Simon, Jones soft-pedal conservative views on social issues

SACRAMENTO – Los Angeles businessman Bill Simon has pulled into the lead in the Republican gubernatorial campaign over Richard Riordan in part by questioning his rival's conservative credentials.

But while Simon has criticized Riordan on party loyalty and tax policy, he has avoided the area where the two have their greatest difference: social issues.

Simon's relative silence suggests he is following the strong message that Riordan has been delivering to the GOP faithful during much of the campaign: that it must change or die.

Riordan, the former mayor of Los Angeles, insists the party has to be more appealing to voters who support abortion rights, gay rights and gun control – or face extinction.

Simon and Secretary of State Bill Jones haven't changed their views on social issues, but rather the way they present them. When they talk about them at all, they tend to speak in coded terms that like-minded voters will understand, like "conservative principles."

Many Republican strategists believe the GOP has to emphasize other issues to win the governorship because a majority of California voters – unlike Simon and Jones – favor gun control, abortion rights and improved gay rights.

"Republicans need to admit that this state will probably never again elect a statewide official not moderately pro-abortion rights, or at least silent on the issue," concludes a report on the future of the party by a prominent consultant, McNally Temple Associates.

By keeping an anti-abortion plank in the platform, he said, "we are telling millions of voters, 'Don't support our party.' "

In recent days, as the polls have shifted against him, Riordan has begun sounding more traditional conservative themes, emphasizing his support for capital punishment, term limits and smaller government.

Even if Simon wins Tuesday's Republican primary election, his silence on social issues during the campaign speaks loudly about changes in a party that was once dominated by social conservatives.

Four years ago, then-Attorney General Dan Lungren frequently spoke about his opposition to abortion rights en route to winning the Republican nomination for governor.

On his way to a 20-point landslide, Democrat Gray Davis used Lungren's abortion position as a shorthand way of convincing voters that Lungren was intolerant.

Many Republicans wanted to downplay conservative social positions last summer when they began urging Riordan to run for governor.

"We need a candidate who can get more than 38 percent of the vote in November," said political consultant Allan Hoffenblum, who is backing Riordan.

Advisers believed Riordan's positions in favor of abortion rights, gun control and gay rights would be difficult for Davis to attack.

The governor took the unusual step of pummeling Riordan with negative ads in the run-up to the primary. The ads highlight Riordan's donations to groups dedicated to overturning abortion rights. It's the type of blitz some Republicans fear.

"No matter how marginal your pro-life position is, the Democrats will turn you into a pro-life extremist," said Janet Carroll, western director of the National Right to Life Committee.

Simon has been reluctant to champion the anti-abortion position. When asked about his views yesterday on a conservative talk-radio show in Sacramento, Simon said he believed abortion was wrong. In his next breath, he said he wouldn't be able to do anything about it as governor.

"I will uphold the law as governor. There's not much a governor can do," Simon said, adding that government funding for abortion also is clearly protected.

Simon insists he is not hiding his beliefs but merely concentrating on issues that voters care about most: the economy, education and highways.

State Sen. Ray Haynes, R-Riverside, said Simon is trying to avoid another Lungren mistake: talking about issues people aren't concerned about. In 1998, Lungren wouldn't stop commenting on crime even though polls showed voters focused on education. Social issues aren't resonating with voters this year, Haynes said.

At the first gubernatorial debate, he wouldn't utter the words "against abortion" in response to a question. Like Simon, he emphasized his belief that there is little a governor can do about the issue.

Former Assemblyman Larry Bowler said Jones' reluctance doesn't hurt him with conservatives. "Purists like me, we know where he stands," he said.

Bowler, a Jones supporter, said his candidate is fearful. "He's afraid that the media will make him look like a wild-eyed, pro-life wacko, so he soft-pedals it."

One GOP insider, who declined to be identified, said an internal poll taken last year found that 49 percent of likely California Republican voters support abortion rights, while 46 percent oppose them.

Jones and Simon also downplay their opposition to gay rights. Both candidates oppose the landmark legislation Davis signed last year giving same-sex couples who register as domestic partners new rights.

And neither Jones nor Simon is calling for a rollback of the gun control laws that have proliferated in California under the Democrats.

During the Sacramento talk show yesterday, Simon said he respected the Second Amendment but took a position similar to that of Davis on gun control: a moratorium on new laws.

Jones mentions his backing from the National Rifle Association, but almost always pairs it with support from the Mexican American Political Association to show his diverse endorsements.

"We're surprised that more hasn't been made of Riordan's position on guns," said NRA staff member Jason Osborne. "We're below the radar screen this year."

Some are surprised Jones and Simon don't highlight their positions on social issues to try to court more conservative voters.

But Hoffenblum said Republicans, even hard-core conservatives, have learned a political lesson. If Simon were more outspoken, it might come back to "haunt him in November," he said. "Most people don't agree with him on these issues."

And Davis has already demonstrated he will spend millions of dollars to let voters know about any unpopular positions his rivals may hold.

Simon's relative silence suggests he is following the strong message that Riordan has been delivering to the GOP faithful during much of the campaign: that it must change or die.

Or that Riordan's advice was overblown, unnecessary, irrelevant, and self-serving?

Dan

Bill Simon can afford to keep quiet since he's pro-life and his position is well-known. As long as Roe V Wade remains the law of the land, there's little a California governor can do to get rid of abortion. The greatest accomplishment Simon could do is in changing the tone of the culture and encouraging a greatest respect for life. You can be against gay marriage without discriminating against the rights of gays to live as they wish. And its more important to limit the damage gun banners can do to advance their anti-gun agenda than to try to effect a wholesale reversal of the gun laws on the books. Its not so much conservatives have given up on social issues as they've realized changing the liberal hammerlock on California's culture will take a long time and any changes have to be achieved incrementally The liberal Bill Ainsworth makes it sound like Bill Simon has stopped being a conservative; actually Simon is simply making sure the Rats can't portray him as an extremist. And if Gray Davis tries that route it might well backfire on him if it sounds like Davis wants to talk for the rest of the campaign about abortion, gays, and guns in an effort to divert Californians' attention from his disastrous stewardship of the State's condition. Simon will continue to talk about what California needs, which will also help to restore people's values, while Davis will attempt to attack him on issues no one is going to get excited about. Conservatism contrary to Ainsworth's analysis, is far from dead and buried in the Golden State. In point of fact Simon is going out of his way in his most recent commercial to emphasize his calling as a CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN. The conservative base doesn't need him to shout the rest of the message because it trusts him.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.