Whitman or Poizner, A Choice Between Those Who Say and Those Who Do

Since he began his campaign for Governor, Republican candidate Steve Poizner has tried to claim a conservative mantle, working tirelessly to convince Californians that his liberal record was nothing more than a mirage.

Having been involved in California politics for the better part of two decades, I’ve seen so many candidates go to extreme lengths to try and reinvest themselves and their record. Until now, I have never seen a man so completely try and rewrite history to the point where he may actually believe the truth he has created.

As the Los Angeles Times revealed Thursday, Steve Poizner has embraced a campaign that makes it okay to say and do anything to get elected. A campaign based on the convenient instead of conviction.

Take the issue of illegal immigration for example, an issue that Poizner has recently made the centerpiece of his campaign. All of the evidence on Steve Poizner suggests he was a liberal on illegal immigration. Remarkably, as soon as his polling went south, his rhetoric took a hard-right turn.

During that time, Poizner has aggressively campaigned for eliminating all services for illegal immigrants, despite earlier embracing the Bush-Kennedy immigration plan, better known as amnesty. Clearly, his record doesn’t match his rhetoric.

The Los Angeles Times, citing documents they obtained, says Poizner in 2004 told NARAL Pro-Choice California that he would oppose restrictions on “state funding for pre-natal care or abortion services for undocumented women.”

As the Times noted, “This year, a main theme in his campaign has been ending such services for illegal immigrants.”

The documents also undercut Poizner’s contention that in 1994 he supported Proposition 187, as he has stated throughout the final weeks of this gubernatorial race.

This has been perhaps his most egregious 180-shift yet. Poizner, who once touted his 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood when he was running in a Democrat-leaning Assembly district, now, pretends he never supported abortion rights. In fact, Poizner had the gall to tell radio host Eric Hogue last August that he’d been against abortion his entire life.

Another major plank of Poizner’s campaign is a promise to cut taxes across-the-board. How can we believe him when his record on taxes says otherwise?

Poizner opposed the tax cuts enacted under President Bush, sided with unions attacking Prop. 13 and contributed to a measure that raised Californians’ property taxes by $40 billion.

Poizner has made it a habit to contradict himself with his own record. He has switched his position on the two-third vote requirement to pass the state budget, AB 32, the greenhouse gas emissions law, and early-release of prisoners.

At the end of the day, it’s just disappointing and indicative of the politics-as-usual attitude that has broken our state. We face a rightfully cynical electorate and ultimately, all candidates have to offer the voters are their word. Poizner’s word, as it turns out, means very little.

There is nothing wrong with good, strong debate about tough issues. Good people can change their views. But when a candidate goes to such lengths to do an extreme makeover in hopes of moving up in the polls, that is cynical politics at its worst.

Voters already look at politicians with a skeptical, yet justified eye. They say they are especially tired of Sacramento politicians who promise to go to the capitol and work hard to protect taxpayers and improve our economy but then arrive and do nothing. In Steve Poizner’s case, he ran a department whose budget grew by nearly 14 percent and ordered $1.7 million in new cars while the state budget deficit grew. He was the only Republican to side with the Democratic constitutional office holders and refuse to furlough state workers.

In these challenging times, Californians are looking for a leader they can trust. While Poizner has had an impressive career in business and had shown great promise for the Republican Party, in this campaign his actions have been disappointing and undermine voters’ confidence in the political system.

I am backing Meg Whitman for Governor because I believe she means what she says and will do what she says which means Californians will get a Governor who will deliver results.

From the beginning of the campaign, Meg Whitman has been candid about her views and clear about her plan to address California ’s complex challenges. She has experience creating jobs and managing budgets, and as Governor, she will stand by her conservative fiscal principles, not abandon them when politically convenient.

I hope primary voters see through Poizner’s charade to reinvent himself as a conservative and on Tuesday, elect the real conservative in this race – Meg Whitman.

Once we elect Meg to be our nominee, it is imperative that we come together and unite behind her campaign as she is the only candidate who can beat Jerry Brown in November. It’s hard to imagine our situation in Sacramento getting any worse, but giving Jerry Brown a third term will do it. By uniting behind Meg Whitman, we can send a new kind of Governor to Sacramento who will make the tough decisions, stand by her principles and lead California back to its rightful place as an thriving and innovative example of ingenuity, solvency and entrepreneurship.