So, politics and politicians haven't changed much since the beginning of the republic. They say one thing to get elected, make promises and blather values... but, in the long run, when they find themselves in office in complex situations, being yanked at from all sides, pragmatics make those original statements impossible to fulfill.

I think you've missed the point of the piece... Haley is making a statement about personal freedom that, for Republicans, only applies to Christian conservatives, and not immigrants or residents of color, non-Christians, or queer and trans folk. It's bald faced hypocrisy and pandering to a bigoted, far-right constituency.