Bad form, Chuck

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The reaction of California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore and his campaign to Sarah Palin's endorsement of Carly Fiorina, one of his opponents in the GOP primary contest to take on Barbara Boxer in the general election, demonstrates a clear lack of good form.

Californian Stacy Drake comments:

My opinion [of DeVore] changed today after Sarah Palin gave her endorsement to DeVore’s challenger, Carly Fiorina. It wasn’t Governor Palin’s endorsement that got me to change my mind about him, it was his reaction to the endorsement that served as a big red flag warning to this man’s leadership capabilities. Plain and simple, Chuck DeVore is no statesmen. The statement he allowed to be released by his campaign was immature and derogatory. It said:

“This grassroots movement is actually a grassroots movement,” said DeVore spokesperson Joshua Trevino. “Carly Fiorina thinks she can find the sheepdog to corral the sheep. Chuck DeVore knows they’re not sheep at all. They’re Americans. And they’ll make their own decisions.”

I was dumbfounded that he would let that be released in his name. It shows that he is lacking in class and maturity. Are we not electing leaders here? What kind of leader lashes out and let’s his staff lash out in this manner? I think they may be in ‘melt-down’ mode over at his headquarters but that is no excuse. This evening has really highlighted a serious character flaw in what I perceived as a good candidate.

[...]

There is a certain way one can handle the various situations life throws at us. Character shows in difficult times and during difficult circumstances. Tonight I saw Chuck DeVore’s character and it wasn’t pretty.

And from Texas, Gary P. Jackson weighs in:

The bottom line on all of this is quite simple really. Tom Campbell is unacceptable, and Chuck DeVore is simply unelectable. So unacceptable is Campbell that leaving Senator “Don’t Call Me Ma’am” in office is almost more preferable! Campbell is more dangerous than Senator Boxer. At least Boxer has never taken money from a convicted terrorist Tom Campbell has! And despite her really long list of faults, Barbara Boxer has never failed to support Israel. Tom Campbell, on the other hand, sides with the Obama regime and share’s the disdain for our friends and allies.

In short…electing Tom Campbell would be a total disaster for the nation.

Sadly, for those who support DeVore, even after he and his supporters lack of class and professionalism, all you may succeed in doing is electing Tom Campbell.

With that thought in mind, we are enthusiastically endorsing Carly Fiorina and encourage our readers to do the same. Carly was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She is the only one in the race who has ever had to make payroll. Not sure about anyone else, but I think we need more seasoned business leaders and a hell of a lot less trial lawyers and “constitutional law professors” in D.C. How about you?

But there's more. DeVore, who sounds like he needs some Wisconsin cheese to go with his California whine, posted this op-ed on RedState.com today:

If you didn’t hear, Sarah Palin posted a Facebook message earlier yesterday about the California Republican primary.

She bashed Tom Campbell.

She tried to ignore me.

And she announced her support of Carly Fiorina.

She called Fiorina a “commonsense conservative” and said Fiorina is “the only conservative in the race who can beat Barbara Boxer.”

I like Sarah Palin. I think highly of her. But she got this dead wrong.

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I’m not going to lie to you, I would have liked Sarah Palin’s endorsement, too (and I look forward to getting it after I win the primary).

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Based on the Facebook and Twitter comments, it seems a lot of Sarah’s supporters weren’t very happy about her decision to support Carly.

The rest of DeVore's RS opinion piece is a mixture of Fiorina-bashing and spamming for campaign cash. It's no surprise that DeVore chose RedState to pimp his message. DeVore campaign communications director Josh Trevino is a co-founder of RS, and he's a good friend of those who make RedState's decisions. He knows that the site has a strong anti-Palin contingent among its membership that would fuel a DeVore post with sympathetic, Palin-bashing comments.

This is how politics is played, and its not a game for the faint of heart. Still, by virtue of Trevino's "sheepdog" slap at Sarah Palin and the not-so-subtle sneering at the governor in DeVore's op-ed -- while insisting that he "thinks highly" of her -- the Assemblyman from California has revealed a character flaw that we find... disturbing. He may be the most conservative candidate in the race, but sometimes that isn't quite enough to qualify for an endorsement.

- JP