Poll: Brown still leads in Calif. governor’s race
(Sacramento, Calif.) A survey released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California shows Jerry Brown would best any of the three Republicans vying for their party’s nomination but would not have a 50 percent majority against any of them.
In a matchup against billionaire former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman, …
Whitman unveils conservative positions
Reporting from Cupertino, Calif. — A day after launching her campaign for governor, former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman on Tuesday unveiled a sharply conservative approach to California’s fiscal crisis and offered a fusillade of positions on other issues that are likely to complicate her run for office in 2010.
In a wide-ranging interview, the first-time Republican candidate’s demeanor vacillated between that of a confident, take-charge chief executive officer delivering a PowerPoint presentation to that of an ill-at-ease novice who has studied stacks of policy binders, but has yet to master the art of political maneuvering.
Views that could potentially attract or alienate all manner of voters emerged on the subject of gay marriage.
Explaining her support for Proposition 8, the November measure that banned same-sex marriage, she called it a “matter of personal conscience and my faith.”
But Whitman, a Presbyterian who supports gay civil unions, said the thousands of same-sex marriages that took place last year before the ban should be legally recognized — a sentiment opposed by many Proposition 8 backers. Moreover, she said, gay and lesbian couples should be able to adopt children.
See Whitman unveils conservative positions
Los Angeles Times – CA,USA
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/whitman-unvei…
Whitman unveils conservative positions
Reporting from Cupertino, Calif. — A day after launching her campaign for governor, former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman on Tuesday unveiled a sharply conservative approach to California’s fiscal crisis and offered a fusillade of positions on other issues that are likely to complicate her run for office in 2010.
In a wide-ranging interview, the first-time Republican candidate’s demeanor vacillated between that of a confident, take-charge chief executive officer delivering a PowerPoint presentation to that of an ill-at-ease novice who has studied stacks of policy binders, but has yet to master the art of political maneuvering.
Views that could potentially attract or alienate all manner of voters emerged on the subject of gay marriage.
Explaining her support for Proposition 8, the November measure that banned same-sex marriage, she called it a “matter of personal conscience and my faith.”
But Whitman, a Presbyterian who supports gay civil unions, said the thousands of same-sex marriages that took place last year before the ban should be legally recognized — a sentiment opposed by many Proposition 8 backers. Moreover, she said, gay and lesbian couples should be able to adopt children.
See Whitman unveils conservative positions
Los Angeles Times – CA,USA
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/whitman-unvei…
Report: Whitman to run for Calif. governor
(Sacramento, California) Former eBay Inc. chief executive Meg Whitman plans to run for governor of California, according to a person with knowledge of her political aspirations.
The 52-year-old Republican plans to run in 2010 for the seat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is leaving but is not ready to make a formal announcement, …
Pro-Prop Meg Whitman Now Aiming For Guv’s Job, Not Senate
Former eBay Inc. boss Meg Whitman closer to a run for California governor, resigning from three corporate boards.
Aiming For Guv’s Job, Not Senate
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/pro-prop-meg-…
Meg Whitman, homophobe
Whitman, as we’ve noted, is an oddity among Silicon Valley Republicans, who tend to worry more about lower taxes than hot-button social issues like abortion and gay marriage. In the Republican presidential primaries, she supported Mitt Romney, a Mormon with conservative social views. But it wasn’t until recently that Whitman started talking about her own support for Proposition 8, California’s recently passed ban on same-sex marriages.
Henry Gomez, the former eBay superflack who’s serving as an advisor to Whitman, told me this week that Whitman’s stand was “a personal issue.” Many gay eBay employees agree. They see Whitman’s stance as a deeply personal betrayal. As the CEO of a company in a liberal industry in a liberal region, Whitman never gave a hint that she didn’t value gay and lesbian employees’ relationships. It turns out she was just being politic.
Whitman’s longtime executive assistant, Anita Gaeta, is a lesbian, who owns a house with her partner in San Jose. I tried to contact Gaeta to get her views on the matter, but she did not respond. Gomez tells me Gaeta continues to work for Whitman.
But leave personal feelings aside. As a practical matter, Whitman’s support of Proposition 8 may backfire in fundraising and in the general election. Several current and former eBay executives, including founder Pierre Omidyar, lent their name to a newspaper advertisement opposing Proposition 8. Will they support Whitman’s campaign now? Unlikely.
Her stance could also hurt her former employer’s business. Already, eBay sellers are organizing a boycott because of Whitman’s stance. And no company likes to be drawn into controversial causes. One might think that her handpicked successor, John Donahoe, might prevail on Whitman to moderate her stance for that reason alone.
California prefers its Republicans to be centrists — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, another Proposition 8 opponent, is the best example of this trend. Whitman’s top two contenders, former Representative Tom Campbell and Steve Poizner, the state’s insurance commissioner, also opposed the proposition.
It all seems ill thought out — rather like Whitman’s quixotic legal campaign to reclaim a set of domain names she failed to register before talk of her gubernatorial prospects became public. The sight of a tech billionaire harassing the small businessman who registered them are provoking giggles among California’s Republicans.
Which is probably the right reaction to Whitman’s stance on Proposition 8: not anger, but pity. Insulated by sycophantic advisors and accustomed to fawning coverage from a supine tech press corps, Whitman must not even realize what a joke her would-be political career is.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/meg-whitman-h…
