Nikki Haley Revs Up for 2012

South Carolina GOP Gov. Nikki Haley is making a big name for herself nationally, helped by her state’s early position on the presidential primary calendar. Already she has taken presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney to task, Politico reports.

As for Gingrich, Haley was upset by his criticism of Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan.

“What he said was absolutely unfortunate,” she told CNN. “Here you’ve got Rep. Ryan trying to bring common sense to this world of insanity, and Newt absolutely cut him off at the knees.

As for Romney, Haley wasn’t too impressed with his healthcare speech last week. “I will tell you we do not want a Massachusetts health care plan in South Carolina,” she said. “I think that he will have to continue to deal with that issue. I think he’s going to have to talk about how that was not good for the country.”