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...