Ousted HP CEO Carly Fiorina calls Apple's Tim Cook a hypocrite for stance on Indiana law

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2015
While many of Silicon Valley's elite are in lockstep opposition to Indiana's new "religious freedom" law, former Hewlett-Packard chief and potential Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina has taken the other side, accusing Apple CEO Tim Cook of acting hypocritically by opposing Indiana's law but continuing to do business in oppressive countries around the world.




"When Tim Cook is upset about all the places that he does business because of the way they treat gays and women, he needs to withdraw from 90 percent of the markets that he's in, including China and Saudi Arabia," Fiorina said to the Wall Street Journal. "But I don't hear him being upset about that."

Last weekend, Cook penned an editorial blasting state legislatures across the country for passing so-called "religious freedom" laws "designed to enshrine discrimination in state law." He was responding in part to a bill recently enacted in Indiana which would allow businesses to cite religious beliefs when defending themselves against discrimination suits.

Opponents of the law feared that it would give businesses a way to legally discriminate against gays and lesbians, after a federal appeals court ruling forced Indiana to recognize same-sex marriages late last year.

Following a raucous national outcry, which included an announcement from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff that his company -- one of Indiana's largest employers -- would pare down operations in the state as a result, Indiana's legislature amended the bill to include specific protections against discrimination.

Fiorina, who fancies herself a candidate for the presidency in 2016 despite her disastrous California U.S. Senate campaign in 2010, blamed the outcry on "narrow special interests." Technology leaders who have opposed the law, including Cook, have displayed "a level of hypocrisy here that really is unfortunate," she added.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 394
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    There is a difference between doing business in a country with its own sovereignty; and speaking up as a citizen of a self-governing republic and commenting on its law making.
  • Reply 2 of 394
    So glad HP doesn't do business in China. Oh wait. [B]Rule of the troll:[/B] It's only hypocritical when Apple does it.
  • Reply 3 of 394
    paulmjohnsonpaulmjohnson Posts: 1,380member
    I heard a similar argument from the right saying that "liberals" (is there anything more demonic in the US!) are hypocrites because they want equality for homosexuals in Indiana, but are also wanting a nuclear deal with Iran, who demonize gay people.

    They don't seem to understand that just because you can't make everything better, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try to make something better.

    If Cook and others are able to play a part in making the world a more equal place, good on them.

    Same goes for the CEO of Wal Mart who's pressure seems to have had a positive outcome in Alabama.
  • Reply 4 of 394
    applesauce007applesauce007 Posts: 1,698member
    She is really a dangerous airhead.
    That's why she was fired at HP.
  • Reply 5 of 394
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    There is no hypocrisy, idiot. Tim Cook did not boycott Indiana, he expressed his disapproval and said Apple is open to all.
  • Reply 6 of 394
    peteopeteo Posts: 402member
    Really? How can she even think of running for president after her captastic tenure as ceo of HP?
    "She has frequently been ranked as one of the worst tech CEOs of all time"

    This latest coment just proves my point. Clueless
  • Reply 7 of 394
    sestewartsestewart Posts: 102member
    Amen, Sister!

    Romans 1, 16-32
  • Reply 8 of 394
    paulmjohnsonpaulmjohnson Posts: 1,380member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sestewart View Post



    Amen, Sister!



    Romans 1, 16-32



    If you want to live your life according to some made up horseshit from 2000 years ago, fair play to you.  Don't assume to discriminate against people who don't.

  • Reply 9 of 394
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,309member
    I knew some RF engineers that worked at HP before Agilent spunoff. Carly wanted to be treated like a rockstar, bottom line, with all of the bonafide perks that go with it. I don't even recall what torpedo she fired into HP at the time, but I thing that she was behind absorbing another PC builder; can you say Compaq?

    She has often been ranked as one of the worst CEO's of all time. Perfect for a politician.
  • Reply 10 of 394
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    And this woman thinks she's qualified to be president of the country? ROFLOL
  • Reply 11 of 394
    We should listen to Carly when she's proven herself to be 1/100th as competent as Tim Cook. She's nothing more than a failed CEO and a failed politician.
  • Reply 12 of 394
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member

    Tim, like Apple as a whole, chooses battles that he can win. He won in Indiana. 

  • Reply 13 of 394
    froodfrood Posts: 771member

    I wrecked a company, and since that didn't work out so well, I want to run the country!  I think Tim is pretty consistent.  To my knowledge he did not threaten to boycott Indiana nor cease having Apple do business there.  He issued strong words in the form of his personal opinion.  Carly making bold statements based upon what we wishes were facts to create a headline that she wishes were reality probably aren't the traits I'd put at the top of the list for the next Presidential hopeful.

     

    Tim merely let his views be known, as he does with China and Saudi Arabia.  He'd love them to change their laws and lets it be known but he's not going to be irrational about it.  Apple has actually done quite a bit above and beyond to ensure if foreign factories are ran above the criteria most foreign governments set.   Carly should also be aware that citizens of a country (you know, the little people she'll need if she wants to get elected) *do* have a voice, and even a duty, to let their stance on issues be known within their own country.  Citizens of a different country usually do not have a direct path influence other countries' stances directly, and instead would rely on the officials they elected to influence foreign policy.  Aparantly we now know Carly would be all for letting foreign countries abuse their people as long as they keep sending us the cheap widgets.

  • Reply 14 of 394
    peteopeteo Posts: 402member
    Maybe we should allow discrimination against women in the workplace since you know the bible says "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent" (1 Timothy 2:11-12)
  • Reply 15 of 394
    splifsplif Posts: 603member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    While many of Silicon Valley's elite are in lockstep opposition to Indiana's new "religious freedom" law, former Hewlett-Packard chief and potential Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina has taken the other side, accusing Apple CEO Tim Cook of acting hypocritically by opposing Indiana's law but continuing to do business in oppressive countries around the world.

     

    Way to set yourself up for inevitable questions about your corporate policies during your tenure and your almost certain expedient demise in an election.

  • Reply 16 of 394
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Go Carly! Screw the haters.
  • Reply 17 of 394
    ralphmouthralphmouth Posts: 192member

    You carefully pick your battles depending on the specific country and what is most pressing. In the US, it is gay rights. In China and other developing countries, it is pollution and human rights. Tim knows and understands this.

  • Reply 18 of 394
    Mr. Cook is a citizen of the United States, not of any of the other countries. As such he has the right to express his opinion and possibly influence the actions of states where Apple does business. It is less likely that expressing the same opinion with statements in other countries will be effective. Of course he does influence how Apple treats its employees and customers world-wide.

    Ousted CEO Florina, to my knowledge, has not expressed her opinions on the laws being discussed. Does she think these laws that give businesses license to discriminate under the guise of protecting religions from government interference are a good idea?
  • Reply 19 of 394
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    She has said she may announce her candidacy for the Republican nomination for President. I don't think she has a chance in hell, but if she intends to run then attacking liberal philosophies is the logical first course of action and there is no higher profile target than names like Tim Cook and Apple.

     

    I would be willing to bet she has an iPhone and an iPad. Perhaps she should toss them and get herself some Motorola kit so to not be a hypocrite.

  • Reply 20 of 394
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sestewart View Post



    Amen, Sister!



    Romans 1, 16-32

     

    99% of that written word contradicts itself in one way or another.  Please come up with something original and relevant.  The assholes who wrote this stuff discriminated against most of humanity.

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