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Posted on 07/23/2002 11:20:08 AM PDT by ElkGroveDan
It’s been a quite stressful few weeks in Bill Simon’s gubernatorial campaign. The official re-elect Davis campaign has been on the attack on the airwaves. The unofficial re-elect Davis campaign has been on the attack through newspaper columnists and editorials. And the general “business and businessmen are bad” attitude has been developing in the public due to the good folks at Enron and Worldcom, and to the stock market meltdown. Added to this there is the rumored continued unwillingness of Generalissimo Gerald Parsky to honor his funding commitments to the state GOP.
And to think that once upon a time I actually fought to run statewide campaigns! Ah, the foolishness of youth.
The news media has been hammering Simon for not releasing his tax returns, and, most recently, on an IRS lawsuit against a accounting firm of which he has been a client. The largely Democrat pundit class has been working overtime, writing breathless stories about disarray in the campaign, revolving door managers, top-heavy staffing, a huge cash disadvantage vis-a-vis Davis, and a general lack of direction.
So is the S.S. Simon about to do a Poseidon and capsize?
Were I in a position to answer that question definitively, I’d be in residence in Las Vegas earning my livelihood at some casino’s opulent Sports Book. My hunch, though, is that the reports of the Simon campaign’s death are quite premature.
The critiques of — or, in the case of most of the media, wishful thinking about — various problems have, not surprisingly, some basis in fact. Simon fans obviously wish he had amassed millions of dollars early, and could have gone on the air right after his stunning primary win. It would have been wonderful for his campaign had it been able to capitalize on what, at that point, was a wave of favorable — and free — publicity.
But guess what? Campaigns are run on facts, not wishes. The campaign did not have the cash, and so it followed the only course open to it: conserve its resources for the fall, when real, live voters (as opposed to political junkies like you and me) pay some attention to politics. Sal Russo, et. al., made exactly the right decision given the circumstances. To use valuable resources to achieve an ephemeral spring polling lead, potentially leaving them unable to stay competitive on the airwaves in September and October, would have been foolhardy.
Changes have indeed been made in managers (Russo is still chief consultant) and several “senior advisors” have been added. Such re-shuffling can be a sign of disarray. But guess what? It was done at the insistence of folks in Washington, D.C., upon whom the campaign depends for many important favors come the fall campaign. These were not California-based decisions.
Simon would benefit from a more discernible “message” and clear direction coming out of the campaign. But guess what? Of the 14 million Californians eligible to vote in November, at the moment about 150 of them are noticing anything going on in the governor’s race.
The one area of real concern for the Simon folks is this whole income tax matter. They would have been wiser to release them when the issue first arose. Unless they contain some “disqualifying” material, whatever is there would do less long-term damage than the constant pounding and innuendo from Davis and his media accomplices. And I have to believe that if material in the tax returns were of a disqualifying nature, Simon would not have become a candidate or the campaign’s own research would have discovered it. (At deadline I’ve discovered that the returns will, in fact, be released, perhaps by the time you read this. So scratch one area of Simon concern and put another “did it right” check on the list).
Additionally, the campaign would be wise to pay a bit more attention to its base. Clearly, Simon’s main appeal to average voters is going to be that he is not Gray Davis. Equally clearly, he must reach out to Democrats and Independents. However, the candidate himself should occasionally reach out and touch those responsible for his nomination. And if he can’t do it himself, he has a cadre of exceptionally well-credentialed emissaries ready and willing to assuage, inspire, and lead the conservative foot soldiers without whom there would be no campaign today. A lot of mainline conservatives bought Bill Simon on faith in the primary. Though there’s been little grumbling, everyone needs some “care and feeding” now and then.
So — has the campaign been perfect? No. But conservatives should not panic and certainly would be foolish to let the pundits set their agenda for them or drive their feelings about a man and a campaign in which they have an enormous stake.
For all of the buffeting, the campaign is either a bit ahead, a bit behind, or tied, depending on which poll you choose to believe. My beloved Dodgers have been on a terrible streak for the last two weeks or so, but after all that are still only a game and a half out of first place. The Simon campaign, having hit some bumps in the road, is somewhere between 7 percent down (according to the always Democrat-leaning Field poll) or 8 percent up (according to a private survey taken for a Democrat union in Sacramento).
Baseball championships — and elections — are decided in the fall. It is a long way from here to there, and California may still find itself celebrating both a new World Series Champion and a new governor in November. Conservatives should keep the faith.
While it is true, one might hope to hear from Mr. candidate Simon, sometime soon.
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EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!! I've been saying this for MONTHS!!!! But, alas, Mr. Saracino is older and wiser and people listen to him.
Go Simon!
Not only did he pay more than his fair share, Gray Davis lost a hell of a lot more of Simon's money during his three-year spending binge than he did his OWN money! That's what we get for electing someone who has never had a private sector job and has always been on the public dole.
DUMP DAVIS!!!!!
Simon has been all over the state. Sign up for his e-newsletter and you'll get his speeches, press releases and where he's been and what he's doing. The liberal media doesn't cover him and that's life. He's going directly to the people, and we have to just deal with it. David Horowitz in "The Art of Political War" (A MUST READ for all activists) says just accept the fact the media hates Republicans and move on.
It's the middle of summer and a bad time to campaign. People aren't focused, like Mr. Saracino says. There is plenty of time until the election.
Go Simon!
I certainly haven't seen anything from the Davis campaign that adequately defends his, well, remarkable record.
D
Davis' entire strategy is to tear down Bill Simon, not run on his own record. This is going to be an interesting election year. I don't know if anyone has ever won by tearing down their opponent and refusing to talk about their record.
In any case, Bill Simon is the REPUBLICAN candidate for governor in this state. He is not the conservative candidate except in the narrow sense that his positions are purported to be largely conservative.
The problem with the Simon campaign is that they are not using the "free media." Either they don't know how, or they don't think it's necessary. The result is that everyone is defining who Simon is — except Bill Simon. All the excuses in the world do not inform me as much as the evidence of my own two eyes and ears. Example:
Over the last month or so, the John and Ken radio show on KFI here in the L.A. area have been pounding Sacramento about the anti-SUV and anti-driver "global warming" bill. They have been practically begging Simon to come on the air with them and help lead the charge against the bill, with no response from the Simon campaign. A week or so ago, they led a caravan of SUVs, pick-up trucks, etc., up to Sacramento to protest the announcement that Davis would sign the bill. Simon could have led that caravan, gotten free publicity all along the way from L.A. to Sacramento, and picked up who knows how many votes. But he never got involved. A massive blown opportunity to make all sorts of political hay with a very lively issue. A blown opportunity to explain to the general public how this bill threatens to destroy the California economy, and to draw a sharp distinction between Republicans and Democrats (no Republicans voted for it). Very stupid on Simon's part.
Oh, he's got my vote because I'm a committed Republican. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm disgusted with his campaign and don't expect him to win. And I defy anyone, ANYONE to tell me I'm "whining." No, I'm not. I'm telling you people the truth as I see it on the ground here where I live. There is a huge difference between marshalling one's resources for the fall, and being the invisible candidate throughout the spring and summer. I am furious that I'm stuck with a candidate who doesn't get the difference. I'm even more furious with people who keep making excuses for him when what is actually needed is pressure on him to start taking his candidacy a heck of a lot more seriously.
Let me give you an example from L.A Radio yesterday afternoon.KFI Radio,late in the Afternoon drive,had a "glowingly positive" minute about "RED" Davis and his signing a bill at the Griffith Park Observatory. ( IMO He is trying to damage large car companies ) "As he stood looking above at the smoggy L.A. skyline..."( Ohhhh how I wish the Santa Ana's had been howling yesterday) and at the end of that section of news,they had a taped group of children (really young) saying "Thank you GUBINOR Davis".It made me sick and I went back to Savage on KPLS AM 830 out of Orange County,which you can tune in easily on your car radio,anywhere in the L.A. Area if you didn't know...Don't let the news media ( or anyone else for that matter) tell you what to think.Think for yourself!And when is Bill Simon coming back to L.A.???
Thanks for that!I haven't been to his site yet,and I'm going to do that today.
Dump Davis!
Never say die. Stay the course!
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