# Carly Fiorina is just as full of shit as any other politician. News at 11. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 17, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469 "2010-10-17T19:23:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/21 "2010-10-18T03:00:50Z")
What the fuck is with the conservative obsession with voting objectively failed businesspeople in to office on the grounds that they somehow have a better grasp of economics than the opposition? The fact that Fiorina is actually in the market for _any_ kind of position with more responsibility than managing the swing shift at a McDonald’s is prima facie ridiculous. Fucked up a company recently? Laid off a bunch of workers? Sent half of your market cap down the shitter? You’d be _perfect_ for the GOP ticket. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/22 "2010-10-18T03:01:18Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I don’t understand why no one is openly advocating raising the retirement age for SS for those under 55 or so. That affects me, but it just makes sense. Especially since the retirement age was set when the life expectancy was so much younger. Because messing with old people is political suicide. No candidate is talking about what makes sense right now, they are all talking about what they think will get them elected. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/23 "2010-10-18T03:18:33Z")
> [@black\_rabbit](#): > > Fucked up a company recently? Laid off a bunch of workers? Sent half of your market cap down the shitter? You’d be _perfect_ for the GOP ticket. I think their strategy is to say gov’t is bad, get elected and completely fuck up the country, and go “see?”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/24 "2010-10-18T03:57:55Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Much to Wallace’s credit, he grilled her on this, and made her look like just another full-of-shit politician. [QUOTE=magellan01] Look, Toots, if you are serious about getting our financial house in order you gotta have some ideas on how to do that. [/quote] [QUOTE=magellan01] And since you’re running for office, you need, you know to share those ideas with those whose votes you want. [/quote] [QUOTE=magellan01] So, Carly, if you want the job, speak the fuck up and let us know what you’d do when it comes to the difficult decisions. And SHUT THE FUCK UP with the “cut waste” bullshit. [/quote] Has the Dope ever seen such a disingenuous, lying, dishonest, full-of-shit Pitting as this? You put paid to your own lies: [QUOTE=magellan01] Now, I’m sad to say, you still have my vote. [/QUOTE] Obviously she doesn’t need to do any of those things, nor do you really give a rat’s ass about them. Asshole. It’s people like you (unprincipled, holier-than-thou demagogues) who have been and are continuing to fuck this country up. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/25 "2010-10-18T05:22:28Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Has the Dope ever seen such a disingenuous, lying, dishonest, full-of-shit Pitting as this? > > You put paid to your own lies: > > Obviously she doesn’t need to do any of those things, nor do you really give a rat’s ass about them. Asshole. It’s people like you (unprincipled, holier-than-thou demagogues) who have been and are continuing to fuck this country up. Ha! So now I’m supposed to care what a partisan douchebag like you thinks? Sorry, son, ain’t gonna happen. If this is your first exposure to someone holding their nose and voting against someone who they are less politically aligned with, consider yourself ten times wiser than when you clicked on this thread. Not that you needed much to make that happen. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/26 "2010-10-18T18:03:36Z")
Speaking of the need for entitlement cuts and supposedly runaway government spending, take a look at this graph. [http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2010/10/ever4.gif](http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2010/10/ever4.gif) I can see one area ripe for a cut in spending. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/27 "2010-10-18T18:12:21Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Speaking of the need for entitlement cuts and supposedly runaway government spending, take a look at this graph. > > [http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2010/10/ever4.gif](http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2010/10/ever4.gif) > > I can see one area ripe for a cut in spending. Blasphemy! Military spending needs to be twice as much! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/28 "2010-10-18T19:05:41Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Campbell would have been an interesting Senator. But c’mon John Mace. The moderate Republican is an endangered species: do you really think he could have played that game better than Olympia Snowe? A species can only be endangered if it hasn’t gone extinct yet. (No, Snowe and Collins aren’t moderates.) How it works in the GOP is that if you don’t toe the party line, you get crappy committee assignments, and never get to chair anything. Would-be moderates consider that fact, and vote just like Sam Brownback. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/29 "2010-10-18T19:16:30Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I’ll defend Carly here. It’s very hard for politicians to be honest during silly season. The thing is, when else are they going to tell us what they’re going to do? If they don’t have the courage to tell the electorate what they plan to vote for, then they should stay out of the fucking kitchen. They don’t have to get into every specific, but a bare-bones outline of a feasible approach isn’t too much to ask for. The problem is that they want to do things that the electorate doesn’t want. A solid majority of the electorate is good with raising taxes on the rich, and increasing infrastructure spending to put people back to work. People don’t want Social Security privatized, or Medicare cut. The GOP’s approach is basically to try to put one over on the electorate - to be unspecific about what they’d do before the election, then cut the stuff that most voters want afterwards. > [@](#): > > No, what irks me are conservative pundits and commentators show no interest in actually crunching the numbers. Anybody who espouses tax cuts, lower deficits but doesn’t propose cutting programs _that they actually like_ probably isn’t serious. And mumbling about entitlements doesn’t cut the mustard either: _let’s see your proposals; follow them with a discussion_. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/30 "2010-10-18T19:46:24Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Ha! So now I’m supposed to care what a partisan douchebag like you thinks? Says the guy who thinks Boxer is even worse than Fiorina but can’t tell us why. :rolleyes: Never mind, we all know. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/31 "2010-10-18T19:52:05Z")
Although I’m on the opposite side of the political spectrum from him, I can sympathize with the OP. It’s frustrating when you’re angry at the opposition party, but your party’s candidate sucks. As someone who typically votes Democrat, I’m deeply familiar with this particular flavor of pain. Although I hate to recommend that anyone vote for Fiorina, who I think is beyond terrible, I do think there’s a place for voting for the person closest to you ideologically and then trying to steer them toward actions you support, with letter writing or muffin baskets or whatnot. Because yeah, I’m sick to death of all this bullshit talk about smaller government and lower taxes without any reference to specific cuts or changes. We’d all love lower taxes – the trick is choosing what to give up to get them, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/32 "2010-10-18T20:02:36Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Speaking of the need for entitlement cuts and supposedly runaway government spending, take a look at this graph. That is without a doubt the worst graph I’ve ever seen that was not actually produced by a slow elementary school student. What the hell does it mean? What’s the vertical axis? Are the values cumulative? What in God’s name is “nondefense consumption and investment”? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/33 "2010-10-18T20:07:26Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I wish I could do that. It’s just that SO I’m tired of Boxer, and we finally have a shot to rid ourselves of her. And [it says here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Boxer) she’s the **junior** senator from CA! The senior is [Dianne Feinstein](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_Feinstein) (since 1992). I have nothing against either of them, they’re Dems, I probably would vote for them if I lived there . . . Still, the idea of term limits does suggest itself. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/34 "2010-10-18T20:10:40Z")
Countries that have gone through deficit reduction have done it in a similar way. In New Zealand in the late 80’s, they had a huge debt, and government spending was quite high. The party in power raised taxes and cut services. The next election, they were tossed out and the new party… raised taxes and cut services. They were then tossed out by an angry public. BOTH parties were doing what was required in order to get the country back on track. Eventually the public clued in that it did not matter who was in power, they were going to have higher taxes and lower services because that was REQUIRED. In Canada many years ago, the Conservative party was screaming about DEBT, DEBT, DEBT every chance they got. The Liberals under Paul Martin as Finance Minister essentially stole that platform from them, and started reducing the deficit. The Conservatives were a bit blindsided - they could not suddenly change tactics and say now that reducing the deficit was unimportant - it has been a major policy of theirs for years. Essentially the political parties have to forget about the competitive politics, and about “winning” at all costs, and start thinking about how to govern the country. I know - fat chance. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/35 "2010-10-18T20:33:14Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Says the guy who thinks Boxer is even worse than Fiorina but can’t tell us why. :rolleyes: > > Never mind, we all know. Yes, I did notice he conveniently ignored my question on that score. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/36 "2010-10-18T20:37:19Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Essentially the political parties have to forget about the competitive politics, and about “winning” at all costs, and start thinking about how to govern the country. > > I know - fat chance. Not so long as Americans have this fundamental disconnect between cause and effect. We’re going to get down to a 5% tax rate, the nation will collapse, and it’ll be because of those damn liberals voting against the latest tax cut. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/37 "2010-10-18T20:37:40Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And [it says here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Boxer) she’s the **junior** senator from CA! The senior is [Dianne Feinstein](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_Feinstein) (since 1992). I have nothing against either of them, they’re Dems, I probably would vote for them if I lived there . . . Still, the idea of term limits does suggest itself. Nah. Feinstein happens to be an _excellent_ senator. Boxer isn’t. Term limits would mean both of them would be gone. ---
**Author:** ![Screaming\_Mandrake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Screaming\_Mandrake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Screaming_Mandrake)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/38 "2010-10-18T22:44:40Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I’ve voted for 3rd party candidates a bunch! In lieu of GWB twice, for example. So I get that. But in this election I’d rather have pretty much anyone other than Boxer. Certainly any one more conservative. So,it makes perfect sense. No, it doesn’t. There are more candidates on the ballot for that Senate seat. Sorry, but “Vote for me. I’m not the other guy” is hardly an inspiring campaign slogan, and “Anyone but Boxer” is a poor way to vote. Especially when you lambaste the person who is going to get your vote for not being specific about what she wants to do if she gets elected. Reminds me of when Wolf Blitzer caught Christine O’Donnell in Delaware with this one. “Please state what you intend to cut if you’re elected, and don’t say ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ because that’s too general.” She couldn’t answer anything but “Waste, fraud and abuse”. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/39 "2010-10-18T22:55:32Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That is without a doubt the worst graph I’ve ever seen that was not actually produced by a slow elementary school student. What the hell does it mean? What’s the vertical axis? Are the values cumulative? What in God’s name is “nondefense consumption and investment”? I actually didn’t notice that the axes weren’t labeled. The site I got it from had other BEA graphs that were labeled. My apologies. The vertical axis is spending as a percentage of nominal GDP. The spending in question is federal spending on goods and services (as opposed to transfer payments, like SS). Actual government spending on goods and services as a percentage of GDP is quite small; what spending exists is mainly defense related. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469/40 "2010-10-19T02:59:34Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Ha! So now I’m supposed to care what a partisan douchebag like you thinks? Sorry, son, ain’t gonna happen. If this is your first exposure to someone holding their nose and voting against someone who they are less politically aligned with, consider yourself ten times wiser than when you clicked on this thread. > > Not that you needed much to make that happen. Non-partisan-douchebag here. Er.. wait. Non partisan-douchebag? I am neither partisan nor a douchebag! Voting for people who you think are shitty candidates because they’re part of your tribe and you must fight the other tribe no matter what is exactly the sort of thing that gets incompetant assholes running your country. If there’s essentially nothing your own side can do that will overshadow your need to fight against the other side, your side can do anything they want - elect the most incompetant people, screw their own constituency, whatever - and you’re complicit in it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carly-fiorina-is-just-as-full-of-shit-as-any-other-politician-news-at-11/557469.md?page=3)