Posted on 07/24/2004 9:31:09 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Senate candidate Bill Jones paid a brief "courtesy" visit to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Santa Monica this week but don't expect to see the Republican governor do much for Jones' underdog bid to unseat Democrat Barbara Boxer.
Schwarzenegger has agreed to appear at one Jones fund-raiser and maybe make one campaign appearance for him while President Bush is in California next month, aides say - about as much as Republicans John McCain, the Arizona senator, and Vice President Dick Cheney have agreed to do.
It's not that Schwarzenegger doesn't like Jones. He gave him a big boost with an endorsement in the GOP primary, but - in the harsh world of pragmatic politics - aides say it's unlikely he'll do more for a lagging candidate.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
It's pretty obvious. :(
I was saying that in the primaries as well. There was a woman who was a treasurer of the United States under Bush I think that made a better candidate by far. (If memory serves) The support was too thin in the primaries, but she had the only chance IMO!
Rosario Marin. I heard her debate the non-Jones candidates on the radio, (I can't remember if Jones was there or not.... indicative of his candidacy?), and she was awful in both presentation and content. I'm sure she or anyone would be better than Boxer, but I was left very worried whether she could possibly campaign against Boxer.
The other GOP lady candidate (former Clinton-Democrat) sounded much better as a campaigner and fundraiser than Marin, but she may have been too liberal for Republican voters.
Howard Kaloogian was probably not well known north of Orange or San Diego Counties, he would have had money trouble, and he might have been branded (by Boxer) as too conservative for CA, although he and the liberal woman were the only candidates who really spoke against illegal immigration and for immigration law enforcement.
Jones was arrogant in the primaries by declining all debates, so the entire primary became as boring and below the radar as his campaign-style. He wasn't a good candidate, and everyone knew it. Too bad he won, but there weren't really any practical choices, unfortunately.
And talented Republican potential candidates wouldn't have wanted to run when Boxer was almost assured reelection and the party probably wouldn't lend much enthusiastic support.
Bruce Herschensohn still could run, and I wish that he would run, right now, as a write-in for Senator.
I'm sure he would've been better than Jones this year, but that's not saying much. The GOP is pretty divided, and who knows whether the "moderates" or liberal Republicans would support Herschensohn? After all, he endorsed Tom McClintock last fall, and some people were pretty upset with anyone who either didn't support Schwarzenegger or didn't pressure McClintock to quit. It's just too bad.
Who even remembers that he's running? After the primaries it was over. Rosario would have had more attention.
Well facts are that Jones is a nothing and despite Rosario Marin having credentials and a Mexican surname, you felt she couldn't debate and was a failure as well.
So what this tells me is that the problem in California is that if a conservative is charismatic, they find their fortune outside of politics and only the bland are available for the running. This means we lose.
Unless we get all candidates as we did Arnold, we are in big trouble. Why can't we find people with personal appeal?
The Republican party needs to start busting it's butt from the bottom up and when the bottom does come up, those "WHO CAN'T" at the top need to "STEP ASIDE" for the good of the party, state and people.
I found Rosario Marin neither conservative nor charismatic in the debate I heard. I didn't see what her Mexican background had to do with the election, other than her desire not to require enforcement of US immigration law. Other than that, she might not have been as bad as Jones has been.
Still, Boxer is so liberal on all topics (except for arming pilots), any of the GOP candidates was more conservative, although she would label any as an "extremist." I don't think any of the candidates had enough charisma or media exposure to win over the field, and GOP voters probably didn't fully evaluate their choices. The March Primary election effectively hurts challengers' chances against incumbents.
Why can't we find people with personal appeal?
Maybe those people are smart enough not to run against Boxer, in a race with slim chances and uncertain GOP support? Or, maybe we just have a dearth of candidates after the Democrat stranglehold on statewide offices.
If Bill Jones (despite his boringness) were to run on a populist immigration platform, and if those radio jocks (such as John and Ken) could concentrate their anti-illegal-immigration efforts on electing Jones, maybe there could be a difference. Unfortunately, neither of those will happen, since Jones supported Bush's amnesty proposal.
Bill Jones, the Invisible Man.
Click on "Calendar of Events" at that link you provided. You will find one event. One. July 17 - Santa Barbara Republican Club. He seems to be keeping a light schedule, as well as a low profile.
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