Free Republic

Now Carly Fiorina tells us that she regards Jesse Jackson with reverence, and she actually worked with Jesse Jackson. And how many millions of dollars did she authorize for Jesse Jackson when she was CEO at Hewlett-Packard? (Hint: at least $15 million) Yet, minority business leaders themselves have been at the forefront of exposing that Jackson took the money and ran, focusing more on shaking down American corporations to finance his Rainbow Coalition/Operation PUSH gambits than actually to help African Americans, Latinos, and others gain access to meaningful employment in the high-tech community. California Republicans have to consider whether the...

It's crunch time in the volatile battle for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, as Chuck DeVore and Carly Fiorina scramble to inherit voters peeling away from Tom Campbell as they become more familiar with his record and philosophy. Every bit helps in the final stretch of a fluid race, and it's my understanding DeVore will soon be announcing former San Diego Congressman Duncan Hunter, Sr., is endorsing him for U.S. Senate. Given that Hunter made his mark as an unwavering advocate for a robust national defense, his endorsement burnishes DeVore's argument that his national security credentials are an asset...

Sarah Palin's 'Mama Grizzlies' by Mark McKinnon Sarah Palin (Evan Agostini / AP Photo) The Alaska sensation is recruiting and endorsing GOP women nationwide—spooking the Democrats. Mark McKinnon surveys her 11 top prospects. I like strong women. I like strong women who speak their minds. (I’m married to one of them.) And I’ve worked with and around many in politics, including Ann Richards, Laura Bush and Sarah Palin. No matter your gender or politics, you have to hand it to her: Palin is fearless. “You don't want to mess with moms who are rising up,” the Wasilla warrior said last...

Carly Fiorina’s dramatic exit from Hewlett-Packard in 2005 was covered extensively by the media, and the former chief executive offered her side of the story in her memoirs. But as she campaigns for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination against two rivals, some voters say they are still trying to sort out what happened and how they feel about her dismissal. One of them -- Craig Covello of Folsom -- took his chance to question her Wednesday night before an audience of several hundred people who gathered for a forum sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots of El Dorado Hills. "Since...

In the midst of one of the most precipitous political crashes in the Mountain West, Sarah Palin made a mad dash into Boise on Friday, urging the election of a man who had plagiarized his campaign speech from Barack Obama, had been rebuked by the military for misusing the Marine uniform and had called the American territory of Puerto Rico a separate country. And why not? Vaughn Ward, the Republican congressional candidate from Idaho, has the dubious character trifecta of the Palin brand: bone-headed, defiant and willfully ignorant. When told that Puerto Rico was not a country, he said, “I...

Turning to California, we noted last week that a poll, this one by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), indicated Carly Fiorina had moved ahead of Tom Campbell, albeit the two candidates were both within the margin of error. Still, the poll was significant in that Campbell had consistently been narrowly ahead of Fiorina for weeks and this was the first poll to reverse that trend. We wondered at the time if the poll could have been an outlier. Late yesterday Survey USA released a poll which threw cold water on the idea that the PPIC poll was an...

From the Atlantic, I hadn't seen Sarah Palin speak in person since the 2008 elections. If one just watched or read mainstream media accounts of her paid speeches and appearances since then, including some accounts that have been featured on this site, one may have come to the conclusion that Palin was just a money-hungry ex-politician devoid of conviction, half-heartedly speaking to various interest groups and causes to line her pockets and/or raise her national profile to peddle books that she didn't even write herself. Curious about how such memes can develop among supposedly intelligent commentators (most of whom are...

On Wednesday, California Republican strategist and Yolo County supervisor Matt Rexroad loaded up Facebook and put up a short complaint about U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina's embrace of Sarah Palin. The awkward part of this? Rexroad is a managing partner of Meridian Pacific, Inc., a strategy firm hired by... Carly Fiorina. While Rexroad doesn't work on that account, the Fiorina campaign paid Meridian Pacific $31,509.88 for consulting and travel in the first quarter of 2010. Reached by phone, Rexroad stood by the post and stuck up for his colleagues working for Fiorina. "I hope it's not a big deal!" he...

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore made sure that the June 8 ballot described him as "Assemblyman/Military Reservist" because, the Irvine lawmaker said, he didn't want to be mistaken for just another politician. Throughout the campaign, DeVore has emphasized his service as a military officer and a young Reagan White House appointee at the Pentagon as experiences that helped make him the most qualified candidate. But at times he appears to have overstated those accomplishments, particularly his experience under fire and his role in the development of a U.S.-Israeli anti-ballistic-missile defense program. He also has faced criticism for acting on...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- DeVore for California today announced that former U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO-6) is endorsing Chuck DeVore in the race for United States Senate in California. Former Representative Tancredo said, "Throughout my entire public career, I fought for core conservative values: the defense of our national sovereignty, the securing of our borders, the protection of the unborn, and a sound foreign policy. I endorse Chuck DeVore now because he is the only candidate running for U.S. Senate in California who we can trust on all these issues. "Chuck DeVore knows too well the costs and dangers of...

If the Republican candidates for President in 2012 were Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney who would you vote for? If Newt Gingrich, press 1. If Mike Huckabee, press 2. If Sarah Palin, press 3. If Ron Paul, press 4. If Mitt Romney, press 5. If you’re undecided, press 6 Gingrich ........... 16% Huckabee............ 18% Palin............... 29% Paul ................ 9% Romney ............. 25% Undecided............ 3% Compared to April's survey: Huckabee......... 17% Palin............ 25% Romney........... 44% Undecided........ 14%http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_FLCO_311.pdf April had no Gingrich or Paul as options It would appear that Gingrich played the Grinch, and took...

Yeah, it’s just one state, but she deserves a little free buzz after doing a nice job on the State Department’s China/Arizona fiasco. Besides, to my knowledge, this is the very first PPP poll of any kind where she’s had a lead. Sarahmentum?

Chuck DeVore is a solid conservative, very well-qualified to be senator or to hold other important offices or positions, but he doesn’t seem to have a prayer of both overtaking Carly Fiorina and defeating Tom Campbell in the June 8 Republican senate primary. He should drop out and, following Sarah Palin’s lead, endorse Fiorina for the good of the conservative movement, the state, and the nation. I’m not going to attempt to compare Fiorina to DeVore: That would have been a more worthwhile undertaking if Campbell, supposedly at the behest of gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, hadn’t switched to the senate...

The National Rifle Assn. is urging its California members to vote against Republican Senate candidate Tom Campbell “to protect your gun rights and hunting heritage in California.” The bright orange postcard, which went out over the weekend, faults Campbell for favoring gun show regulations, a waiting period for handgun purchases and restrictions on the sale of semiautomatic assault weapons. Campbell defended his record on 2nd Amendment issues in an e-mail to a handful of voters who sought clarification from his campaign after receiving the mailing. While lobbying groups often attack candidates who don’t score 100% on their issues, he said,...

Tom Campbell is seen as a moderate Republican, although he’s a Friedmanite conservative on economic issues. But his moderate pose has made him the most acceptable to the general electorate in California among the three candidates in the June GOP Senate primary. Campbell posts the best numbers against Barbara Boxer, basically in a dead heat, while Carly Fiorina and Chuck DeVore trail. Given this reality, you’d think that Campbell would be pressing this advantage and making sure he wins the nomination from a state GOP that trends far to the right. But instead, he’s chopped his ad buy. Ex-Rep. Tom...

The hotly contested race for the Republican nomination in both the U.S. Senate and Attorney General races are tightening up with the primary only three weeks away, the Small Business Action Committee/M4 Strategies Poll found. In the U.S. Senate contest, Tom Campbell leads with field with 32.6%, with Carly Fiorina close behind at 28.2%, and Chuck DeVore tallying 15.3%. Fiorina has made the biggest movement since the SBAC/M4 Strategies poll in February. At that time, Campbell had a similar 32%, Fiorina was at 18% and DeVore stood at 11%. The poll conducted on May 12, 13, and 16 of 600...