Fletcher: Unprincipled and Unconvincing

Steven Greenhut: A new poll shows that Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher has surged in his race to become San Diego’s next mayor after he dropped his Republican affiliation and became an independent, which just shows how little attention San Diego voters are paying to this important race. In reality, Fletcher is by no means independent. He was a life-long Republican hack who ditched the party when it rebuked him and endorsed Carl DeMaio. Fletcher’s wife was even George W. Bush’s press secretary for his 2000 presidential campaign and now some of the East Coast crowd is trumpeting the Fletcher talking points, as this silly article from David Brooks makes clear.

Consider that Fletcher had burnished his GOP credentials as he sought the party’s endorsement, but after the party endorsed someone else, he suddenly did some soul-searching and ditched the GOP. So he went from GOP loyalist to Independent in about 5 minutes, political time-wise.

Fletcher would love to be attacked by conservatives and libertarians — more proof that his martyrdom was for the greater cause of standing up against right-wing extremists, except it’s not true. In reality, Fletcher is simply a self-serving political climber without serious ideas, someone who will seemingly say or do anything to advance his political interests. He touted his Republican credentials when it helped him and now he blames the GOP — which long tolerated his focus-group-tested voting record. He has long been an ally of public-sector unions.

With the two other candidates, Carl DeMaio and Bob Filner, what you see is what you get. DeMaio is a real-deal fiscal reformer who wants to reform pensions and rein in government bloat. Filner is a union guy who will do the bidding of liberal interest groups. Fletcher is just following the Blueprint of Political Hackery — offend no one, speak in bland generalities, kiss up to the right interest groups, show up at the right events, take no chances, expend no political capital for ideas other than the one guiding idea of his life, support whatever causes or parties you need to support to get ahead.

If San Diego residents want reform, they vote for DeMaio. If they want the big-government status quo, they vote for Filner. With Fletcher, they have no way of knowing what they will get. He will say one thing, and do whatever best suits whatever his next political ambitions may be.

The GOP is lucky to be rid of him. San Diego residents not so much.

APRIL 12, 2012