Posted on 04/03/2002 12:31:58 AM PST by nickcarraway
California's Al Gore
By George Neumayr
Published 4/3/02 12:03:00 AM
"I'm not asking people to marry me," California Governor Gray Davis says. "I'm asking them to make a decision as to who they want to govern this state."
Even Davis' self-deprecation is fake. Davis is in low-ball mode because his polls ratings are so low. One out of three Democrats view him unfavorably, as do two out of five independents, according to recent polling.
California's Al Gore is simply seeking to neutralize his negative image through a little contrived humility. Last month he played the bragging veteran against the rookie Bill Simon; this month he is the humble workman against the risky entrepreneur.
This "Yes, I am a loser, but at least I am competent "tack can only work if Simon runs a feckless campaign. Davis knows that he will lose if the race is a referendum on his acharismatic, mismanaging governorship. So he is desperately trying to make Simon's "extremism" the issue. Never mind that Simon's interest in the so-called hot button issues -- affirmative action, abortion, homosexual rights --is nil.
It is not Simon but Davis who displays the positions and personality of an extremist. Davis has learned nothing from Richard Riordan's "pro-choice" monomania, which made Riordan almost sound like an abortionist, turning off even some liberal GOP women.
Davis is proudly hawking endorsements from extremist groups like the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, and, according to the Sacramento Bee's Dan Walters, recently suggested that health-care companies make morning-after abortifacients available without prescription.
Davis demands that Simon talk about abortion with the same level of fervor as he does. Simon hasn't risen to the bait, causing a nettled Davis and liberal California press corps to pout about Simon's unwillingness to address the issues that "concern Californians."
Shouldn't it concern Californians a little bit more that the governor who has wasted billions of their tax dollars on energy socialism wants to spend more of them on abortion?
Davis's extremism is seen on other issues. Pandering to the Hispanic community, he recently announced his support for legislation that would give 2 million illegal aliens the opportunity to receive driver's licenses. Davis, in a typically clumsy compromise, says the licenses should only apply to "work-related" driving, leading Gil Cedillo, the assemblyman who proposed the legislation, to say to the Los Angeles Times, "I don't think people care whether a man is driving to work, taking his family to church or to a medical appointment."
Ever the Clintonian hedger, Davis struck the compromise so that Californians won't label him a softie on anti-terrorism measures. "I believe we can fashion a bill which gives people who have been here for a while and are contributing to our economy the right to drive to work, and does not compromise public security," Davis said.
Isn't it a little extreme to suppose that people who broke the law to enter the state will only drive legally to their jobs, then pull over when headed for mischief? Davis's call to let illegal aliens drive legally to their illegal jobs is about as moderate as his support for letting illegal aliens pay $10,000 less at University of California schools than out-of-state Americans.
Politics, not principle, is foremost in Davis' mind. The Los Angeles Times reported last week that Davis "received an additional $251,000 from California's prison guards union earlier this month, only weeks after the governor granted the officers a pay hike of as much as $1 billion and fulfilled their wish by proposing to close five private prisons."
Prison guards will get a 33.76% phased-in pay raise, thanks to Davis's sudden appreciation for their labor. Davis says he is "philosophically" convinced that private entities can't measure up to the state in building prisons: "If we learned anything from this energy debacle, it is that private companies will do what's in the interest of their shareholders, and sometimes those interests are antithetical to the public. I see no reason why private companies should be in the business of building prisons."
Yet Davis's own state audits, according to the Times, "have given high marks to the five targeted private prisons," which "house a combined 1,400 low-security inmates, most of whom have been convicted of drug-related crimes."
Davis calls his state government an "above-board administration." It is more like a reelection racket.
Ouch! Translated does that mean, "Of course I'm a creepy, power-mad megalomaniac, but you don't have to like me to vote for me."
If Californians are smart enough to vote for Simon, Gray Davis could then start a new career portraying Randall P. Macmurphy in the Esalen institutes production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Look as if this approach resonates!
Dan
Is that true?
Anyway, I'm loving all the negative press on Davis. Pretty soon, are we going to start seeing positive articles on Simon -- meetings, speeches, positions? Or is he waiting until November's a little closer?
Dan
Simon BUMP!
i'm so glad i moved out in '99!!
Bullet tax? I know how to put our budget back in the black--tax stupid-@ss ideas! This would accomplish two things: bankrupt the left and erase the deficit ;-)
God help us.
"I'm not asking people to marry me," California Governor Gray Davis says. "I'm asking them tomake a decision as to who they want to govern this state.".. . . let me have continuted authority over the safety of their families and over their economic livlihoods . . .
Wow, my head is spinning here.
(I'm not actually opposed to letting illegal aliens drive, if they have the skills. I've always been fairly pro-immigration. But the contradictions in Governor Davis' statements are absurd).
His sellout of the private prisons is shameful. There's something pathetic about it being so cheap to buy a governor.
D
With all the bad Davis news, if Simon can stay alive until the election he has a good chance of winning :-).
D
Subject: Simon Highlights Davis Failures on Budget, Jobs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, April 3, 2002
Simon Highlights Davis Failures on Budget, Jobs SACRAMENTO - Gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon delivered a full broadside today, hammering away at Gray Davis for raising taxes and for his mishandling of the state budget and the economy.
Speaking before the California Taxpayers' Association, Simon warned the group that the impending budget debate would tempt lawmakers - with the implicit consent of the Governor - to raise taxes.
"The reason we had surpluses is because of the hardworking people of California. But instead of managing our surplus, Davis spent way too much, growing government far faster than even the record levels of growth we've seen. Now some in the legislature blame you for the deficit - they would rather raise your taxes then exercise some fiscal discipline," said Simon.
Referring to the Governor's lukewarm declaration that he would not 'advocate' raising taxes, Simon remarked, "The Governor has hardly drawn a line in the sand. If anything, he's sent an invitation to the Legislature to do his dirty work."
Simon has proposed stimulating economic growth reducing the top capital gains tax rate in California from 9.3 percent to 5 percent. Every prior capital gains tax cut at the federal level has actually led to markedly increased tax receipts.
"Taxes and growth are inextricably linked," said Simon. "Smart tax policy has an eye towards stimulus first, not revenue."
Simon also reiterated his criticisms of Governor Davis for what he termed his "three-year assault on job creation in California."
"From overpriced energy contracts, to job-killing legislation aimed at paying off political debts, this Governor's every action seems aimed at hurting business and job growth."
Speaking on the Governor's recent workers' compensation legislation, Simon noted, "These so-called 'reforms' are so anti-growth they look like they were written exclusively by Davis' big union and trial lawyer donors."
### ________________________ BILL SIMON FOR GOVERNOR 770 L Street, Suite 950 Sacramento, CA 95827 Website: http://www.simonforgovernor.com
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.