Yesterday, Carly Fiorina was in the business of praising Sen. Feinstein. Then only hours later, she got all up into the business of trashing one of her main policy prerogatives, the assault weapons ban.  Oh, and she went further, pretty much pretending that she was still in the Republican primary.  

Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina said Tuesday that she opposes a ban on assault weapons and supports a U.S. Supreme Court decision this week affirming a constitutional right to bear arms.

In a 45-minute question-and-answer session with reporters here, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO also repeated her backing of Arizona’s controversial immigration law and said she would support efforts to repeal the federal health care reform measure. But the fundamental issue in the race against three-term Sen. Barbara Boxer, Fiorina contended, will be whom voters trust more on the economy, and she said the contrast between the two could not be more stark. (SJ Merc)

Wow, I certainly hope for her sake that getting a bunch of Latino votes wasn’t a part of her electoral strategy, because this repeated outpouring of support for Arizona’s law won’t win her that support.  While Carly might criticize Whitman for appearing on Hannity the day after the primary, at least eMeg has the smarts to quit it with the anti-immigrant talk.  Perhaps Carly thinks it will bring in some money from the anti-immigrant crowd, but will it really be enough money to make up for the loss of the votes she’s going to get from that part of the interview?

At any rate, back to the assault weapons ban, Carly might want to take a look at who wrote that legislation. And who has been its strongest supporter throughout the last 20 years. Yup, that would be Dianne Feinstein. The very same senator that she was so effusive about yesterday.

It’s funny how facts can unmask a candidate.

Have you ever wondered about those intense sessions with Carly Fiorina and her team right before she goes on TV? Do you think she’s brushing up on the issues of the day? Mulling over tax proposals or possible changes to the health care system?  

Well, you would be wrong.

Caught on an open mic, we learn that Carly likes to discuss the close relationship between Sean Hannity and Meg Whitman, Cheeseburgers, and, most importantly, Barbara Boxer’s hair.

God, what was that hair? Soooo yesterday.

That was her actual quote.  “Soooo” yesterday.  Check out the clip to the right, and watch five minutes up close and personal with the failed HP CEO.

Hat tip to Muley63.

Well, it looks like all the polling showing Carly Failorina pulling ahead in the Senate primary has put a beating on Campbell’s fundraising efforts. He’s now pretty much conceding the race:

Capitulating to his dwindling campaign treasury, Republican Senate candidate Tom Campbell pulled his television advertising Tuesday and in the closing days of the primary race will rely on Internet appeals and telephone calls to make his case to GOP voters. (LAT)

You just can’t win on phonecalls and internet appeals alone. That might be enough in Rhode Island, but in a state where millions of votes are required, you simply need more than just the internet.  I know, you might not expect to hear that from an internet-type, but there it is.  

To be frank, Campbell kind of scared me. He does this faux-moderate thing really well, and then yanks the rug out from under Californians who really need help.  If Fiorina can continue to loan her campaign a few million of seed money, her campaign won’t be completely hapless. However, she has an Achilles heal, her tenure at HP, that is her qualification for running.  

I’m not calling anything yet, but this is the surest sign of any yet.

The Demon Sheep are back in this CDP/DSCC web ad. And they are sporting some zany hair dos and even some pearls:

While Democrats have freaked out about Jerry Brown’s chances against Meg Whitman, there hasn’t been such concern about Senator Barbara Boxer’s re-election.  And while she should prevail in November, who wins the GOP primary in June could make a difference.  Perception in politics can become reality – and if Tom Campbell wins the nomination, there will be “news analysis” in papers across the state that Republicans “learned their lesson” by picking a “moderate.”  Some will remind readers that what “saved” Boxer in 1992 was Campbell losing the GOP primary, so she faced a right-wing conservative in November.  Campbell’s “maverick” stance on gay marriage, Israel and marijuana (the latter will be on the November ballot) may confuse voters into thinking he is to the left of Boxer.  But on the vast majority of issues, Campbell is as conservative as the Party of No in Washington – progressives cannot let the media define the race in terms favorable to him.

I’m going to start off by stating the obvious when it comes to Barbara Boxer’s chances.

If Carly Fiorina wins the primary, it’s over.  Fiorina has made such a fool of herself with online ads about blimps and demon sheep that her candidacy has quickly become the butt of jokes on late-night comedy.  Apparently, her consultants fail to understand that there is such a thing as bad press.  At this point, for Democrats to attack Fiorina is counter-productive – it could just make her lose in June.

As for Chuck DeVore, he’s just another right-wing Teabagger who might be electable in states like Alabama – but not California.  He would suffer the fate of Bruce Herschensohn.

Meanwhile, Campbell is getting away with being a “sane” and “moderate” Republican – one of those who is “fiscally conservative” and “socially liberal.”  California Republicans may be a right-wing bunch, but their party has finally come to its senses and opened their primary to “decline-to-state” voters – a practice Democrats have done for years.  With both Democratic primaries for Governor and Senate a foregone conclusion, independent voters are likely to pick a GOP ballot in June – and therefore, Campbell could win.

But look at where Campbell stands on the issues, and it’s clear that he would be another voice in the chorus of Republican obstructionists on Capitol Hill – should he beat Boxer.

Campbell would have voted against the federal stimulus.  He told the Chronicle’s Andy Ross he opposed its child tax credits for the working poor, extended unemployment insurance, food stamps and Medicaid help. “They may be good, compassionate things, but nobody is going to hire on that basis,” he said.  Would he have supported Senator Jim Bunning’s reckless filibuster of unemployment payments?

Like most Republicans, Tom Campbell wants to repeal the universal health care bill.  On his website, he warns about a “creeping public option” that he calls an inevitable consequence of the legislation (if only!), and urges us not to “destroy the system of private health care and health insurance” that has apparently worked so well.

Campbell’s platform on immigration are identical to the most right-wing Republicans.  He supports building a wall, and criticizes moderate Republicans who won’t crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers.  In a YouTube video on his website, he brags to have been an advocate for the harsh elements of Proposition 187 long before Pete Wilson did.  For a state like California that has moved so far, voters need to know where he stands on this.

Climate change?  In his position paper on the environment, Campbell starts by attacking the 2007 Climate Change Report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  “There is still a lot to be learned about the subject of climate change, especially as it relates to its rate and possible solutions,” he writes.  He strongly opposes “cap-and-trade.”  Boxer is a leader on global warming and chairs the Environment Committee – so the difference is stark.

In her speech at the California Democratic Convention this weekend, Boxer criticized Campbell for having been Schwarzenegger’s chief economic adviser.  It’s clear that her campaign is hoping to tie Campbell to Arnold’s spectacular failure as Governor – where there is a ton of ammunition.  But a critical question for voters in this election will be how the next Senator votes on issues in Washington – and what issues are likely to dominate next year.

We can mention Campbell’s pro-choice stance, that he opposed Proposition 8 (but did not support the federal lawsuit challenging it), or that he’s likely to endorse the marijuana initiative on the November ballot.  Boxer will have her own set of problems if she faces Campbell, because she has never officially come out in support of marriage equality – and in fact has opposed the November initiative to de-criminalize marijuana.

But those are all peripheral issues that should not be relevant in the U.S. Senate race.  An emboldened Republican Congress would want to repeal health care reform – Campbell is wrong on that issue.  When Republicans try to block further unemployment assistance in this brutal recession, Campbell will be right there with them.  As President Obama and the Congress push for comprehensive immigration reform and a climate change bill, we can expect Senator Tom Campbell to amplify the “Party of No” message in Washington.

Is Campbell more moderate than Carly Fiorina – or Chuck DeVore?  Of course, but only because they are so far to the right that the media can’t even pretend they are moderates.  It reminds me of what playwright Tony Kushner told Mother Jones Magazine back in July 1995: “What used to be called liberal is now called radical, what used to be called radical is now called insane, what used to be called reactionary is now called moderate, and what used to be called insane is now called solid conservative thinking.”

Paul Hogarth is the Managing Editor of Beyond Chron, San Francisco’s Alternative Online Daily, where this piece was first published.

Remember 2008? Those halcyon days where there was discussion of a McCain-Fiorina ticket.  Well, McCain ended up being quite thankful for that. Let’s start with the clip to the right, where Fiorina says that McCain wouldn’t be qualified to run HP. She says that

It is a fallacy to suggest that the country is like a company.

Of course, while this would also suggest that perhaps Fiorina doesn’t have the necessary experience to be Senator for such a large state as California, she’s not talking about that now.  But, of course, there’s more.  When the campaign turned to executive compensation, McCain came out swinging, saying that some of the golden parachutes were absurd and way too high.

Well, yesterday the duo were back at it.  Oh, and the subject of that Fiorina comment came up:

She was permanently sidelined two months before the election when she told a radio host that Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential pick, lacked the experience to lead a major corporation. She made the situation worse when she sought to clarify her remarks  by adding that McCain and then-Sens. Obama and Joe Biden also were unqualified.

When asked about those remarks on Tuesday, McCain joked, “Did she say that?” Fiorina added, “I was making a general comment about all politicians, by the way, not John McCain specifically.”

Ahh, such fun times. Two unqualified people, together again.

Last we heard from NOM, they were busy getting into trouble for interfering with Maine’s election system and not wanting to disclose donors.  Well, they’ve also been writing about the federal Prop 8 trial, but they have no official capacity in that.

But, they are now back in California! Huzzah! And as you can see from the ad to the right, they’re still up to their old fear-based campaigning methods.  While Californians understand that there is a difference between Senator Boxer and Tom Campbell, NOM is trying to tie the two together as some sort of hippie love twins of John Maynard Keynes and Divine.

I would write up some witty commentary about the inanity of this ad, but a comment on the YouTube video pretty well sums it up:

Maggie Gallagher drinks water.

Joseph Stalin drank water!

Maggie Gallagher walks on two feet.

Adolph Hitler walked on two feet!

Maggie Gallagher wears black.

Darth Vader wore black!

Thanks, NOM, for the sophisticated political commentary.

To put in a more sophisticated way, you could pull a slew of policy areas where Boxer and Campbell disagree. Point to real climate change action, stimulating the economy, and getting people back to work, and Boxer has the advantage.  But, NOM is simply afraid.

NOM is terrified that the Republicans will give up their hard-hearted and hardened positions on marriage equality in favor of a big tent approach that would welcome those who support marriage equality.  They understand that when that happens, eventually those who support equality will ensure complete control of all branches of government. If Republicans are not dogmatic, the rapidly shrinking anti-equality movement will lose its public face in the political sphere.  They need the dogma to persist, so they wrap their message in one of general conservatism, completely forgetting that real conservatives (small “c”) prefer the government not making decisions such as who they can and cannot marry.

While the Right is afraid of Campbell, there is plenty of reason for us to be as well. While he takes a few socially libertarian positions, he is generally very right-wing on economic issues. He opposed most of the stimulus, which even the American Enterprise Institute has now said was successful at reducing the unemployment explosion. He opposes real environmental protections.

Senator Boxer has been working for every Californian for every day of her term, and will continue to do so for as long as she remains in the Senate.

Tom Campbell was totally in it to win it.  It’s just that he was in it to win another “it.”  But his heart is totally in the Senate race now, though:

“What we’ve seen in the last year is a tremendous growth of the federal government, tripling the deficit and an expansion of the federal role in health care and financial services,” Campbell told The Bee. “The federal issues are just exploding in the last year.” (SacBee)

You see, it’s just now that he realized that federal issues are important. Not when 12 months ago when Barack Obama inherited the worst economy in a generation. Not 6 months ago, when the vitriol around health care reached its crescendo. Not when President Obama was struggling with Afghanistan decisions.  Now. When it looked like he was about to buried under a mountain of Whitman’s cash.

Not to be a cynic twice over, but, well, I’m going to be a cynic again.  Not only did Campbell wait, but he was also preening for the cameras in a perhaps more visible campaign. And one more thing, under state finance laws, one is allowed to raise a lot more than you are allowed to raise per contributor under federal laws. I wasn’t able to determine how many big donors Campbell had, mostly because his funding was so anemic and the second half numbers haven’t been filed yet. But, if one were to really, really need to raise his name ID, I’d think some additional time in the Gov race would be appealing

Not that I’m a cynic or anything…

Image by generic

This has been brewing in the rumor mill for a few months now it seems.  It looks like tomorrow will be the day that Tom Campbell makes it official. He’s going to run in the GOP Senate Primary rather than for Governor.

In a move that will rock the state’s political landscape, former Silicon Valley Congressman Tom Campbell will announce Thursday that he is dropping out of the California governor’s race to run for the U.S. Senate, the Mercury News has learned.

Campbell has scheduled two news conferences to make the announcement: one at 9 a.m. in Los Angeles, the other at 2:30 p.m. at the San Jose Fairmont hotel, according to an e-mail from Campbell’s campaign that was sent Monday to his major supporters. The e-mail referred to a “soon to be announced new venture” – confirmed by campaign sources to be a Senate run. (SJ Merc)

I think in order to rock the state’s political landscape, you sort have to a) not telegraph the move months ahead of time and b) have a clear path to victory.  

Tom Campbell would be a pretty tough race for Barbara Boxer.  I think the betting line would still lean Boxer, but he’s a more polished candidate than either Fiorina or DeVore. And he has the whole, not crazy thing going for him over DeVore. The trouble for Campbell is the same in the Senate race as it was in the Governor’s race, except with a lot less money sloshing around. Basically, he’s trying to run a campaign for the general electorate of the state in a primary.  And given that the only people really excited to come out and vote in the GOP primary will be the right-wingers, the primary will be really, really tough for Campbell.

I suppose on the bright side for him, he won’t be fighting Whitman’s crazy dollars in this race. But the real winner here has to be Chuck DeVore. The “I can play sane on TV” vote just got split between Fiorina and Campbell.  DeVore just might be able to somehow grab this nomination.

Come on, admit it, that would be hilariously fun.