Given her track record of running HP into the ground while using the company for her personal piggy bank, California voters will no doubt fall over themselves to get Carly elected to the Senate. After all, it isn’t like California has any real issues facing it, right?

And it isn’t just California that could use a woman like Carly in the Senate. She’s been great for the American economy, too. Er, she’s been great for EXPORTING the American economy, at least.

For those who may not remember the hits, let’s roll that bio…

In January 2004, at a meeting to “head off rising protectionist sentiment in Congress,” Fiorina said: “There is no job that is America’s God-given right anymore. We have to compete for jobs as a nation.” While Fiorina argued that the only way to “protect U.S. high-tech jobs over the long haul was to become more competitive [in the United States],” her comments prompted “strong reactions” from some technology workers who argued that lower wages overseas outside the United States encouraged the offshoring of American jobs…

…Fiorina was forced out of HP in 2005 after its stock price had fallen in value by half. In early January 2005, the Hewlett-Packard board of directors discussed with Fiorina a list of issues that the board had regarding the company’s performance. The board proposed a plan to shift her authority to HP division heads, which Fiorina resisted. A week after the meeting, the confidential plan was leaked to the Wall Street Journal. Less than a month later, board brought back in Tom Perkins and forced Fiorina to resign as chairman and chief executive officer of the company. The company’s stock jumped on news of Fiorina’s departure. Under the company’s agreement with Fiorina which was characterized as a golden parachute by some, she was paid slightly more than twenty million dollars in severance. When Fiorina became CEO in July, 1999, HP’s stock price was $52 per share, and when she left 5 years later in February, 2005, it was $21 per share—a loss of over 60% of the stock’s value. During this same time period, HP competitor Dell’s stock price increased from $37 to $40 per share.

Fiorina was succeeded, on an interim basis, by Patty Dunn as chairman, and then-CFO Robert Wayman as acting chief executive. Before her departure, Fiorina had launched an intensive hunt for board room leaks, and one of the leakers later turned out to be George A. Keyworth, II. Dunn continued to investigate along these lines to determine which board member(s) has been leaking information to the media. The methods used by Dunn led to the HP spying scandal and she was soon succeeded by Mark Hurd.

Outside judgments on Fiorina’s tenure at HP are mixed at best. In 2008, Infoworld grouped her with a list of products and ideas as flops, declaring her to be the “anti-Steve Jobs” as a destroyer of the goodwill of American engineers and as one who alienated existing customers. In 2008, Loren Steffy of the New York Times suggested that the EDS acquisition well after Fiorina’s tenure was evidence that her actions as CEO were justified. In April 2009, the business magazine web site Condé Nast Portfolio listed Fiorina as one of the “The 20 Worst American CEOs of all time,” characterizing the HP-Compaq merger as widely regarded as a failure, and citing the halving of HP’s stock value under Fiorina’s tenure.

One of the 20 worst American CEOs OF ALL TIME. Think about that one for a little while. Don’t you have to be a special kind of useless to get yourself put into that category?

HP was a company that was well-regarded, that took care of its people. Fiorina absolutely destroyed HP; she left behind her a mess that people now look upon with a mixture of sadness and disgust. But it wasn’t all bad, at least for her. Where else can you be one of the worst failures ever and STILL collect that kind of a payout? Not only that, but she saved on fuel costs big time by charging HP for moving her yacht from the west to the east coast, via the Panama Canal.

She’s EXACTLY what California needs, right? Well…. if you’re a Rushpubliscum asshat, you thought lifetime failure Chimpy was just wonderful. So I’ll assume that if you liked Chimpy, you’ll just adore Failorina.

Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate in the California Republican primary, arguing that her business experience made her the only viable candidate to challenge Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer.

“If it isn’t obvious to you by now, let me make it official today: I am a candidate to serve you as your U.S. senator,” Fiorina said, speaking to a small gathering of supporters in the Garden Grove warehouse of Earth Friendly Products, which makes green home products like phosphate-free detergent.

Fiorina, whose hair was shorn close to her scalp after a nine-month battle with breast cancer, said she expected the race to get ugly. “I have to say, after chemotherapy, Barbara Boxer just isn’t that scary,” she said. “She has always taken the low road to higher office, so get ready. But it’s OK, I can take a punch and I can throw a punch.”

The Republican candidate called for smaller government, decreased spending and increased transparency. She pledged not to raise taxes and decried the “rabid partisanship” in Washington. She excoriated Boxer’s legislative record and said the Democrat’s positions have killed jobs in California.

Boxer has the edge in Democratic-leaning California, but Fiorina’s entry means the race will be among the most closely watched in the nation. The charismatic former business leader could be Boxer’s greatest challenge since her election to the Senate in 1992. But that’s if Fiorina emerges the victor in what is likely to be a bruising Republican primary.

She announced her candidacy in Orange County, home turf of the conservative assemblyman who is her only challenger in the primary. The battle between Fiorina and Chuck Devore (R-Irvine) reflects a greater ideological debate that is dividing Republicans across the nation, and led to the loss of a Republican House seat in upstate New York on Tuesday.

Devore, 47, is a long-term conservative who is well-known in state GOP circles, but has little name recognition across the state and may not have the financial wherewithal to fully compete against Fiorina. Fiorina, 54, has no elective experience but is viewed by some as the strategic choice who would have a better chance taking on Boxer because of her more moderate views and her deep pockets. Fiorina has vast personal wealth — her HP severance alone exceeded $21 million after six rocky years as chief executive.

But upheaval during her tenure at the company, a spotty voting record and her new arrival to politics make some wary of her. Democrats seized on these issues to paint Fiorina as an inept businesswoman who got rich off the backs of workers, and as out of touch with ordinary people.

“The last thing Californians need in a U.S. senator is a failed CEO who was fired by her last employer after taking $100 million for herself,” said John Burton, chairman of the California Democratic Party. Fiorina today said critics are mischaracterizing her resume, and that her work at HP laid the foundation for the company’s current success.

She said her business background and lack of political experience make her a D.C. outsider and only “viable” Republican challenger. She also has repeatedly apologized for not voting but also explained it was because she felt unconnected to politicians. “Shame on me,” she said.

That last sentiment is something I think we can all agree on. Shame on Carly for the wrecked lives, the avarice, and the just plain cruelty that mark her career in business.

There’s really no reason to think that she’d treat the Californian any better than she treated the HP employee, is there? I thought perhaps a struggle with illness might give her a little more insight, or humility, but that hasn’t happened. She’s just as stupid as ever.

Tags: 2010 election, california, failure, fiorina, rushpublicans

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 6:54 pm and is filed under Jolly Roger, Republican'ts!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.