*Oh, it's not what you might think from the diary title. In fact, it's probably worse: fidelity to the truth.
Definition of fidelity:
- faithfulness to one's duties
- accuracy, or exact correspondence to some given quality or fact
(There are also some other definitions that don't apply, so far as I know. The only thing "Harsh" about what editorial boards have to say about Whitman is not capitalized.)
California newspapers are realizing that, whatever their views on policy, they really don't want to spend the next four years being lied to by the state's Governor. Meg Whitman lacks fidelity.
Leading the way? Meg Whitman's hometown paper, the San Jose Mercury-News.
Note: I volunteer, but do not here speak, for the Brown campaign. This is freelancing!
And this is a donation link!
I just got this blast e-mail from Brown's campaign manager, Steven Glazer. Yes, he wants our money -- whaddaya expect at a time like this? -- but he has more to say, and a video to back it up.
Following two clear debate wins in Davis and Fresno, Jerry Brown finished with a clean sweep last night in the final debate in San Rafael. Jerry offered strong solutions on pensions, immigration, crime and jobs, while Meg Whitman struggled to defend the hallmark of her economic plan - a capital gains tax giveaway for her millionaire and billionaire friends -- and herself. Meg Whitman's debate performance was just like her ads: hollow, scripted and loose with the facts.
Today, we've launched a new ad to highlight this contrast, but we need your help to air it across California. To celebrate Jerry's three debate wins, let's set a goal for today -- $30,000 in the next 12 hours. Can you chip in to help us reach our goal?
Click here to watch our latest ad, then donate to help us hit today's goal.
Yesterday's debate reflected exactly what Sunday's San Jose Mercury News endorsement highlighted: Jerry "brings good ideas, strong principles and a reputation for telling the truth" while Meg Whitman has demonstrated "a loose relationship with the truth, a poor understanding of government and a penchant for platitudes." Her hollow, scripted performance last night was clearly a product of her "herd of consultants" that "tell her what to say."
At the end of these debates, and just as the San Jose Mercury News said on Sunday, we don't know "who Meg Whitman really is, how she thinks or what she values."
Our latest ad highlights newspaper endorsements from across the state, including Whitman’s hometown paper the San Jose Mercury News.
Click here to watch our latest ad and contribute to help us carry our message across the state.
So, please help us get this message out by chipping in $10, $100, or $1,000 dollars. With less than three weeks left, what you do right now really does matter.
Saying that "we don't know what Meg Whitman values" at this point strikes me as too charitable -- that would be "money," "power," "destroying unions and the poor," "pretending not to share goals and voters with Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle" and "a slavish devotion to Mitt Romney worthy of the 'Spanish Inquisition' sketch" -- but I won't quibble. Of course, what you really want to see is the ad -- so let's have a look!
(if that doesn't work, go through the links or donate page above or try this link)
Here's a transcript (and any errors within it are mine) for those who want one:
Meg Whitman's hometown newspaper [the San Jose Mercury News] said it best [in its editorial dated Sunday, Oct. 10]:
Meg Whitman has demonstrated:
"... a loose relationship with the truth."
"... a poor understanding of government,"
"... pat solutions for problems whose depth and complexity clearly elude her."
"She utterly lacks the qualifications to be Governor."
[By contrast,] Jerry Brown
"offers California exactly what it needs:"
"... good ideas"
"... strong principles"
"... a reputation for telling the truth," and
... "the ability to get things done in Sacramento."
Meg Whitman's hometown newspaper and newspapers across the state have endorsed Jerry Brown for Governor.
[Graphic shows logos of:]
San Jose Mercury News
Los Angeles Times
The Sacramento Bee
San Francisco Chronicle
The Oakland Tribune
We've already seen, in three debates and what seems like approximately a million or so commercials, that Meg Whitman has no fidelity to the truth. What you do now can determine whether she will get to demonstrate something even worse -- that she would have no fidelity, as Governor, to the interests of all but the richest people of (and of course any corporations operating within) California.
In Orange County, you can volunteer by writing to jerrybrownoc AT gmail DOT com. We need phone bankers, canvassers, lit droppers, envelope mailers, and pizza-and-beverages-and-snacks-to-the-campaign-office bringers. We can even set you up to phone bank from home. (In fact, I think we can do so from out of the county, if your local effort is moribund, or even from out of state, if your local campaigns are less interesting than ours!)
Those of you from other parts of California who want to solicit volunteers, put your contact info in comments and I'll port it up here when I can!
DONATE THROUGH THIS LINK!