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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

DeVore for California

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  December 5th, 2009 at 01:04 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Carly Fiorina gave a very good Republican response today on health care. It cannot be denied. I am glad she is on our side.

I do not dislike Carly Fiorina. I don’t really know her, though we’ve met a couple times. She seems like a very nice person. One day I’m sure she will be an excellent elected or appointed official.

Today is not that day in my mind.

I have tried to stay out of California. My gut tells me California is a sink hole that Republicans will not get out of. Barbara Boxer, as obnoxious as she is, is probably safe, though I understand the rationale of giving her a run for her money to distract the DSCC. However, as the NRSC has already broadcast that this is their goal, the DSCC will probably not be distracted.

Carly Fiorina gave a very good speech today, but I think it was inappropriate of the Republicans to put her, a candidate in a highly contested primary, up as their spokesman on health care.

The NRSC has, every time anyone has pointed out they have endorsed Fiorina, said they have not. They have. Frankly, I haven’t blamed them. I thought Fiorina was a good recruit and I have said so.

But I think Chuck DeVore has done everything he has needed to do to be treated as a credible candidate. His fundraising is good. His message is solid. His support is growing. His polling is equal to Fiorina’s.

The NRSC has not learned its lesson. The Republican establishment has not learned its lesson. Mitch McConnell, in his effort to lose the health care debate by making Olympia Snowe the foundation for victory, John Cornyn, who claims to want conservatives, but keeps supporting moderates, and a host of other Senators have come out for Fiorina.

Where the establishment goes, we should all be worried. Just as they led us from 55 seats to 40 seats in the Senate and just as they are leading us off a cliff in the Senate through failed messaging tactics, the establishment is going to lead us off a cliff in 2010.

I just can’t keep my mouth shut on this one. I have no problem with Fiorina, but my heart and mind are with Chuck DeVore. He is one of us. He will be a leader, not a Mitch McConnell follower. DeVore will stand with Jim DeMint. Fiorina would be no better and no worse than Kay Bailey Hutchison, drifting with the present failed Senate GOP leadership.

Friends, we need men and women of action. Chuck DeVore fits the bill. I know there are some here who will support Fiorina. That is fine by me. California is not my hill to die on. But as we fight our way back to power, I stand with Chuck DeVore because Chuck DeVore stands with me.

He can win this primary. He can give Barbara Boxer a tough race. But we must help. And better still, a DeVore victory means the GOP Establishment will not deserve and will not get any credit.

Join me. Stand with Chuck DeVore for California.

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COMMENTS

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  • redneck_hippie

    our establishment leadership were 1/10th as clear-thinking and effective as our EE (who, by the way was awarded New Media Person of the Year).

  • redtillimdead

    And I totally agree with it. The big issue w/ health care right now is mammograms. Who is a better spokesperson for us on mammograms? And old white man, a Republican woman who has survived breast cancer, or a woman who has not had breast cancer?
    I’ll go with the 2nd option.

  • redtillimdead

    But now you don’t. You have not made a case for why she is a bad candidate..

  • NRPax

    Sorry, but anyone who openly advocates regulation of the internet and censorship (Her “Wild West” remark) is someone that does not need to be in office.

  • http://www.erickerickson.org Erick Erickson

    I’ll let others do that. But I’m standing with Chuck.

  • izoneguy

    Then Kalifornia will get what it deserves.

    Soon, the only one’s left in Kalifornia will be wealthy democrats who don’t pay taxes anyway and the zero liability voter.

    The democrats will fully expect to be bailed out by the feds.

    That is where the real play is. Stopping the federal money that flows from the producers to the blood suckers.

  • redtillimdead

    Just saw your tweet about not attacking her. I would love to see them both attack Boxer and not attack each other, hurting the eventual nominees chance against Boxer.

  • haystack

    at some point, a demand for change from the machine has to take hold. Picking your candidate is still YOUR option, but if you can pick one AND send a message demanding change from the top…how good is THAT?

    The good ole boys inside the beltway aren’t listening…we have to get their attention SOMEHOW.

  • janis

    And it’s not correct either. I know a guy in his early 50′s who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. And I know plenty of men, fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, who have had more experience than they would want in knowing beloved women in their lives with breast cancer. And those men would certainly be just as good at being spokespeople for the necessity of women to have mammograms as a woman would be.

    I want a candidate to run who is conservative and a good spokesperson for those conservative principles, not just one who has a personal story to tell about a medical condition.

  • SteveLA

    Erick,

    DeVore has a great record on fiscal matters from his time in the assembly. DeVore stood up to the Republicans in the assembly who were more than happy to go along with tax increases by resigning his position as R Whip in February of this year. Yet that’s not what the R Primary is turning into a vote over.

    If the primary turns into a race about out of control spending, good government, records of real compentancy in elected office and failed records of running a company, DeVore wins hands down. If the race is about who is the most socially conservative, DeVore might win the Primary and will loose the general…big time.

    Knock any of the so called RINOS in the Senate all you want, but as a Californian I’ll take any of them over Babs any day. A Rick Santorum style social conservative will loose the general election in CA, because at best the people who vote in the CA general are indeed RINOS at best and liberal leaning and worst. To win the general election you have to run like Bob McDonnald did in VA, not pretending that you don’t have strong beliefs, but also not making them the focus of how you will govern.

    I’m watching the race, want to vote for DeVore, but am also watching how he runs his primary bid. If he goes after Babs, goes after out of control spending, comes out swinging as military hawk, fiscal tight wad, do something about illegal aliens, he’s got my vote because he stands a good chance of winning the general election, making a statement about social issues, not so much. I want Babs gone, that’s all I care about.

  • janis

    way to focus their attention. What a sweet thought THAT is. Most of them need to be on the outside with their noses pressed up against the window, looking in and wishing they still had some power to keep screwing us over.

    Prolonged sessions out behind the woodshed would benefit almost all of them. Alternatively, they need to be put on notice with every single election that, if they want to keep the job, then they’d best start working for their employers instead of AGAINST us. At this point, they resemble nothing so much as a union full of employees who are trying to take as much as they can from their employer, and with nary a care in the world as to how the company can stay in business when they have finished looting it.

  • http://www.bloggybayou.com muckraker

    and the primary is still next year. As a guy who watched his sister fight for her life and after multiple, massive Surgeries and long Chemo, I assure you that Carly Fiorina’s message has a gut appeal to women, that men, unless they have seen this disease up close and personal, just will not feel.

    This is a wonderful piece of political oratory and should get the widest dissemination as possible. At least she is fighting Obamacare, unlike our Republican Senators who are just amending a crap sandwich.

    It is speeches like this that win hearts and minds… I say Run with it…

    http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/12/carly-fiorina-cancer-survivor-speaks.html

    I did.

  • redtillimdead

    It was just that, with her background, she is the best spokesperson for this. I’m sure there next choice would have been Jodi Rell, but she is on the way out. And yes, it is hard on the me in their lives, but male breast cancer is much less common

  • RedBeard

    …then Fiorina is unqualified to discuss any men’s health issues (not being a man), small business concerns (never having run one), the space program (having never gone into space), the war in Afghanistan (having no military experience), etc. etc.

  • fpete13527

    Liberal “moderacy” still rules the GOP. This has to change… at all costs.
    Fiorina is moderate at best and she will vote moderate.

    If GOP moderacy continues to pervade the health care proceedings and other current issues, it will make it near impossible to correct…….even if the GOP wins back majorities 2010.

    The line in the sand with current issues and proposed candidates needs to start NOW! No moderate actions or candidates should be tolerated at all…..at any cost.

    Conservatism, by the way, doesnt mean what the ATTACKERS of it say it means. Conservatism means integrity and responsibiliy applied to basic Constitutional principles. I dont need to say that to the people on this blog. I could probably learn from you.

    The fight part though probably needs to be repeated, and I thank Erick for his stand in that fight.

    Moderacy in the GOP needs to be ended TODAY…at ALL costs,.. no matter what. And…all the Huffington” kinds of attacks on that stand should be completely ignored….especially by the GOP Congress at their cocktail parties.

    Great job Erick. Thanks for your stand. Don’t stop.

  • redneck_hippie

    we don’t care about messaging. We care about results. As in, Did You Help to Kill This Bill, Yes or No. Failure to comply will trigger the result, Will You Keep Your Job, Yes or No.

  • janis

    not run for US Senator from California. As RedBeard below demonstrated in his comment, having breast cancer is no qualification for being a senator. And, yes, you did endorse her.

    As to male breast cancer being less common, does that make it any less relevant than a woman having breast cancer? Both can be fatal, and both are life altering experiences. Your comment makes no sense.

  • SteveLA

    muckraker

    Thank you very much for posting that, might I suggest you embed it into another posting.

    While I have many issues with Carlie and voting for her, this is the sort of appeal that people get, and those people are middle class women who might just be liberal and or moderates in CA. General elections turn on winning their votes and securing their support, this video does just that.

  • janis

    need to look at that poll that Moe commented on where it showed that the majority of the public doesn’t object to torture under the right circumstances. We are not an electorate that is in the mood for the usual song and dance from the political class anymore. :-)

  • redtillimdead

    I thought you took this as an official endorsement from the national GOP. No, it is not a qualification. But she is qualified. She is not a RINO. She is pro-life, anti-Obama Care, against gay marriage. She is well to the right of KBH and Lindsey Graham, but certainly to the left of Jim DeMint. She has the endorsement of Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), both of whom have endorsed Marco Rubio.

  • redtillimdead

    nt

  • redneck_hippie
  • SteveLA

    janis

    As an appeal to voters in a Liberal to Moderate state like CA, this was a great video appeal. As an appeal to those who think that public and tax payer funding abortion is the worst part of this bill, you’re right.

    I’m not impressed with many things about Carlie, but as a way to cut through the Obamacare noise machine to reach women voters and those who are part of any woman’s life who has faced breast cancer, this is a great speech. It brings home the madness of what might happen with having the Federal government in the middle of your personal health care choices, and people get that point.

  • eswan9

    (hope I got that right)

    Erick,

    I am glad to hear that you are not giving up on DeVore. After what Babs Boxer said about Email-ga….err Climategate, we need DeVore in the Senate. Somehow I don’t think Fiorna would be as passionate about the Global Warming Hoax as DeVore.

    Also, I think it is safe to say Californians like their 52′ Plasma TVs!

  • penguin2

    The Liberals gave us Obama all based on victimhood. And let’s not pretend it was anything other than the idea of “redemption” for the supposed white guilt of Americans. Well, there hasn’t been any redemption, and the Liberals will still play the race/victim card until kingdom come.

    Voting or supporting a candidate simply because of sympathy, is a poor reason for choosing said candidate. In essence, you are making her/him a one issue voter. As a nurse, I certainly am sympathetic to her and your own personal story, I just do not want that to be the reason why someone chooses one candidate over another. Candidates have a number of issues for which their stand is just as important as this one issue.

    Obama got elected because of feelings, and we are paying the price of that sympathy vote.

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    The Liberal Women, for Political expedience, have buried their heads in the sand over the issue in the name of the Health Care Takeover priority… and they need to be called on it BY THE MASSES – not have someone belittle it as an Election ploy.

    Other than the sole sub-topic issue of the current Mammogram fiasco, I have not and not currently taking any stand for or against any CA candidate (just to be clear).

    +Mammography scandal – Mammography scandal – Obamaocare will kill women
    +Die In – Horowitz calls for Cancer Die In sessions from Female TEApeaters
    +DieQuickly – Dems: ‘Rep plan: Die Quickly’ – counter to “Death Panels” – EPIC O-FAIL again — baseless Welfare Reform attacks repeat
    +McCain HC – McCain HC Townhall details, another sell-out pre-declared! (with more comments 306-7+ here and here w/ limited Video)
    +McCain (R-Aricept) “Senator Aricept” (John McCain)
    +HR3590 (Reid) – HR3590 (only 2) Amendments fiasco plus McLame with Republican Amendment and here

  • redtillimdead

    How do you get your links like that?

  • IJB

    CA is pretty much a state that is substantially made up of wealthy leftists, or dirt poor leftists. And, on the coasts, the only people who can claim to be “middle class” either owe their jobs to the government, a union, or some commie outfit like Google – so more leftists.

    And I agree with you – when CA goes bankrupt, the most important thing is that NO federal money go to this state. I’m hopeful that enough of the reps from the other 49 states will see to it that that doesn’t happen, but it will really depend how controlled our government will be ‘movement’ lefties at the time the request is made.

    As for Boxer, I’d certainly bet on her, though if she’s going to go down, 2010 will be the year that it could happen…

  • Vegas_Rick

    let’s not forget that little nugget

  • SteveLA

    penguin2

    If you haven’t actually watched the video, you might before you go down this path.

    The video is not a poor pitiful me sort, it’s a here’s what will happen if you allow the Feds to take over your health care from a person who has confronted a health issue that effects something like 2 million women a year in this country.

    It’s not a face book pontification about what might happen, it’s what a real person who has gone through some real health issues and how the Feds can muck up with review panels the future of other women facing these sorts of issues.

    I’m not a fan of Carlie, but I give her all the props for this video, and tearing her or her first person views on this topic as a breast cancer down makes no sense to me, like her position on other issues or not..

  • penguin2

    should not be part of the issue of whether I support a candidate or not.
    My whole point, is that she can be an excellent spokesperson for breast cancer causes, cancer causes as well as anything to do with why we don’t want Obamacare. That said, it does not mean that she is more qualified or should be given more weight in the choosing the GOP candidate in the primary. The only point I am trying to make, is that because she has cancer, does not mean all the other reasons for being a U.S, Senator, are more readily in her ballpark, than any other candidates. I would say the same thing if Chuck Devore had been treated for prostate cancer, and was a good spokesperson for prostate cancer prevention and against Obamacare. Muckraker noting her being a sympathetic and certainly a good voice for women and breast cancer survival, IMO, sounds cautionary for me, that is not the reason I will choose to support her not.

    Of course, it is a given that the video is good and she, and any and all, that have been afflicted by the ravishes of cancer, can be very important and dynamic spokespeople. It is their stand on the multiple issues facing them (Chuck and Carly), that I am concerned with. And it is their records and history of what they have done, that I will use to determine my support.

    I certainly did not mean to appear to be “tearing her down” for her personal views on the subject. In fact, if I did not know and ahve other opinions about her, I would actually be someone thinking “Oh, I like her, she is a woman and has had cancer, and she must know how it I feel.” You see, that is how easy it is to be swayed, on the feeling, not the substance.

  • http://www.bloggybayou.com muckraker

    http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/05/on-national-healthcare-personal-story.html

    Needless to say, Anyone who argues with me in favor of Public Healthcare/single payer or whatever guise you want to cover it with, never ever wins….

    Been there, done that… got the T-shirt…

    And before anyone points out Bethesda is “Gov’t run healthcare” Bethesda is the exception to the Rule because it is the “PRESIDENT’S” hospital and the Hospital for Congressmen. It is well funded and miltiary doctors fight to get there because they get to go to the best training possible in the US before they are allowed to touch a President or Congressman…

    I got another Story about my medical care in the Navy…it deals with a peri-anal abscess, a hospital in Sasebo, Japan, an incompetent navy Doctor, A Japanese Doctor that didn’t speak English, a scalpel, no anesthesia and one pissed off Ltjg (aka me)

    You really don’t want any more details….

  • DavidSage

    I really look at California as a way to tie up a lot of valuable resources that could be used to fight on better battlefields.

    Boxer has never been likable, yet she wins comfortably every election because California is a liberal state. I really don’t see Californians changing their voting habits because Boxer was rude to a General during a hearing. California’s budget disaster really has nothing to do with a federal officeholder like Boxer, so I really don’t see that taint rubbing off on her either.

    Whichever Republican wins the primary, the odds are long they beat Barbara Boxer. I know in the past Erick has said that some states conservatives simply can’t win, and that we need moderate Republicans. I certainly prefer DeVore since he’s the better conservative, but I look at this race as “Which Republican is Barbara Boxer most afraid of?”

    If conservatives are looking for Senate candidates to donate to, there are much better upcoming Senate races that Republicans have a much better chance at winning, like Arkansas, North Dakota, Colorado, Missouri, Nevada etc, and where the dollar goes a lot further. Resources are finite, and to really mount a serious campaign in California to unseat an incumbent, you really need about $30 million to spend statewide. That’s enough to win several Senate seats in cheaper states that are more receptive to Republicans.

  • penguin2

    for sharing it. You are absolutely correct in your assessment of the differences of the two health care systems. Americans are either fooling themselves, or accepting the lies of the Leftist Dems and the president. Government run health care can only be rationed care, it is the nature of the beast.

    Two things: I hope that you did not misunderstand my opinion about Carly and her personal story of breast cancer. I look at her candidacy for Senator only in terms of the broader issues related to that office.
    Nothing I said should have been taken to mean anything else. As I said to SteveLa above, it is strictly about the weighing of their stands on a number of issues important to me as a conservative.

    Two, it sounds like you, your wife and your sister, have had to shoulder some heavy burdens. Please accept my best wishes and prayers for health for all of you.

  • 6eorge Jetson

  • 6eorge Jetson

  • http://www.bloggybayou.com muckraker

    We are all looking forward to 2010…That is the goal.. and then on to 2012

    BTW, I flew the wife back to Dc first class and wheel chaired to our apartment I found… she stayed in Bed for 8.5 months and 6 months to the Day after my Heart attack and one Day before my B-day, we had our Son.

    He is now fourteen, taller than me, shaving and constant source of bewilderment, Surprise and joy.

    As for my Dad (and Mom) here is the rest of the Story
    http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/08/end-of-life-counseling-intensifies.html

    Cheers
    Muckraker

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    Eleventh!!!! …. we’ve got enough of that in other Diaries of folks that can’t do anything to trump up their own Candidates and therefore instead rip the other. Primaries are the place to fight it out, but should be about HOW/WHY a Candidate is good choice not having to continually stoop to trashing why the other Candidate is a bad choice….. setting up WINS for the Democrats having pre-trashed our own Candidates!

  • JadedByPolitics

    to him and Rubio and Toomey and Michael Williams. These are ALL candidates the NRSC would NOT support which says all I need to know beyond their commitments to me personally. These gentlemen are STRONG Conservatives and they have earned and deserve our money and our GRASSROOTS boots on the ground and calls on the phone to ensure a VICTORY for Conservatism!

    2010 to me is just as much a call of rejection to the left as it is to “moderate” Republicans who have moved this country left. There is a dime’s worth of difference between the two as Hannity likes to say however as I like to say if WE can get the Conservative on the ballot then there will be a WHOLE DOLLAR’s worth of difference :)

  • eswan9

    I hate to disagree with you on this but there are huge areas of California that are conservative. Remember the electoral maps that showed huge swaths of red surrounding the blue cities like LA, San Francisco, and San Diego. Plus, there are many people here pissed in the Central farming valleys because of the federal Government imposed drought, Boxer and her ilk care more about some stupid fish than they do about the well being of the farmers, (who BTW grow lots of food for the rest of America).

    California has seen firsthand what liberal statists will do to whatever they can control, and i think DeVore is going a great job of getting the message out.

    As Moe Lane has eloquently put it “We are the cavalry”

  • JadedByPolitics

    eswan9…..I really do pray for the end to the leftists destroying this country with their policies. The day a government gives more rights to a damn fish is the day that politicians NEEDS TO BE REMOVED!

  • Mayhem

    Erick, has NRSC officially pulled back its endorsement of Crist? I know they pivoted after NY23 and said they wouldn’t endorse from this point forward, but did they ever stop backing the Crists and the Fiorinas that they were already behind?

    Stopping the bleeding isn’t enough. We have to remove the poison too.

  • http://www.the41stvote.org rcov092

    My personal opinion is Crist is gone by the end of January.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    The grownups are working.

  • IJB

    And that is – if I were advising, say, national Republican donors, I certainly would not advise them to spend Dime One on statewide office race in CA (esp. for a federal office like Senator, and esp. if it’s not an ‘open seat’ contest) unless they see ridiculously positive polling out of California in, say, early October. And that would be true no matter who the GOP candidate is IMO.

    National money is much better spent on races in smaller, targeted Red and Purple states, where it might actually do a lot of good.

    However, David’s implied meme that “the GOP should run only moderates in CA” is thoroughly discredited – CA is not so much an “anti-conservative” state as much as it’s an ANTI-REPUBLICAN state: both moderate and conservative Republican candidates regularly get creamed statewide, and have been since the early 90s, especially for Senate…

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Copperheads exist to be killed. I will start banning people who come here to talk up De mocrats if I have to.

    There’s a site for that: Daily Kos. Not Red State.

    IJB, you are sadly falling for this troll’s trap. Erick didn’t call upon national money to be spent on DeVore. He wants the NRSC to stay OUT, as do most of us. So stop falling for the troll’s deception and move on.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    a) Democrats have been promoting Fiorina, not DeVore, because they know she’s a terribad candidate.

    b) Fiorina claims she’s not a moderate.

    c) Do you have any evidence as to why Boxer wins the elections she does? Let’s see some facts, figures, and analysis.

    Do you know anything of which you speak, or are you just that stupid? Because you didn’t get a single thing even close to correct in this post.

  • JoeG

    Outside the bay area, the north coast and LA California is a very conservative state.

    The massive dem lead can be almost entirely placed on the bay area. Take away the bay area and the dem lead in a “typical” statewide race is ~100,000 votes in a very large electorate. Like most large cities, the LA basin is left leaning, but not out of line with many others.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    This isn’t Massachusetts.

    There’s a big honking middle that can really annoy the left, on issues like marriage and illegal immigration.

    Boxer isn’t in serious trouble, but DeVore can make her work like she’s never had to before. And we might get lucky.

    But Fiorina is proving she won’t even make Boxer work. Her victim card play just won’t work against Boxer.

  • IJB
  • IJB

    CA is not a particularly “Leftist” state – Proposition result after Proposition result confirm that.

    So I don’t think the majority of the CA electorate is very hostile to “conservatives” or “conservatism”, per se.

    However, I do think CA is a *very* partisan state, and the majority of the electorate (and Jaded and Joe are correct that much of that partisan ‘lean’ can be traced to the Bay Area, and to a lesser extent L.A., though pretty much all of Coastal CA north of Orange County is bad) is conditioned to pull the level for a “D”, pretty much no matter what (as the CA-10 result kind of shows).

    I don’t get why this electorate is not anti-conservative as much as it is anti-Republican, but that’s the way CA strikes me these days…

    As for the Senate race, I’d just plum rather it be DeVore, and I think it will be because I don’t see Fiorina generating any great groundswell for herself, in the way that Meg Whitman seems to be at least partially accomplishing for herself and her run for Governor. But Whitman got lucky by drawing two other primary opponents. Fiorina has just one, and that won’t work out well for her, I think.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    I suggest you look up partisan registration in this state. It’s dropping like crazy.

    Independents are probably going to be the majority in CA soon, if they aren’t already.

  • IJB

    I’m not looking at party registrations – I’m looking at *who wins* statewide elections in CA over the past 15 years: looking at those, this is clearly a Democrat-dominated state. People can call themselves “Decline To State” all they want, but if they still vote Democrat, are they really “independent”?!

    However, I will say this – a decrease in Dem-registration and increase in “Decline To State’ers” may be the first sign of the state moving away from being Dem-dominated. (People who’ve been voting Dem for years won’t suddenly re-register as Republican – they’d go to Decline to State first.)

    Or, it could mean nothing… We won’t know for another decade.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Your claim is that the state is very partisan but not very ideological.

    Showing that Democrat ideologues win doesn’t prove that.

  • RedBeard

    The strategizing and debating about Devore vs. Fiorina is interesting, but my choices are crystal clear and with no gray areas.

    1. Send money to Chuck DeVore’s primary campaign.

    2. Send money to whichever candidate opposes Babs “Call me Senator” Boxer in the general election, even if a write-in campaign managed to allow a Labrador Retriever named Beau to win the Republican primary.

  • RedBeard

    …Crist has hope.

  • littlel

    Look at what is stepping up to the plate for the Republicans, H.P. Carly or Let me kiss Barry’s behind Crist or EBay Meg….is it any wonder the actual Grassroots voters are not behind these Elites. I have called my Senator (Cornyn) and tried to let his staff know Grassroots will not support such candidates as we see them as no better than the likes of “Immigration Reform with Amnesty” McCain, Kyl, Graham…I will be more likely to support a Dem like Chet Edwards (at least he voted NO on health care, unlike 1 Repub. LA congressman) before I will support another “moderate” Republican that thinks abortion, gun control, health care and energy taxes are good for the World/Planet.
    It seems these Corp Execs, who have done for some of their previous Corps what they intend to do for America, ie borrow and spend it into the ground, are hunting a place to land and either party is ok as long as they get OPM (other peoples money) to do it–afterall that is what they did as Execs-used other peoples money while cutting thousands of working class people jobs so they could take their millions home.

  • smagar

    As long as the Dems maintain control of the Senate, she’s in a powerful position over ALL of us.

    If she were still in the House, her stupidity would be more diluted among, and dissipated by, her 400+ colleagues. In the Senate, Boxer is one of only 100.

  • smagar
  • smagar

    Especially the part about targeting precious GOP and conservative campaign resources on the races we are most likely to win

    With Boxer’s seniority, a statewide MSM that’s in her pocket, her willingess to play the feminist “victim,” union support and CA’s inclination to vote for Democrats—that’s an awful lot to overcome.

    We need seats in the Senate—bad. We need to go where we can get those seats.

    By all means, CA GOP voters should pick the candidate they want. But, when it comes to supplying out-of-state resources—especially money—-the rest of the GOP and conservative movement should put its money where it can do the most good.

    Personally, that’s one of the reasons I favor Fiorinia in this race over DeVore. IMO a GOP Senate candidate needs to be able to grab the attention of the California MSM. Especially in a state as large as CA, where media access is so vital.

    If DeVore wins the GOP primary, I expect the Boxer-friendly MSM to starve him of the airtime he needs to connect with California voters. They’ll simply ignore him.

    Carly Fiorinia, on the other hand, has some advantages in forcing the MSM to pay attention to her. She’s a female candidate, already well-known and her struggle with breast cancer makes her personal story compelling. IMO the MSM will find it hard to ignore her.

  • smagar

    Here’s the list of GOP Senators who’ve endorsed Fiorina: Tom Coburn, Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, Jon Kyl, John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski and Olympia Snowe.

    Yes, I know that, to some on Redstate, some of these Senators are defacto Democrats.

    If DeVore is so electable, then why are Coburn and Kyl coming out for Fiorina so early on in this campaign?

  • joayn

    attention because DeVore has been speaking, and voting mind you, about the issues you refer to. If California Republicans like yourself would quit thinking like the state and beltway GOP and actually voted on/for conservative principles, we would have a great shot at winning this race.

    For years the California GOP (a bunch of totally worthless moderates/idiots) has promoted the strategy of “which Republican comes closest to being a Democrat so we can fool the electorate” (business as usual) nonsense, and where has that gotten us? If a conservative Republican was running against Boxer, there was little money spent promoting that candidate, ensuring a win for the Dems. But that was then.

    Please realize NOW IS THE TIME that a conservative Republican could win this race. The best and greatest thing about the financial crisis in this country is that it has shined a light on the results of all the destructive policies the Dems have inflicted on all of us for years. And as the Washington Dems keep demonstrating, they are perfectly willing, with gusto, to inflict a lot more pain no matter what their electorate says.

    This ain’t rocket science. The senate seat, unlike a congressional seat, represents the entire state. And if Independent voters are as ticked off at the Dems as the polls indicate, they will more than likely support and vote for a conservative versus a moderate. If a conservative like DeVore is our candidate, Independents and fiscally conservative Dems will vote for him over Boxer.

    If Republicans choose Fiorina over DeVore, it will ensure a Boxer win. Fiorina has so much negative baggage in her past that Boxer will make mincemeat of her. Fiorina will be forced to run a defensive campaign and make the Republican party look like total morons and incompetents for choosing her. Republicans serious about change? Nah, Republicans serious about respectability? Nah. Republicans cheapening their brand at any price, “just to win”? Yep, Republicans looking desperate? Yep,

    If Republicans choose DeVore, it means we are dead serious about kicking some Boxer butt. Boxer will try to paint him with the typical liberal smears of abortion, gay marriage, scary thoughts, whatever. What else has she got to use against him? He’s bad for wanting smaller government, less spending, being fiscally responsible, lower taxes, pro-business, pro-jobs, anti-amnesty, etc.? His record is perfect. His past is perfect. He walks the talk. He will be able to hammer Boxer in ways that Fiorina can’t, and will be able to run a clear campaign on conservative principles versus Boxer’s record and where the Dems in Washington want to take us, not saddled with distractions that Fiorina would be forced to constantly defend (especially her personal voting record – ugh – totally damaging).

    A California Conservative Republican can win this race. These are unusual times, and I’m asking you, as a fellow Californian, to believe and to realize that THIS IS THE TIME. Vote DeVore.

    “I only want to hold my nose when I change a baby’s diaper, not when I vote.” – My Mom

  • joayn

    Sorry, smagar, Neil is absoutely right. Quit thinking like a beltway Repub. These are unusual times. Start thinking outside the box.

  • joayn

    Not Carly “McCain” Fiorina.

    ?I only want to hold my nose when I change a baby?s diaper, not when I vote.? – My Mom

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    They were wrong.

    Prove it’s different this time. Don’t just say it.

    All the evidence so far says she’s a terrifically bad candidate with skeletons in the closet and a built-in base of hatred in the bay area.

  • archer52

    From my comment at Hotair after watching the video. You can see how uncomfortable and “managed” she looks-

    The trouble here is that she has too many other ?moderate? positions (of the ones we can find)and follows McCain?s theory of shooting himself in the foot to make the left happy. She is two people- a good successful person with a bright mind and a poor politician- with limited charisma and a bad policy mindset along with a weak self-promotion problem. You can see she can probably run a board room in a heartbeat, but can?t stand in front of thousands of people and ask for their vote. Two different talents.

    The second one gets you elected.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Those kinds of candidates just don’t win.

    She needed to run for the House first.

  • smagar

    Why not wait until the primary is over?

    By all means, CA GOP members should pick their own candidate. I agree with you there.

    But…I can’t help but thinking that smart GOP politicians, like Kyl and McConnell and Graham, have to wonder about DeVore’s electability in the general. Otherwise, why come out for Fiorina now?

    I’d think that McConnell wants as many more GOP Senators as he can possibly get. So, if Fiorina—based on “all the evidence so far”—is indeed a fatally-flawed candidate, why is McConnell not trying to get rid of her, much less endorse her?

    If this is all part of a grand Beltway GOP conspiracy, to get another RINO in the Senate—then why are Kyl and especially Coburn part of this?

    I am at least open to the possibility that GOP leaders are favoring Fiorina because they think she’s best positioned to win a Senate seat in California.

    Winning the GOP nomination is one thing. Winning the Senate seat itself is something else altogether.

  • smagar

    Quit thinking like a beltway Repub.

    joayn, you’re welcome to go running off the cliff, SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER as you fall. I simply don’t want to waste precious national GOP resources on you as you do it.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    The same idiots who are *trying* to pass Obamacare, and *attacked* Hoffman in order to elect Scozzafava.

    If you want to follow them blindly, so be it.

    Some of us have eyes and can see for ourselves the truth of the two candidates in this race.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    The blind follower of the DC establishment, the one that’s barely clinging to 40 votes in the Senate, and is working to pass
    Obamacare, calls someone else a lemming.

  • penguin2

    And while I can’t answer your question, I can tell you every name you posted in your first paragraph makes me run just as fast as I can from anybody they would support at the primary level. They are supporting someone just like themselves, and we are looking to change the face of the GOP, so we do not have more of the same for the next decade.

  • Anteater

    1. Get tips from McClintock.

    2. Study the Prop 8 map.

    3. Use the Bill Simon strategy in Central California.

    4. Come close to winning LA. I don’t know how this can be done. Maybe get tips from Riordan.

    5. Find a way to win hispanic voters. This is crucial.

    6. Have a huge political presence at the universities, especially Berkeley. Students are more easily swayed and one can create enough doubt in their minds to convince them just to stay home.

    7. Tie together the issues of jobs, water, and healthcare into one easy-to-understand message. The delta smelt should be the official logo of the campaign — extreme liberalism is more concerned about the health of a small fish than the health of the economy or even the health of people. This is a message that will resonate with the average nonpolitical person on the street.

    My fear is that DeVore is virtually unknown outside of Orange County. I doubt he can win this race, but just being in this one would raise his profile for future races.

  • smagar

    If you want to follow them blindly, so be it.

    Some of us have eyes and can see for ourselves the truth of the two candidates in this race.

    Neil, have you ever though about laying your blamstick down, leaving this online kingdom of yours behind and evnturing out into the real world?

    Let me be clear—I am very grateful for all your efforts keeping up Redstate. This site wouldn’t be nearly the success it is without you.

    Just don’t let it go to your head.

  • smagar
  • smagar
  • smagar

    If so, penguin2, then IMO you are bad news for the GOP.

  • penguin2

    Didn’t see Coburn and Kyl in there, which does mess up the point I was trying to make. My point, the other names bother me, when they come out and speak up for a candidate. The McCains, Snowe, Graham, et al. are not spokespeople I trust in the early stages of candidate selection.

    So, I don’t think I’m bad news for the GOP. Unless they want my financial support, and then I certainly can be selective in the primaries. :)

    Sorry for my misread.

  • aesthete

    Or at least near California? Virtually all of our Cali residents, including those who self-identify as “moderate” (SteveLA), back DeVore over Fiorina. Most of the reasons that have been given for supporting her have failed to materialize, and she has a horrible record as CEO of HP. I would much rather trust the natives of Cali than a gaggle of insulated politicians who haven’t shown that they understand their own constituents, much less those of other parts of the country.

  • smagar

    Virtually all of our Cali residents…back DeVore over Fiorina

    Well, the real question is whether they’ll back DeVore over Boxer, isn’t it?

    BTW, I’m impressed that you know the voting preferences of “virtually all” of the voters in a state as big and populous as CA. Michael Barone might want to chat with you…

    OK, aesthete, I’ve answered your question—now answer mine: If DeVore wins the GOP primary, but the reputable polls (e.g., Rasmussen) show Boxer cleaning his clock statewide, will you object if the GOP holds back money and resources from DeVore’s campaign?

  • smagar

    If you’re OK with Kyl and Coburn, then I can’t fault you for finding fault with the other Senators. Their antics have caused quite a bit of conservative teeth-gnashing, no doubt. :)

  • tazzmax

    and there’s no way in h*ll I’ll vote for Fiorna,….her “HP shenanigans” should be enough to scare off conservatives,..not to mention her other skeletons in the closet.

    DeVore is the man for me and he can win.

    Conservatives need to stop voting for RINOs or the gop will never change.

  • joayn

    smagarino, and since I do live in Californian and will be voting, DeVore is my choice. It’s carpe diem, smagarino, carpe diem.

  • joayn

    smagar, are you a troll? Or is it just that you can’t win your argument with Neil and your inner Democrat is revealed?

    “But?I can?t help but thinking that smart GOP politicians, like Kyl and McConnell and Graham …” What?!!!!

  • Aaron Gardner

    When he was talking about “Virtually all of our Cali residents?back DeVore over Fiorina” he was talking about those within the RS community, this is clear since he actually referenced SteveLA.

    Just thought I would let you know.

  • joayn

    maybe interviewed by Sean Hannity? He needs some major airtime.

  • smagar
  • smagar

    Or is it just that you can?t win your argument with Neil and your inner Democrat is revealed?

    Yes, that’s it joayn, You’ve sized me up perfectly. (eyeroll)

    ?But?I can?t help but thinking that smart GOP politicians, like Kyl and McConnell and Graham ?? What?!!!!

    joayn, you really gotta lay off the Kool-Aid. You may disagree with a lot of their policy positions, but these three men are obviously smart politicians. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be where they are today.

    But, seeing as I’m now keen to see more of your policy acumen on display…why don’t you think that McConnell or Kyl are smart politicians?

    Personally, what you’ve written so far leads me to think you’re a mindless lemming. But, I may be wrong. Go ahead—I’m listeining.

  • smagar

    Must have more coffee…

  • smagar
  • smagar

    I agree that DeVore is the clear choice of the majority of California Redstaters. Unfortunately, all registered voters in California get to vote in next year’s Senate election, whether they’re Redstate members or not.

    DeVore has to catch on strongly enough statewide to overcome all the advantages Boxer has. I get the sense that national GOP leaders are favoring Fiorina in part because they don’t think DeVore has enough “sizzle” to catch on in California.

  • Aaron Gardner

    but I do think that you shouldn’t discount outright what CA RedStaters are saying either. What I don’t get about you, and please don’t take this as an attack, is that you trust the judgement of politicians in DC over the judgement of CA RedStaters and Rasmussen polls on the CA race.

    After 2006 and 2008 I have a hard time trusting the political calculation of those in DC ruining…errr running the party. As far as your question about whether or not the NRSC should give financial support to DeVore should he win the primary….sure they should. I mean, people from CA have donated to the NRSC so why shouldn’t the NRSC financially support the candidate they end up choosing. And before you ask, yes that goes both ways. If Fiorina wins then the NRSC should provide some financial support for the same basic reason.

    I also understand that the party as a whole has limited resources. At the same time, that doesn’t change the fact that every senate race should have some NRSC support. How they divide up those resources is up to them, but simply denying a candidate support because of the state they are running in is equivalent to giving up. The consequence of doing that is greater voter disenfranchisement in the CA GOP, certainly not something we want to do.

    As far as “sizzle” goes, well the last Rasmussen poll shows Fiorina and Devore both pulling the same amount of support in a matchup against Boxer. With that in mind I suppose Carly just doesn’t have enough sizzle either, correct? And since neither has the “sizzle”, by your logic, neither should get financial support in the general from the NRSC.

  • aesthete

    After the losses in ’06 and ’08, and after the Scozzie debacle and the current lack of strategy on the healthcare bill, I’m not sure that our DC set is the most reliable source. Also, though your point that RSers are not representative of their states or fellow primary voters is valid, their opinions are worth more, IMO, than those of politicians who don’t necessarily understand the dynamics of the state. According to those Cali residents who frequent this site, DeVore has better organization, more cash-on-hand, a better scripted campaign, and is better as a conservative. Considering that Fiorina is not doing as well as DeVore in the polls in a match-up against Boxer, I see no reason that we should rush to endorse Fiorina.

    To answer your question about national funding: I don’t think that California and the blue states should be a priority for pickup in the ’10 election, regardless of the candidate, and this race especially should have low priority, IMO. Neither DeVore nor Fiorina make this a close race; at best, they make it competitive for the first time. That’s not a good enough reason for pouring massive amounts of money that would be involved in picking up a seat in Cali, whatwith its expensive media markets and campaigning in general.

  • Aaron Gardner

    I don’t think the NRSC should through a bunch of money at CA, I think it should provide financial support relative to the support it receives from CA republicans.

    Also, FTR I have already endorsed DeVore officially on the FP.

    Not sure what you meant by this:

    Also, though your point that RSers are not representative of their states or fellow primary voters is valid, their opinions are worth more, IMO, than those of politicians who don?t necessarily understand the dynamics of the state.

    Maybe I wasn’t clear, but what I meant is exactly what you said. I trust the CA RS’s opinion on this more than I do anyone else’s, especially those insulated in DC.

  • Aaron Gardner

    Lately I have been mixing those two up when typing. I should probably stop sniffing glue between posts. ;)

  • aesthete

    Sorry; I have a bad habit of intermixing my replies! I almost fully agree with you (which is why I put the “5, Aaron” as the header of my comment), but the rest of the post was for smagar. I have to disagree on funding, though; there are going to be several seats in contest in ’10, and I’d rather the NRSC spend money on more winnable and less costly (both logistically and financially) races in “flyover country” than have them spend too much time or money on a long-shot race in CA that may not get us as conservative a candidate as others would, regardless of how dedicated CA Republicans are.

  • Aaron Gardner

    Why should the Republicans in CA be denied support from an organization that they actually contribute money to? I am not saying that the NRSC need to throw a bunch of money into the general election, what I am saying is that the NRSC shouldn’t deny money from going to CA. The amount they decide to spend there will, necessarily, be less than what would be sent to the more conservative flyover states, but it shouldn’t be zero. If the NRSC continues to do things like that how many CA voters will continue to provide financial support for the NRSC, I know I wouldn’t send money to them if they had no intention of using some portion of that money on races in my state. The NRSC needs to learn how to divvy up the resources in a way that doesn’t disenfranchise it’s own donor base, which CA is a part of, even if they are a minority.

  • aesthete

    I see it this way: Congressmen are national, and not local figures. That is, a Senator from Virginia has the same number of votes as a senator from Iowa, Vermont, or California. That being the case, if my goals in the Federal government are to have more conservative governance, wouldn’t it be more beneficial, as a hypothetical, to spend X amount of dollars to get 10-15 conservative Senators in states where constituents would support a conservative representative, than to get 7-12 of those elected + someone less conservative from my state who’s constituents may not be on board with a conservative rep? I get what you’re saying, and if I lived in the state I’d donate and put effort into that race (as I will do in ’10 by trying to kick out McCain, elect a conservative instead of Giffords, and in supporting Grijalva’s R opponent), but organizations like the NRSC have a responsibility to invest the resources that they have to the best of their ability, and shouldn’t feel obligated to spend money where it won’t do as much good as in other places, IMO.

  • lylem

    It seems to me that DeVore is the perfect place for the G.O.P. to put its money. A win in California would be HUGE. I’m willing to bet that Barbara not that strong.