Carly Fiorina’s Reagan Library speech
[NOTE: If you watch it and like it, please pass it around via email, Facebook, Twitter, and any other way you can think of. I’d really like to see her poll numbers rise so that she gets the exposure of being in the top 10 debate.]
I haven’t had a chance to watch this yet, but I’ve been told by several commenters that it’s excellent and well worth a listen. So I’m posting it.
Yes, I’m a Fiorina fan, much to my surprise. And it’s not because she’s a woman—I couldn’t care less about that, except for the fact that I think a woman would defuse Hillary’s talking points in that regard. That’s assuming Hillary is the nominee, which I’m still assuming.
I do understand that Fiorina has several vulnerabilities that would be exploited and that she would have to turn into pluses. The first is her lack of a history in political office (although there’s something to be said for that). The second is that, in her previous run for office, she lost (somewhat but not entirely mitigated by the fact that it was in bluer-than-blue California, and she did quite well for a Republican there). The third is her tenure and firing at Hewlett-Packard, which she has explained but which is still very susceptible to criticism.
The fourth is that she’s not doing well in the polls up till now.
Watched the whole thing yesterday. She’s great!!!!!
Answers questions, unlike Hillary.
My wife and I watched the whole speech (the last 10 minutes are Q&A). Anyone who listens to her will be a Carly fan. Even with the “negatives” you mention, her biggest problem is name recognition. Probably won’t happen but it would be amazing to see her on the debate stage with Hillary.
BTW, she has REAL answers to her firing at HP – look at where HP stands now in the IT world.
I’m saying all of this as a Republican who never in the past has paid rapt attention to ANY of the candidates.
In my opinion, Carly Fiorina is the Real Deal – she’s different from any of the other candidates. She answers the questions that are asked and NOT with talking points.
Very impressive speech.
She may not have a realistic shot at the presidential spot on the ticket, but she would be the perfect choice for VP.
At Koch Brothers’ donors summit the question was put to her, “What is your path to the nomination?”
Answer: I can debate and defeat HRC.
I will fight and win.
Great stuff, very disciplined.
Insanity! No Photo ID, No Problem – Illegals Using Notice To Appear At Airports – Fox & Friends
http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2015/08/insanity-no-photo-id-no-problem.html
ps. Interested in a Link Exchange w/ CC?
Saw Scott Walker at the same event. He was great too.
Said “Team of Rivals” is one of his favorite books and that two-thirds of the field would make great Cabinet members.
Had kind words for Carly.
OMG! She’s good. I’m very happy I sent her campaign a check a week ago. I think I’ll go write another one. What a breath of fresh air. Is the USA ready for someone who is not a career politician? who tells the truth? Just. Wow!
Her “negatives” are only distractions to the distractable.
She is, of course, fighting the RNC and the McCain/Bush/Ryan/Romney side of the GOP. She shows us yet again how hard it is to fight the GOP from within, like the Tea Parties. If she makes the cut for the stupid “debates”, it will only be because she is a woman. Priebus will be out of work if she succeeds.
She ought to be front and center. God bless her for her energy.
If you admire her, do something!
She’s a dauntless leader. Dauntless. We need her serving in some capacity.
During her California Senate run it came out that she had donated substantial amounts to the crazy-radical Senator Boxer and other Democrats, not only of her own money but of Hewlett-Packard’s.
Unruffled, she explained that that did not reflect her politics at all: only the commercial interests of Hewlett-Packard.
So her convictions are for sale, and she’s not even ashamed. Big disappointment.
The only answer is, “They all do it.” But they don’t. Trump does. That’s about it.
Oh, yeah. Two other things.
(1) The presidency is not an entry-level position.
(2) Not only Washington but the state capitals are littered with the bodies (I speak figuratively) of businessmen who tried their skills in government. Sorry to say: whole different set of skills required.
a6z:
Silly idea for HP to choose sides. Buying access to ears is what you have to do.
Entry- level position? You must be joking. Barack Hussein was entry-level, and he has seized the Executive and run with it.
Someone who has run a major corporation probably has the experience needed to run the Federal Government. At the least, they’ve got more executive experience than any career Senator or Congressman.
And, generally speaking, being seen as a political “outsider” is generally a good thing where voters are concerned. The trick is to balance the outsider image with the appearence of competence in front of the voters.
From a 2009 article, here are the details on Fiorina’s political donations:
So, she’s only personally ever given to Republicans and the money that went to Democrats was through company/business PACs, and then less than 50% of that.
Yikes. I say this directly opposite of what I want.
CF does not look good here. I looked at ten minutes of her looking at her notes constantly and furtively, and then forwarding to further in where she looked off page.
I must be wrong. I hope I am wrong. CF looked terrible, unlike everything else I have seen of her.
I looked at her from 48:00 and beyond. She was great, but frantic.
Carly needs to go to a beach for two weeks and chill.
I mean that.
She is a human being. She needs to slow down.
And I do compare Ted Cruz who may have super human skills.
“You cannot run for president unless you have faith in the good judgement and common sense of the American people.”
Well, hopefully that good judgement and common sense is finely tuned when it comes to narrowing the field of GOP nominees.
Her donations to the HP PAC should be a non issue. I do the same with the Fortune 100 company I work for. She made some “Islam built a great civilization” comments shortly after 9/11. I would have hoped for a more balanced view from someone who studied medieval history (e.g.,attributing innovations to the conquered peoples and giving the dominant Arabs/Ottomans a hat tip for cultural transmission). However, she’s been blunt and unafraid to talk about radical Islam during the campaign, which is more than we can say about most politicians.
Overall, she’s my #1 pick right now, and I’ve already maxed out my contribution. It’s a shame the charlatan Trump is sucking all the air out of the room so that a serious candidate like Fiorina has to fight so hard for attention and eyeballs.
Absent any prior political experience she is unelectable as President. As a conservative woman, she is unelectable as President. She is the latest conservative unelectable fantasy candidate. In the primaries, enough conservatives will vote for their unelectable fantasy candidate to ensure that Bush 3.0 manages to take the nomination, and the Democrats will win 2016 in a landslide.
Bellarion,
I don’t think Carly is a fantasy candidate. That is Trump. Carly is appealing to people who want to hear all the candidates speak of prnciples and how they can be put into practice. We all owe her a lot for the way she is talking about important things and not giving in to the MSM scandal issue of the day. I have not made a final decision about who I want to be president, but I have decided that Carly is a valuable asset to conservatives. The people who like Carly are not LIV. They are informed about the problems in the world and in our government. They are not jumping on any bandwagons. They want the issues she raises to be addressed by all the candidates.
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She did not give money to pols while at HP. HP gave money to pols -and it is not a lack of values or backbone. When you are CEO you represent the stockholders. You do what is best for them – you do not overly impose your views.
The President is supposed to do the same thing – represent all citizens (does that include aliens and illegal aliens – don’t think so….).
ann,
when you are ceo you not only give to your company pac, you force your executives to do the same, imply to the rest of mgmt. that they should, and encourage all employees to contribute. just the way it is.
q
a6z,
the streets are littered with bodies – period. they come from all walks of life including business… there are just as many professional pols that get dumped on the streets of DC.
q
neocon,
I find it sad that you feel compelled to explain that you and Carly are both women, especially in what is essentially your opening paragraph.
we all have biases which is why we I right instead of left. you don’t have to defend your bias. I don’t and won’t defend mine.
q
I like Carly a lot. A very pleasant surprise.
One thing I don’t understand about this election cycle is why people are acting as if everything is the same. Just another election, same pundits, same polls, same boring analyses, same assumptions about the same old issues.
But nothing is the same! There’s a madman in the White House wreaking havoc. Half the country is frightened to death of what he has wrought, and the other half is oblivious. We’re arguably in a Cold Civil War. We have national security crises coming out of our ears, and the news is hardly covering it.
The president is either a traitor, a criminal, or a nut (or some combination of the above), was entirely unqualified for the office, is widely believed to have used fraudulent means to get elected, and has brazenly abused his power.
One wishes the presidency of the United States were not an entry-level position, but that happened.
I see no reason to imagine things are ever going to go back to the way they were. As far as I’m concerned, all bets are off. I don’t think anyone knows anything this time around.
Carly may have a shot. So does Bernie Sanders, in my view. People are scared, and our leaders are mostly in denial.
For that reason alone it’s great to see Carly on the stump. At least she is talking sense, and talking about principle! It’s a breath of fresh air, regardless of her chances.
I won’t be the least bit surprised if we end up with Biden. He fits the bill for what the Democrats seem to want–someone who reminds of them of the party’s past, who they can pretend, if they squint just right, is wise; he’s seasoned, that’s close enough, eh? And if Obama indicates that Joe is the preferred choice, that will be enough for many. Why did Obama let Biden stand next to him at the announcement of the Iran deal? Usually he hogs the spotlight for himself. I think they have a deal that Joe is the successor.
q:
I find your statement odd and somewhat confusing.
You write: “I find it sad that you feel compelled to explain that you and Carly are both women…”
Where did I explain such a thing? I would think, even in this day and age of shifting and/or unclear genders, that the vast majority of people (even, perhaps, everyone with functional vision) could see from our respective photos that we are both women. No explanation necessary.
What I indicated was that her being a women doesn’t enter into my calculations or biases except as a foil for Hillary (who, let me explain, is a woman).
And then you imply that I “don’t have to defend” my bias. A bias I have explicitly denied.
I attended a small campaign event for Carly Fiorina when she ran for Senate. She was great. She remains great.
For me, too, she is the No. 1 choice for president.
Realistically however, she probably would be more successful as a vice presidential candidate because of her lack of executive experience in political office.
Either way, CARLY FOR AMERICA!
Also, I contributed money to her campaign several weeks ago.
She plays a great Rikki Tikki Tavi to Hilary’s Nagaina.
The MSM wants and needs underdogs to inflate for a few days and then shoot down. I remain patiently pro-Scott Walker. Soon we’ll begin to receive data on who transmits their image best to us in 2-D, on television. We’ll respond.
Have people found a savior that wants to destroy the Left yet?
From the first, I’ve felt that Carly is running for VP.
She’d be perfect in such a role.
I’d say Walker sees that too.
If one thinks she isn’t presidential material, why would they think she’s VP material? Are they not the same?
Personally I put her right up there with Walker and Cruz as my top three. The rest? Eh.
Y: “Have people found a savior that wants to destroy the Left yet?”
Me and Ted Cruz, so far.
Tonawanda, I see what your are talking about in the opening 10 minutes and I think it was nerves. A speech tactic is to look just above the heads of the audience (I think she may have looked a bit higher). She did relax and then was able to look directly at the audience. I speak publicly often and it is a skill your learn and get better the more you do it.
I think she is not used to political speeches and rather than going to the beach to relax she needs to spend a little time with a communications professional so she finds her rhythm and the proper line delivery for applause.
She shines in the Q&A and there is plenty of time to learn how to deliver a political speech. The speech itself is really good and Jay Nordlinger has dubbed her, “Carly the communicator”.
She is the best I’ve seen out there today and has “that” appeal” both women and Independents will like.
I’m with Neo I want to see her on the debate stage during Primetime! Go Carly!
I like Florin but she has a fifth vulnerability for me. She isn’t paying the people she hired for her senate campaign.
The WashPoat reports:
“A super PAC supporting former tech executive Carly Fiorina’s run reported raising $3.5 million — with a half-million dollar lift from a super PAC supporting GOP presidential rival Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.).
“The pro-Cruz PAC, Keep the Promise I, reported the disbursement Friday in a document filed with the Federal Election Commission.”
LINK
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/07/31/why-did-a-ted-cruz-super-pac-donate-to-carly-fiorina/
I will watch this.
I’ve seen her interviews and I am also quite impressed. She’s sharp, honest, has strong fundamentals and sounds like she wants to find solutions to problems, a problem-solver. Having business experience at a large corporation might be a good change from Ivy league educated attorneys…
She is very well briefed on foreign policy issues. I was especially impressed with her description of China’s aspirations over the South China Sea. I have not heard any other candidate talk about this increasingly urgent issue.
At first I was merely curious about her candidacy and made contributions to her campaign as well as Walker’s and Rubio’s. But after seeing several speeches and interviews, she has become my candidate of choice. Unfortunately, she will be overlooked unless she can pull off a surprise in Iowa or New Hampshire. I think the latter is the more likely.
Fiorina is impressive everywhere, including in this speech.
Since the left is obsessed with identity politics and the public follows along, there is no reason for Republicans to not nominate women, blacks and Hispanics etc. As long as the Republican candidates are conservative the “identity” part doesn’t matter.
I watched/listened to the whole thing while doing some mindless work. She’s so impressive. Just compare how she answers questions to Obama…who stumbles and stutters and ‘uhs’ his way through answers. No wonder Obama hardly ever does a press conference.
Wish more people would look at Carly. She’s a shining star. If you look at ANY news post online, there seems to be an army of trolls wanting to take her down…that tells me someone (Hillary? Bush?) are threatened by her and will stop at nothing to end her. This makes me want her even more.
BTW, for those who haven’t watched the speech, she talks a lot about her foreign policy plans. She’s sharp! Please please please let her make it through some of the early primaries. She deserves to be heard on the campaign trail for many more months. She is one of the few out there who speak her mind with clarity and intelligence and takes it right into the Democrat tent with no fear.
she isnt even close to being on any ticket at all
http://twitter.com/NRO/status/628231364668747776/photo/1
}}} She may not have a realistic shot at the presidential spot on the ticket, but she would be the perfect choice for VP.
Without seeing the speech, without knowing anything about her, that seemed likely to me.
Not really going to spend any time learning about her unless it becomes relevant. But I, being a “sexist male oppressor from the patriarchy”(*cough* bullsh… *cough*), have no issues with a female veep in any way.
With Lady Liberty and Lady Justice for all! That would certaily be a good thing, particularly if we dispensed with Ladies Hipocrisy, Cant and Mendacity. Three old tarts I have had to endure for some time now. Even through the electronics, those three tarts visit here regularly, to make my life a constant torment. I think Carly Fiorina would make a good president and she certainly should get more public support to that end. Being at the threshold of bigger and better electronics, it may help to have a more knowledgeable president. What kind of a virtual town meeting could we have if some demagogue without scruples manipulates the voices of large numbers of the citizens attending the town meeting?
Hmm. Overall a good impression. I think she stumbled the most, though, on the audience question of how to attract young people. Particularly for someone from the world of technology, she sounded overly vague about how to use it. She came off as someone whose technological background is in mainframes rather than smartphones, and seems not to have any clue about social media. Considering that’s basically how Obama’s team was able to leverage the youth vote, Carly seemed woefully out of touch.
Look at the wording in her speeches. Look at her work with the government – she is a neocon. She is a freedom and privacy hater.
Are you all asleep?