Positioning herself as the anti-Hillary Clinton candidate in a crowded field of prospective GOP 2016 contenders, Carly Fiorina is unapologetic in attacking the presumptive Democratic nominee.
“I think it’s totally fair game to call out the presumptive Democratic nominee on her track record and policies,” the former Hewlett-Packard CEO told ABC News on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Politics is about contrast, and I think as a conservative, we need to offer a very clear contrast to Hillary Clinton.”
Is Carly Fiorina the GOP's answer to Hillary in 2016? Carly Fiorina Criticizes Hillary Clinton and Clinton's Foundation at CPAC CPAC 2015: Road to the White HouseFiorina addressed the conference Thursday, offering many direct jabs at Clinton during her speech. At one point, to the cheers of the audience, Fiorina joked, “Like Mrs. Clinton, I too have traveled the globe. Unlike Mrs. Clinton, I know that flying is an activity, not an accomplishment.”
Asked about Clinton’s recent use of the phrase “unlocking potential,” Fiorina -- whose Super PAC is titled the “Unlocking Potential Project” -- suggested this isn’t the first time Clinton may have copied her.
“Her book cover was remarkably similar to mine, as well,” she said.
“Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but I could steal one of her lines and ask, ‘What difference does it make?’” Fiorina said sarcastically, referencing Clinton’s remarks before a congressional committee investigating the 2011 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
If she were to win the nomination, Fiorina said it would put a “hitch in her swing” for Clinton to have to run against another woman.
“I think it just takes of the table a whole set of rhetoric that the Democratic Party has used for the last two elections,” Fiorina said. “Remember Hillary Clinton saying in Iowa, ‘It’s not enough to be a woman,’ you have to be a woman who believes. Really? She’s saying that women only count if they believe certain things.”