Carly Fiorina and The Donald

Right From the Start

No one would accuse me of being a feminist. Not because I am a misogynist but because I’m not a liberal and I don’t support taxpayer funded abortion on demand. It is a disqualifier that I proudly share with Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina – a person who epitomizes the real concept of feminism – a person who by her own skill, talent and hard work rose to very highest ranks of business, becoming the first woman to head a top twenty publicly traded company – Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Several weeks ago OregonCatalyst asked several of us to handicap the Republican presidential primary contestants. In my response on Ms. Fiorina I stated:

“ACCOMPLISHED!! All in capital letters. As a businesswoman, she sets the gold standard for men and women alike. For a private citizen Ms. Fiorina has more international experience and accomplishments than Hillary Clinton had as Secretary of State. And as a leader she sets a tone of firm reasonableness pointed at defined and justifiable goals. She is the total package. She knows how to organize, incentivize and lead complex organizations. She is my favorite candidate.”

And now, two months later, nothing has changed to dampen my enthusiasm. After winning the first debate she went on to eviscerate MSNBC’s Chris Matthews – a commentator so enraptured by the progressive agenda that he still gets a “thrill up his leg” at every thought of President Barack Obama. So much so, that at the conclusion Mr. Matthews grudgingly afforded Ms. Fiorina a compliment by stating:

“I see why you stood out on the program (debate) tonight.”

And one of the most impressive parts of her campaign is her refusal to be drug into the gutter sniping that has become a hallmark of several campaigns and epitomized by Donald Trump. Even when Mr. Trump said of Ms. Fiorina:

“Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?

“I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”

Mr. Trump has insulted most of his opponents and with few exceptions (most notably Ms. Fiorina and internationally renowned surgeon Ben Carson) most have responded in kind albeit with less vitriol and less impact. (In fact most leave the impression of  a bullied kid responding to an insult by saying, “Well it takes one to know one.” That’ll show them.) But not Ms. Fiorina who told FOX News’ Megyn Kelly:

“I think those comments speak for themselves. Honestly, Megyn, I’m not going to spend a single cycle wondering what Donald Trump means. But maybe, just maybe, I’m getting under his skin a little bit, because I am climbing in the polls.”

(Apparently class doesn’t necessarily come for Mr. Trump with billions of dollars of wealth.)

In doing so Ms. Fiorina demonstrated, as she has done all of her life, that she is comfortable in her own skin. That she is assured that her intelligence, hard work and tenacity will lead her through yet another difficult passage in life. And, most importantly, that she need not waste her time on base personal attacks when there is serious business at hand.

And this week, Ms Fiorina turned Mr. Trump’s insult on its head in an ad which is reported by the Washington Times:

“Ladies, look at this face,” Ms. Fiorina says in a recent speech, in the video released by CARLY for America. “And look at all of your faces.”

“The face of leadership. The face of leadership in our party — the party of women’s suffrage,” she says.

“Ladies, note to Democrat party: We are not a special interest group. We are the majority of the nation,”

The modern concept of “feminism” has been hijacked by the pro-abortion crowd and backed by progressives who believe that no one can succeed unless the government paves the way. And yet, out there in the real world, there are women of substance who day in and day out demonstrate remarkable skills. Who succeed and fail just like their male counterparts and who, in large part, pick themselves up after a failure, dust themselves off and move forward to succeed again.

That is in marked contrast to the many progressive feminists whose principle contribution is a constant stream of “offense taken” at each turn of the screw. Their success is seldom measured in terms of jobs created, products produced, or ideas brought to fruition. Rather their success is so often measured in attaining political office where their excuses for personal failure are given larger voice. And then there are others, like Ms. Clinton, who have risen to prominence, not because of their own accomplishments, but because of the accomplishments of their spouses, and who relentlessly demand to be recognized as “successful on their own terms.” And from all of them is a clear message to the women of America – you cannot succeed without the active assistance of the government, you cannot lead unless you are a liberal, and you cannot be taken seriously unless you are critical of those who have succeeded without government assistance and without being a liberal.

And yet there is Carly Fiorina – intelligent, gracious and accomplished. Like so many other women of international significance (e.g. Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, Golda Meier, Condoleeza Rice, Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg) Ms. Fiorina has succeeded because she is good at what she does – whatever she does. And she has succeeded without blaming others for the hurdles she must overcome.

The liberals/progressives have mounted a campaign that it is “our turn” –meaning women’s turn – to be president. I doubt that making a determination based on gender is a particularly good idea when the nation faces the ruins of President Barack Obama’s tenure. But if it is indeed a woman’s turn, why not select one with demonstrable skills, success and character – Carly Fiorina. The idea that the deeply flawed character (and the accompany drama of yet another scandal) of Hillary Clinton represents the best of women is patently odious.

In fact, even if it isn’t a “woman’s turn”, how about the best person’s turn – Carly Fiorina.