Well, no. Parsky was a strong Riordan supporter, as was Karl Rove. When Riordan was repudiated by the voters in the Republican primary, Parsky started to badmouth Simon, and he never really stopped. Moreover Parsky was in charge of in-state fundraising, which was absolutely dismal. Parsky constantly allowed himself to be quoted by the liberal press with statements saying that Simon was a bad campaigner. Finally, a number of big Republican donors, angry that Riordan lost the primary, donated to Gray Davis instead. It simply isn't true that a liberal loser like Riordan is the kind of candidate who is needed to win in California. The Country Clubbers and pro-aborts loved him, but the rank and file would never vote for him.
Riordan became less loved when he proved himself incompetent, in the early stages of senile dementia (I'm serious), and a hopeless touchie feelie economic liberal (some of that might have been a reflection of the dementia thingie), who mouthed off at one point that everybody deserved a living wage, and the minimum wage should be 15 dollars per hour or something. The guy was totally confused and clueless. He would also have been lunchmeat for the Dem legislature, and would have signed much legislation that Davis vetoed. I would have voted for Davis over Riordan as well. Riordan had the unique capacity to really gut the GOP for a considerable period, but that is just for starters. Issa + Simon + Riordan = The Terrible Trio of Politics.