Huffington Campaign

* Your Platform of “independent” voices attacking Senate candidate Mike Huffington’s wife, Arianna, “Should a Political Spouse’s Beliefs Be Considered When Voting?” (Voices, Oct. 17) was filled with falsehoods and what appears to be some Feinstein campaign scripting.

One of your respondents said that Mrs. Huffington is too involved in her husband’s campaign. For evidence, she says Mrs. Huffington “debated Robert Dornan in her husband’s earlier campaign for Congress, but her husband has not.” (It was former Rep. William Dannemeyer who ran against Huffington in the Republican Senate primary earlier this year.)

Huffington and Dornan live in entirely different districts and have never run against each other.

In the current Senate race, Mike Huffington appeared at six candidate forums with his primary opponent between January and June. Arianna Huffington served as a surrogate speaker at other candidate forums--primarily when Mike was in Washington for votes--a common practice in campaigns. Huffington also recently debated Dianne Feinstein on “Larry King Live.”

Another “independent” voice laments that Huffington’s wife “appears involved in political decisions,” but “I’m not sure that Dianne Feinstein’s husband is involved in politics at all.” Yet Richard Blum, Feinstein’s husband, according to public accounts, has been actively involved, both as a consultant and a fund-raiser, in his wife’s campaign.

Out of curiosity, were any of the “independent” voices represented Republican?

JENNIFER GROSSMAN

Communications Director

Huffington Campaign, Costa Mesa