In the Republican contest to see who would face incumbent Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer in the November election, Carly Fiorina prevailed against Chuck Devore, and Tom Campbell. In the contest to see who would face incumbent Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, John Dennis prevailed against Dana Walsh. And, in the California Governor’s race, Meg Whitman prevailed over Steve Poizner, and will face Democrat Jerry Brown, in November.
As I’ve said, before, I was a Devore supporter, so it saddens me to see that Fiorina prevailed. As often happens, the best candidate does not win unless they also have enough financial support. In my opinion, money made all the difference in Fiorina’s victory; she spent $ 7 million dollars of her own personal wealth to buy name recognition, and a victory. The TV, radio, and internet ads were just overwhelming, not to mention the unprecedented number of robocalls. Heck, Bozo the clown could have won with that kind of exposure. (I’m not being bitter, but I think that is true.)
And I could say the same thing for Meg Whitman, only she spent ten times more than Fiorina; she spent over $ 70 million dollars of her own to purchase her primary victory, and is on track to spend $ 150 million (total), or more, to win the General Election in November.
Her primary opponent, Steve Poizner, spent $ 29 million dollars of his own money. I can’t help but wonder…. how much more would Whitman spend, if Poizner abandoned all sanity, and spent $ 60 million ? Would Whitman then have spent $ 140 million. She seems driven, so I think she would.
It’s no secret that money counts when it comes to elections. I just wish that the money had come from their supporters, and not from their own bank accounts. Fifty thousand supporters donating money holds more weight with me, than a single self-supporter.
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Of Whitman, and Poizner, I would have preferred Poizner, but, I can live with Whitman. If nothing else, if she does become governor, it will be interesting to watch her try to live up to her many promises. Obama was great at making grandiose promises in sweeping, and flowerry speeches, and, now, his previously ardent supporters number among his greatest critics. I think Whitman will find out that being Governor is not quite the same as being a CEO; CEO’s seldom promise, and are rarely called to task for failing to produce. She may not like the common folk calling her out.
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John Dennis will face Nancy Pelosi in November. I’m glad he is the candidate. His campaign was financed the old fashioned way, by donations from supporters. He is going to have a tough battle against Nancy Pelosi. She is well entrenched, and even in the current anti-incumbent mood, she seems to have unwavering support in her district. I hope the national revulsion against her will work in his favor, and that the necessary dollars will flow into his campaign, from around the country.
She is not ‘just’ a California congresswoman; her position as House Speaker has grave national reach, as we’ve seen in the passage of Healthcare Reform, and it is frightening to think that she is just three heart beats away from the Presidency.
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What bothers me most about the California primary election is that we had two candidates who were virtually unknown in California, and have no political reputation, or history of public service, and both of which admit that they didn’t even bother to vote, who were able to their purchase their elections through the power of their personal fortunes. It just does not set right with me.
The political ads were just incredible. Radio & TV spots were overwhelming; dozens per hour. And they were incredibly dishonest; and they told blatant lies, with impunity. If you delve into almost any given negative sound-bite, and do a little research, you learn real quick that it is mostly baloney. It matter, though; it was all about name recognition, a smiley face, dressed in a power color, and a pleasant presentation. (Are ‘we’ stupid?)
It is politics, at it’s worst. It is just another version of a political machine, where votes are bought and paid for with money, and favors; (Harry Truman and the Pendergast political machine would be proud.)
I really don’t know if Fiorina can defeat Barbara Boxer. I hope so. I am looking forward to seeing how her campaign unfolds; if nothing else, I think we can expect a lot of fireworks. Primary elections are child’s play compared to General Elections. The stakes are higher, and opponents are more hostile. Fiorina may have thought that her primary opponents were tough, but wait until she faces 
someone like Boxer, who has proven there is no level to which she will stoop, to win; she will knock her down, and then trounce her into the dust, and then eat her for lunch. Fiorina is not going to be able to steamroll Boxer opponent by spending her dollars; in fact, she will be the steam-roll-ee, this time. It will be an interesting battle, for sure.
Fiorina is at a great disadvantage because Boxer can use Fiorina’s own campaign, and her record, against her, whereas Fiorina can only use her record against her. A record that goes back 28 years. Voters aren’t going to take kindly to a political outsider like Fiorina attacking their Senator of choice. Many millions of Californians have been happy with her for a slew of elections. Attacking her record is like attacking the voters; when Fiorina starts referring to Boxer, again, as a “do nothing” Senator, alot of voters are going be alienated because, guess what, they have been happy with her.
Fiorina may benefit most from the anti-incumbent mood in the country; she can legitimately attack Boxer on specific issues, such as the dismal economy, and spending, and deficits, and other high profile issues, such as health care reform, Cap and Trade (environmental issues), etc, etc. (And my personal favorite: the Delta Smelt fiasco.). In a “normal” year, with an “okay” fiscal outlook, Fiorina would not have a chance, but, now that we are in the red, all bets are off.
Anyway, Fiorina should stay away from Boxer’s record.
Fiorina needs to retain those who voted for her in the primary, and she needs to convince all those registered Republican voters who didn’t vote in the primary, to vote for her; plus, she’ll have to convince a fair amount of Democrats to cross-over to her side. She morphed to the right in order to win the primary, but now she needs de-morph back to the left to appeal to a broader electorate embodied in the larger voting population inherent in General Elections. (The turn-out in the primary was about 24.8% of registered voters. Historically, that will probably double in the General Election. That “second” half of the voting population is not a clone of those who voted in the Primary.). She will have to do some fancy foot work, for sure.
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I think Whitman has a good chance of beating Jerry Brown, but he is no slouch. Again, primaries are not the same as a General Election. Folks will look harder, and will be less forgiving of her peccadillo’s. Primary voters may be willing to overlook the almost incomprehensible amount of personal money she put into her campaign, and her record of not voting for 28 years, and her ties to Goldman Sachs, etc, but in the General Election, all bets are off; those issues will take on a new life as November approaches; Jerry Brown will make sure of that. If it’s a close race, those two items could spell her doom; especially since her total personal campaign spending will have increased substantially, by then.
Like many other States, California is suffering because of an unending recession. Our budget deficit is over $ 19 billion dollars for the upcoming year, and our unemployment rate is hanging tough at 12.6%. We (the proverbial “we”) have big problems, many of which are self-induced. We are a liberal State, and our sins have come back to haunt us. We are living proof that liberalism only works if you are wealthy. We have been a wealthy State, but, now, much of that wealth has been taxed away, and we are hurting. So, someone like Whitman can’t hurt; she can’t be accused of being part of the problem, (heck she didn’t even vote), and, the times being what they are, she might garner enough support to actually effect some positive changes in Sacramento. I would not expect her to keep all of her promises; it won’t happen. I would be happy if she could restore the State to solvency, and a bright future. We do need leadership, and we’ll learn real quick if she is up to the task.
If she doesn’t turn left, or screw-up, or become an embarrassment, I can support her.
Barbara Boxer does need to be replaced. I think she has been in Washington for so long, that she stopped being a Californian, long ago, and is now a Washingtonian. And, she, like most long time incumbents, needs to answer for our current financial debacle.
While I am not a fan of Fiorina, I will keep an open mind. I just hope that she convinces me enough that I can support her, and not have to hold my nose when I vote for her. I will do that because, in the scheme of things, a larger Republican presence in the Congress will be better for the country.
And that is just my opinion.
Spencer Holly
www.angrycalifornian.com
0111
Twitter: AngryCalifornia
FaceBook:
Twitter: TweetCreate
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OTHER RESOURCES
Voter turnout called dismal http://bit.ly/dxiRn7
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Click: Calif Secretary of State – Election Information
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm
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Click: California Primary Election Results – 2010
http://smartvoter.org/2010/06/08/ca/state/
======================================CANDIDATE WEBSITES:
Carly Fiorina
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Website: CarlyForCalifornia
Twitter: CarlyforCA
FaceBook: Carly Fiorina
Meg Whitman
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Website: Meg Whitman
Twitter: Whitman2010
FaceBook: Meg Whitman
John Dennis
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Website: John Dennis
Twitter: John Dennis2010
John Dennis
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Video Websites:
Carly Fiorina video clip website & resources.. http://bit.ly/fiorinaduDL6O
Meg Whitman video clip website & resources.. http://bit.ly/whitmanca
John Dennis video clip website & resources. http://bit.ly/mydennis
Nancy Pelosi video clip website & resources …http://bit.ly/Pelosia0ZoX1
Barbara Boxer videos clip website & resources http://bit.ly/Boxerbw4bPC
Other Twitter Accounts:
Twitter: Defeat Boxer
Twitter: Defeat Pelosi
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TweetCreate: Offline tool for creating, organizing, and posting Tweets to Twitter
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