CA: Dan Walters: Simon needs smoking gun in Davis' hands, but letters vague

With just a week remaining before the election, there's no doubt that Democratic Gov. Gray Davis still enjoys a substantial, if not overwhelming, lead over Republican challenger Bill Simon and that Davis will be re-elected unless something dramatic occurs.

Simon pins his fleeting hopes for victory on persuading the still-undecided voters to follow through on their obvious concerns about Davis' performance and character -- particularly the widespread belief that he has been a "pay to play" governor who extracts huge sums of campaign money from special interests.

The letters aren't vague at all. Does Walters need the letters to cite the racketeering sections of the US Code to be considered not "vague?"
The letters specifically name several real estate developers:

Sheldon Gordon ... allegedly was targeted as someone Davis wanted to host a fund-raiser. But Davis first wanted Nathanson to get Gordon's project approved, and he asked Nathanson to sway other commission members' votes that way, Nathanson alleged.
Leonard Ross ... had a large parcel in Malibu that he wanted to subdivide and he allegedly talked to Nathanson about it... Nathanson told Ross he could "put his parcel through the commission" for $100,000, but Ross didn't want to pay.... Several years later, "Davis came to Nathanson and asked that he help Ross," the documents state. "Davis stated that he needed a favor and that Ross had been very good to him and raised a lot of money."
Alexander Haagen ... had a son who owned a Malibu-area home that needed renovations requiring commission approval.... Davis brought the matter to Nathanson's attention and asked him to get it approved so that he could later ask Haagen "and his friends for significant campaign contributions." In what the documents allege was a "quid pro quo," Davis agreed to appoint four people Nathanson selected as inheritance-tax appraisers. the elder and junior Haagen and other family members contributed at least $29,000 to Davis from 1986 through 1991. In December 1988 -- just six weeks after the permit was granted -- the family gave Davis an additional $3,000, but that money was refunded...

http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/story/4985936p-5995866c.html

Unfortunately for investigators, when someone helps Davis raise money, the campaign contributions show up under the names of the donors, with no reference to the solicitor of the donations.

Davis is clearly a crook a thousand times over. But the press isn't interested in pressing the matter as long as there's a genuine alternative running for governor.

This is a typical instance of how people can be persuaded that it "isn't news" unless the newspapers say it is.

Note that the article pretty clearly admits that Nathan had no reason to lie about this. And the SacBee actually paid lawyers to get this stuff out. But now they don't want to use it because it might damage some of their pet causes.

Note too that the headline is much more favorable to Davis than the article. Typical twist, since many readers will be more influenced by the headline than the article.

What in the hell does have to be shown?

I'll ping the list.

Memories:

California Power Crisis animations featuring Governor Gray Davis

AND......................

...to see what bad, bad things Davis has done... - CLICK HERE

calgov2002:

calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles.

calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles.

Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register

Click here to download the California Republican Liberty Caucus' tri-fold pamphlet on the governor's race!

It's a .pdf file, so you'll need Acrobat Reader... it's free, and chances are good you already have it on your computer. Try the link and see.

Print it using the printer-icon button in the Acrobat toolbar in your browser (not File|Print in your browser's menu). It's intended for double-sided printing using single pieces of paper-- no stapling needed if you do it that way, and saves trees! ;-) Print one side, then invert the paper and feed it through a second time for the second side. Fold, and sally forth to get out the vote!

Give this to friends, walk your neighborhood, take it to stores, give a wad of 'em to your school, hand some out at your house of worship, at clubs, at stores and small businesses...

Let's retire Gray Davis!

Let's show the media and RINOs that "It's the base, stupid!"

Let's show Gray Davis that money can't buy him love ...or re-election!

Freepers and RLC activists can claim considerable credit for nominating Bill Simon, so now let's elect him!

Are there any copies of the actual letters anywhere?

I still haven't seen any reprints of the letters, but some news articles have printed the names and brief descriptions to which the letters refer. The question is: will the reporters dig further into each case mentioned, and will they cover this like the very similar Torricelli scandal in the next few days before the election? Lockyer certainly won't, and probably Ashcroft won't, either. (Maybe the statue of limitations is expired?)

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.