Meg Whitman took a political hit last week for allegedly hiring an illegal immigrant to clean her house over ten years ago. Nicky Díaz Santillán , Whitman’s former maid, claims to have been mistreated by the Republican gubernatorial nominee and denied help in getting legal status in 2009. Gloria Allred has taken the side of Santillán in a fight for ‘justice,’ a convenient 35 days before a determining November election against Democrat candidate Jerry Brown.
Whitman held 31 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to a poll by The Los Angeles Times and USC, prior to the potentially explosive accusations regarding Whitman’s former employment of an illegal immigrant. Alan Hoffenblum, a Republican analyst for the Los Angeles Times, says after recent events, Whitman now “probably needs to win closer to 35 percent of the Latino vote in order to win”.
This scandal is is extremely relevent because until last week, Whitman stressed the importance of penalties when illegal immigrants are knowingly employed. Whitman claims she did not know about Diaz’s questionable legal status.
Whitman has also taken quite a hit for her ‘spotty voting record.’ According to allegations by the Sacramento Bee, she had not voted for a staggering 46 years. The Republican gubernatorial nominee has challenged skeptics to investigate her voting history, promising evidence of voting activity in both the ’84 and ’88 presidential elections, along with her very public support of 2008 Republican presidential candidate, John McCain. Supporters of Whitman back her indicating an extremely successful career — she furthered eBay’s own success in absence of a solid voting record.
So my question is this, Are these details regarding one candidate’s disinterest in politics and employment of an illegal immigrant entirely relevant to her campaign now?
Political rivals and their avid supporters would argue yes, but I feel personal lapses in judgment before a candidate’s active — and very public — political career are kind of irrelevant.
I am sure my argument does not stand as strong among Democrats and others exhausted from providing excuses for Whitman’s opponent, Jerry Brown. While I feel claims against his behavior (yes, over a decade ago) are perhaps more relevant to his campaign now, I can’t be the only one who holds more value in remembering Brown’s record unemployment scares during his previous term as governor. I say that’s fair game.
Former United States President Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice and later acquitted by the U.S. Senate for sexual relations with a White House intern. Other than his responsibility as a loyal husband and upstanding father, Clinton succeeded in a continuation of the longest period of peaceful economic expansion in United States history. He also left office with the highest end-of-term approval ratings of any United States president since World War II. However, had his impeachment taken full effect — without the influence of the Senate — Clinton would have not been able to complete his second term of presidency and fulfill his record low unemployment rates — all because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.
I understand how hard it must have been to be blatantly lied to by our president but, folks, that’s politics. After all, Clinton didn’t get elected for ‘Spouse of the Year’. He was chosen — ironically enough — for his smooth talkin’. With it he secured our country’s economic bliss just as easily as he secured a little office fun on the side.
I was watching NBC’s “Community” the other night and the main character, Jeff, hit me smack in the chest with a harsh dose of reality.
When backing up his back-stabbing colleague, Jeff argued that even after the betrayal, “Alan is a great lawyer.”
Clinton is a bad husband. Whitman is a mediocre multitasker. But as far as policy goes, they seem pretty knowledgeable. I’m sick of irrelevant personal details costing otherwise deserving politicians the win.
Haley Pearson is a freshmen industrial design major and a columnist for the Daily 49er
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