6 Things You’re Not Going To Like About Carly Fiorina

Presidential candidate and former CEO of Hewlett Packard Carly Fiorina has risen enough in polls to merit a critical examination of her record of policy statements. Her debate skills and articulate responses to difficult policy questions has given her the opportunity to be included in an upcoming CNN debate along with other major candidates.

Fiorina’s outstanding performance at a “lower-tier” debate on Fox News merited her the opportunity to advance her brand of conservatism at the next event, but what just what does Fiorina’s political philosophy entail?

The Libertarian Republic has put together some of Fiorina’s most troublesome stands and statements that our readers should note before considering offering their support.

#1. Shaky on the economics…

Although Fiorina has since recanted her statements in support of economic stimulus, it should be noted that at one time she did believe that a bailout out of big corporations was a good idea. “I think there is widespread agreement that something had to be done to stabilize the financial system,” Fiorina said.

Appearing on Fox News in support of John McCain in 2008, Fiorina said:

“And, finally, if you cannot get a loan for anything that you need to do, keep your small business running — in other words, the bank bailout was, unfortunately, necessary because credit is tight for hardworking Americans and small businesses. And John McCain has very specific proposals to help them get through this.”

And later that month, again on Fox News she said:

“I think there are many people who are uncomfortable with the government bailout. And I think many people, including Senator McCain, supported that a bailout for the very simple reason, and only one reason, and that is credit was being cut off to small businesses, to companies, and to families in America.

So something had to be done to loosen the credit freeze. And, in fact, it appears to be working thus far. While the stock market plummeted today on fears of an economic slowdown or recession, fundamentally, we can see the credit is loosening. That is a bit of good news.”

She also was in support of congress spending substantial amount of money on broadband infrastructure, as well as the Internet sales tax. In June of 2000, Fiorina said: “It’s not realistic of our industry to stand and say this taxation should never be applied to e-commerce.”

She continued, arguing that we should, “Bring our taxation system into the modern age so that we can tax in a fair way both on line and offline transactions.”

Fiorina has argued that she did not say we should be taxing the Internet, however while at HP, she ran a pilot program along with Taxware International to develop an online tax collection system.

She now claims to be against the Internet tax, but here’s video showing her advocating for it during a July 7th, 2000 testimony in front of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic System:

And here’s a statement from October 22nd, of 2009 where her lukewarm acceptance of Internet sales taxes run counter to free market principles

    “Well, I do think that we’re coming to the point where we need to acknowledge that the World Wide Web and the Internet cannot be forever a sphere apart from the rest of the world. The World Wide Web cannot be forever the wild, wild west, where anything goes.”

Erick Erickson of Redstate.com called her conservative record “think to nonexistent,” arguing that while conservatives should vote for her in California’s senate race, that she is a “squishy moderate,” and “a RINO.”

Fiorina also echoed Hillary Clinton’s positions on insurance birth control mandates, proposing:

“a real, live example which I’ve been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won’t cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice.”

Since then she has seemingly recanted those views, stating that women “had plenty of access to birth control before and after,” the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby Decision.

Fiorina called for more government intervention into the housing market in 2008, when she appeared on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren to argue:

“I also think, very honestly, that there are some proposals that Senator McCain made eight months ago, six months ago, even a year ago that had they been enacted then, would help now. So for example, he said in April that we ought to have a home mortgage plan that would allow every worthy home owner to step forward and get themselves into a new loan that they could afford, with interest rates and principal that they could afford at a 30-year fixed-year rate. That was a great idea then, and it’s an even better idea now.”

Also, while campaigning for John McCain in 2008, Fiorina seemed to advocate for cap-and-trade for environmental protection, saying: “John McCain will create a cap-and-trade system that will encourage the development of alternative energy sources.”

Fiorina has come out strongly against the EPA and environmental regulations since she began running for president, but with a long record of flip-flops on issues of economic importance, conservatives and libertarians might wish to be wary of running into the arms of a political unknown.