CALIFORNIA: Attorney General Jerry Brown Defeats Meg "$150M" Whitman

Meg Whitman pissed away $150M of her own money in her losing bid to Attorney General Jerry Brown, giving her the all-time global record for most money ever wasted on a losing political campaign. Please please let there be a photo op when the Guiness Book Of Hilarious Records shows up at her house tomorrow. On a more serious note, this is excellent news for the Prop 8 battle as Whitman had vowed to attempt to intervene on behalf of the state, should she become elected.

Nate Silver's Final Governorships Forecast

Larger interactive version here. We're certainly enjoying that dark blue in California, aren't we? Florida remains troublesome, with teabagger and Medicare fraudster Rick Scott maintaining a slight lead over Democrat Alex Sink. In Illinois state Sen. Bill Brady is in a toss-up with Gov. Pat Quinn, who had the unenviable job of taking over for Rod Blogojevich. In Minnesota former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton is holding onto a five-point lead over teabagger asshat (and Target BFF) Tom Emmer.

New York Times Asks: Why Aren't Gays Fired Up Against Meg Whitman?

The New York Times observes that there appears to be "little passion" among LGBT voters regarding the outcome of California's gubernatorial race. And that's curious because Meg Whitman has vowed to attempt to defend Proposition 8 in the Ninth Circuit Court, should she be elected.

Intervention would be an “unprecedented situation,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at the University of California, Irvine. “We don’t know what would happen if a new governor or attorney general tried to intervene,” he said. The December appeals hearing could face a lengthy delay, or an argument could be made for a new trial, with the state reversing its stance and supporting the marriage ban. Rory Little, professor of law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, said that a new trial would be unlikely, but that the judges would carefully consider the motion. “The court will take this very seriously,” Mr. Little said. With the election possibly affecting such a hard-fought legal victory, gay men and lesbians should be motivated to vote, but they might not be aware of the stakes, according to political analysts.

I think we at this here website thingy have been ringing the Fear Whitman bell fairly loudly, but the above-linked NYT piece places the overall blame for Whitman apathy on LGBT disappointment with the Obama administration.

CALIFORNIA: AG Jerry Brown Holding Nice Lead Over Meg Whitman

The last couple of polls including the one published yesterday show Attorney General Jerry Brown sitting on a rather comfortable lead over Meg Whitman. That's potentially good news regarding Proposition 8.

Paid For By Meg Whitman Who Invented Everything Good In California

Meg Whitman IS The Governator

CALIFORNIA: Jerry Brown Increases Slight Lead Over Meg Whitman

Polling averages still call it a toss-up, but yesterday's Survey USA poll shows Jerry Brown with a seven-point lead over Meg Whitman, who doesn't appear to have been seriously damaged by her housekeeper scandal.

California Nurses Against Meg Whitman

The California Nurses Association is launching a Queen Meg 2010 bus tour in opposition to Meg Whitman. Here's their music video.

Brown Leads Whitman By 3 Points

Maid-gate doesn't appear to be having an effect on Meg Whitman yet, as several polls completed over the weekend show Jerry Brown's lead shrinking slightly.

Whitman Vs. Brown On Maid-Gate

Anti-Immigrant Group Calls For Arrest Of Meg Whitman And Her Housekeeper

The Americans For Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) have issued a press release calling for the arrests of Meg Whitman and her former housekeeper for violating employment and immigration laws.

"We need equal justice for both the illegal alien and the employer," said William Gheen, President of ALIPAC. "Nicky Diaz should be charged and deported and Meg Whitman should face the existing penalties under current US law as well. No Amnesty for Whitman or Diaz, the Rule of Law must be restored in America." Nicki Diaz gave a tearful interview to reporters today, accompanied by Gloria Allred, a longtime Democratic supporter. Diaz claims that Whitman, a Republican candidate for Governor of California, knew she was an illegal alien and was abusive to her and failed to pay her all her wages. Diaz cried through most of the interview in what was an obviously contrived display of political theater. "Best illegal alien actor award of 2010 should go to Nicki Diaz for her role as the tearful victimized invader," said William Gheen. "Meg Whitman's financial gain from the movie rights should be seized by the courts to compensate the American taxpayers who have paid the price for her illegal laborer over the years."

ALIPAC is pissed at Whitman over her support for comprehensive immigration reform.

The American public has indicated in numerous scientific polls that well over 80% of Americans want employers like Meg Whitman heavily fined. Over 50% want the employers of illegals, like Whitman, jailed. Americans have also shown overwhelming support for the arrest, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants like Nicki Diaz. Both the US Constitution and the existing laws of Congress mandate that both Whitman and Diaz should be charged and treated equally under those laws. "We stand with the majority of American citizens who want our existing border and immigration laws enforced!" said William Gheen. "Therefore we call on all appropriate authorities to arrest and charge both Meg Whitman and Nicki Diaz."

Trouble With The Help For Meg Whitman

California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman is having some trouble with the help. Namely, her former housekeeper of nine years who today revealed herself as an undocumented worker amid claims that Whitman was an abusive employer.

Flanked by attorney Gloria Allred, former Whitman employee Nicandra Diaz made the accusations at a tearful Los Angeles press conference Wednesday. Diaz said she asked Whitman for help with her immigration status in 2009 and Whitman refused. "I felt like she was throwing me away like a piece of garbage," Diaz said. Whitman responded to the charges in a statement Wednesday. "After nine years of faithful service, Nicky came to us in June 2009 and confessed that she was an illegal worker," the statement reads. "Nicky had falsified the hiring documents and personal information she provided to the employment agency that brought her to us in 2000. Nicky told me that she was admitting her deception now because she was aware that her lie might come out during the campaign. Nicky said she was concerned about hurting my family and me." Whitman continued: "As required by law, once we learned she was an illegal worker, I immediately terminated Nicky’s employment. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I considered Nicky a friend and a part of our extended family."

Gloria Allred says her client was "exploited, disrespected, humiliated and emotionally and financially abused." I don't think there's much to see here, actually. Whitman supposedly terminated the woman immediately upon learning about her status, which clears her from charges of hypocrisy about her immigration positions. As for the abuse claims, remember this is prime opportunist Gloria Allred. I wish there could be some actual meat to this story, but I doubt it. It'll depend on how the housekeeper plays in the Spanish press, I'd guess.

Equality California Launches Ad Campaign Against Meg Whitman

They've also launched an ad against Attorney General candidate Steve Cooley, who gets similar treatment.

CALIFORNIA: Meg Whitman Dismissed As Juror In Child Molestation Case

California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has been dismissed as a potential juror in a child molestation case after telling the court that she could not give the case her "100% best" due to the campaign. The accused man is alleged to have molested several boys, leading attorneys to ridiculously ask the potential jurors if they feel that homosexuality is "a crime or a sin." Whitman's response to that question is not noted in the above-linked news story.

Not missing an opportunity to slam gays, the repulsive asshats at California For Marriage have tweeted the story this way: "Meg Whitman dismissed as juror in homosexual child-molestation case."

Lambda Legal Responds To Meg Whitman's Planned Defense Of Proposition 8

Meg Whitman surprised no one when she announced this weekend that if she becomes governor of California, she will defend Proposition 8 in court, something Schwarzenegger declined to do. However many are questioning whether the timing of both the election and the appeal to the Ninth Circuit would allow Whitman to do so. Karen Ocamb spoke to Lambda Legal's Jon Davidson:

“At the time of the oral argument that has been scheduled for December 6th, even were Whitman or Cooley to have won the election, they will not have taken office – the new officeholders don’t take office until Jan. 3. 2011. In addition, at that point, the time to file an appeal from Judge Walker’s ruling will have long passed. So, even were they to win, they would not be able to appeal Judge Walker’s ruling if Schwarzenegger and Brown do not – and they have indicated they will not. In addition, Whitman and Cooley would not be able to participate in the oral arguments as parties.

"They might seek to file amicus (friend-of-the-court briefs). The deadline for filing such briefs is 7 days after the brief is due from the party you are supporting. Amicus briefs in support of the proponents of Prop. 8 are due September 24th. It would be unusual for a candidate for political office to file an amicus brief on a measure that they might be in more of a position to weigh in on were they elected, though I guess it could happen. If they get elected, Whitman and/or Cooley might also seek to file an amicus brief after their election or after they are sworn in, which would be after the oral argument. They would need to seek permission to file late. There is no way of knowing whether the Ninth Circuit judges hearing the case would grant such a request to file late.

Davidson adds that there is precedent for newly-elected officials filing amicus briefs when their predecessors chose not to do so.

Meg Whitman: I'll Defend Prop 8

GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has announced that she will defend Prop 8 in court if elected.

"The issue right now is, as I understand is 'Will Proposition 8 have the appropriate support to actually make an appeal to the circuit court of appeals?' " Whitman said. "And I think the governor, the attorney general today has to defend the constitution and has to enable the judicial process to go along and has to enable an appeal to go through. So if I was governor, I would give that ruling standing to be able to appeal to the circuit court." The appeals court plans to hear the case in December, but Supreme Court appeals are planned by both sides, so Whitman would have plenty of time to intervene if she wins and takes office in January.

Whitman and Jerry Brown are essentially tied in the latest polls.

Former Big Business CEOs Whitman And Fiorina Advance In California GOP Primary

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina both won their California GOP primaries yesterday. Whitman will take on former Gov. Jerry Brown in November, Fiorina will challenge U.S. Senate veteran Barbara Boxer. Whitman spent a staggering $71M of her own money on her campaign, making Fiorina's mere $5M personal outlay seem almost miserly.

RELATED: California voters approved open primaries via Proposition 14, which stipulates that in future state elections only the top two primary vote-getters will advance to general elections, regardless of party affiliations. So kiss goodbye all those third (and lesser) party candidates! The Governator, unsurprisingly, was a loud proponent and financial supporter of Prop 14.

Meg Whitman Sold Porn And That's (Apparently) A Bad Thing

California GOP candidate for governor Steve Poizner has released an ad attacking former eBay CEO and fellow candidate Meg Whitman because eBay sells porn. "Do Republicans want a governor who directly profited from selling pornography and sex paraphernalia?" Oy brother. There are a LOT of reasons to despise Meg Whitman, but this ain't one of them.