Poizner campaign outs Meg Whitman’s cancellation of interviews

Why can’t I just be appointed Governor?

Wannabe gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman is furiously cancellling interviews, in the wake of the relevation by the Steve Poizner campaign that she was trying to force him out of the gubernatorial race.  You can read more about this in the Poizner press release below.

In related news, it “looks like Whitman won’t take part in a long hoped-for debate at the upcoming 2010 state GOP spring convention in March,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Even CA GOP Vice Chair Jon Fleischman was exasperated by the news that she planned to skip his party’s convention.  Fleischman told the San Francisco Chronicle that “Absolutely Meg Whitman should participate in a debate at the state GOP convention, which would be a critical opportunity for grassroots GOP leaders from all 58 counties to see both her and Steve Poizner in a dynamic environment…virtually no one on the state central committee can afford the $10,000 annual price tag to join the New Majority and see the debate scheduled before that group.”

We started the bad news for Whitman early today by outing her for allegedly paying off Red County publisher Chip Hanlon for his support by giving his other company, Green Faucet, over $20,000 for IT/email services.

Whitman is becoming a total embarassment for the California Republican Party.

For Immediate Release

February 2, 2010

Team Poizner Statement on Meg Whitman’s Refusal to Answer Questions and Face Voters

Poizner Communications Director Jarrod Agen issued the following statement today:

“Meg Whitman is now cancelling press interviews in order to avoid answering the simple questions of whether she ordered her Chief Strategist to threaten Steve Poizner, and whether she approved of the threat to intimidate Steve out of the governor’s race. At a time when Republicans want a leader with integrity, Meg Whitman continues to duck the media and even refuses to debate at the California Republican Party’s own convention. This is just another instance where Meg Whitman’s ‘spine of steel’ is buckling in the wind.” – Jarrod Agen, Communications Director

BACKGROUND

Whitman Cancelled A Radio Interview Today When She Found Out They Were Going To Ask About Her Gubernatorial Campaign.

KPCC’S LARRY MANTLE: “It’s funny, we were going to be interviewing Meg Whitman about her book that she’s written but when they found out we were going to be talking with her of course about her gubernatorial race in addition to her book, then you know all of a sudden that interview didn’t happen.” (KPCC’s “AirTalk With Larry Mantle,” 2/2/10)

Whitman Refused To Appear On KGO’s Radio Show With Gil Gross. “We of course wanted Meg Whitman, she didn’t want to be on in this hour even though you wouldn’t be on together and actually have to talk to one another.” (KGO’s “Gil Gross Show,” 2/2/10)

Whitman Chose Not To Participate In A Debate At The GOP Convention In March. “On the debate angle, he’s got a point: looks like Whitman won’t take part in a long hoped-for debate at the upcoming 2010 state GOP spring convention in March.” (Carla Marinucci, “Whitman Nixes Plans For State GOP Convention Debate,” San Francisco Chronicle’s “Politics” Blog, www.sfgate.com, 2/2/10)

Whitman Has Refused To Speak To The California Press. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE’S CARLA MARINUCCI: “[Murphy’s] been around, but that was definitely a mistake for him to do that and Poizner, I think, got himself a ton of earned media, and he’s put the Whitman people on the defense in some respects because he’s pointing out some of the stuff that the California media is certainly watching — that is, she’s been in hibernation for about six weeks. We haven’t even seen her, we certainly don’t get a chance to talk to her. She does a lot of interviews on the east coast, where she doesn’t get detailed questions about California and that’s what this issue has allowed Poizner to dramatize, which is the way she’s running her campaign versus his.” (KPCC’s “AirTalk With Larry Mantle,” 2/2/10)

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