Granted, I know no one who reads Calitics with any sort of regularity would support Fiorina. Her voting record is abysmal. SFGate points out that Fiorina voting average is 1 in 4 elections. She voted in 5 of 18 elections. Hey! That’s better than Dick Cheney’s voting record! Whoo!

But that’s not really what I wanted to highlight. In reading her website, I ran across this gem from Steve Forbes:

Fiorina’s emergence on the political stage has revived debate over her HP legacy and created a backlash against the candidate by some high-tech workers. But Fiorina’s controversial tenure may make her more ready for politics than many other CEOs, who are often insulated from daily criticism, said Steve Forbes, the media magnate and two-time presidential candidate.

“She knows the treachery of internal politics from an entrenched circle,” he said.

It’s from an LA Times article: An ousted pioneer explores a new trail.

What’s that Steve? That article’s from last year you say? You’d like to modify those remarks?

Here’s Steve Forbes in an interview he’s done to promote his new book.

Q&A With Steve Forbes.

It’s not a very big quote, but it does raise questions about her decision making abilities.

So there’s real artistry involved, when to push, when to change, when to go along with what the people expect or particular cultures. And you see it all the time. Lou Gerstner goes into IBM  ( IBM –  news  –  people ), and he’s from American Express  ( AXP –  news  –  people ), to save a company on the verge of bankruptcy, very insular culture. How do you cope? Carly Fiorina goes into HP, does not cope as well. Not from a lack of ability but from a lack in the Xenophon sense of how you have the right antenna of knowing when to push and when to adjust to a culture.

bolding mine

Sounds, to me at least, that Steve Forbes doesn’t really think that Fiorina’s got any sort of admirable decision making skills.

And she’s considering running against Barbara Boxer? I think I’ve sprained my ribs from laughing so hard.

I think I tend to agree more with Portfolio’s assessment of Carly Fiorina:

Carly Fiorina

A consummate self-promoter, Fiorina was busy pontificating on the lecture circuit and posing for magazine covers while her company floundered. She paid herself handsome bonuses and perks while laying off thousands of employees to cut costs. The merger Fiorina orchestrated with Compaq in 2002 was widely seen as a failure. She was ousted in 2005.

THE STAT: HP stock lost half its value during Fiorina’s tenure.

20 Worst CEOs

Let her waste her fortune on an unsuccessful run. We’ll just continue to highlight her record.  

I am thrilled to report that EQCA-sponsored legislation is moving right along, with two bills passing their first key committee votes yesterday, one to establish Harvey Milk Day, and one to protect LGBT victims of domestic violence.

SB 572, the Harvey Milk Day Bill, passed the Senate Governmental Organization Committee by a 9-4 margin. Introduced last month by Senator Mark Leno (D — San Francisco), it calls for a “day of special significance” to recognize slain civil rights leader Harvey Milk.

The far-right wants to stop this bill. The Traditional Values Coalition and Capitol Resource Institute lobbied against it in the hearing, saying it would teach youth about a “controversial lifestyle.”

Sen. Dean Florez from Bakersfield countered by asking where the opposition witnesses were from – they responded Inland Empire, Roseville and Sacramento. He then requested to become a co-author of the bill to demonstrate that people living in more conservative parts of the state also support the measure.

Debra Jones, who served alongside Cleve Jones as an intern for then Supervisor Milk in 1978, also testified: “There are some who say that Harvey's contributions to the civil rights movement should merely be acknowledged locally. With that perspective, Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy would not be known outside of Atlanta, and the legacy of Cesar Chavez would not be known outside of the Central Valley. Hope doesn't know geographic boundaries.”

I couldn’t agree more.

The legislation was originally introduced last year by then Assemblymember Leno, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it, claiming Harvey Milk was not well known enough beyond San Francisco. Since that time, however, Harvey Milk has become a focal point of national conversation following the release of the successful biographical film Milk, for which both Penn and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black received an Academy Award. You can use EQCA’s Action Center to urge the governor sign it this time once it reaches his desk.

AB 1003, the LGBT Domestic Violence Services Bill, introduced last month by Assemblymember John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee by a 5-2 margin.

The rates of domestic violence in same-sex relationships are equivalent to the rates in opposite-sex relationships. Unfortunately, though, service and support for LGBT survivors of violence still lags far behind that provided for their non-gay counterparts. The LGBT Domestic Violence Services bill corrects this inequity by expanding access for LGBT service providers to funding within a state agency responsible for responding to domestic violence. This bill will both support innovative, proven program models assisting survivors and will also help decrease the overall rate of domestic violence within the LGBT community.

We’re also waiting on bills to protect LGBT prisoner safety, provide accurate ID documents to transgender individuals (possibly a moot point after a recent court victory), make mental health treatment more accessible for LGBT youth, prevent unfair property tax increases and end discrimination against gay men in blood donations. More information can be found at EQCA’s Legislative Center.

Stay tuned for the unveiling of our full 2009 legislative package, coming soon…  

–Alice

Alice Kessler is the director of government affairs for Equality California.  She blogs for the California Ripple Effect.