Posted on 10/28/2002 10:22:49 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
"I know everyone will think I am crazy, but I think Bill Simon will win” [over incumbent Democrat Gov. Gray Davis], says Paul M. Weyrich, longtime Senate staffer and currently President of the Free Congress Foundation.
"He could also be trounced,” Weyrich told NewsMax.com's Wes Vernon. But he candidly acknowledges, "I just have an instinct on this one.”
He says the polls in California, which have see-sawed back and forth and have shown differences mostly in the single digits, can be disregarded as "no indicator.”
The race between Simon and Davis is fluid enough, Weyrich believes, that Californians may very well decide to dump the governor whose political problems have included blackouts and ethical questions surrounding his fundraising.
Here are Weyrich's views on the other races around the country:
If former Vice President Walter Mondale replaces the late Sen. Paul Wellstone on the Democratic ticket, as appeared to be the case, he will win the Minnesota Senate seat, in Weyrich’s view. Mondale, a legendary elder statesman in Minnesota, carried his home state in his 1984 presidential race against incumbent Ronald Reagan, as all the other 49 states went for the Gipper in a landslide.
Had "a more typical Democrat” replaced Wellstone, Weyrich says, Republican Norm Coleman would have had the upper hand.
New York voters will give incumbent Republican Gov. George Pataki a third term in the governor’s chair in Albany, says Weyrich. The only question regarding the apparent hapless candidacy of Democrat Carl McCall is whether he will end up in second or third place. For a while, it was thought third party candidate Tom Golisano would drain votes from Pataki and give the race to the Democrats. In fact, some Dems were saying Golisano was their "secret weapon.”
Wrong! Though the upstate Independence Party candidate is running to Pataki’s right on such issues as taxation and the upstate economy, he seems to be draining dissatisfied voters from McCall’s column.
If McCall comes in third behind both Pataki and Golisano, under New York law, the Democrats will be relegated to the humiliating third row position on the state ballot in the next election.
As things are shaping up just barely a week before the election, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will win in Florida, "but not by much,” Weyrich thinks. The Democrats, still stinging from the bitter post-election battle in Florida in 2000, are itching to get even. So they’re pouring everything they can into the candidacy of challenger Bill McBride. But so too are the White House and the Republican Party going all out for the president’s brother.
In Arkansas, "Pro-family Republicans want to punish Sen. Hutchinson for dumping his wife of 29 years in favor of a staffer half his age. I think [Democrat] Pryor will win.”
In South Carolina, Weyrich sees a win for Republican Rep. Lindsey Graham who is seeking the Senate seat being vacated by the legendary Republican Strom Thurmond, who came to Washington 48 years ago as a Democrat.
The governor’s race in the Palmetto State (S.C.) is less hopeful for the GOP. As NewsMax reported September 28, former Republican Congressman Mark Sanford was (and still is) running spirited race against incumbent Democrat Gov. Jim Hodges.
Sanford "had the momentum, but that has been reversed,” says Weyrich, "The race is a toss up. I guess I’d bet on the Democrat.”
"He could also be trounced,” Weyrich told NewsMax.com's Wes Vernon.
Well, that settles that!
Yo, Davis supporter, there are a lot of Californians who are fed up with Gray-out and are pulling out all the stops to see him get a real job in the private sector.
Although Simon has made a few critical errors, he has rebounded and is concentrated on the home stretch.
Holy crap! This NYer knows how he's gonna vote Nov. 5! Pataki needs to be smacked HARD for his shameless campaign, anyway. What a fraud he his... and I voted for him twice.
I'm not exactly a Davis supporter.
The words I have for him would get this message yanked in a New York heartbeat. His handling of the California "energy crisis" ranks right up there with the stupidest things I've ever seen from an elected official.
... there are a lot of Californians who are fed up with Gray-out and are pulling out all the stops to see him get a real job in the private sector.
Nah.
There are undoubtedly some Californians who are like that, but most Californians are idiots who want something from the government, a Big Mac, and a large order of fries.
They deserve Davis. They'll also get to pay for him -- for many years to come.
In differing elections, I hope...
Has a nice ring, doesn't it?
The ring is wonderful. The problem is that nobody is home to answer the phone.
The ring that works in the Golden State is, "Who should I make this check out to?" That phone call gets picked up.
Bumperoosky to that!!!
BTW - I was driving on Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Westlake Village last week (~Thursday). I passed a small pickup with many bumper stickers including one for SIMON. It had a box in the bed with a DUMP DAVIS sign. I gave the driver a hearty "thumbs-up". Could the driver be another Freeper?
Simon is plugging along. Remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? I know, I know ... cliche, but apropos.
Simon can win. We need to get out our vote ... remember, Davis must be worried or he ouldn't be going negative again ...
Go Simon!!!!
Well, I hope you're right. I don't think you are, but I hope you are. There are few things that walk this planet that I find are more disgusting than Gray Davis. The Clintons would be one, but I can't think of a second one.
Besides, I vowed not to vote for Pataki when he signed Ballistic Fingerprinting into law.
Every CA FReeper drive two other voters to the polls!! Offer to buy lunch!
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