Flapsblog.com Links for October 23, 2009
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is getting closer to announcing whether she’ll run for the U.S. Senate in California. Fiorina, a Republican, will give a Nov. 6 address to the Tri-Valley Business Council, a group of business leaders in the eastern San Francisco Bay area. Beth Miller, a spokeswoman for Fiorina, confirmed the nature of the announcement on Friday but would not say whether Fiorina will officially enter the race. Miller says she didn’t want to “ruin the surprise.” Fiorina has been flirting with a bid for months and created a “Carly for California” Web portal, primarily for potential donors. If she jumps in, she would face state lawmaker Chuck DeVore in the Republican primary. The winner would challenge three-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in the general election next year.
At the beginning of the summer, most observers expected Republicans to win all three of the big elections on Nov. 3. Two weeks out, it suddenly looks very possible that Republicans will win only one: the Virginia governor’s race. The other two will be lost—not to superior Democratic organizing and messaging, but to the GOP’s own divisions. By all rights, the special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District should be a Republican cakewalk. Stretching across the hunting and fishing towns along the Great Lakes and Canadian border, the district contains Fort Drum, base of the 10th Mountain division, and re-elected its Republican congressman in the disaster years of 2006 and 2008 by margins of 60-plus percent. Yet polls show the Republican candidate in serious trouble. State Republican Party leaders prevented an open primary race and instead engineered the nomination of one of their own, moderate, pro-choice Assemblywoman Deirdre Scozzafava.
1. While these initial SM-3’s can’t down Russian ICBMs, ummmm, they also can’t down Iranian ICBMs. McKittrick’s broken record time: the original Euro BMD plan was designed to defend the eastern seaboard of the US against ICBMs launched from the Middle East. Obama’s new plan does not have this capability. But… but… it will, assert the new plan backers, those next generation SM-3’s will be able to defend the US against ICBMs! Really? Interesting, because 2. Which do you think the Russians would be more concerned about, ten (ten!) highly-visible, immobile & siloed GBI’s in Poland or several hundred SM-3 Block IIB interceptors parked in mobile launchers on land and at sea in and around Europe? Interceptors specifically tasked with countering massive raid size ICBM attacks?
The Tri-Valley Business Council sent out an email blast today inviting folks to listen to former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina make a “very important†announcement in Pleasanton on Nov. 6. Will this be her official official entry into the 2010 California senatorial race and a showdown with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.? (Why Pleasanton? I have no idea. Not that there is anything wrong with Pleasanton.) Her Web site is already asking for contributions, so it sounds as though the real decision has already been made. I guess we’ll have to wait and find out. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. at Goal Line Productions. RSVP required. Contact Matthew Del Carlo at msdelcarlo@sent.com.