During this month’s CNN debate, Fiorina distinguished herself from rival Donald Trump after he said he would meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin to resolve the Syria crisis. “Having met Vladimir Putin, I wouldn’t talk to him at all,” Fiorina shot back, adding she would instead “begin rebuilding the Sixth Fleet” and “conduct regular, aggressive military exercises in the Baltic states,” among other steps, so he would “get the message.”
Positioning herself as a steely advocate of aggressive counterterrorism programs, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina offered a vigorous defense of CIA waterboarding as a tactic that helped “keep our nation safe” in the aftermath of 9/11.
After Hayden became CIA director in 2006, he named Fiorina as chair of an agency external advisory board consisting of former top intelligence officials, generals and business leaders. In that capacity, she made regular trips to CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., including overseeing one specific project requested by Hayden: Provide advice on how the CIA could maintain its undercover espionage mission in a culture of increasing government leaks and demands for greater public accountability and openness.
– From the Yahoo article: Carly Fiorina Defends Bush-era Torture and Spying, Calls for More Transparency
As a result of Ron Paul’s decision to run for President under the Republican ticket in 2008 and 2012, as well as the explosive popularity of his message, many people naively assumed the GOP was the obvious vessel under which libertarianism and/or constitutional ideas would ultimately take hold and flourish. The past year has completely discredited this pipe dream.
Yes, the Republican party has pivoted since Dr. Paul’s last run in 2012. It has pivoted decisively and resolutely toward authoritarianism and demagoguery. This can be seen in Rand Paul’s total failure to generate any sort of momentum (although his personal lack of judgement and poorly run campaign deserve plenty of criticism), but it is most clearly evidenced in the type of characters who have surged in the run-up to next year’s primaries.
For starters, there’s Donald Trump, who is a genius at throwing emotional red meat to the base, but shows no indication of an appreciation of freedom, liberty and the U.S. Constitution. Recall what he said about Edward Snowden in 2013:
“I think Snowden is a terrible threat, I think he’s a terrible traitor, and you know what we used to do in the good old days when we were a strong country — you know what we used to do to traitors, right?”
But this post isn’t about Trump. It’s about one of his competitors, Carly Florina, who’s been surging in the polls as of late.
So who is Carly Fiorina? Well as the title suggests, she is a failed CEO, a staunch defender of torture, a former top advisor to the CIA, and unabashed war hawk.
Michael Isikoff over at Yahoo recently wrote an excellent article about her. Here are a few excerpts:
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