[Political Junkie Too]

In 2002, Bill Simon was running against incumbent Gray Davis for Governor of California. In August, Simon's company was on trial for defrauding a pay phone company owned by a convicted drug dealer (funny, the timing of that). A jury awarded the defendant a $79 million verdict. The press went wild and tanked Simon's campaign.

In September, the trial judge reversed the jury verdict and decided for Simon, saying that it was Simon's company that was defrauded, not the plaintiff who sued him.

Simon went on to lose to Davis 47.3% to 42.4%. In 2006, a California appeals court upheld the trial judge's reversal, but the damage was done.

-PJ

[DoughtyOne]

What you also pointed out there, is that if Simon had pulled just a 2.5% swing, he’d have been in a dead heat with Davis.

Of course Davis was about to outspend him about ten to one.

The Republican party leadership in the state still hasn’t heard of the name Simon. Duh!

If he would have had money, if the party had brought in the big names like the Democrats did, if he hadn’t had to scrimp and cross the state in a leased bus while Davis flew around in a leer jet, things would have been very different.

The party has refused to help California Republicans. It’s just a miserable situation.

When crossover primaries was on the ballot, the Republican party leadership was mute on the issue. Today we don’t even get to vote for a Republican vs a Democrat anymore.

The party deserves to die.

There will be no love lost here when it does.