It Only Cost Meg Whitman $81 Million to Buy a Shot at the Mansion

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/it_only_cost_meg_whitman_81_million_to_buy_a_shot_at_the_mansion_20100609/


Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has promised voters to apply her business savvy to running the state roughly one-tenth of Americans call home. She can start by explaining why she had to spend $81 million, most of it hers, to win the Republican nomination for governor of California. Her opponent, Steve Poizner, spent $25 million.

The Democrat running for the job, former governor Jerry Brown, has been busy raising somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million. He’s going to need it. Brown is running against a billionaire who knows what she wants and is apparently willing to pay for it.

At least Brown can take comfort knowing that Whitman spent the GDP of a small country convincing a mostly blue state that she’s a dyed in the wool conservative. —PZS

[charlie]

1. 88 bucks a vote

And that's hardly remarkable anymore. 88 fucking dollars. When they're not farces, our elections are travesties.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. That's a lot of "business savvy"

Spend $81 million of your own dollars to earn what? $150k?

Hopefully Brown crafts a commercial out of that.

[Xithras]

3. She's gonna be pissed when she finds out Jerry sold it!

The old California governors mansion was converted into a state park, and the "new" governor's mansion was sold off by Jerry Brown during his first stay in office.

California governor's are expected to rent their own homes, at their own expense, during their stay in Sacramento. Some, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, don't even bother with that, and just rent hotel rooms.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Mike Bloomberg spent that much or a little more for a contrived third term as mayor of NYC.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/nyregion/19nyc.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/nyregion/24mayor.html

[Liberal_Dog]

5. She Must Be Figuring That She Will Make All Her Money Back

and then some.

[kestrel91316]

8. Yep, she will find a way to line her own pockets if she gets into office.

Like the rest of her Repuke ilk, she cares ONLY about increasing her own wealth. All other considerations be damned.

[meow2u3]

6. She ruined Ebay; she'll ruin California

That ought to be Jerry Brown's motto.

[KamaAina]

7. It Only Cost Poizner $25 Million For An Ass-Whuppin'

David Vitter and Eliot Spitzer would agree that he got ripped off. :evilgrin: