California GOP candidates under fire for independent thinking
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The Carly Fiorina demon sheep ad I blogged about yesterday is now a full-blown Internet sensation, with its own Web site, Twitter account, and plenty of mockery. But Ezra Klein at the Washington Post was able to, however briefly, look past the ludicrous imagery of the ad to make a fair point about Fiorina’s strategy against Tom Campbell:
The narrator goes through efforts Campbell made to solve problems, and then asks the audience, can you believe all this responsible governance he attempted?
Now, only a day later, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who is trailing Meg Whitman in the race for the GOP nomination for governor, is taking the same cue. Poizner’s communications director sent out this diatribe against the former eBay CEO today:
There is an anti-Republican trend in Meg Whitman’s campaign as she refuses to use the word ‘conservative’ in the ad and she’s been attacking the basic conservative principle of cutting taxes across-the-board.
How dare Meg Whitman acknowledge that the GOP tendency to think of across-the-board tax cuts as the be-all, end-all solution to every economic calamity, no matter the circumstance or place, might not be wise. I’m sure Meg Whitman isn’t thrilled by any words of support from an uber-liberal blogger like me, but the fact that she is at least looking at California’s budget situation with a little bit of nuance certainly makes me like her more.
And the fact that Poizner is crying foul over the fact that Whitman might be engaging in a little independent thinking – crucial for any Republican in a mostly Democratic state – smacks of desperation.
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Sarah-
I have something of a different take on both these situations.
First, Steve Poizner. This isn’t so much about his mischaracterizing Meg Whitman so much as his just being desperate and a bit off kilter. I know you are aware of his strange allegations earlier this week where he suggested that the Whitman team had attempted to ‘bribe’ him into dropping out of the race. If you’ve read the contents of the email in question, you know how ridiculous this is. As for Whitman, i don’t think we can take anything she says to heart. Her current radio ads are attacking welfare. I feel like I’m living in the -80s.
As for the Fiorina ad, there is really nothing good whatsoever that can be said about this. While Ezra and I are usually on the same page, if you know Tom Campbell- and I do – then you know how offensive and dishonest the ad was. While I think of Campbell as a very honest, well-intentioned man, my political problem with him is his single focus on budgetary items while having no vision with respect to anything else at all. You can’t be a senator and only think about budgets. You need to have some other ideas. However, blaming the California financial problems on Campbell is just ridiculous and shameful. As the budget director for the state, he was the lone voice for pulling back on spending. I did not, as he will tell you, always agree with him. But to blame this on him is truly funny to those who know what was happening. His stance with respect to tax increases, particularly on the gas tax, was nothing short of pure courage. It was guaranteed to make Republicans angry with him, but he did it anyway because he understands that it had to be done.
There was never much chance that I would vote for either Fiorina or Tom, but this commercial makes it clear that Fiorina is not only desperate (despite it being way too early to be desperate) and more than inept. As for Whitman and Poizner…I shudder at the thought.
I spelled your name wrong! I’m both embarrassed and sorry!
Your awesome insights make up for it!
In response to another comment. See in context »Well, thank you. Who says we Angelinos aren’t nice people?!?
In response to another comment. See in context »Steve Poizner is from my neck of the woods; he’s not a conservative in the DeVore sense either. He actually came by our house campaigning years ago and seemed like a decent guy. I think he’s way out of hie league here. As far as Fiorina and Whitman, welcome to my world. Silicon Valley CEOs’ single minded narcissism can make Rush Limbaugh look like Mother Theresa. They believe that their focus on their own success justifies any misdeed, and that us little people (ie the voters of California) are merely players in their personal Hollywood spectacular. They would make better Pharaohs than public servants.