Former Carly Fiorina Campaign Staffers Claim They’d ‘Rather Go To Iraq’ Than Work For Her Again

The Republican Party is so happy with itself lately because they like to pretend that since failed Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is running for President, it proves they’re a party of inclusion. But those who have worked on Fiorina campaigns in the past say they know a few things about her that are not so flattering.

Carly-Fiorina
Image Via TheMoralMiddle

Reuters recently spoke with 30 members of Fiorina’s staff from her run for Senate in 2010, and 12 claim?they would never work for her again under any circumstances. The reason: Fiorina never bothered to pay them. Though she’s worth an estimated $120 million as a result of the golden parachute she extorted from H-P, Fiorina saw no reason to pay campaign staffers who worked for her over a four-year period. Hey, sounds just like a typical Robber Baron Republican, doesn’t she?

As a matter of fact, up until her recent announcement of a Presidential run, Federal Elections Commission (FEC) filings show that Fiorina still owed campaign?staffers, consultants, strategists, attorneys, and assorted vendors nearly half a million dollars. And this woman wants to be President of the United States. Hell, she can’t even pay her own bills!

One former staffer who request anonymity was blunt?when asked if he would ever work for Fiorina again:

?I’d rather go to Iraq than work for Carly Fiorina again.”

Full disclosure here: I’ve worked as a paid political and media consultant on several occasions over the past 20 years, and had any of those campaigns been more than a month late with a payment to me, I would have confronted them and demanded the money I was owed. To avoid such disagreements, I generally required a campaign to put up what I called “retainer” funds which were held in escrow by a third party such as a bank and were then disbursed to me after a 30 or 60 day period. I may support a candidate, but I cannot pay my bills with goodwill and pats on the back.

It’s interesting to note that despite not paying her staffers and others who did work on her 2010 campaign, Fiorina made sure that she repaid herself?$1.2 million of the $6.78 million she had loaned her campaign.

Fiorina wants to be President, and this is her resume: She nearly sent Hewlett-Packard into the crapper and overpaid for a takeover of Compaq. She lost by double digits in her 2010 Senate race against Barbara Boxer. And she doesn’t like to pay what she owes.

Yep, she’s a Republican all right. And she’s also a joke who cannot ever be taken seriously. This is the great female hope of the GOP? If so, that tells us all we need to know about them.