Thu 4 Feb 2010
FCino (Fiscal Conservatives in name only)
Posted by DSW under Advertising , Campaigns & Elections , Political Parties[13] Comments
I have to hand it to Californians for creative political ads. This ad was released by the Carly for California campaign attacking Tom Campbell. The voiceover was done by actor Robert Davi. Sound familiar? He’s the same voice heard in John McCain’s ads.
Carly Fiorina was one of several high profile spokeswomen and advisors for the McCain Presidential campaign. Now she’s running for US Senate in California in a primary along with several high profile Republicans including, Tom Campbell, Al Ramirez and Chuck DeVore.
What makes me uncomfortable about Ms. Fiorina is her close ties to John McCain. The fact that she is using the same actor (Robert Davi) to cut the voiceover signals that McCain is involved in much more than his own Senate re-election campaign.
But what is really disturbing is that Fiorina is using the same tactic to attack someone like Tom Campbell who has been a frequent guest on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show and is introduced as a fiscal and social conservative. It’s the same tactic being employed against JD Hayworth here in Arizona. Paint your opponent as a big spender and not fiscal conservative while trying to cover your own fiscally miserable record.
Last week, Red State’s Brian Faughnan wrote a piece entitled, “Arguments I Never Expected: Hayworth Is No More Conservative than McCain.” In that piece, Faughnan reminded us that McCain’s rating from Citizens Against Government Waste was 88% compared to Hayworth’s 89%. That’s not quite the huge chasm that McCain claims over Hayworth. (Incidentally, McCain’s lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union is a mediocre 81% compared to Hayworth’s 98%.)
Read perceptively between the lines. McCain and his allies are laying down fire on their opponents in order to distract the voters from their real record or position.
Obviously, I don’t live in California so I won’t vote there. (If I did, I’d vote for Chuck DeVore.)
But I can smell a political rat (FCino) and I think the infestation is more widespread than we realize.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
It’s on Youtube as the newest Hitler spoof.
That guy crawling around in a sheep costume to urgently ominous music looks like Middle School film class work.
Way to go Fiorina!
February 5th, 2010 at 5:38 am
Demonsheep and snakes in Guam.
Friends of McCain “snakes” add makes me want to send JD to Washington with some money for the snake cause. I still can’t tell from the commercial if they were bailing out the snakes or if they were killing them. So annoying. And “character matters”? Please.
February 5th, 2010 at 6:35 am
You are who you hang with and RINO’s certainly stay together. McCain, Fiorina, Crist … Not much difference between the bunch and all are about as politically attractive as a bucket of warm spit.
We’ll just all need to buck up and work together through the primary cycle. We also need to look at the positives. Rubio has gone from 30+ point behind Crist to a 14 point lead in about a month because of the grassroots, the Tea party, etc. So take heart and work at it until we get it done. It is RINO season and there is no bag limit.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:35 am
DSW: last night you posted a piece about Schweikert attacking Jim Ward over the Americans for Tax Reform pledge. Now it’s gone. What happened?
February 5th, 2010 at 10:02 am
My number one priority in the California Senate race is to see Barbara Boxer lose. The question I ask is, “Which Republican candidate has the best shot?” I have no question that DeVore is the most conservative, but what good does that do for us if he loses?
California is a liberal state, and a “real” conservative hasn’t won statewide in about 30 years. Fiorina looks like the only Republican that has an even remote shot at beating Boxer (assuming she gets better media people), and on the big issues, she would be a good vote to have, and certainly an improvement over Boxer.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:52 am
I was born and bred in California and had my first experiences working within the California party structure. Many power brokers within the CRP (I’m looking at you California Republican Assembly) are borderline delusional about the state of California Politics, as well as the GOP there. They have been overwhelmingly ineffective in getting out the conservative message and have allowed themselves to be painted into a corner by their opponents.
As it stands, no CRA, or CRA backed candidate will get anywhere near DC or the Governor’s office anytime soon. Boxer is a ridiculously fierce campaigner who always polls low this early. She will wipe the floor with Chuck without even a second thought. Tom has a better chance, but will probably go the way of Matt Fong.
Baby steps people, even if you don’t like Fiorina, she’s head over heels better than Boxer.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
This is one of the weirdest campaign ads I’ve seen. A guy crawling around in a cheesy wolf’s outfit with cheap red eyes. Bizaare.
I agree that Fiorina is the best general election candidate. But if her campaign is putting out this stuff she has no chance of beating Boxer.
Vote DeVore or Campbell.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
You are missing the real smoking gun here…since the linear equation is based on the premise that Robert Davi is the same actor doing the voice over in the McCain ads and Carly’s ads, then McCain is implicitly tied to the message…let’s look at some other facts.
Well, what about the fact that this guy also played the villain in the classic tale of good over evil…The Goonies! That should be the story…anyone who would use an actor that tried to hurt kids and would leave his poor handicapped brother locked in the cellar…NEVER vote for that candidate!
It is a silly ad and I support DeVore but….I’m afriad McCain Derangement Syndrome has reached a fever pitch.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
This FCINO stuff is similar to the antics of J.D. Hayworth.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
antics of JD…hmmm, could you be referring to Abramoff? Signatures Restaurant? Sports Skyboxes? pay your legal bills JD!
February 6th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
I see Carly has learned the the first part of the McCain Method!
That is:
1.Campaign as a Conservative
2. If elected to the Senate move to the left for four or so years to establish MSM and liberal financial ties (in this case Hollywood) and then….
3. Hold out the weather vane to determine which way the wind is blowing for re-election.
Principles of course are always flexible and establishments must always be served.
February 6th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
Carly Fiorina is the post child for how to ram a company into the ground (Hewlett Packard). Sure Boxer sucks but this idiotic mindset of “anyone with an (R) next to their name is better than the idiot with a (D) next to their name” is counter productive to any TRUE conservatives. A perfect example is if Juan McCain had won in 2008. The Republican party would officially be dead by now if Juan was the new El Presidente. Instead we took a party Jorge Boosh had almost killed and we’re slowly reviving it by kicking one RINO out at a time. McCain, your next.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:36 am
Brian is right. Ask anyone who worked in support, engineering – any department besides marketing – at HP. Carly Fiorina is a nightmare, a poor businesswoman (unless you count enriching herself at the expense of her company’s interest), and a horrible political adviser (as displayed by McCain’s pathetic campaign.)
This ad could very well be the worst political ad I have ever seen in my life.