In her quest to win the Republican nomination for California's Senate race against Barbara Boxer, Carly Fiorina picked up what used to be an important endorsement: that of failed Vice-Presidential candidate and half-term Gubernatorial quitter Sarah Palin. Needless to say, it backfired--on both of them.
Even though conservatism and failure are usually synonymous and Carly's track record of failure is comprehensive and well-documented, she certainly doesn't have the strongest conservative credentials in the Republican primary. That distinction arguably belongs to tea party favorite Chuck Devore. So when Sarah Palin announced the endorsement, her base was devastated:
Though a handful of readers agreed with Palin's decision, most were upset.
"This is very, very disappointing," Rick Sheridan, one of her supporters, posted on Palin's page. "Sarah, you've got to be more careful. This woman does not represent conservative values. And the choice is so clear. Serious damage to your base here."
"Wow, Sarah...I'm saddened and shocked by your decision to endorse Carly Fiorina," commented another backer, Jennifer Goode. "Had you done your research, you would have found that Chuck DeVore is the ONLY true conservative in the California Senate race."
But it gets more interesting. Because of the outcry, Palin has been forced to put up an addendum to her Facebook note justifying the endorsement. In that update, there's a curious little nugget:
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.
Two things are worth pointing out here. One: Carly Fiorina has never held elected office, so she has never cast a single vote on a piece of legislation. (She hasn't spent much time voting for anything, actually.) So how could she have a 100% record on anything? In addition, a brief check of the NRA's Political Victory Fund seems to indicate that if the NRA has graded 2010 primary candidates in California, it's certainly not public yet. And regarding "cap and tax"--Fiorina just happened to be a big supporter of cap-and-trade back when Sarah Palin's running mate was supporting the idea. So, it's hard to know where Palin gets her notions about Fiorina's positions, unless she has been secretly graded by the NRA and has had an epiphany recently.
Here's hoping Sarah Palin qualifies her defense of her endorsement. I'll be here making popcorn.