taking matters into his own hands” (so to speak), and Haley walked in on him by accident, ala Judge Reinhold in Fast Times at Ridgemont High; that’s equivalent to an “inappropriate relationship” in his narcissistic mind.
Bo
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:44 pm

Folks was probably “taking matters into his own hands” (so to speak), and Haley walked in on him by accident, ala Judge Reinhold in Fast Times at Ridgemont High; that’s equivalent to an “inappropriate relationship” in his narcissistic mind.
Blogger Will Folks CONTINUES to Cash in on Alleged Affair with SC Gov Candidate Nikki Haley « Red Dog Report
May 25th, 2010 @ 1:47 pm

[…] there’s this piece of advice for Will Folks from R. S. McCain over at The Other McCain: Hey, douchebag: Publish the e-mails or shut the hell […]
RIP
May 25th, 2010 @ 7:27 pm

“By the way, because I’m so uncompromising and courageous and principled: I categorically deny any accusation that I ever had “inappropriate” thoughts about Dede Scozzafava.”

Your integrity is admirable.

But if Nikki indeed had “an inappropriate physical relationship” (what does that really mean — they shook hands a minute too long?) with Sic Willie, she should be disqualified from seeking any public office on the grounds of poor judgment and even poorer taste.

Tom Cruise, I’d understand; but Sic Willie? Eewww.
RIP
May 25th, 2010 @ 2:27 pm

“By the way, because I’m so uncompromising and courageous and principled: I categorically deny any accusation that I ever had “inappropriate” thoughts about Dede Scozzafava.”

Your integrity is admirable.

But if Nikki indeed had “an inappropriate physical relationship” (what does that really mean — they shook hands a minute too long?) with Sic Willie, she should be disqualified from seeking any public office on the grounds of poor judgment and even poorer taste.

Tom Cruise, I’d understand; but Sic Willie? Eewww.
Kalaloch
May 25th, 2010 @ 7:36 pm

He should have just waited til a third party spewed it all over the front pages . Attempting to limit the damage by talking with the Haley campaign was a big mistake. Then again, I suppose she could have just sucked it up (so to speak) and admitted it in the first place.
Kalaloch
May 25th, 2010 @ 2:36 pm

He should have just waited til a third party spewed it all over the front pages . Attempting to limit the damage by talking with the Haley campaign was a big mistake. Then again, I suppose she could have just sucked it up (so to speak) and admitted it in the first place.
ak4mc
May 25th, 2010 @ 7:37 pm

I wonder how long before Haley’s husband has a highly appropriate physical “relationship” with this guy?
ak4mc
May 25th, 2010 @ 2:37 pm

I wonder how long before Haley’s husband has a highly appropriate physical “relationship” with this guy?
Moe Lane
May 25th, 2010 @ 7:51 pm

Stacey: Oh, that part I’ve gotten by now. It’s just that I hadn’t realized that it had spread to the actual regional bloggers by now. That’s… problematical… for the national political blogs.
Moe Lane
May 25th, 2010 @ 2:51 pm

Stacey: Oh, that part I’ve gotten by now. It’s just that I hadn’t realized that it had spread to the actual regional bloggers by now. That’s… problematical… for the national political blogs.
Mike
May 25th, 2010 @ 8:10 pm

The shag is the South Carolina state dance. Ace needs to use a new word.
Mike
May 25th, 2010 @ 3:10 pm

The shag is the South Carolina state dance. Ace needs to use a new word.
LibertarianAdvocate
May 25th, 2010 @ 8:24 pm

R.S.McCain:

“… [P]eople in a position to know have told me that there are no rules in a Republican primary in South Carolina. It is to GOP politics what Chicago is to the Democrats.”

The same goes, as we have just learned in Connecticut where two far more qualified candidates Peter Schiff and Rob Simmons – who had not donated $10K to the DCCC in 2006 and a total of $3K to Friends of Rahm Emanuel over three congressional cycles – were tossed aside by the RINO CT Republican Party in favor of elite Greenwich Rich *itch Linda McMahon.

That was a shameful spectacle if I ever saw one.
LibertarianAdvocate
May 25th, 2010 @ 3:24 pm

R.S.McCain:

“… [P]eople in a position to know have told me that there are no rules in a Republican primary in South Carolina. It is to GOP politics what Chicago is to the Democrats.”

The same goes, as we have just learned in Connecticut where two far more qualified candidates Peter Schiff and Rob Simmons – who had not donated $10K to the DCCC in 2006 and a total of $3K to Friends of Rahm Emanuel over three congressional cycles – were tossed aside by the RINO CT Republican Party in favor of elite Greenwich Rich *itch Linda McMahon.

That was a shameful spectacle if I ever saw one.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 8:35 pm

The use of the royal “we” in my writing is because I am a royal pain in the ass.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 3:35 pm

The use of the royal “we” in my writing is because I am a royal pain in the ass.
Borepatch
May 25th, 2010 @ 9:00 pm

I categorically deny any accusation that I ever had “inappropriate” thoughts about Dede Scozzafava.

What? No “lust in your heart”? No “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Scozzafava”?

You must be a Republican or something.
Borepatch
May 25th, 2010 @ 4:00 pm

I categorically deny any accusation that I ever had “inappropriate” thoughts about Dede Scozzafava.

What? No “lust in your heart”? No “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Scozzafava”?

You must be a Republican or something.
Miss Sharon
May 25th, 2010 @ 9:30 pm

Now Dede is more Folk’s speed.
Miss Sharon
May 25th, 2010 @ 4:30 pm

Now Dede is more Folk’s speed.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 9:46 pm

Several years ago, prior to my marriage, I had an inappropriate physical relationship with Dede Scozzafava and Eric Massa. At the same time.

That’s it.

I will not be discussing the details of that relationship, nor will I be granting any additional interviews about it to members of the media beyond what I have already been compelled to confirm.
Will Folks
May 25th, 2010 @ 4:46 pm

Several years ago, prior to my marriage, I had an inappropriate physical relationship with Dede Scozzafava and Eric Massa. At the same time.

That’s it.

I will not be discussing the details of that relationship, nor will I be granting any additional interviews about it to members of the media beyond what I have already been compelled to confirm.
Bob Belvedere
May 25th, 2010 @ 10:59 pm

Figures this Douche Nozzle has an e-mail address @hotmail [Will: Get it? He he he. H-O-T M-A-I-L as in guy! Oops…we gotta go. Cinemax Nighttime is starting…]
Bob Belvedere
May 25th, 2010 @ 5:59 pm

Figures this Douche Nozzle has an e-mail address @hotmail [Will: Get it? He he he. H-O-T M-A-I-L as in guy! Oops…we gotta go. Cinemax Nighttime is starting…]
Obi's Sister
May 26th, 2010 @ 2:02 am

Stupid is as stupid does.
Obi's Sister
May 25th, 2010 @ 9:02 pm

Stupid is as stupid does.
Robert Stacy McCain
May 26th, 2010 @ 2:07 am

What? No “lust in your heart”? No “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Scozzafava”? You must be a Republican or something.

Actually, I’m a capitalist. If you’ll hit the tip jar, I promise to try to feel “lust in my heart” toward Dede Scozzafava. Honest.