My View of Palin's Fiorina Endorsement from California

I actually lived on that little strip of land for years... Mission Beach in San Diego, CA.

Anybody that knows me, knows that I am a staunch supporter of Governor Palin's. I also happen to be a Conservative that lives in California, so I have been following the GOP Senate primary race for some time. I had studied the candidates and after awhile I came to the conclusion that I wanted to support Chuck DeVore in that race. I followed his campaign, saw him give a speech last month, and even gave him some of my paycheck.

My opinion changed today after Sarah Palin gave her endorsement to DeVore's challenger, Carly Fiorina. It wasn't Governor Palin's endorsement that got me to change my mind about him, it was his reaction to the endorsement that served as a big red flag warning to this man's leadership capabilities. Plain and simple, Chuck DeVore is no statesmen. The statement he allowed to be released by his campaign was immature and derogatory. It said:

“This grassroots movement is actually a grassroots movement,” said DeVore spokesperson Joshua Trevino. “Carly Fiorina thinks she can find the sheepdog to corral the sheep. Chuck DeVore knows they’re not sheep at all. They’re Americans. And they’ll make their own decisions.”

I was dumbfounded that he would let that be released in his name. It shows that he is lacking in class and maturity. Are we not electing leaders here? What kind of leader lashes out and let's his staff lash out in this manner? I think they may be in 'melt-down' mode over at his headquarters but that is no excuse. This evening has really highlighted a serious character flaw in what I perceived as a good candidate.

The endorsement wasn't a surprise to me and it didn't catch me off guard. I had a feeling Governor Palin was going to endorse Carly Fiorina for some time. I won't go into detail as to why I felt that, just know that I did. Thinking that may be the case, I saw no problem maintaining my support for Governor Palin AND supporting Chuck DeVore for the GOP spot in the California Senate race. I stated in a blog I wrote in response to Govenor Palin's "fair weathered friends" awhile back that I don't need to agree with her on every issue to support her. I said:

"Does anybody reading this know anyone they agree with 100% of the time? I sure don’t, and if I did, and that person so happened to be a politician I would start to wonder about myself. I don’t agree with Governor Palin about everything. I certainly don’t agree with all of the candidates she is supporting. But guess what? I’m not going to sit here on my little soap box and have a hissy fit because she didn’t respond with time and resources to my email. I actually never sent her PAC an email about any candidates but if I did, I wouldn’t expect her to put all of her judgment and consideration aside because an activist told her to."

I wanted to maintain my support for the DeVore campaign but I now realize that Chuck's camp would make that impossible for me to do. There is a certain way one can handle the various situations life throws at us. Character shows in difficult times and during difficult circumstances. Tonight I saw Chuck DeVore's character and it wasn't pretty.

So, where does that leave this California Conservative? Considering Carly was my second choice and Tom Campbell is nobody I will support, I've jumped ship into the Carly camp. Call me a flip-flopper all you want... It happens.

I understand Governor Palin's endorsement of Fiorina. It is actually a good move on her part and a good move for the country. I live in California and I know Chuck DeVore has absolutely NO chance of winning in the general election against Barbara Boxer. So why was I supporting DeVore in the first place? Because I liked his message. He said all the right things and I generally believed he would make a good Senator. Not that I ever thought he would actually be a Senator. Another thing I said in that "fair weather friends" blog post was a bit of foresight on my part. I said:

"I am no expert on Kentucky politics but from what I’ve read Bill Johnson is a long shot. So realistically this is a race between Rand Paul and Trey Grayson. To those dreamers that think Johnson stands a chance, considering his poll numbers, you’re wrong. Believe me, I live in the land of Chuck DeVore. He seems on the surface to have mountains of support but when you break down the numbers the guy doesn’t stand a chance. You have to base any political strategy for the end goal. Incremental victories only carry to the next phase. Supporting Johnson only helps Grayson in the long run by taking votes away from his real competitor. Almost ensuring a victory for Mitch McConnell part II."

I should have listened to myself. Nothing changed and supporting Chuck DeVore wasn't a good strategic plan on my part. Besides, I have no problem with Carly Fiorina's stated positions. Governor Palin updated her original Facebook post to reiterate these positions:

"Carly has been endorsed by the National Right to Life, the California Pro-Life Council, and the Susan B. Anthony List. She is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-military, and pro-strict border security and against amnesty. She is against Obamacare and will vote to repeal it and prevent the government takeover of private companies and industries. Carly is also a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. Like me, she is a member of the NRA, has a 100% NRA rating, and she and her husband are gun owners. She is pro-energy development and believes as I do in an all-of-the-above approach to energy independence. She is against cap and tax. And most importantly, Carly is the only conservative in the race who can beat Barbara Boxer. That’s no RINO. That’s a winner."

I also highly doubt she would be publicly trashing Governor Palin, or her supporters had the endorsement gone to the other candidate. Carly Fiorina has more class and professionalism than that. I look forward to helping Carly Fiorina win the GOP Primary and I really look forward to helping her kick Barbara Boxer out of the Senate for good.

In the mean time, please enjoy the best campaign ad I have ever seen.