links for 2010-01-22

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina found herself in hot water with conservatives on Friday after she remarked that democracy won't be "truly representative" until "at least" half of elected officials are women.

In a speech earlier this week that became public on Friday, Fiorina also fondly recalled the Rev. Jesse Jackson — a controversial figure across the political spectrum but anathema to many on the right — "very graciously" visiting her at HP years ago, when the two worked together to boost diversity among Silicon Valley's work force.
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What a shocker!

This is racial and gender identity politics driven by the desperate Chuck DeVore campaign.

Her comments are innocuous and par for the course for a corporate CEO and woman politician.

A new Field Poll shows former congressman Tom Campbell (R-San Mateo) beating fellow Republicans Cary Fiorina and termed-out Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) for the party bid to face Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in the fall. The poll breaks down like this:

Campbell: 30 percent
Fiorina: 25 percent
DeVore: 6 percent
Undecided: 39 percent
Bunis got no comment to the Field Poll from the DeVore campaign, but she surmised they are clinging to the notion that the teabaggy magic that sprinkled over Scott Brown in Massachusetts could fall on ol' Chuckie as well.
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Got no comment because Chuckles has 6% to show for himself after campaigning for over a year.

Put a fork in DeVore – he is done!

The National Republican Senatorial Committee outraised its Democratic counterpart for the third month in a row in December, bringing in $4.1 million compared with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s $3.4 million.

Despite losing the fourth-quarter cash race, the DSCC still raised more money over the course of 2009 and ended the year with more money in the bank. The Democratic committee brought in about $43.6 million for the year and had $12.5 million in the bank as of Dec. 31, with about $1.2 million in debt. The NRSC brought in $41.2 million on the year had $8.3 million in cash on hand at the end of last month, with no debt.
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GOP fundraising should steadily improve and then there are the corporate independent expenditures that were recently OK'd by the SCOTUS.

The Carly Fiorina campaign's response to Chuck DeVore surrogates Jesse Jackson attacks:

"It goes without saying that as a mainstream conservative, unlike Barbara Boxer, Carly Fiorina strongly disagrees with Jesse Jackson’s political agenda. Her remarks Wednesday were focused on the importance of women recognizing and seizing opportunities to serve in public office where they have an interest in so doing, something we’d hope her opponents would seek to encourage rather than attack. It also isn’t surprising that Carly’s career politician opponents would take issue with the suggestion that they should be replaced with people who have real world experience because are continually failing to represent the interests of the people of this state and country – a fact their dismal approval ratings clearly confirm."
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Klein's painting Fiorina as an anti-semite is pathetic racial commentary and is more of a reflection on Klein than it is Fiorina.

On the strength of about $19 million spent in 2009, Meg Whitman has surged to a 45-17% lead over Steve Poizner in the Republican race for governor and picked up 11 points against Democrat Jerry Brown, who still leads her by 46-36% in a simulated general election match-up, according to the latest Field Poll.

Attorney Gen. Brown, who has not yet formally declared his candidacy for governor, also leads Insurance Commissioner Poizner 48-31% in a general election simulated by the Field Poll, the basic results of which were made available to Calbuzz.*
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Meg Whitman may have to spend every penny to beat Jerry Brown. As far as Poizner goes, I would recommend that he withdraws and runs for re-election.

Rasmussen
1/20/10; 502 likely Republican Primary voters, 4.5% margin of error
Mode: Automated phone
(Ramussen release)

Arizona

2010 Senate: Republican Primary
McCain 53%, Heyworth 31%, Simcox 4%

Favorable / Unfavorable (among Republicans)
John McCain: 74 / 23
J.D. Heyworth: 58 / 25
Chris Simcox: 28 / 33