Category: Carly Fiorina

California Republican Convention Reveals Stunningly Out Of Touch Party Unable To Win In California

March 14, 2010 by Calitics

Walking around at the California Republican Party convention in Santa Clara on Friday night, I could see signs that the GOP has renewed confidence going into 2010. But I also saw signs that this confidence is misplaced and frankly delusional. Although 2010 might be more favorable to California Republicans than most elections since 1994, the extreme right-wing nature of the party, their desire to undermine everything President Obama has done, and their insistence on attacking anyone who needs government assistance - especially if they aren't white - combines to produce a set of candidates that should be outright unelectable, if California Democrats are able to run quality campaigns that motivate and mobilize their base.

One of the more telling moments at the convention was, as Brian noted, the chilly reception Abel Maldonado's plea for genuine outreach to Latinos received.

Carly Failorina Strikes Again: This Time With Demonblimp!

March 13, 2010 by Calitics

At the California Republican Party convention in Santa Clara today, failed CEO Carly Fiorina launched another of her campaign's ridiculous and, in this case, even offensive web video ads. This one portrays Barbara Boxer as a blimp (because she's "full of hot air" - get it?!) terrorizing California from above.

The ad reaches new lows in both the pathetic and the bizarre. It is also deeply self-contradictory and a classic case of projection.

In the ad, Fiorina argues that Boxer is a "failure" because she's only had 3 bills passed in 18 years. What isn't stated is that for most of that time, Boxer served under either a Republican Senate (1995 to 2007) or a Republican president (2001 to 2009). Only in her first two years in the Senate, 1993 and 1994, and this last year, 2009, did she serve with a Democratic Congressional majority AND a Democratic president.

California Is Not Greece

March 12, 2010 by Calitics

Carly Fiorina thinks California should file bankruptcy (Earth to Carly: the state can't). And many right-wingers have argued that California has to reduce its level of spending, adopting austerity budgets to avoid the kind of financial problems faced by Greece. Along with other Mediterranean countries, Greece has been pushed to adopt austerity budgets that threaten a European-wide severe recession in order to satisfy bond markets that worry about the level of debt to GDP.

California faces no such problem. That was proved once again yesterday when a sale of California bonds went extremely well - Treasurer Bill Lockyer was able to sell $500 million more in bonds than originally anticipated, and at lower interest rates:

The tax-free general-obligation bonds, which will fund voter-approved infrastructure projects, attracted orders totaling $1.38 billion from individual investors Tuesday and Wednesday.

With just $620 million of the original $2-billion deal left, the state took in $3.3 billion in orders from institutional investors Thursday.

CA-Sen: The Republicans Debate

March 5, 2010 by Calitics

Listen live to the radio debate between Republican candidates for US Senate Tom Campbell, Carly Fiorina and Chuck DeVore. So far Fiorina is hitting Campbell for being "anti-Israel," DeVore calls these "unsubstantiated accusations." However, DeVore continues to hit Campbell anyway on this, saying Campbell has pattern of being "pro-Islam."

I'm eating Indian food while I listen, otherwise I'd pass you the popcorn.

...Fiorina and DeVore are playing "attack the front-runner." Campbell is on the defensive, and though he sounds reasonable, I wonder if he is out of his depth in a GOP primary full of wackos and wingnuts who insist on insane radicalism in their preferred candidates.

...Campbell supports an Israeli attack on Iran, which most sensible observers would view as a truly reckless and dangerous act were it to occur.

...Eric Hogue asks Fiorina, who says "we should be very concerned about Iran," about allegations that HP traded with Iran in violation of the embargo while Fiorina was CEO. Fiorina says "HP has been in compliance with all US law" - she did not deny HP sold printers to Iran, merely that HP broke any laws.

...so this debate so far is ALL about the Middle East.

Job Killers

February 17, 2010 by Calitics

What do Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner, and Carly Fiorina have in common? Aside from their independent wealth, that is?

Each one prides themselves on their record of mass layoffs, plans to enact mass layoffs if elected - or both. All three are the true "job killers" in California. At a time when the state is still facing record unemployment, their emphasis on further job losses is bizarre, reckless, and a sign they are all interested in building corporate power instead of broadly shared economic recovery.

Let's start with Meg Whitman, who is having even more trouble explaining herself to the public, this time about mass layoffs she presided over at eBay:

It's true that there were regular, relatively small batches of layoffs at eBay during the dot-bomb when Whitman was CEO.

However, in 2008 the company laid off 10 percent of its employees. And though no longer acting as CEO, Whitman was on the board and still receiving paychecks.