Michelle Malkin is on the conservative A team. She is not one of the fake conservatives who jumped on the Trump train. Yesterday, she wrote an article about Carly Fiorina, and she is 100% correct. She has proven herself to conservative media consumers like myself, so I love it that she took a bunch of Fiorina's luggage and just dumped it in the middle of baggage claim for everyone to deal with. I'm glad she did this. We would address it anyway, but she laid out 11 points that are a good start.
I see Fiorina as a stranger on the side of the road that we just picked up, but she happens to be an expert mechanic. She stinks, is carrying a fishing pole with no fishing line, won't say where she's from, keeps referring to "Charlie", and is wearing a squirrel head on a chain around her neck. But, we're on a cross-country road trip, and our Microbus might break down at any point, and she can really help. As we're driving, we're going to have all eyes on her, constantly spraying Febreze and watching for any sudden movements.
I wanted to hit Malkin's points with my initial thoughts. Her links have the goods, but I didn't want to post all of it because of fair use.
1. H-1B
This is her policy issue that can be changed. Cruz has been clear that he will reduce those applications, and Fiorina's positions have no weight in a Cruz administration.
2. DREAM Act/Amnesty
In no universe will Cruz ever give into amnesty. I certainly have no clue what they talked about on the phone, but I'm pretty sure Carly knows Ted's immovable position on this. Trump is the amnesty candidate, not Ted.
3. Fed Ed and Common Core
This is another issue that won't carry any weight with President Cruz. Her job will be to help work on projects and policies that President Cruz puts forth, to preside over the Senate, and to wait for President Cruz to die. We're reducing government, so Fiorina's big government policies won't have place in a Cruz administration. We're at a disadvantage with Trump anyway, because he actually built Trump University, and it's very successful, so he has the edge on education. It also got an A+ rating with the BBB! We just can't compete with that.
4. Government bailouts and stimulus spending
No bailouts. Cruz went into Iowa and told them no farm subsidies. He has been consistent on no bailouts for anyone. He didn't come all this way to start bailing out companies who find it just so hard to compete in the free market. Trump was for the bailouts, and Cruz wasn't. Fiorina's positions are irrelevant here again.
5. Admiration for Hillary Clinton
This is anecdotal, as disturbing as it may be. I think I'd rather watch "Beaches" 100 times in a row than watch that again. Moving on.
6. Gender card exploitation
I know, but she's a weapon against Trump, and helps neutralize Hillary. I'm not a fan of this silliness, but for the purpose of strategy in a campaign against Hillary's signature accomplishment of being born a woman, and Trump's record on being, well, Trump. Those of you that want Cruz to stop short of punching Donald in the face should just enjoy this approach.
7. BFF Jesse Jackson
I...... moving on.
8. A vote for Sonia Sotomayor
What? I'm sorry, we have a bad connection here. I need to reboot. I'll be right back...
9. Super PAC funny business
That's between super PACs. Wake me when there's something there. We're also running against Trump and Hillary of all people. If there were no dead prostitutes, then I think we'll be OK.
10. Record of failure
This is another in-depth topic, and I agree with what she says, but there are a lot of facts that need to be addressed to really have a discussion about some business maneuvers. For example, members of her board leaking confidential information. However, we're running against Trump, who is the king of business failure. Again, Malkin is right, but there's context during and after charing HP.
Finally, and where I disagree with her:
It’s more than just the desperation of Cruz’s VP pick that is problematic. It’s the dissonant bad judgment of choosing a running mate who resembles the duplicitous “campaign season conservative” whom Cruz has spent this entire election cycle disavowing.
Finally, #11:
When the best person you can find to be your running mate is a twice-failed candidate who accused you of saying anything to win, that’s not a red flag. It’s a four-alarm fire.
Her liberalism overshadows taking swipes at Cruz during the campaign. But I totally disagree that this is a desperation move. I really do think her strengths play into the final stretch of the campaign.
So, yes, she's a liberal. She was a bad pick in terms of a strong conservative cabinet. She is someone we would never want to be President. But for the last stretch of the campaign, I think she's a loaded 50-caliber. As conservatives, we don't have to pretend we're happy with this pick. In fact, if you are happy with it, in terms of hoping her policies would have any weight in a Cruz administration, then I'd argue you're not a conservative and you should probably hand over your conservative card. You can be a conservative and not be happy about the pick, but do understand her role in the campaign and ultimately the administration.
This is how I see it:
- The Cruz campaign just split into a two-headed monster. Trump will need to work overtime on Twitter now. Fiorina has no problem playing 52-card pickup with the woman card, so she will pull a pin off a pink grenade and just drop it into the Trump campaign's pet door and watch them scramble. The more they retaliate, the worse they look. The Trump campaign is really going to have their hands full. There's one thing we all know about Trump at this point, and that is he can't help himself from retaliating. He has convinced himself that looks weak, so he will double down.
- The woman narrative is taken from Hillary. It will be hard for Hillary to call Cruz a sexist pig when his VP is a woman.
- She is very scrappy and smart. We all saw her in the debates, in interviews, and she brings it. She will gobble up what the media throws at her and spit it back in their face.
- A lot of uncommitted delegates like her. She is liked in the Republican party. I think she's a very strong delegate play.
- In California during her Senate run in 2010, she trounced the other GOP challengers in the primaries, eventually losing to the Marxist Barbara Boxer. She knows the landscape, and with Ted and Heidi, and Ted's anti-Communist pastor dad who understands what Communism brings first hand, they can really strategize and attack the state with Ted's ground game and money.
- She is considered non-establishment, so even though she's a RINO, she's at least a non-establishment RINO. I know that's like putting sugar on a crap sandwich.
- The campaign forces Trump to make a move. If he makes a move, he looks like he's on the defense and Cruz is controlling the narrative over the self-declared nominee. If he doesn't do something, then why? Is he having a hard time finding a VP? It seems like the Trump campaign is the graveyard where political careers go to die. It will be interesting to see who can stomach being his VP. In Euchre terms, Cruz has the right and left, and he just led with an Ace.
- She can attack Trump's business failures. In business terms, he really doesn't have her experience. I also think she has more money than he does. She can hit Trump where I wish Romney did in that dud of a speech a few months back.
I'm sure I'll think of some more, but I don't think this was desperation at all. He's not desperate, and the roles she can play down the stretch are just too tailor-made for her skills and talents.
