In Final Throes of Campaign, Carly Fiorina Acting Out of Desperation

For Immediate Release: Jan. 25, 2016

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Washington, DC -- According to reports from theGuardian, GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina is accused of “ambushing” preschoolers away from a field trip and staging them across the front of an anti-abortion “Right to Life Forum”.

While it isn't unusual to see Carly Fiorina peddling factually debunked and wild claims about Planned Parenthood, this event included toddlers, whose parents claim were lured there unknowingly and without their permission.

 

Quote from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President at Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“Fiorina truly has no shame. As if her flat-out lies weren’t enough, she has now resorted to staging toddlers around a dramatic anti-abortion rally, reportedly, without their parents' knowledge or permission.

“Throughout her entire campaign, Carly Fiorina has continually lied about women’s health and a Planned Parenthood video, which fact-checkers, respected news outlets, and even staunch anti-abortion extremists have agreed is fabricated. Now she is grasping at relevancy by resorting to bizarre and inappropriate tactics -- reportedly manipulating preschoolers as tiny political props. It’s time that Carly accepts the fact that the American people don’t support her extreme anti-abortion agenda.”

This comes one week after she was bounced from the main stage of the Republican Presidential Debates due to low polling.

 

Many media outlets have taken notice of this bizarre story:

The Hill: “‘The kids went there to see the plants,’ Chris Beck, the father of a 4-year old with whom Fiorina appeared…”

The Guardian: “‘This is the face of abortion,’ the activist told the crowd as Fiorina looked on.”

Gawker: “On Wednesday, Carly Fiorina just happened to give a speech on the dangers of abortion and organ harvesting in front of a group of small, bored-looking toddlers. One of the many problems with that scene, say the kids’ parents, is that she liberated them from a school trip without permission.”

Talking Points Memo: “An Iowa parent accused Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina of using his four-year-old son as a prop Wednesday at a Des Moines anti-abortion rally.”

Yahoo: “One minute you are looking at flowers, the next minute, you are sitting at former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina’s feet as the presidential hopeful gives a ‘right to life’ forum speech.”

Slate: “...among the many righteous pro-life beacons beaming their messages across the cosmos, Carly Fiorina manages to outshine them all.”

Jezebel: “One of the things Carly Fiorina learned as CEO of HP was how to make use of available resources”

Think Progress: “...Fiorina “headed straight for a group of giggling 4- and 5-year-olds” when she first arrived at the botanical garden. She reportedly ushered them toward the makeshift stage set up for the anti-abortion event — which featured a large poster of a fetus — without asking permission for the children to sit with her.”

 

FACT: Carly Fiorina’s Continued Lies Have Cost Her in the Polls.  

• Jezebel: Carly Fiorina Loses Poll Bump, Probably for Lying Her Head off About Planned Parenthood

  • “Mid-September was a heady time for Carly Fiorina: she did pretty great in the second GOP debate, and subsequently saw a huge surge in the polls. That’s all gone now, probably because she lied and lied and lied some more about Planned Parenthood, and everybody noticed.”

  • “...she wouldn’t admit that she’d been caught in a misstatement. Instead, her PAC released its own would-be Planned Parenthood video. Then she went on Meet the Press and continued to insist she wasn’t wrong.”

• CNN: Carly Fiorina’s Fall

  • “Even after fact-checkers concluded the video footage Fiorina describeddid not exist, she doubled down on her claims in the days following the debate.

  • “Instead of using her moment in the spotlight to discuss a range of issues and further introduce herself to voters, she instead trained her focus on Planned Parenthood.

  • "‘They had this moment and in some ways reduced it by not taking a broader, frankly, more presidential focus,’ said Rob Stutzman, a California-based Republican strategist. ‘They weren't prepared for the moment they fought so hard for.’”

• The Atlantic: What Happened to Carly Fiorina?

  • “Remember Carly Fiorina? It now seems forever ago, but in late September she was being heralded as the next big thing in the Republican primary field—the outsider candidate who could marshall establishment support, and finally slay the Trump dragon.”

  • “Fiorina pulled something similar off when she insisted she’d seen a video taken at a Planned Parenthood that did not exist, but that moment passed, and she hasn’t created another.”

• HNG News: Who Needs Facts or Truth?

  • “Fiorina surged to second place immediately following her debate performance, but that same debate performance could now be contributing to her decline. During the debate, Fiorina focused on Planned Parenthood and made claims about seeing an abortion video that fact-checkers later revealed did not exist.”

• Christian Science Monitor: What happened to Carly Fiorina's presidential campaign?

  • “Fiorina was also caught up in a discussion about abortion at the time of her debate rise. Her passionate criticism of Planned Parenthood thrilled many conservative voters. But Democrats and some fact-checkers questioned whether her description of a video that alleged abuses on the part of the group was accurate.”

  • "For Fiorina, the problem might not have been this controversy per se, but the fact that it chewed up time and attention she might better have spent on other things."

• NYT: Carly Fiorina’s Numbers Plunge in Latest CNN Poll

  • “Carly Fiorina′s swell of support after her strong debate performance last month has collapsed, according to a new CNN/ORC pollthat showed rivals Donald J. Trump and Ben Carson benefiting from her waning popularity.”

• Washington Post: What Happened to Carly Fiorina?

  • “Unless many candidates drop out soon and she can distinguish herself in the field it will be very difficult to do well in early primary states.”