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Carly Fiorina: Most Americans See the Democrats as the Extreme Party
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and California U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina on CNN today gave her unsolicited advice to the national Democratic Party – moderate your EXTREME out of the mainstream positions on the issues.
On Thursday, former Republican Senate candidate from California, Carly Fiorina, dropped an impressive bit of counterintuitive political wisdom on her fellow panel guests during CNN’s increasingly interesting, unscripted “unsolicited advice” segment with Pete Dominick. Fiorina performed a clever bit of reverse logic on Democrats and identified, succinctly and dispassionately, the many reasons why the Democratic National Convention has handed Republicans a litany of ways in which they can tar Democrats as the party of real extremism for America’s center-right electorate.
Here is the video and it is worth a watch:
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CA-Sen: Ex- California POL Chuck DeVore Cannot Let Go
You would think this Texas living, ex-California Assemblyman would let this year’s California U.S. Senate race just happen, right?Wrong.
Chcuk DeVore went to my friend, Jon Fleischman’s site and penned this endorsement of Dan Hughes who is running in the California June Primary election for United States Senate. The incumbent is long time Democrat U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Dan’s leading opponent, Elizabeth Emken, ran for Congress in 2010 and placed fourth in a four person GOP primary despite putting in significant personal money. Emken’s biggest political contribution before that, other than to her own campaign, was the $1,000 she and her husband gave to liberal Republican-turned-Democrat Senator Arlen Specter in the year he ran against conservative champion Pat Toomey, now a U.S. Senator. Her main efforts in public policy have been to lobby to have more state government health insurance mandates – a policy that drives up the cost of insurance for all of us. In fact, she was even paid $151,486 to professionally lobby Democrat Members of Congress to expand what ObamaCare covers and what we taxpayers are on the hook for.
Dan Hughes has been in the race only a brief time while Elizabeth Emken has been running since last year. Yet Emken has only generated around $39,000 while Hughes is the top fundraiser among Senate GOP candidates. Dan is a committed and very hard working candidate who is spending his time and money to stand up for conservative principles and take the fight to Dianne Feinstein.
One of Hughes’ opponents on the Republican side is Elizabeth Emken, whose Senior Communications Adviser, Mark Standriff, wrote this piece in response.
For the record:
- Elizabeth Emken formally entered the U.S. Senate race in late January. Chuck, you are just plain wrong on this.
- Elizabeth Emken opposed passage of Obamacare, and she has made it her first priority to repeal Obamacare. Chuck, you are just plain wrong on this.
- Elizabeth Emken is a rock solid conservative. She has a team that can (and has) won statewide. And she is far outpacing all other GOP opponents in money and endorsements, including conservatives like Bill Jones, Lew Uhler, and Ron Nehring. Chuck, you are just plain wrong on this.
- By attacking Elizabeth Emken’s past financial ”support” for an incumbent Republican U.S. Senator, Chuck is attacking Rick Santorum, Jon Kyl and other conservatives who also supported the re-elect of that incumbent Senator. Again, Chuck, you’re just plain wrong on this.
You remember, Chuck DeVore, the former Orange County based Assemblyman who wasted $ hundreds of thousands of Republican donors money in running a futile U.S. Senate primary race against former Rep. Tom Campbell and Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.
Here are the results of DeVore’s last election – the one in which he received less than 20% of the vote:
Mark Standriff in his piece talks about SOUR GRAPES from DeVore.
Chuck, isn’t it time to just let it go?
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Video: Carly Fiorina Speaks at Americans United for Life 40th Anniversary Gala
Carly Fiorina speaks at Americans United for Life’s 40th Anniversary Gala on November 2, 2011, at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Fiorina is introduced by AUL President & CEO Charmaine Yoest. The benediction is said by Paige Cunningham.I remember during the primary campaign for California United States Senate when Chuck DeVore challenged Fiorina’s pro-life credentials. Well, DeVore and others were wrong and Fiorina went on to win the GOP nomination over him and pro-choice Tom Campbell.
Unfortunately, Fiorina lost to the very pro-abortion Senator Barbara Boxer in the November 2010 general election.
Carly is now with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and it is good to see her speaking again.
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Carly Fiorina Back in the Political Arena as Vice Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wears a Navy hat given to him by a member of the Patriot Guard Rider as he and Republican senate candidate Carly Fiorina prepare for group picture in San Diego, Calif. on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
This will be a good position for Carly as the GOP poses to take back majority control of the United States Senate in 2012.Republican former California U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina is back in the political mix, Tuesday named the new vice chair of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign — the fundraising and campaign organization that’s central to GOP efforts to take back control of the Senate in 2012.
The announcement was made this morning by Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who heads the key GOP group, which will be focusing on at least 10 highly competitive Senate races in 2012 around the nation.
“I’m pleased to welcome my friend Carly Fiorina to the NRSC team, where her many business and civic achievements will make her an invaluable leader and fundraiser during this critical election cycle,” Cornyn said in his release today. “I look forward to working with Carly to elect strong Republican Senators who will finally put a stop to President Obama’s failed tax-and-spend agenda, and instead promote the economic growth and job creation Americans so badly need.”
In her new role, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO will assist Cornyn and NRSC vice chair Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah to “amplify Senate Republicans’ focus on healing America’s troubled economy,” and to pump up fundraising as Republicans aim for a Senate majority, Cornyn said.
Of course, the Democrats have already attacked the choice as a millionaire yacht owner who sent jobs overseas, but this social class warfare is getting old. There is little question that Fiorina has business acumen, (been financially successful) and that the Democrats and the failed Obama Administration don’t.
The move to put Fiorina in a key fundraising role gives the GOP organization the advantage of having what it calls “one of the most recognized business executives in the world” at its helm in a year in which economic issues will lead the political agenda.
Fiorina is the only woman ever to run a Fortune 20 company, and raised $22 million in the primary and general election for her own campaign.
I am looking forward to seeing Carly on the stump again soon.
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Video: Sen. Barbara Boxer Beclowns Herself Over PBS Funding – “A Vendetta Against Elmo”
Come on California. You cannot tell me that Carly Fiorina would not have made a better Senator than this idiot.
Sen. Barbara Boxer posited a new theory about what lies behind GOP cuts to the budget. The Republican Party hates Elmo, she suggested in a floor speech Tuesday.
“I believe they use deficit reduction as an excuse to carry out political vendettas,” she said, speaking about GOP cuts to health care, the EPA and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which she noted is funded by the government at a much lower percentage than the BBC in Britain.
“Now they want to zero it out,” she said. “A vendetta, against Elmo.”
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CA-Sen: Barbara Boxer Outspends Carly Fiorina in Senate Race
Republican Nominee Carly Fiorina and California Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer
No surprise here as Barbara Boxer had no Democrat Primary opponent, was a long-time incumbent U.S. Senator and had almost $ 8 million in the bank before her campaign began. Unfortunately, there is a lag in the FEC online reporting internet posting and I do not have a link to each of the candidates’ reports as of yet.But, the Los Angeles Times has a fairly good precise.
In final campaign reports filed with the Federal Election Commission a month after Boxer’s victory, the senator reported raising just over $28 million and spending almost all of it over the course of the campaign. Fiorina raised $22.6 million and spent more than $22 million, including a $1-million personal loan to the campaign that was repaid.
Fiorina’s tally also included more than $5.5 million that the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive gave to her campaign during the contested GOP primary. Without a primary opponent, Boxer was able to spend most of her money during the general election campaign.
What is the most interesting fact in the reporting is that Carly Fiorina limited her personal wealth damages to around $5 Million, unlike unsuccessful California GOP Gubernatorial canddidate Meg Whitman who blew over $100 plus Million.
Boxer’s campaign had believed that one of their biggest threats was Fiorina’s personal wealth, estimated at between $27.7 million and $121 million in reports filed with the secretary of the Senate. Boxer campaign manager Rose Kapolczynski said one of the biggest surprises of the campaign was that Fiorina “never wrote the really big check.” The $1-million loan was made during the general election, but was paid back before the end of the campaign.
Without major personal spending by Fiorina, Boxer ended up with an advantage over her foe on television despite the more than $8.8 million in outside ads targeting Boxer that her campaign tracked.
But, Fiorina’s failure to write the “really big check” and to pay herself back $1 Million in loans to the campaign, instead of spending the money on television ad buys will create some angst in Republican circles.
The LA Times reports that Fiorina, who has substantial personal wealth, padded a $5.5 million loan to herself made during her contested primary with a $1 million loan made during the general election. But the second loan was “paid back before the end of the campaign.” Keep in mind: the National Republican Senatorial Committee poured money into that race in the final weeks, including a $2 million buy in the last days.
Apparently, Fiorina had a stop limit on what she was personally going to spend on this race, regardless of the polls, etc. I mean, $ 5 plus Million personal expenditure, is enough money for most couples to comfortably live happily ever after in retirement. If anything, Carly was prudent and political blind ambition did not overcome her common sense – unlike Meg Whitman.
But, pundits will harp that Fiorina should have spent her last dime on the race to beat Boxer – and it would not have made a damn bit of difference. Fiorina lost the race by 10 points ( a million votes) and Whitman who spent many times more on television ads lost by even more. I have discussed the reasons why previously and more television ads may have made some diffference but……probably not.
With her well-financed treasury, Boxer’s campaign was able to spend about $14 million on television advertising during the general election phase — more than half of it in the Los Angeles media market — compared with the $4.8 million spent on ads by Fiorina’s campaign, the final reports indicated.
Carly lost Los Angeles County by almost 700,000 votes (62.2% to 32.2%) and whether a concentrated and DIFFERENT television ad campaign would have made a difference is really speculative.
I do think the national GOP has learned from this California November election disaster though.
Ultimately, all those groups helped Boxer cement her 10-point margin of victory — raising questions about whether Republican groups will be as willing to pour money into another California Senate race, given that they were unable this year to take advantage of the odds in their favor .
“I think we are starting to feel like California is an island nation,” said UC San Diego Professor Thad Kousser. “The national groups have gone back and forth on whether to spend money in California because it costs so much more…. This is yet another example of why national Republican money can simply be wasted in California — and you have wasted a lot of it.”
It is arguable whether a few more $ Millions spent in California would have been BETTER redirected to states like Washington and Nevada where the money would have had a broader reach in smaller media markets with less population. The Washington and Nevada Senate races were certainly closer in outcome than Fiorina Vs. Boxer.
As I have said before, I don’t think too many Republican donors are going to waste their time and money with any California statewide races anytime soon.
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Carly Fiorina Said To Be Looking At Run For Chairman of California GOP?
Carly Fiorina Said To Be Looking At Run For Chairman of California GOP ?
"I’ve spoken to two sources close to the Carly Fiorina who says she is seriously considering running for chair of the California Republican Party.
The former Hewlett-Packard CEO waged a valiant, consistently conservative campaign against the execrable Sen. Barbara Boxer, and although she lost by 10 points, there is general agreement she ran a much better, more principled campaign than Meg Whitman.
If she decides to go for it, count me as a supporter for Fiorina for CRP Chair. The state party is a wreck, GOP registration numbers are in the basement, and we desperately need a conservative of stature who can reach out and build a center-right coalition, speak the language of conservatism while not alienating independents — and not least, possesses the credibility to convince donors to fund a state party that is a financial shambles. Although, one advantage of taking the helm of the CRP now is there is nowhere to go but up."
Why?
The California Republican Party is a disaster and the Chairperson has NO real power. California is a solid blue state and will be for the foresseable future – maybe even decades.
Carly should take my advice and become a Fox Business Network contributor and get back to business where she is the strongest.
If she is interested, there will be a number of Republican candidates who will be running for President that will need a finance chairperson as well.
Hello, Sarah Palin.
But, for Carly to run for a meaningless state position that has no real gravitas or future is well – fruitless.
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Will Carly Fiorina Run for RNC Chair?
Republican senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina (L) watches election results in her hotel room with husband Frank Fiorina (2nd R) and granddaughters Kara Tribby (2nd L) and Morgan Tribby (R) before attending the California Republican Party election night party in Irvine, California on November 2, 2010
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CA-Sen: Did the Demon Sheep Hurt Carly Fiorina?
Carly Fiorina’s Demon Sheep AdProbably not and quite the contrary. Look at this analysis in this way.
When the the Senate campaign of Carly Fiorina rolled out the now infamous “demon sheep” online video, Washington pundits roared with derision. However, the Fiorina campaign was focused on a very specific audience — a small slice of the overall electorate — primary voters in California. The video bounced from the Web onto cable networks, where conservative California primary voters saw it and absorbed its key message. Fiorina won her primary over Tom Campbell with 56% of the vote. It always pays to know your ultimate intended audience.
The bottom line: What happens in social media doesn’t necessarily stay in social media … but that’s OK if it’s part of your strategy.
Indeed, Carly Fiorina handily beat Tom Campbell (the candidate target) and Chuck DeVore (the novice who tried to capitalize on Washington punditry). But, Fiorina did not win the race against Democrat senator Barbara Boxer for the reasons discussed previously.
Fred Davis’s Demon Sheep Ad although ridiculed at the time, was misunderstood and very effective.
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CA-Sen: How Barbara Boxer Defeated Carly Fiorina
California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and Governor-Elect Jerry Brown, November 2, 2010
One answer: Los Angeles CountyLook at the California election map:
And, then the results from Los Angeles County.
Republican Carly Fiorina performed well in many California counties but the almost 600,000 vote deficit in Los Angeles County spelled her doom.Why?
Demographics for one, since Los Angeles city and its outlying cities have large ethnic Hispanic, Jewish, African American and Asian populations who overwhelmingly register and vote Democratic. President Obama is very popular with these communities and he was very visible in campaigning for the long term incumbent.
Both sides said that in the end, Boxer also got a significant boost from President Obama, who came out to campaign for her and was featured in television and radio ads in the closing weeks of the campaign.
While Obama’s approval ratings have dipped well below 50% in other parts of the country, 54% of voters in California approved of how the president is doing his job.
“In the rest of the country it was 1994 all over again, in California it was 2008 all over again,” said UC San Diego political science professor Thad Kousser. “This is a state where the president still has some support, where it seems like the Democrats turned out in large numbers, and it wasn’t quite the same threatening electoral conditions that we’ve seen elsewhere.”
Also, the number of union member households is especially large – and the LA unions turn out their voters to the polls.
With the sprawling LA landscape, the campaign tool of choice is, of course, television and Barbara Boxer won on that front as well.
They had roared into the fall campaign with a significant financial advantage — allowing them to air television ads for more than a week unchallenged by Fiorina. In mid-September, they launched the first of a series of scorching ads detailing the layoffs and outsourcing during her tenure at HP, as well as the millions of dollars in compensation she received.
Boxer’s campaign manager, Rose Kapolczynski, said at that juncture, many voters still did not know much about Fiorina: “That was an opportunity to define her,” she said.
Within a few weeks, polling showed that Fiorina had slumped by eight points.
Boxer’s pollster Mark Mellman said Fiorina’s business experience initially impressed voters but “when people understood what she really did at HP, it was devastating to her.”
“If there is a mortal sin in this economy, it is exporting jobs,” he said.
And, Carly Fiorina never did try to defend her record at HP “on air.” This was a critical mistake and although Fiorina had written a book “Tough Choices” which defended her career and record at HP the ads featuring former laid off and outsourced employees with NO defense were devastating. These ads took the “wind” out of her campaign, especially in TV susceptible Los Angeles. Boxer’s TV and radio ads droned on and on.
When Boxer, right after Labor Day, started to define Fiorina as a greedy, corporate executive who was insensitive to her employees, Fiorina should have fielded her own ads with “real” HP employees and with Californians whose lives were negatively affected by Barbara Boxer policies.
But, Marty Wilson and his staff elected to go in a different direction.
But Fiorina campaign manager Marty Wilson said the campaign decided early on to focus on defining Boxer as an ineffective and partisan incumbent who had been in office too long, to the detriment of Californians. Fiorina’s ads glossed over her corporate record to focus on her pledge to find common ground in Washington.
“We could not win the election if we played on Barbara Boxer’s turf, which would have been to get into a big, long, lengthy discussion about why corporate CEOs have to make the decisions that they make. It was not a winning argument for us,” Wilson said. Neither, however, was the strategy they pursued.
“At the end of the day, the simple answer is we didn’t get enough votes,” Wilson said.
I think Marty ignored a cardinal rule of politics in this case (and I do know Marty and he and I may argue this point – by the way, they know how I feel). When someone hits you with negative ads (especially on California television), you must respond immediately or the voters just might to start to believe them. Obviously, LA County voters did.
The inability of the campaign to respond quickly and respond in kind “on air” in Los Angeles, cost them whatever chance they had to win this race. Independent TV ad expenditures later in the campaign after Fiorina had already been defined as “out for herself” were not heard by the voters.
It was already too late.
