Poor-sport Poizner

Just the other day I received a nearly two-page letter, from Poizner, announcing his petition “California Republicans Deserve a Debate”.  The goal of this petition is to “force” Whitman to agree to a debate at the upcoming California GOP Convention.  This missive rambles on with many of the same and tired complaints Poizner has been lobbing at Whitman at each and every speaking engagement he attends and, well, at pretty much any opportunity that he can – and now he’s jut beginning to sound desperate and a mite peevish to this grassroots activist and voter.

He seems to forget that Whitman and he agreed to a debate; unfortunately it wasn’t at the California GOP Convention (I don’t think that the convention organizers had even thought to extend such an invitation).  As a grassroots activist, having cut my teeth on such activism as changing a state law to allow resident aliens to get their LVN license in one state, then getting a corrupt and unscrupulous Southern judge removed from the bench in another state, and later in the fight against HIV/AIDS, my involvement in ACT-UP LA and most recently on all things healthcare related – I know what grass-roots activism looks like and unfortunately I don’t think the California GOP convention qualifies.  I’ve come to this conclusion after attending quite a number of these conventions, and though I keep hoping the next one will be more grass-roots than the previous one, at the end of the day I usually go home disappointed.  This is not to say that grass-roots Republicans don’t attend, they do but the convention focus is generally not on growing the grass-roots. Maybe this one will be different.

But I digress, Poizner’s email attempts to paint Whitman as a woman on the “run” (I guess he read Dan Walter’s column in the SacBee), or someone who’s too afraid of him to agree on a debate, which of course is not true, since there is a debate scheduled – it’s just not at the convention and now he has buyer’s remorse for agreeing to debate at a venue other then the convention.  Poizner’s email is riddle with innuendoes and prevarications, which are unseemly in a man that aspires to our Governor’s office.  His email makes a point to rehash old stories, such as Whitman endorsed Boxer (not accurate but as so many CEO of large corporations she attended and donated to fundraising events for both Republican and Democrats alike).  I wonder if Poziner ever attended a fundraiser for one of our duly-elected Democratic representative; but we do know that he gave a sizable donation to “the other-side”, oh that’s right he blamed his wife saying that it was her donation written on a joint account, which of course makes it alright in his book.  Then he reminds everyone that Whitman spoke in glowing terms about now disgraced Obama appointee, Van Jones, for which she has admitted, was a mistake, stating that she had made such statements after a initial meeting in which he had left a strong impression.  She has also made it clear that she took this as a lesson learned and will not speak of an individual that she meets for the first time in such glowing terms until she has had an opportunity to do some research on that individual; and until she repeats the above mistake I’ll take Whitman on her word because I think she’s that smart.

He concludes his appeal with accusing Whitman of “wanting our party’s nomination for Governor without giving you a voice.”  I thought that’s what we did when we cast our vote at the primary and then later during the general election?  Perhaps instead of trying to browbeat Whitman into a debate at the convention he should make good on the previous agreement and have faith that Californians will make a sound and wise choice for Governor – but then again maybe that’s what he’s afraid will happen.