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Campaign Crawlers
California Girls
Republicans hire two women and ex-CEOs for a very tough job this fall.
Yesterday California Republicans turned to two very similar candidates when they fielded their nominees for governor and U.S. Senate. Both former CEOs. Both women. Both the preferred candidates of the GOP establishment who had to convince skeptical conservatives they were at least conservative enough.
On the same night that the Los Angeles Lakers clinched Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Boston, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman won the right to stand against career Democratic politician Jerry Brown’s attempt to return to the governorship. Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina was the GOP’s choice to run against screechy liberal Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Whitman nearly stumbled when she said she would have vetoed a law similar to Arizona’s SB 1070, a get-tough approach to illegal immigration. Immigration powered Pete Wilson’s improbable Golden State comeback in 1994 and seems to have rescued Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s re-election bid this year. So California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner sensed an opening and pounced.
But Whitman neutralized the issue when she deftly embraced the general principles of the enforcement-first position on illegal immigration without endorsing the specifics of the controversial Arizona law. She vowed to be “tough as nails” on illegal immigration and emphasized her opposition to amnesty. Poizner’s own conservative credentials were somewhat ambiguous and he was never able to get clearly to the right of Whitman, the free-spending GOP frontrunner.
Whitman spent $81 million of her own money to win the Republican nomination and has pledged to spend “whatever it takes” to beat Brown in November. Poizner spent $25 million of his own money in a primary that ended up being the most expensive election in state history.
Carly Fiorina took a somewhat different path to the Republican senatorial nomination. Early on, it looked like she might be caught up in the nationwide insurgency against establishment candidates, fitting into the Tea Party versus the National Republican Senatorial Committee narrative. But two factors intervened to save her from this fate.
The first was that Chuck DeVore, the Republican state assemblyman running to Fiorina’s right, proved to be a strong conservative but a weak candidate. He struggled to raise money and his somewhat thin-skinned persona did not endear him to voters. Then an even bigger gift came in the form of Tom Campbell, a former congressman who abandoned the gubernatorial race to run for Senate.
Campbell once fancied himself as something of a libertarian, but he increasingly became a liberal Republican over the years. He had a history of supporting tax increases, was pro-choice and stridently hostile to social conservatives, and his efforts at Muslim outreach a decade ago led to charges that he was soft on terror and insufficiently supportive of Israel.
Fiorina was then able to obscure her differences with DeVore and run to the right of Campbell. She campaigned as a pro-life, fiscally conservative, hawkish candidate and while some of her positions were vague — giving herself wiggle room to move back to the center after winning the primary — they were solid enough compared to Campbell’s record. Fiorina became the viable conservative in the race and ended up winning big.
Will it matter come November? That much remains to be seen. The polling suggests that both elections will be competitive — and that Californians despise their politicians, incumbent and challenger alike. It is the most favorable political climate for Republicans since 1994, but even then the GOP came up short in a tight Senate race.
DeVore contemptuously referred to Fiorina as a “rich dilettante” during the primary campaign. Both Republican women will be vulnerable to such charges in the general. Whitman is running against a Democrat who knows how to play the populist card. Fiorina will face an incumbent senator who is always vulnerable but never beaten.
Both Whitman and Fiorina will be called upon to defend their business records. Hewlett Packard fired Fiorina; in 2002, congressional investigators accused Whitman of giving Goldman Sachs a sweetheart deal when she hired the unpopular firm to handle eBay’s banking business. Neither Wall Street nor Washington are admired by Californians. The Democrats have a huge registration advantage, but a 12.6 unemployment rate makes the status quo untenable. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is much less popular than Democratic President Barack Obama.
When Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein ran for the Senate in 1992, pundits dubbed them “Thelma and Louise.” Political columnist Lou Cannon says that Whitman and Fiorina are the Republicans’ Thelma and Louise. We’ll see which Thelma and Louise they emulate. Boxer and Feinstein both won their elections. But in the movie, Thelma and Louise both ended up driving off a cliff.
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (63) | Leave a comment
More Articles by W. James Antle, III
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Ned| 6.9.10 @ 9:20AM
On Arnold's exit it he can call the state New Gally-fornia.
Doctor Right| 6.9.10 @ 9:44AM
Mr. Antle:
You state:
"Early on, it looked like she (Carly Fiorina) might be caught up in the nationwide insurgency against establishment candidates, fitting into the Tea Party versus the National Republican Senatorial Committee narrative. But two factors intervened to save her from this fate."
Can you please explain what you mean by this comment? Because it sounds as if you're demeaning the Tea Party movement.
If so, you're a fool.
Carly Fiorina's victory in the California Primary is nothing to smile about. Oh, sure...The establishment, Party-hacks are happy. But then again, they're the same morons who gave us Bob Dole in '96 and John McCain in '08. Sounds like you should be included in that list.
McCain-ally Fiorina is a disgrace who represents the worst that the GOP has to offer. She is paraded around as some sort of genius business executive who can bring order and common sense to the Party, when in fact, the opposite is true.
Ms. Fiorina wrecked LUCENT technologies, and for her failures, she was rewarded with an over-generous golden-parachute severance package, and a new job at Hewlett-Packard. As HP CEO, she forced an unwanted merger with COMPAQ onto the shareholders that wrecked the company. Under her tenure, HP's stock lost 60% of it's value. Her reward for immense failure at HP? Another over-generous severance package, this one worth >$20 million dollars.
And finally, if that wasn't bad enough, she demonstrated her utter lack of political acumen by serving as an "advisor" to John McCain's failed, pathetic '08 Presidential campaign.
And this is the candidate that California Republicans chose to throw against Barbara Boxer in November??
No wonder California is crumbling. Even the Republicans are stupid.
JP| 6.9.10 @ 11:55AM
Carly is about as good as it gets (GOP wise) in the state of California. There will be no future Ronald Reagans or Edwin Meeses coming out of the wings.
But, she is an improvement over Boxer. Conservatives have got to realize that in states like New York, California, and Conneticut there will be no Calvin Coolidges - only Scott Browns. Christies and Carly's.
David Williams| 6.9.10 @ 1:48PM
"Under her tenure, HP's stock lost 60% of it's value."
But don't forget it rose $10 on the day she got the sack.
antidote| 6.9.10 @ 6:15PM
You betcha DR, and a great state motto, "California, where even republicans are stupid!", gotta luv it. Looks like 6 more years with Boxer.
BTW, it seems like you still haven't figured out that the establishement republicans have no regard for the tea party. They see them as an impediment to their business as usual approach to governing. They like their candidates dull, stupid, no real opinions of their own, so they can push them around and control them, like they had with W.
If the tea party thinks they are going to dominate the republican party, they better think again.
saxton| 6.9.10 @ 6:23PM
agree....
Rodney T. Walton| 6.10.10 @ 1:40AM
I'm a Californian and I didn't vote for either of these women. But anyone would be better than Boxer! I sure don't expect Whitman to save this state either. I did enjoy it when Jerry Brown was mayor of Oakland. He moved into some loft downtown and there was lots of crime accross the street from him! He was shocked about shootings in front of his place! Well dha? Welcome to the real world Jerry! I'll vote for Whitman but Jerry Brown is my favorite white liberal. He's not a crook and having people shot in front of his old Oakland digs, did wake him up a little bit.
Smirking Weasel| 6.10.10 @ 9:46AM
Bingo!
Deformative action corporatist skanks.
At least Brown, especially, and Boxer aren't
complete and utter frauds.They'll admit to a
good part of their stupidity.
And Fiorina's channeling of Sigourney Weaver's
hairstyle in the 'Alien' series is gross.
Samwise | 6.9.10 @ 9:57AM
I was rooting for Meg Whitman and still am but her victory speech was awful...banal, silly...it was like a high school speech ... she has money but she does not come across as strong and concise...she paused after every single phrase to wait for applause...I hope she works on this before the elections in November...
ojo grande| 6.9.10 @ 10:21AM
Doctor Right,
You are right.
It always amazes me that incompetent people make it to the top and are rewarded mega bucks for being incompetent...to get rid of them. If elected, Fiorina will be another RINO but let's face it...a RINO who votes for most of the conservative agenda is better than Boxer who is the resident idiot of the Senate.
PolishKnight| 6.9.10 @ 10:47AM
That's the motto of the RINO's: We'll sell you out slowly AND ruin your reputation.
Fiorina is the poster-child for the successful leftist campaign to portray fiscal conservatives as heartless and mercenary.
She favors illegal immigration as a cost cutting measure in order to swell corporate profits while CEO's line their pockets. She probably also favors affirmative action. She's a blueblood opportunist.
The "viable" candidate? As others point out, the same was said of McCain and look at how that turned out. Left leaning voters will go for The Real Thing (Boxer) and conservatives will stay home (or more likely, move out. I did.)
Good going Carly. As you drive in your limo to your private jet, you can see the third world living conditions of much of California through your tinted windows. Enjoy the ride to the country club!
Margie| 6.9.10 @ 2:32PM
Right, and Obama/Biden is just sooo much better than McCain/Palin.
Tim*| 6.9.10 @ 6:01PM
September 17th ,2008
"Carly Fiorina is reportedly in the McCain campaign doghouse for blabbing to an interviewer that neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin was qualified to run a major corporation. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are similarly unqualified, she added."
Apparently , This Is The Bus Callin' The Bananas Yellow.
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.
We Can See November From Our Tea Party Houses.
PolishKnight| 6.10.10 @ 10:15AM
I hate to be a polyanna, but yes.
The direction the country is going, helped along by RINOs such as McCain, in just a few decades, heck, even with a few years, the demographics and cultural attitudes would have supported Obama/Biden's agenda anyway. McCain's supporters promised he'd be like a speedbump slowing down the panzers. (When he wasn't going "maverick" and helping them along, of course.)
McCain is so delightfully blind to his own nature that he even admitted this on a SNL parody he starred in during the election year where he made a fake political ad about him "going Maverick" and nuts. The problem is that this wasn't far from the truth.
The American people needed a true taste of what leftism is about and not the pleasant, sweetened up RINO version that gives the leftist agenda political cover. I didn't cry in my beer when Obama won. I don't like it, but that's the times we live in. People need to make difficult choices.
Margie| 6.10.10 @ 3:31PM
I see. So now that the American people have gotten a true taste of what Leftism is about, are they ready to vote for the opposition party? Or do you think they need some more Leftism?
GW| 6.10.10 @ 3:54AM
"Carly Fiorina" is an anagram for "Y, R, California" so I'm guessing she'll do alright. But, I guess if anyone else has something insightful to say they'll say it...
Tim*| 6.9.10 @ 10:31AM
These guys are right , Carly Fiorina is The Business Poster Girl for The Peter Principle.
ojo grande| 6.9.10 @ 10:31AM
Samwise,
Do you ever wonder why someone would take on a job of trying to fix California's gigantic problems.
Whitman will face Jerry Brown in the election which I don't believe will be much of a challenge for her...Brown has always been a dim bulb with a political family name who will hold any state job for the income. Does anyone in their right mind believe that Jerry Brown or Whitman can fix what ails California...call me a realist...the only thing that can fix beautiful California is for it to sink into the ocean after a quake.
randyinrocklin| 6.9.10 @ 10:55AM
The dumb Republicans and because we have decline to state party voters, they probably voted for both RINOs. Whitman the environmentalist dream to keep CA along the destructive environmental laws and destroying jobs will probably appoint Van Jones to some position in her admin. Same with Fiorina, they pander to the global warming cabal and are NOT Conservative! She is another Scott Brown RINO playing the populist meme. Sorry Sarah Palin I was once a great admirer of you but you blew it with your endorsement of Fiorina over DeVore, I would not vote for you for anything!
Sam| 6.9.10 @ 1:05PM
Yes, as a decline to state voter, I did vote in your primary and encouraged my fellow independent voters to elect what you call RINOs. As centrists, we prefer people who work together to get things done, not partisan hacks who prefer to tout their principles rather than do their jobs. See Barbara Boxer and Chuck DeVore.
Kenneth E. MacAlister Jr.| 6.9.10 @ 2:46PM
Sam, your comments here are some of the dumbest I've read here. "As centrists, we prefer people who work together to get "things" done". Those "things"? Let's see, there's TARP, The Porkulous Package, bailouts of businesses deemed "too big to fail", Obamacare, need I go on? Real good "centrist" work there Sam. Way to help Oilbama run up those trillions of dollars in debt we're currently facing. RINOs or "centrists" as you like to call them don't stand for anything. Which ever way the political winds are blowing they moisten the tip of their index finger & stick it in the air before making any decisions. A man who has no principles or does not stick to his principles is living a real life Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon. The RINOs as Wile E. Coyote always go off a cliff eventually just when they think they're going to be victorious. Don't forget to use your ACME voter guide this November Sam. Keep on electing those unprincipled RINOs as America continues to drown in debt. I'll keep voting for those "partisan hacks" who stick by their principles. You get the government you vote for Sam.
Toxic| 6.10.10 @ 4:20PM
I wise Senator once said something to the effect of, "The most important job of a Senator is not to pass good legislation, but to block bad legislation" The first rule in medicine is "first, do no harm". "No" can be an incredibly powerful voice for good in this country. I would rather have a "do nothing" Congress than the one we have right now.
Oldefarte| 6.9.10 @ 11:34AM
With California's $BILLION DEFECIT/DEBT, it will be interesting to see if those historically socialistic MORONS out there have the common sense that God gave to them to elect two business oriented women with the financial knowhow to eventually solve that state's liberalism-based problems. If not, and someonw like Jerry Brown is re-established as their hippy-in-charge governor, most viable businesses and sane citizens should simply pack up their bags and head eastward for their own economic survival!!!!!!
JP| 6.9.10 @ 12:03PM
As many conservatives have either died off or moved out of state, California has become decidely Leftist - and more ungovernable.
California expects the rest of the nation to pay for its extravagence. Despite record increases in energy use, lawmakers make it extrememly difficult for public utlitities to expand operations; the Terminator has written some of the most extreme Green Laws in the nation, and a result businesses are leaving the state in droves. From 2000-2009, for the first time ever California has actually lost population (discounting illegals).
The next govenor and legislature will face some rather unpleasent problems -default of its financial obligations; a continuation of a shrinking tax base; lost businesses, and a crushing state mandated entitlements system.
Obama pretty much promises to bail them out. But that promise is hallow. The federal government has enough on its fiscal plate without piling up more debt.
The question that needs to be answered: Why would anyone wish to be the next govenor?
Margie| 6.9.10 @ 1:08PM
Hey OldeFarte,
Same in NJ. We'r epacking up and getting on outta here. I helped elect Chrstie and I think he's great, but how much do I think he'll be able to change this corrupt-O-cratic state? I don't. It's insanely expensive to live here. Going out to the country where the hills are greener, the air is fresher, and the rent is cheaper. Bye, bye, NJ. I knew thee well.
I do wish the best for Cali-forn-I-A, but it would take a miracle. This country is in such dire straights, no thank to the stupid Liberals. But do they even see it? Their blindness is costing us our country.
May they rot. ..Or repent. The latter being most preferable, but I have no high hopes of that!
Richard| 6.9.10 @ 11:53AM
Yes, but this is California.
ojo grande| 6.9.10 @ 12:31PM
JP,
I thought I asked that earlier....why would anyone want to be govenor of California?
Pat| 6.9.10 @ 12:40PM
"Thelma and Louise" - "The Terminator" - we Californians have a rich fantasy life, we cast our living, breathing political saviors as movie characters, real world politics imitates motion pictures - sort of life imitates art, but not in a good way.
And when the house lights finally come up, when the huge screen goes blank, Californians will just blink their eyes, kick the empty popcorn boxes aside, leave their seats and shuffle up the aisles to the exit - next election the movie references will begin again - nothing will have changed.
We're a diverse, multi-cultural stew of people from every country on the globe - political exploitation is all we truly share and that isn't going to change either. We're the culmination and end result of the Democratic Party's promise of a better life for all - heavily taxed, heavily regulated; a citizenry both weary and resigned to bad government. Maybe it's time the rest of the country dropped the constant and juvenile movie references when examining California's politics and finally accepts the Golden State as the dysfunctional, real life farce it actually is.
Dustoff| 6.9.10 @ 12:56PM
JP| 6.9.10 @ 12:03PM
As many conservatives have either died off or moved out of state, California has become decidely Leftist - and more ungovernable
**************************************
JP hit it right on the head. I was born & raised there. Left in 1995 when I saw the state doomed.
The lib's own & control it, so just that these two semi-Rep's got this far is a good thing.
Remember the people voted for all these lib's and they will also help to sink it.
Just look at NY.
Sam| 6.9.10 @ 1:10PM
If you wish to give up on our great state, it is better that you leave. We don't want you.
While the state legislature is controlled by labor unions and special interests, CA voters have been known to elect Republican governors to balance it out. And we have the initiative/recall process, which we've put to good use.
So yes, we are a mess right now, but with the right leadership, guts, and hardwork, we can fix it.
To use a famous conservative line: " If you don't like it here, LEAVE!" If you want to badmouth us, then you are of no use to us.
Casey| 6.10.10 @ 3:10PM
The same can be said of the current Congress and administration! If they think so little of and are so ashamed of this country, we should encourage them - and anyone else who ignores or trashes the Constitution - to leave.
Truth to Power | 6.9.10 @ 1:32PM
California is a disaster. I wish it the best but it is an example of liberals and moderates running a state into the ground. They lead the country in trendy nonsense.
DTCOFAZ| 6.9.10 @ 2:04PM
CA needs a breath of fresh air, which we saw the result of last night from the GOP: Whitman and Fiorina. With the loosers like Schwarzenegger , and Boxer, these gals are much better candidates that can help CA gets some solutions for the debt.
I don't dislike and distrust Feinstein as much as those two. I hope CA will elect the GOP's this fall. The country has enough bs that came out from this obama machine.
Casey| 6.10.10 @ 3:06PM
Don't fool yourself - Feinstein is not much different than any of the others - mostly because of all are professional politicians and nothing else, and think of themselves as the aristocracy.
Our government was meant to be small and supported by citizen politicians, not full-time, forever kings and queens. The only reason a society needs a government is to protect from foreign threats and regulate cooperation amongst the citizens, set boundaries (laws) for protecting each citizen from the potential evils humans are capable of...other than that, get out of my life!
For all of you living anywhere other than California (and that might not be too many since we are headed to 40 million), as a native born California, watch carefully. In my 60 plus years, the adage, What happens in California is likely to come to a hometown near you very soon! Or as California goes, so goes the country!
We need the help of everyone - not just like minded Californians - to turn the tide!
dd| 6.9.10 @ 2:48PM
I was taught that 50% of something is always better than 100% of nothing.
As someone born and raised in California during the 50's and 60's when the state truly was golden, even though I no longer live there, I'd surely vote for the Republican candidate any day over the Democrat candidate.
Marjorie| 6.9.10 @ 6:12PM
You are absolutely right, dd. Unfortunately though, many conservatives will never learn. They'd rather cry like babies that the candidate isn't good enough and hand over the country to the Marxists. All the while attacking those of us who are out in the trenches fighting and making our votes count.
Excelsior!
Tim*| 6.9.10 @ 7:22PM
Yeah Right ,you're out in the trenches fightin' & makin' your vote count like The French Army.
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .
We Can See November From Our Tea Party Houses.
dd| 6.9.10 @ 11:36PM
Marjorie,
I had some additional thoughts and as is usually the case right after submitting the last post *s*.
I'd also vote for a bonafide conservative Democrat (with some additional minor caveats as in overall control of the Senate, etc) if that Democrat was of the stripe of, say, a Zell Miller, who really was friendly to debt reduction, moral values I could support.
The thought I have is this; if I can get moral folks in office they will more than often make the better decisions. We Christians have let the secularists get us to not speak our minds; we've let the battle fail in so many ways that we have no one else to blame really. So, in the spirit of asking others to take responsibility I have begun to pray for this nation and its leaders in earnest. I would encourage others to do the same. We are at the precipice.
We are either close to the end of governance of men by man or there will be yet one more season of grace and mercy. My hope and prayer is for the latter.
Spititual health --> moral health --> docial health --> economic health. It's all about healthy relationships.
Economies run on faith and trust and people exchange goods and services for renumeration. When fear overcomes trust then economies collapse as people pull back.
A genuine sporitual renewal is the ultimate antidote.
Marjorie| 6.10.10 @ 3:27PM
I came to the conclusion that the Democrat party is the party of the Left a couple of decades ago, and that anyone who stays in it does so knowingly.
If there is such a thing as a conservative Democrat, in today's world, they wouldn't stay in that party. Zell Miller should have left it, and so should have Lieberman.
I do know that conservative Democrats amongst the electorate vote for Republicans, though. Your hard working Americans who are awake enough to see the truth and refuse to pull the lever, or push the button for the Marxist party.
So no, I would not vote for any Democrat. If they are conservative let them leave that party and by so doing prove who they are.
Can a conservative have fellowship with a Marxist party? The answer is no, just as light has no fellowship with darkness. (2 Cor. 6:14).
Other than the above points, I thoroughly agree and love what you said.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 6.13.10 @ 5:03AM
"If there is such a thing as a conservative Democrat, in today's world, they wouldn't stay in that party. Zell Miller should have left it, and so should have Lieberman. "
Lieberman isn't a conservative. He's a doctrinaire liberal Democrat, who just happens to put the interests of Israel ahead of those of the USA (which basically makes him a traitor), and thus supports our being engaged in a seemingly endless series of wars in the Middle East (where we just so happen to be killing enemies of the Israelis).
Just being in favor of killing Muslims doesn't make someone a conservative. And being against it doesn't make someone a liberal.
Jaasperfenton| 6.9.10 @ 3:47PM
As a 33 year resident of California, I can tell you that there's not much Meg can do given the makeup of the California Assembly. Carly can make a difference for the country though. I voted for DeVore, knowing he didn't have much of a chance, but Carly has a good chance of beating the odious Barbara Boxer. The worst thing that happened yesterday was the vote for the open primary. We'll never see a conservative win in California now. I voted in this primary to do the most I could for California, but, seeing the writing on the wall years ago, I'm moving out of the state at the end of this month. I'm sad to go, but California is hopeless.
Margie| 6.9.10 @ 6:16PM
The insanity of the open prrimary. I don't understand it. It is also part of the reason McCain got the nomination. The Democrats got to vote in our primaries. How do we go about changing this, and can we?
Best wishes in your future undertakings. I too am moving from my ruined (by Leftist) state and hoping for the best. I grew up in NJ, but it's time to go now.
JoshINH | 6.10.10 @ 1:07AM
I don't think you understand the "open primary" initiative that just passed in CA.
It does not let democrats vote in republican primaries and republicans vote in democrat primaries.
It creates a two tier electoral process.
The first tier called misleadingly called the primary, is a free for all where everyone that qualifies for a place on the ballot competes in a single race.
The second tier pits the top two vote getters of the first tier against each other.
It is entirely possible to have two conservatives in the 2nd round, or two liberals or a liberal vs a conservative or a third party against one of the other two.
Part of the problem in CA has been that all of the legislative districts are gerrymandered to the point where the final election is meaningless. The real action is in the primaries. Except that corrupt political manuvering has left a large number of primary elections with no competetion.
This initiative is an attempt to smash the political gridlock that benefits both parties at the expense of the public, and has left the goverment drifting ever leftward on auto-pilot.
Maybe it won't work, in which case we can go back to the previous system and try a different reform.
But the previous partisan primary system sure as hell did not work, especially for conservative voters.
Margie| 6.10.10 @ 10:39AM
I wasn't speaking of just one state, and no I didn't know how Calif.'s worked. As far as I know there are approx. 10 states that allow Democrats to vote for a Republican in their primaries.
Best wishes to California though, and I'm glad that at least Republicans got elected. That is good progress.
Rush Youngberg| 6.9.10 @ 6:07PM
They "hired' these 2 candidates.
jm| 6.9.10 @ 6:50PM
This CA primary is a defeat for conservatism. Much better to field a candidate funded through lots of small contributions from constituents than one who bought votes. No matter who wins, CA is doomed.
Margie| 6.9.10 @ 7:30PM
Great write up by Ed Gillespie on the races, and how Sarah Palin's backing of Fiorina and other Republicans helped them to win:
Thanks, Sarah!
http://www.newsmax.com/Headlin.....ode=A0C7-1
Tim*| 6.9.10 @ 9:47PM
" Palin, 'Tea Party' get results in primaries .
Halfway through the primary election season, anti-tax "Tea Party" activists and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin haven't won every battle they've joined but their record is better than the competition's.
Now, the question is whether support from the Tea Party and Palin will translate in fall campaigns when their choices must expand their appeal beyond the GOP's conservative base.
"Republicans are more energized than Democrats, no question about it," says Terry Madonna, a pollster at Pennsylvania's Franklin & Marshall College. He says in the fall campaigns, however, "the real determinant will be independent voters."
http://www.clarionledger.com/a.....+elections
dylan N| 12.17.10 @ 10:19PM
Good thing fake tea party governor candidate Chelene Nightingale lost, we were sent porn pictures of her (so called acting career?) they were at freeplumpervideos.com she is on the left hand side with the red hair. She has caused us at the CP party much digrace. We believed her and she lied! She has no place in politcs and no place with decent society.
ACynic| 6.9.10 @ 11:05PM
Whitman and Fiorini.
Two successful, wealthy, intelligent, heterosexual SELF -MADE and married women.
The worst nightmare of the bolshevik communist / lesbian organization NOW; national organization of whiners.
Bruce Scott| 6.10.10 @ 7:29AM
The problem in California is more the electorate than the politicians. If you think politicians here are stupid, go stand in line at Costco or sit in the waiting area of a barber shop and listen to the conversations.
jgo| 6.10.10 @ 2:45PM
Whether Fiorina or Boxer wins in November, citizens of California and across the USA lose and will suffer for it.
Whether Whitman or Brown wins in November, citizens of California lose and will suffer the consequences.
But, as the saying goes (and as Bruce Scott points out, too) most of the people in California deserve what they get.
Harrison | 6.10.10 @ 3:24PM
My biggest issue with Whitman was she hasn't voted in 28 years.
Jasperfenton| 6.11.10 @ 4:22PM
JoshINH, The intent of Prop. 14 sounds reasonable, but clearly its purpose is to eliminate conservative candidates. In a state that is overwhelmingly liberal- a state where the takers outnumber the makers- a conservative doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell to get to the first tier, much less the second tier. What we will see is elections between liberals, whether they call themselves Republicans (like Arnold and Tom Campbell), Democrats or Greens. Californians will get to choose the statist/Marxist/Fascist of their choice.
Californians are in a state of denial and California is what America is becoming. Let the looting begin!
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 6.13.10 @ 4:57AM
Contrary to the slander of Tom Campbell as a liberal, he supports Arizona's immigration law, was basically the fourth Republican (after David Duke, Patrick Buchanan, and Ward Connerly ie., the first White guy who wasn't already either known, or routinely slandered, as a racist; that takes some courage) to come out against affirmative action, was one of the most fiscally conservative members of Congress during the 1990s, and is very much in a libertarianesque mold. It true that I also don't agree with some of his views on the social issues, but he'd have been a Hell of an improvement over Barbara Boxer...and he would have beat her. Its unlikely that Fiorina will be able to win the general election, but in the interest of weakening Barack Obama's Congressional faction, I will be voting for her in November.
Meg Whitman, on the other hand, has basically no chance of winning, and even I won't vote for that troll. I'm supporting Chelene Nightingale of the American Independent Party for Governor. If they want us to vote Republican, they should provide us with decent candidates!
(I voted for Steve Poizner in the primary, and while he was flawed, I probably would have supported him in November, had he won the primary, but Meg Whitman is simply a bridge too far in that respect).
fdi| 7.1.10 @ 4:57AM
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