Republican Carly Fiorina took a step closer to running for president, revealing Thursday that she is near a decision while blasting Hillary Clinton’s policies as “crushing the middle class.”
“I am giving serious consideration to becoming a candidate for the presidency because I think our nation is at a pivotal point,” said the former Hewlett-Packard and one-time California Senate candidate. “I think our government has grown so large, so powerful, so costly, so complex, so corrupt in fact that we are crushing the potential for the nation,” she added.
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Laying out her platform to reporters at a breakfast roundtable sponsored by theChristian Science Monitor, she slammed domestic and foreign policies under President Obama and Clinton, decrying a “web of dependence” that’s trapped the poor while making others poor by destroying small businesses with regulations.
AP Photo
She also used the hour-long session to challenge Clinton on policies and women’s issues.
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Fiorina, who has advised past GOP nominees and runs the group Unlocking Potential, said that Clinton is desperate for issues and is grabbing populist themes cheered by people Democrats like more, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“Hillary Clinton of course is channelling the populist fervor of an Elizabeth Warren. Every single policy that this administration has pursued has made it harder for the middle class,” she said, adding that Clinton’s “policies are crushing the middle class.”
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She also rapped the Democrat’s recent attack on CEO pay. “I find the selective outrage of the left kind of interesting. They don’t seem to be outraged by the salaries that movie stars make. They don’t seem to be outraged by the salaries that sports stars make. They don’t seem to be outraged by a lot of salaries except for CEOs,” she said.
Fiorina ran for Senate in California in 2010 winning 42.2 percent. AP Photo
While she ranks low in GOP presidential polling, Fiorina said that her nomination would undercut much of Clinton’s pitch to voters.
“If Hillary Clinton were to face a female nominee, there are a whole set of things that she won’t be able to talk about. She won’t be able to talk about being the first woman president. She won’t be able to talk about a war on women without being challenged. She won’t be able to play the gender card.
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“So what she will have to run on his her track record, her accomplishments, her candor and trustworthiness and her policies,” said Fiorina with a smile.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
