Carly Fiorina: Win at all costs?
Posted on 05/09/2010 8:59:35 PM PDT by Syncro
Posted on 09 May 2010 by admin
Carly Fiorina: Win at all costs?
California Senate Race 2010: Carly Fiorina and the GOP Launch Last-Minute Back-door Attack on Chuck DeVore
By Jane Jamison, Copyright 2010, UNCOVERAGE.net
Apparently, the Republican party “establishment” in California has forgotten about Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” It was postulated by Reagan after he was viciously attacked in the primary for the California governor’s race in the 1960s. (Read his whole speech about it here.)
What is happening right now in the California Senate race is something that voters in the Golden State need to know. It is beyond “speaking ill” of another Republican. Carly Fiorina and certain factions of the GOP establishment nationally and in California are using their money and connections to smear conservative Republican candidate Chuck DeVore just before absentee ballots go out. It won’t matter later if Chuck’s name is cleared later. The damage will be done. This kind of tactic should offend most voters if they know about it.
Here is what is happening:
In the past few weeks, internet bloggers have begun posting stories that California GOP Senate candidate Chuck DeVore is “under investigation” by the Federal Election commission for allegedly “misusing public funds” by having two of his Senate campaign staff on his California state assemblyman state payroll.
An investigation by UNCOVERAGE.net this weekend shows that in the waning weeks before the June 8 primary race for California Senate, the big-money Carly Fiorina campaign and its “operatives” are trying to knock out her grassroots Tea Party competitor in the race, Chuck DeVore, with allegations that appear to be coming from an “independent” “citizens” group. There’s also a barrage of supportive “blogging” for Fiorina to advance the story, which is doubtfully “independent” in nature.
The most recent blog rumor, this one at Redcounty.com, offered no links to any documents. It was given a prominent position on the website, titled with a fore-boding “Sounds Like A Possible FEC Investigation Into DeVore.” The basis for the rumor is what purports to be an “insider” memo from the Fiorina campaign’s Martin Wilson dated April 22, 2010:
“An independent group, California Citizens for Ethics in Government, has called on the California Attorney General and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate whether Chuck is using public dollars to subsidize his campaign. We’ll let the guardians of the public fisc do their job and not speculate about where this may lead.” (original underlining)
Another website which appears to be a dentist’s blog with Carly Fiorina advertising around the edge, picked up the story with this title:
“CA-Sen: Chuck DeVore Misused Public Funds? The answer may be yes if the facts in the below embedded complaint are indeed true.”
The blog then supposedly “linked” to what it called CA Attorney General Complaint Against Chuck Devore.
Click on that link and what is found are two letters, one to California attorney general Jerry Brown (who is a Democrat running for governor) and another to the Federal Election Commission. The letters request that an investigation be started into Chuck DeVore’s purported misuse of government funds by having his volunteer campaign staff on the payroll of his state assemblyman’s office.
But this is where the “independent citizens’ group” story unravels:
–First of all, these letters are REQUESTS that DeVore be investigated. There is nothing anywhere that confirms an investigation by the state attorney general or by the Federal Elections Commission is underway. The blog headlines which imply FEC or attorney general’s investigations are ongoing are false. They are proliferating anyway.
–The RedCounty.com blog, (which has been linked or posted on various other websites as a reference piece, has been disseminated widely in the past 24 hours) purports that the complaints against Chuck DeVore are from an “independent agency.” That is simply not true.
The “citizens” group which sent the letters demanding Republican candidate for Senate Chuck DeVore be investigated for a possible crime has ties to the Carly Fiorina Republican Senate campaign, and to the California Republican Party. It could be that this interconnection of the three may itself be improper or illegal under election laws. At the very least, this is a bullying tactic that California voters deserve to know about before they vote in this primary.
A simple Google search shows “California Citizens for Ethics in Government,” which wrote the letters, has no website. The letters demanding investigations are dated April 6, signed by “Bob Davis,” the president of the organization with an address listed in El Dorado Hills, California, a suburb of Sacramento.
A listing at Campaignmoney.com shows “California Citizens for Ethics in Government” is a 527 political organization set up in 2008 by Charles H. Bell, Jr. who gives an address of 455 Capitol Mall, Suite 801, Sacramento.
See California Citizens for Ethical Government at campaign money.com
Opensecrets.org defines “527” political committees:
“ 527 committees are tax-exempt groups established to raise unlimited money for general political activities, such as voter mobilization efforts. They are prohibited from directly supporting or opposing a specific candidate. Here’s what the most active 527 groups have brought in and spent this cycle.”
Prohibited from supporting or opposing a specific candidate?
The office address at 455 Capitol Mall, Suite 801 is actually for the law firm of Bell, McAndrews and Hiltachk, LLP, where Charles H. Bell, Jr., is senior partner. Again, Mr. Bell is listed as the contact for “California Citizens for Ethics in Government.” Who is Charles Bell?
Charles Bell’s bio at Republican National Lawyer’s Association says:
“Mr. Bell is the General Counsel to the California Republican Party, and has served in that role for 23 of the past 29 years. He has counseled many California candidates and officeholders, including current Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governors Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian, Attorney General Dan Lungren, and many of the State Assembly and Senate Republican Leaders since 1980. Mr. Bell also has represented the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee on California matters, as well as a number of federal candidates and officeholders. Mr. Bell has served as counsel to numerous political action committees, lobbyists and lobbying firms, corporations and trade associations.”
Opensecrets.org’s records show Carly for California’s 527 committee is the 7th largest in the country right now, with $3.5 million dollars in donations and $830,000 in expenditures.
Only 527s such as the Obama-loving SEIU (Service Employees International Union) and the pro-abortion Emily’s List have more money than Carly’s group.
A check of Carly for California’s FEC filing shows it uses the same address as the “California Citizens for Ethics in Government”: 455 Capitol Mall, Suite 801, Sacramento.
When contacted by Saturday by telephone, Mr. Bell confirmed his law firm represents the California Republican Party, Carly Fiorina’s Senate campaign, the Meg Whitman for California governor campaign, and “many others.” He said he is “only” the “treasurer” of the “California Citizens for Ethics in Government” and that the group’s president, Mr. Davis would have to discuss the accusatory letters about Chuck DeVore written by the group to the state attorney general and FEC.
When asked if he thought it might be a conflict of interest for him or his law firm to be representing Carly Fiorina for Senate and the California Republican party, and to be listed as the contact for a “citizens” 527 group which was trying to initiate a criminal investigation against Carly’s opponent in the Senate race, Mr. Bell said he did “not appreciate being cross-examined.”
I probably also mentioned something about the ethics and advisability of the California Republican party “eating its own” before Mr. Bell hung up on me.
I have not spoken with “President” Bob Davis of the supposedly “independent” citizens’ committee which is attacking DeVore. I think we know what we need to know. The law firm which represents the well-oiled Carly Fiorina campaign, and the state Republican party, has also created this thinly-veiled “citizens” committee which is viciously attacking the other Republican candidate in the California Senate race, Chuck DeVore, one month before the primary. Lovely.
This is “astro-turf” against “grassroots” in California Republican politics. The establishment good ol’ boys have decided that Carly Fiorina should win this race and they are now pulling out all stops to see that it happens.
Here’s some of the background that California voters need to know:
The procession of endorsements from out of state carpet-baggers to campaign for Carly Fiorina is a RINO rhumba dance: John McCain (for whom Carly worked in 2008), Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, you get the picture.
This week, Sarah Palin burned her Tea Party bridges around the country by going full-in for Carly. Since Sarah feels she must be loyal to John McCain for pulling her out of Alaska and into the national klieg-lights, she apparently feels she must also support McCain’s aide, Carly. This seems odd since Carly dissed Sarah for “not being qualified” to run a big company during the presidential race. Fiorina was back-benched by McCain after the flub, and dubbed “Joe Biden-like” for her public speaking gaffes.
(Knowing that about Carly, the idea of the brain-foofing Fiorina debating the hormone-raging “Don’t Call Me Ma’am” Barbara Boxer for the U.S. Senate race in California is a really bad visual. Talk about “lose-lose” scenario for California.)
Very important background to know:
The good old boys at the National Republican Senatorial Committee believe they know best for every state in the country. After brilliantly driving the John McCain presidential “run/walk” off the cliff in 2008, they pushed Charlie Crist in the Senate race in Florida. A young new conservative, Marco Rubio, was already in and raising money, but suddenly, Rubio was going to have spend a lot more money. Rubio has, and he went from nowhere to 30 points ahead of Crist last month. Way to call it (again) John and Rob!
Crist, as the “anointed one,” pocketed loads of NRSC cash, but just switched parties to an independent/”traitor” after Rubio cleaned his clock in the polls. Now NRSC chairman, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, is whining they should get their money back. Duh.
The NRSC also began manipulating of the California Senate race to beat incumbent Barbara Boxer began last year. Chuck DeVore was running for the Senate all by himself, a Ronald Reagan conservative. He’s a state assemblyman, not a millionaire.
The “geniuses” at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, are Sen. Cornyn and his disastrous former Texas staffer, Rob Jesmer, who was “peter-principled” up to the NRSC when Cornyn eked into the chairmanship. (more on Rob Jesmer.)
After messing with the Florida Senate race, Jesmer and Cornyn got it into their well-coiffed heads that there needs to be a “moderate” vagina GOP candidate to run against Boxer in California. DeVore was the “out man” from that point on and the race became much more expensive for him.
Eventually getting the “coronation” from the NRSC was Hewlett Packard’s fired CEO, Carly Fiorina. She has a $21 million dollar “parachute” from HP burning a hole in her Prada ® bag, apparently. From a Cornyn/Jesmer perspective, it’s always better to have a candidate who will “self-fund” with her own millions so the national committee doesn’t have to, right? Invoking Joe Biden again, Fiorina gave them all a headache by holding back her own cash for awhile. She did eventually pony up.
In the meantime, Chuck DeVore scrounged $1.8 million the “hard way.” That’s more than has been raised by the supposed “front-runner” Republican, Tom Campbell.
See latest campaign reports here.
The NRSC’s guidelines are such that it is not supposed to “play favorites” in contested races. So it was a little embarrassing that Carly Fiorina (uh oh, Joe Biden again) bragged publicly last October that she was “recruited” by the NRSC to run for Boxer’s seat. DeVore had a big “I told you so.” The NRSC even had to “help out” a hopeless candidate in the CA-SEN race after Fiorina’s “gaffe” by offering an embarassing fig leaf to the what’s-his-name by letting him use a Sacramento office for a news conference….to show how objective and nice they are. Chuck has understandably declined to meet with NRSC. He probably feels they will just run back to Carly with the oppo and rightly so.
The OC Register blog’s “WatchDog” discussed the allegations of “misuse” of government funds with the DeVore campaign last month when the “citizen’s” group letter first came out. The allegations stem from two employees of the DeVore campaign who are volunteering their time on the campaign, yet are paid staff in his state assemblyman’s office. You can read the whole discussion here from OC Watchdog April 15, 2010 and here.
For the record, Fiorina’s people told the OC Watchdog it’s just a coincidence that the “citizen’s group” shares an address with Carly’s campaign attorney. (crickets chirping.)
I’m no attorney or investigator, so I make no legal conclusions about whether there is anything improper about DeVore’s handling of his staff salaries. The explanations given to the OC Watchdog seem very thorough and clearly the campaign is aware of the laws and feels it has followed them. It is also not unusual for state employees to work on the campaigns of their employers. If the boss gets elected to the next best job, the loyalists move up and along for the ride to the big show. DeVore’s staffers say they work for little pay because they believe in him.
That’s “huevos”. And I’m not backing anyone yet.
Check these out.
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/other/9438-chupame_los_juevos.html
http://www.l2guru.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-16499-p-14.html
Check out the third post. We South Texas boys know our Tex-Mex.
Regardless, you avoided the question.
“Regardless, you avoided the question.”
What part of “ And I’m not backing anyone yet” do you fail to understand?
Your post(s) indicate you have an anger management problem with Sarah, typical of those with PDS so obviously, she is NOT your choice. So, I was just wondering who you were leaning toward. I certainly hope you are not a typical flaming lefty lurker trying to poison the well against Ms. Palin. If you’re not, then surely you could tell us who you are leaning toward.
“Your post(s) indicate you have an anger management problem with Sarah,”
Got crazy?
I’d forgotten how nutcases can exaggerate things. I harbor no anger towards Sarah Palin. At most I’m indifferent to her. I noted that she has backed two RINOs in the primaries. That’s certainly her choice. It’s what I would expect from a GOP loyalist. It’s not what I’m looking for in a conservative. Your mileage may vary.
I will try to answer you. At a disadvantage here, since I didn’t read your deleted posts.
However, it appears your post had a racial component to it, since “Hostage” mentioned to you that blacks aren’t the scapegoat.
You can find the rules of Free Republic on the home page, near the bottom; it discourages several types of posts including profanity, vulgarity, personal attacks, threats of violence, and racial/religious bigotry. Free Republic reserves the right to judge posts as to whether they fall under those guidelines.
If you see a post that you think violates the rule, but it isn’t deleted, it could be the Moderators aren’t aware of it and need to be by a poster clicking on “abuse” and informing them. Apparently your posts were deemed not in accord with the content guidelines.
You say you think all should be discussed and debated. I’m saying, those who own and operate Free Republic have the final say about what appears here. If you ran a website of this nature, you would have the final say there.
I don’t disagree with FR owners’ right to do whatever they want with this site. It seems, as I said, however, more in line with the rationality of conservative thought that the truth will either be found or otherwise survive the debate of differing points of view in the forum of ideas. That’s why true (Christian) conservatism will always have the intellectual upper hand because it overcomes leftist irrationality (like political correctness) and is not afraid of the debate because it has the winning argument.
I should add that I think discussion of these topics is coming (maybe not here) in the form of resentlful backlash. I think it would do those of us well who are able, to openly and frankly discuss these issues so among other things, instead of hiding our heads in the sand, we’re able and prepared to discern the fairy tale from the truth.
I don’t ascribe political correctness to the owners of Free Republic. I don’t ascribe being afraid to them.
If that were true of them, they would not have founded Free Republic. It is very politically incorrect.
There are comments taken out of context and bandied about in the news media from time to time. What we do here is not done in a vacuum. My take is that Free Republic does not want just anything and everything somebody might post here to be fired around the world for people to abuse this site over. Therefore they have drawn some lines in order to have a degree of control over what is attributed to Free Republic or its members.
I don’t blame them one whit. You cannot trust people. Some posters have signed up on here just to post racism or whatever, in order to discredit Free Republic.
I support the site’s judgement to have a standard and a delete button. I might not always agree with the outcome, but more often than not, I do.
If I’m unwilling to abide what they do here, my option is to leave.
Neither does my post. It explains why allowing opposing viewpoints like PC does not threaten the conservative position because the truth will always stand the test of reason (and historical fact).
I support the site’s judgement to have a standard and a delete button. I might not always agree with the outcome, but more often than not, I do
I general, I agree. I guess I’m expressing disagreement in this particular case, at least in the sense of having no access of appeal to this invisible “eye in the sky.”
“Fine, but I gave you an accurate breakdown of TP political affiliations. Given that 15 of 33 registered republicans are TP supporters, that means about half of the GOP is in the TP camp, and you can start from there.
But there are 8 of 36 dems and 23 of 31 independents that claim to support the TP movement. To ask them to change affiliation is a harder sell than to ask them to continue supporting the TP movement.”
8 of 36 dems - you and I both know the chances that a RAT is not lying and is actually a TP supporter is close to zero. Now the independents are another matter - those folks we need to really reach out to, and your approach may be a good one. Who knows, there may be a time coming with a RAT will actually be called a Democrat TP - but that day is not today, imho. For today, all RATs I’m aware of are either overtly lying, or they are lying to themselves (perhaps that makes them nuerotic or psychotic - but is that any better?)
“It would be analogous to organizing a union within both parties”
I take it that each candidate would ID themselves as TP affiliated - because for the time being, I can’t see those kinds of designations actually on ballots or voter’s guides - but private voter’s guides and TP websites could have them.
Again, there are a couple exceptions where TPs have endorsed Democrats (I think one is in ID), but by and large the chances of the RATS currently supporting TP are about nuthin’.
So Indies would basically have a choice of R-TP and R and perhaps I-TP - like Doug Hoffman out in NY-23.
Best.
“who is your candidate for prez.”
I don’t mock Sarah - I, like you don’t like her every last move and there a couple of moves I certainly don’t like.
I’d like to see Jim DeMint run for POTUS.
Yes it would not appear on ballots but it would be a membership and candidates would have to be invited or apply, not merely claim. Otherwise popularity of the TP among the electorate would attract a lot of fair weather members.
And yes, it is the independents that are crucial. The I-TP members together with R-TP/D-TP members should be a force that checks the 2-parties from colluding, and may possibly start changing the culture inside the beltway that is at present a “what’s in it for me?” environment for both parties.
The next step would be to find a good law firm to represent the TP as a political union for organizing and managing members and dues. The TP fund could among other things provide support to TP members who are ignored by their party leadership, for example DeVore in California who has been dissed by the NRSC.
I know it borders on 3rd party but I think it is a safe bet that a few successful outcomes to challenges from the 2-party establishment will make those leaders see things the TP way. But I do expect challenges and dirty tricks, the idea of a quasi-3rd party with popular support and funds will shake them up and cause them to circle the wagons.
One insider I met a few years back described the 2-party system as 2 mafia families that negotiate their racketeering territories periodically, but when any external force threatens their hold on the purse strings they band together as if they were one mafia family. At the time of that description i didn’t like the characterization ‘mafia’ very much but it seems to fit in the present times. I think many of the lawmakers are themselves criminals.
Fiorino = Scott Brown. Best we can do this round. Chuck has made some bad boo boos recently.
Fiorino = Scott Brown. Best we can do this round. Chuck has made some bad boo boos recently.
“But I do expect challenges and dirty tricks, the idea of a quasi-3rd party with popular support and funds will shake them up and cause them to circle the wagons.”
This is already starting to happen. I think Tea Partiers are raising pretty substantial sums for basically Conservative candidates (almost always Republicans) and the GOP establishment is basically fighting that. I think they are threatened right now more than the RATS leadership, because these battles are happening in the primaries. That siad, Stupak and others have been targeted by the TPs too - and so that is placing some fear (already!) into the RAT leaders.
I like your ideas, because they’re fresh thoughts and do-able and don’t ply the same - we must throw every last R out path.
“but when any external force threatens their hold on the purse strings they band together as if they were one mafia family.”
Well, we still have the capability to upend and reform the R party, but that window is fast fading. This is probably one of the most important elections upcoming in the history of our nation. From its results we’ll know what condition we’re in and what we need to do next.
I like your thoughts and hope they catch on, along with what DeMint and the grass roots tea parties - like Tea Party Express and others are up to. We’re definitely having an impact (Bob Bennett, Scott Brown, NJ, VA, et al)
Thanks for the plug. FR has a lot of intelligent interesting posters; it’s a good place to gauge sentiments.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/speeches/fiorina/minnesota01.html
CARLY FIORINA
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
SEPTEMBER 26, 2001
“TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS AND OUR WAY OF LIFE: WHAT’S NEXT”
excerpt:
As business leaders, as we are faced with questions of life and death rather than how much our stock is worth, the significance of our business contribution to the world may be increased. And that is a good thing.
I’ll end by telling a story.
There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world.
It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins.
One of its languages became the universal language of much of the world, the bridge between the peoples of a hundred lands. Its armies were made up of people of many nationalities, and its military protection allowed a degree of peace and prosperity that had never been known. The reach of this civilization’s commerce extended from Latin America to China, and everywhere in between.
And this civilization was driven more than anything, by invention. Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration.
Its writers created thousands of stories. Stories of courage, romance and magic. Its poets wrote of love, when others before them were too steeped in fear to think of such things.
When other nations were afraid of ideas, this civilization thrived on them, and kept them alive. When censors threatened to wipe out knowledge from past civilizations, this civilization kept the knowledge alive, and passed it on to others.
While modern Western civilization shares many of these traits, the civilization I’m talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, and enlightened rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent.
Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage. The technology industry would not exist without the contributions of Arab mathematicians. Sufi poet-philosophers like Rumi challenged our notions of self and truth. Leaders like Suleiman contributed to our notions of tolerance and civic leadership.
And perhaps we can learn a lesson from his example: It was leadership based on meritocracy, not inheritance. It was leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population–that included Christianity, Islamic, and Jewish traditions.
This kind of enlightened leadership — leadership that nurtured culture, sustainability, diversity and courage — led to 800 years of invention and prosperity.
In dark and serious times like this, we must affirm our commitment to building societies and institutions that aspire to this kind of greatness. More than ever, we must focus on the importance of leadership– bold acts of leadership and decidedly personal acts of leadership.
With that, I’d like to open up the conversation and see what we, collectively, believe about the role of leadership.
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