Carly Fiorina campaigns with Ted Cruz. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
Ted Cruz is announcing Carly Fiorina as his vice presidential running mate. Few in Silicon Valley are likely to be too excited.
Fiorina has had a long career in the tech world, most notably as CEO of computer maker Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005. But for someone who would be (if Cruz manages to wrest the Republican nomination from Donald Trump) the first vice presidential nominee to come from a technology management background, Fiorina is hardly loved by the Valley.
For starters, Fiorina is mostly known for her spectacular failure running HP. She bet her career on a $19 billion merger with Compaq as the personal computer market was getting more cutthroat. That bet didn't pay off: HP stock fell more than 50% from the day she started to the day she was forced to resign. It was one of the darkest periods for one of the computing world's most storied innovation factories.
Since then, running for U.S. senator from California and then the Republican presidential nomination, Fiorina has taken positions against those held by many of the largest technology companies like Google, Apple, and Netflix.
Fiorina has said she wants to roll back net neutrality rules, calling it crony capitalism. "The truth is that it will insert Washington bureaucracy and control in the 21st century's greatest success story," she said in a campaign video.
She has also been critical of tech companies resisting the government's request for access to data. "I absolutely would call on them to collaborate and cooperate," she said at a debate last August, when asked about Google and Apple letting the FBI in. She said we should "tear down cyber walls" on a "targeted basis." The Apple-FBI fight over unlocking the iPhone of the San Bernadino shooter became national news earlier this year.
These positions put Fiorina in lockstep with her running mate. Cruz said Apple should unlock the iPhone for the FBI and blasted net neutrality as "Obamacare for the internet." Together, they'll have a tough time convincing Silicon Valley of the wisdom of those policies--if they can even secure the nomination.
