I don’t quite understand how California Republican Assemblyman Chuck DeVore who is running for the GOP nomination for United States Senate can say that his soon to be announced Republican opponent, Carly Fiorina, is for regulating free speech and the first amendment on the internet? From the info notes on You Tube:

Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina wants to be a U.S. Senator. At a Web 2.0 conference in October 2009 she called for regulation of speech on the Internet, saying that the Internet cannot continue to be the “Wild Wild West.” Fiorina’s proposal for content restrictions on the Web represents an unconstitutional infringement of our First Amendment rights. California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, the conservative Republican candidate against Sen. Barbara Boxer, disagrees with Fiorina’s proposed regulation of the Internet. As a U.S. Army officer and a state lawmaker, he has sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America — and that includes the First Amendment.

Remember when Flap carried the Web 2.0 conference interview here.

Here is the video:

Here is a transcript of the statements at issue (i dropped some irrelevant parts of her answer):

Question: How do you think the world wide web/internet should be governed or should it be regulated?

Answer: Well, I do think that we’re coming to the point where we need to acknowledge that the world wide web and the internet cannot be forever a sphere apart from the rest of the world.  The world wide web cannot be forever the Wild Wild West where anything goes.  So, for example, I do think that it’s foolish to take the very complex, very onerous tax system that we have today in the physical world and just layer it onto the online world.  I think we have to do—and by the way I’ve thought this since 2000 when I testified before Congress on this point so this isn’t something new—but I think we need to focus on simplifying our tax system but I think we have to now begin to blend the realities of online and offline—that is what’s happening in the world.  I don’t think that we can permit the exploitation of women and children online that we would clearly indicate or believe is illegal and immoral offline.  So yes, I think it is inevitable that the online world will begin to be more and more regulated and more and more similar to the offline world. 

So, is Chuck DeVore just plain lying about what Carly Fiorina said, since it is clear that she was discussing children’s pornography and the exploitation of women?

Or is DeVore simply being a hypocrite in taking a cheap political shot at Carly Fiorina? I mean DeVore himself has co-authored legislation here in California that regulates conduct on the internet, AB 33, which was chaptered into law in 2005. The legislation regards internet predators:

Existing law provides that it is a crime for an adult stranger to contact or communicate with a minor, 12 years of age or younger, who the adult knew or should have known was 12 years of age or younger, to lure him or her away, as specified, for any purpose. Existing law provides that this crime is punishable by a fine, by imprisonment in a county jail, or by both.

This bill would prohibit this conduct when engaged in with a person who is under 14 years of age. This bill would provide that this crime is punishable as an infraction or a misdemeanor, as specified.

Existing law provides that certain property, such as a computer, may be subject to forfeiture if used by a defendant to commit particular offenses, as specified. Existing law further provides the process by which property is forfeited and by which it may be recovered by the owner.

This bill would provide that if the defendant used his or her computer to communicate with the victim in the attempt to lure the victim then that computer is subject to forfeiture.

Moreover, here is some background on the law, AB 33:

According to the author, “The proliferation of the Internet has caused child predators to move from the playground to the World Wide Web in search of unsuspecting children.  Children now encounter ever-increasing dangers and parents, in turn, face a growing challenge to protect their young. 

“Unfortunately, due to greater access to the Internet and a stronger sense of independence, teenagers are the most frequently targeted population for predatory luring.  This bill, therefore, would increase the age of children protected by state law from age 12 to age 14.  Furthermore, this bill would enhance the penalty for child luring in order to further discourage the crime and provide a more appropriate punishment.  The bill also includes provisions that upon conviction would make the defendant’s computer subject to forfeiture.  Removing a known predator’s access to innocent victims is a common-sense approach to preventing further victimization.”

Now, is Chuck DeVore disavowing this regulation of this “Wild Wild West” internet or should internet predators be afforded protected freedom of speech in their attacks on children?

Chuck let me know.

How about this law that you co-authored? Presumably, then you no longer favor it?

Isn’t this, what Carly Fiorina was referring to, Chuck?

I mean, come on now.

Update:

Here is a shortened video clip of exactly what Carly Fiorina said:

Technorati Tags: Carly_Fiorina, Chuck_DeVore

From @jstrevino today on Twitter at 9:25 AM

I saw this today on Twitter and really could not believe it. A spokesman and a paid one at that for California Republican Assemblyman and U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore, Joshua Trevino,  mocking fellow Republican Carly Fiorina for not attending this past weekend’s California GOP Convention in Indian Wells.

James Richardson has the FLAP.

Citing the physical demands of her ongoing treatment for breast cancer, for which she was diagnosed last March, potential GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina said her schedule of radiation treatments would not permit her attendance at the convention.

But the DeVore campaign has noted that, while Fiorina’s health curiously precluded her from attending the party gathering, she spent much of the following Monday campaigning in Fresno with ranchers and participated via satellite in Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women Summit.”

Laying the foundation for the belief that Fiorina is somehow casually exploiting her illness for the benefit of her campaign, State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore told The Fresno Bee he finds “it curious that her campaign said she was unable to make the convention for health reasons, and yet, … she was engaged in what appears to be a pretty standard, strenuous campaign day yesterday – the day after the convention.”

Indicative of his campaign’s reliance on rumor-mongering of a particularly vicious and fatuous sort, DeVore’s critics say his campaign’s latest assault on Fiorina is built on the notion that he can cobble together support among the GOP ranks by fostering the double-edged rumor that his opponent is too ill to campaign, too liberal to campaign for the Republican nomination – or, perhaps, both.

“Carly says daily treatments keep her home, yet she campaigned Monday. Conclusion: as Pluto is no longer a planet, Monday is no longer a day,” wrote campaign spokesman Josh Treviño on Twitter.

Fiorina, whose campaign is stalled in the exploratory phase, will “continue to take day trips with a limited schedule, like she did in Fresno, in order to meet with people and hear first hand their concerns about our state and our country,” said spokeswoman Beth Miller.

Sources familiar with Fiorina’s event in Fresno say it was neither “strenuous” nor absent of conservatives, contending it was a casual agricultural campaign event. Moreover, the event in Fresno was conveniently—and necessarily—located near where Fiorina receives her radiation treatment – whereas Indian Wells is roughly 400 miles away.

But, there is another tweet from PAID Chuck DeVore spokesman Joshua Trevino.

From @jstrevino today on Twitter at 3:50 PM

So, Assmblyman Chuck DeVore, a candidate for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate implies that Carly Fiorina avoided the California GOP convention and did so by exploiting her breast cancer. Then, DeVore’s spokesman goes after Fiorina in a more forceful and direct way calling her indirectly a LIAR.

Devore’s statement and that of his paid FLACK HACK are REAL classy, right?

Here is the official statement from Carly Fiorina’s spokeswoman:

When she filed with the IRS to open a “testing the waters” committee in August, Carly indicated she would be meeting with a variety of policy makers, local leaders and business owners from around the state. Since then she has met with many people and her visit to Fresno yesterday was a continuation of that effort.

“As you noted in your article last week, Carly is in her final weeks of radiation treatment, which is administered daily. Her schedule needs to accommodate those treatments and make allowances for the cumulative fatigue that occurs towards the end of the course of treatment. For that reason, the decision was made that she not attend the CRP convention this year but, should she run, Carly is looking forward to seeing folks at the February convention. In the meantime, she will continue to take day trips with a limited schedule, like she did in Fresno, in order to meet with people and hear first hand their concerns about our state and our country.

I think this entire matter definitely says something about Chuck DeVore’s character and his questionable campaign behavior.

More later on Chuck DeVore and his violations of the GOP’s 11th Commandment.

Stay tuned…..

Technorati Tags: Chuck_DeVore, Carly_Fiorina

Probably NOT much but Hot Air which each campaign will try to spin to their advantage.

You might have seen some buzz on Twitter or in your e-mail inbox about Senate wannabee Chuck DeVore and GOP guv-hopeful Steve Poizner crushing respective rivals Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman in the state party convention straw poll.

But as CNN’s Peter Hamby points out: “One problem: There was no official straw poll at the California Republican Party Convention.”

“We did not conduct a straw poll at this convention whatsoever,” California GOP chairman Ron Nehring said in an e-mail.

So who did? An aide to DeVore — a state Assemblyman who has actively courted the party’s conservative wing as he prepares to battle Fiorina for the Republican Senate nomination — acknowledged that Sunday’s poll was engineered by the DeVore campaign, even though it was described as a “CRP straw poll” in an e-mail to supporters.

“It was not connected to the party,” said DeVore spokesman Joshua Trevino. “We printed up the ballots, and they were distributed on Saturday night.”

Jon Fleischman, blogger and Vice Chairman, South of the California Republican Party weighed into the fray yesterday.

The reality, having observed the process is that this “straw poll” was nothing more than an orchestrated campaign event by the DeVore campaign to garner some earned media.  Good for them.  I’m all for creative thinking.

The questionable part of the process was in releasing the “results” in a way that made it non-obvious to the reader that this entire straw poll was conceived, executed, counted and released by the DeVore for Senate campaign.

This severely impeaches the credibility of the results because of the obvious conflict of interest that exists.

The Carly Fiorina United States Senate exploratory campaign had this response:

Fiorina spokeswoman Beth Miller was even more dismissive.

“Let me get this straight, you want me to comment on a Chuck DeVore straw poll that was conducted in the DeVore hospitality suite on Saturday night with a bunch of college Republicans and a lot of free beer flowing?,” Miller asked.

So, the long and short of this flap is that this DeVore vs. Fiorina California GOP Straw poll was not an officially sanctioned poll, not scientific in its methodology and the Chuck DeVore campaign unsuccessfully tried to ascribe some meaning to its results.

Sounds like no harm, no foul to me.

Technorati Tags: Chuck_DeVore, Carly_Fiorina