Posted on 04/28/2002 11:33:29 AM PDT by RightOnTheLeftCoast
April 9, 2002--Given up for dead following the rout in their state of George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election California Republicans may be on the verge of a remarkable comeback. Amost in spite of themselves. Their party is still in turmoil, split nastily between conservatives and liberals, with the party chairman emasculated by a new party regulation that takes away his ability to spend party funds.
In spite of these problems, Reagan conservative William Simon Jr., the party’s surprise nominee for governor in last month’s very early primary, is running a stronger race than most political experts believed possible. One poll shows him running seven points ahead of incumbent Democrat Gray Davis who, according to polls, is seen by a majority of Californians to be a weak leader. Interestingly, despite the fact that he is a pro-life Catholic, Simon is running well among women.
But the general election is still seven months away, plenty of time for the situation to change. In Davis he is facing a tough, no-holds-barred, bulldog of a candidate who has nearly 30 million dollars in his campaign kitty. This means that Simon, though independently wealthy, is going to have to concentrate during the spring and summer months on raising money.
Never an easy task, Simon’s fundraising is being hampered by the failure of many of the party’s wealthy liberals to gather around. The man he beat in the primary, Richard Riordan, who could be a major help in raising money, has passed the word that he will not help unless Simon reverses his position on abortion. Simon, who knows full well that flipflopping on major issues is the road to defeat, has refused to do so.
The state’s other key Republican, the liberal Gerald Parsky, also is sitting on the fence, largely because he and Simon‘s father, now dead, were bitter personal enemies.
Parsky’s dog in the manger attitude, however, is putting President Bush between a rock and a hard place. Parsky is Bush’s man in California. In fact, he has fastened himself so tightly to the president he is called by party activists by the derisive nickname of Velcro.
If he is not careful, however, this could change. While Reardan, not Simon, was the White House’s first choice for governor, Bush, with Simon running so well, cannot afford to abandon him. In fairness, Bush has shown no sign of this. In fact, there is every indication he is doing and will do whatever he can to help elect him.
If this indeed is Bush’s intention one of the first things he must do is activate Parsky on Simon’s side because, for all his lack of good political instincts, Parsky is a top-notch fund raiser.
Secondly, Bush must make it plain to the entire liberal wing of the California Republican party that Simon is his man and that he expects their support.
A year ago, in the New Jersey governor’s race Bush failed to do this and the Republican candidate, the conservative Brett Schundler, abandoned by his party’s liberal wing and given half-hearted support by the White House, lost. It is unlikely that Bush, who is a smart politician, will make that mistake again.
If Simon were given no chance to win Bush perhaps could afford to let Parsky continue to play the skunk at the garden party. But not under present circumstances. A Simon victory in November would make California a state Bush could win in 2004. A Simon loss would have just the opposite effect.
It was not so long ago that the California Republican Party, in a shambles after Barry Goldwater’s overwhelming loss to Lyndon Johnson, two years later rejected a liberal Republican candidate and picked a conservative named Ronald Reagan as its gubernatorial nominee..
That year, 1966, Reagan went on to beat a strong incumbent governor by more than a million votes. And two years later, in the presidential election, when the state was crucial to the Republicans, Reagan was a key factor in carrying California for Richard Nixon president and then re-electing him four years later.
Bush knows this. And he knows, also, that history is not likely to repeat itself in the presidential years unless Simon wins in November.
There's a lot of wisdom in your #50, I think. Well-put.
How many schools have you seen it being done in, so far, in your extensive research on the subject and wide-ranging tour of CA public schools?
As far as it being wise politically, perhaps we'll soon find out one way or another.
Yes perhaps. Although if not I'm not going to blame any particular candidate too much over it.
And good luck in your efforts to reduce your tax burden, or cut welfare, or whatever it is that motivates you to go to the polls.
The answer is, Getting good people elected.
I'm not expertly aware of the biology curriculum in California public schools, never said I was. I said that if this was not being done, it should be. Remember? (#77)
The answer is, Getting good people elected.
Hopefully, good people will use whatever power they have to reduce abortions. For example, a governor could advocate informed consent laws or a PBA ban, even if he didn't touch my ideas. If Simon were to do either of these things, there would be no blame coming from me. I would praise him, in fact.
Yes, I remember, but I'm thinking of the Big Picture. Let's summarize. You're criticizing Simon for Not Doing Certain Stuff. One thing you think he Should Be Doing is Suggesting Certain Programs. But when pressed, you've admitted you don't actually know whether these programs are already implemented - you just throw your hands in the air and blithely say "well if they're not, they should be!"
Uh, ok, but then what the heck is your basis for criticizing Simon? You're criticizing him for not suggesting stuff which may or may not actually be needed? The mind boggles.
If Simon were to do either of these things, there would be no blame coming from me. I would praise him, in fact.
Noted. Best,
I suggested that, as part of an overall public awareness effort, school children be taught fetal development using an array of modern techniques, tools, and methods. The nature of the public school system being what it is, with details of any particular curriculum likely to vary from school district to school district, it is unreasonable to suggest that anyone who advocates this particular policy be required to check in with each and every one of them to find out if they are each already teaching it in the precise manner I support. Instead, I simply call for it to be standard across the many school districts.
Uh, ok, but then what the heck is your basis for criticizing Simon? You're criticizing him for not suggesting stuff which may or may not actually be needed? The mind boggles.
A PBA ban is needed, crisis pregnancy center funding is needed, public awareness campaigns are needed. What is your point? I criticize Simon only because he has not shown a willing to champion any of these issues. Should that change, my criticism will stop. Is that alright? It may come as a shock, but I expect pro-life politicians to do what they can to advance the cause. All of the above would be in his purview as governor. If he does any of these things, I will be a Simon fan.
Noted.
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