Does Carly Have the Record to Throw These Punches?

Carly Fiorina has been widely extolled for her solid performance in the Fox News debate featuring the second tier candidates last Thursday. Judging by her rise in the polls, her overall message clearly resonated with a number of voters. Most prominently, voters are likely tantalized by her promise to “throw every punch at Hillary” and not pull punches, as has been the case with previous GOP nominees.

Indeed, it is critical for the eventual GOP nominee to have the ability to articulate a bold contrast on the key issues and pin the failures of the current policies on the Democrat nominee. Republicans are painfully aware of the pitfalls with nominating a candidate like Mitt Romney who, because of his previous positions, was unwilling to throw punches against Obama on Obamacare and amnesty with the intensity needed to win the election.

But putting aside Ms. Fiorina’s tough rhetoric for a moment to drill down on specific issues, doesn’t she have much of the same problems as previous failed GOP nominees? Immediately prior to running for president, Fiorina has validated many of the foundational premises and arguments propagated by Hillary Clinton regarding some of the most critical issues of our time.

…in the heat of the 2011 debt ceiling fight, when Carly was the Vice Chair of the NRSC and vouching for the positions of Mitch McConnell, she said that she disagrees with conservatives.

One of the few leverage points the next president will actually have to implement a balanced budget is by forcing limits on the size of government as a pre-condition to raising the debt limit. Conservatives believe that the debt limit is a built-in balanced budget mechanism – providing the Treasury with enough revenue to pay the interest on the debt and the critical functions of government to avoid default while working towards an agreement to cut wasteful aspects of government. Liberals and the GOP establishment believe there will be an immediate default and that the debt ceiling must always be raised immediately.

Well, in the heat of the 2011 debt ceiling fight, when Carly was the Vice Chair of the NRSC and vouching for the positions of Mitch McConnell, she said that she disagrees with conservatives. She told Anderson Cooper on July 14 that “we must raise the debt ceiling.” How can she litigate this case against Hillary Clinton? And if she doesn’t plan to use the debt ceiling as leverage, how else will she implement her promises in the face of an aggressive and committed Democrat filibuster in the Senate?

How can Carly throw this punch if she has articulated the premise just as passionately as Hillary?

During the 2013 Obamacare funding showdown, Carly ripped into Ted Cruz, echoing the Democrat talking points about the “Cruz shutdown.” She also said she felt bad for John Boehner. If you look at her statement carefully, this runs a lot deeper than the issue of defunding Obamacare. She is fundamentally parroting the establishment talking point that Republicans will always get blamed for a shutdown and ultimately must always accede to the Democrat demand – no matter the issue. Again, if the next president is unwilling to engage in budget brinkmanship, all of their promises are a crock from day one because Democrats will have the votes to block almost anything legislatively. And they will block everything.

Also, this is going to be a big talking point from Hillary against the Republicans. How can Carly throw this punch if she has articulated the premise just as passionately as Hillary?

In 2010, while running for Senate in California against Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, Carly affirmed her support for the DREAM Act amnesty, noting “I would support the DREAM Act because I do not believe that we can punish children who through no fault of their own are here trying to live the American dream.” The DREAM Act has served as the foundation for Obama’s cycle of amnesty and Fiorina’s defense is the heart and soul of the arguments Hillary can and will use during the general election. Don’t we need a candidate who will be able to throw what is perhaps our biggest punch with full force?

Carly also opposed fixing the birthright citizenship loophole for illegal aliens and referred to it as an “emotional distraction.” She also accused some opponents of amnesty as taking on a racist tone. Again, that is exactly what Hillary says. How can she throw the immigration punch with such vulnerabilities?

In February 2013, when the Gang of 8 released the worst comprehensive amnesty bill of our time, Carly was one of its biggest cheerleaders on the Sunday shows. Appearing on Meet the Press, she said “I applaud and salute the Gang of Eight`s proposal. Let`s move forward and vote on that.” She appeared on This Week on February 3 praising the bill as a “carefully crafted” balance and a “good first step,” while expressing hope that the Democrats would not oppose it. This bill was the embodiment of what is wrong with the very political class she now inveighs against in her well-honed stump speech. Yet, when people like Cruz and Sessions were fighting to stop this bill, which emboldened Obama to expand his executive amnesty and create a new wave of illegal immigration, Carly was cheering the armpit of the political class. This is unbelievable. Hillary can eat her alive.

Republicans need a candidate who will have the ability to throw every punch at the Democrats. However, that candidate had better make sure they don’t have the glass jaw of Mitt Romney.

I can go on and on with other issues, such as cap and trade, the Stimulus, and TARP. For more, you can view Carly’s Conservative Review presidential profile. These are not abstract issues and questions. These are the very issues that will confront the next president and will be raised by the Democrats in the general election. How will Republicans throw every single punch, especially the sharp right hooks, if they nominate someone with a serious handicap on an array of issues?

As I noted yesterday, candidates can change and redeem themselves over time, but there is a transparent process that is needed to give Republican voters confidence that these are not ephemeral campaign conversions that will end the day the primary is over.

Many of us have fought in the trenches on some of the key issues of our time over the past four years. It has been a lonely fight against the McConnell and Boehners of the world, and all too often, many of these candidates were either indifferent or downright on the other side of those fights. Some of these candidates were joining in with the arsonists of the GOP establishment when it really mattered and are now in the process of trying to reinvent themselves as the firefighters.

There are serious questions that need to be asked of numerous candidates for their radical cathartic transformations on a slew of issues. Those questions require a debate format overseen by movement conservatives. But in addition to the question of sincerity, Carly’s candidacy has rightfully honed in on an equally important concern. Republicans need a candidate who will have the ability to throw every punch at the Democrats. However, that candidate had better make sure they don’t have the glass jaw of Mitt Romney.

Daniel Horowitz is the Senior Editor of Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @RMConservative.