GO 
And 
Posted on 06/18/2002 5:30:00 PM PDT by gohabsgo
Gary South, Gray Davis' Campaign Manager, has taken on the semblance of Tony Montana in the 1983 movie "Scarface." Angry, resentful, take no prisoners, a political mercenary with no other objective than to turn a rotten apple into Cinderella's chariot come November. "South the Mouth" is upset that the Davis campaign's recent commercial attacks on Simon have met with no response. How dare they, South must be thinking. After all it was South who said: "We've raised more money than God."
"We've had a lot of crap poured on our heads in the last two years," South told the Sacramento Press Club last week. "This is a media state. When you let attacks go unanswered, you pay a heavy price for it." Really? And what price is that?
Roger Salazar, the Manny Ramirez of the Scarface Team, plays the more "moderate" role of good cop. His quotes in the press tend to be the conciliatory follow up to South's invective. "The main focus of his [Simon's] campaign has been to attack the governor's management record. We thought the people have a right to know about his record," said Salazar.
So, let's talk about the governor's record. First, the clear "pay to play" perception that policy decisions are for sale to the largest contributors to campaign coffers: Oracle, the California Teacher's Union, and the prison guards to name a few.
Two years ago, California boasted a $12 billion budget surplus. Today, it is facing a budget shortfall that may reach $17 billion. Under Davis, the state increased its spending 37%. Far in excess of inflation. Far outpacing the 5% growth in California's population. Now, taxpayers are on the hook for $43 billion in highly unfavorable long-term contracts with energy generators.
Back in March, South blamed an impatient electorate and an inattentive media for not recognizing Davis' accomplishments, promising the campaign would repackage his record through a barrage of compare-and-contrast issue ads. "If people don't like the governor's record, wait until they hear Bill Simon's solutions," he said. "It's a slam dunk." That easy huh Gary?
In Gary South's mind, he is in fact the governor. According to former Davis staffer Mosemarie Boyd, Davis is more interested in reelection than governance. "The top person in the Davis administration works in the governor's campaign office where he's been since the 1998 campaign. Gary South is running the state government. Anybody who wants to do real decisions about what's happening tries to get to Gary South. I think it's immoral for the governor to have his number one person in his campaign office."
These days South is focusing his attentions on challenger Bill Simon's ties to the 1993 collapse of Western Federal Savings and Loan, a debacle that cost taxpayers $122 million. The jury is still out on the level of Simon's responsibility.
Not long ago, it was reported that Gray Davis has 40 million is his campaign coffers, and Bill Simon has 8 million. Davis is "not a rich man like Bill Simon," according to South. South apparently prefers that Davis grift money from prison guards, software giants, and teachers unions, essentially extracting money from taxpayers beholden to a governor's largesse.
Before the head of the California Teacher's Union spoke with Davis on Valentine's Day, the governor interrupted and said. "I'm gonna need a million dollars." This wasn't Bugsy Malone talking about a truckload of scotch. This was Gray Davis demanding a million dollars (or was it puppetmaster Gary South telling Davis what to say and do?).
Since we're on the subject of down and dirty, perhaps we can ask whether Mr. South has ever heard of the name Darius Anderson? Anderson, 37, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the past three years from Davis' chief fund-raising strategist to one of the capital's leading lobbyists and a key member of Davis' inner circle.
Anderson's firm, Platinum Advisors, strongly pushes for the interests of insurers, health care providers, horse racing and other business interests, many of whom funnel huge amounts of money to the Davis campaign.
In 2000, the Davis administration removed the last hurdles facing a $450 million contract with management consulting firm Accenture for a computer network to track welfare recipients in four counties, an effort that had been troubled for years. IBM bid on the contract too, at roughly $157 million less than Accenture.
Accenture retained Darius Anderson's lobbying firm, contributed $50,000 to Davis' re-election and an additional $100,000 to the Democratic Party for a golf tournament at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, according to state disclosure reports. Sounds like Oracle, but perhaps not as outrageously blatant.
Should anyone in the media be so inane as to ask South what his relationship with Anderson is, they may be met with a Montana-like "What the F--- difference does it make?"
On May 5, the San Jose Mercury published an article titled: "How state fell into software debacle," stating "The headlines about California's misguided Oracle deal have had a familiar ring: For at least the sixth time in recent years, leaders of the state that gave birth to the high-tech revolution have flubbed an expensive technology project." Flubbed?
The article continued: "The state's process of evaluating technology purchases was compromised by ego, political influence and an administration eager to burnish the state's image with the private sector." Who's ego? Gray Davis or Gary South?
South has chastised reporters for a "monomaniacal obsession" with Davis' fund raising while allowing Simon to remain a "mystery man" on his personal finances, the subject of the new television ad attack.
Expect the real monomaniacal carpet bombing campaign to begin soon, with Gary South at the helm. First target: Abortion. There's a new poll floating around Sacramento that shows the embattled Davis trailing Simon by a whopping eight points. As with other recent statewide polls, the real news is on Davis' job performance numbers. They are in the toilet.
On Monday June 17, Bill Simon won an endorsement from the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs (COPS), an organization that had previously endorsed Davis in the 1998 campaign.
Roger Salazar said Simon's endorsement from COPS and his complaints about the governor are "a joke." South's response might be a little stronger. Remember the closing scenes from "Scarface" where Tony is confronted with the inevitable? Machine guns loaded. "Come on, you want some of this?" Gary South is about to launch his "little friend." He may have no other choice. Welcome to the Campaign From Hell!
Said South is vulgar.
g
Hi, Hugh!!
g
Wrong. It's more like $24 Billion. In perspective? That's like the federal govt having an $800 billion deficit.
The people who live in this state will be paying the bills this jerk ran up for the next decade.
GO And
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