Some talk hosts saying Simon, McClintock are "Unelectable"?

08-10-2003 | brianbaldwin

[Brian_Baldwin]

What is this I am hearing some (conservative, “hot talk”) radio talk show hosts saying, that Bill Simon and Tom McClintock are “unelectable” in California? Anyone who has seen any of my posts of late, know I am giving Arnold Schwarzenegger the benefit of the doubt and have all three Republicans as considerations. I also feel that Schwarzenegger, now that he is in the race, has the best “chance” of winning over Simon and McClintock. But, “best chance of winning” isn’t what I am hearing from some of these talk show hosts. I've heard it several times now, and Again, I heard it today on one of the nationally syndicated conservative talk shows – that “Bill Simon and Tom McClintock are unelectable in California” . . .

What the hell does that mean? I mean, so in other words, if Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t in the race, that those Republicans who showed interest and involvement in the recall, specifically McClintock and Simon, should have just not even have run?

I mean, if they are “unelectable”, why run at all?

Saying they are “unelectable”, means they are unelectable whether or not Arnold was in the race. So, if that is what some of these conservative talk show hosts are trying to say, then pretend we don’t have Arnold in the race.

Pretend Arnold never entered the race. And, so, we have Simon and McClintock and Issa. And, according to some of these conservative talk show hosts, they are “unelectable”. Right? That is what some of them are saying right now – “unelectable”. And so what do we have? I mean, if it’s true now that Arnold is in the race, it was true back when Arnold wasn’t in the race. So, what were these same conservative talk show hosts saying then? I mean, if these Republican candidates are “unelectable”, then why bother? Right? So, in other words, we shouldn’t have the recall at all. Right?

Isn’t that what some of these talk show hosts are, well, pretty much saying?

I disagree.

Simon, McClintock, Issa – they were running. They said so, they acted so. Arnold wasn’t. And, anyone of them is electable. Anyone of them could have beat Gray Davis who is the dumps in the polls.

Now Arnold is running.

And so, probably Arnold has a better chance than Simon and McClintock. Issa dropped out, and probably because Simon entered the race.

Arnold probably has the “best chance”. That doesn’t make Simon and McClintock “unelectable”. Period. And anyone, ANYONE, whose been a political junkie long enough knows, an election can change on the dime, up one day, down the other.

No. Simon is very electable. And so is McClintock. And, it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.

[John Lenin]

Neat song. Make Gray Davis Go Away mp3 link

[B Knotts]

There can be no doubt that Schwarzenegger has superior name ID. However, I notice a trend among people largely unfamiliar with California politics to assume that because they have never heard of Tom McClintock or someone else, that voters in California will reject them.

McClintock has been around for a long time, and is a mainstream conservative Republican. He nearly won a statewide race last year (he ended up losing by 0.3%), despite a huge financial disadvantage.

Yes, Schwarzenegger will probably win, but a lot could happen between now and October 8.

[Hildy]

agreed, they are unelectable. Cruz is a viable candidate. We need crossover votes from Democrats. Neither Simon nor McCLintock will supply that. So yes, those two are unelectable. Remember if Schwartenegger hadn't run, Riordan would have and he would be the front runner now.

[old school]

As a life-long Californian, let me say that I really don't give a rat's-ass about what the National GOP, or any non-Californian for that matter, thinks about what should happen, politically, in this state!

[Consort]

If Arnold wins big, then a more Conservative candidate might have had a chance of winning, as well. If Arnold loses, then a more Conservative candidate would have been routed. Cruz probably has the best chance.

[usadave]

Two of the three will have to drop out within one month.

If not Cruz is next Governor.

I wouldn't be surprised to see at least one of the top Republican candidates drop out of the race and throw his support to another Republican candidate. As we get closer to election day, candidates will be keeping their eyes on the polls. If a candidate feels that he doesn't have a realistic chance of winning, he might seriously consider pulling out of the race.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Looked bad when Arnold was asked about releasing his income tax forms, I don't think anybody in their right mind bought that "can't hear you" BS.

When Matt Lauer asked Arnold about the tax returns, he was over his allotted satellite time, and a producer was in Arnold's ear telling him to wrap up because they were switching to another network.

Arnold really didn't hear the question

When Arnold was asked about releasing the returns on Friday, he said " Of course I will, why wouldn't I?"

[steve50]

When Arnold was asked about releasing the returns on Friday, he said " Of course I will, why wouldn't I?"


Who knows about the time allotment, it's possible. The story I heard on the returns was he intended to release "some". We'll see what the meaning of "some" is, I guess

[Political Junkie Too]

I think some of these comments are "self-fulfilling prophecy."

Simon came very close to winning despite his poor campaign. However, his campaign was such in part because of the lies of Gray Davis which are the basis for his recall.

Besides lying to the people about the depth of California's deficit, Davis took advantage of the (in my opinion, a politically motivated trumped up) guilty verdict against the Simon family business to hurt the Simon campaign. This had the direct result of drying up needed campaign funding, the shortage of which resulted in the lackluster Simon rebuttals to Davis' attacks. Even after the guilty verdict was overturned in October, Davis continued to run campaign ads quoting the guilty verdict, claiming that they were "technically" true because Simon was found guilty at a point in time. By the time the guilty verdict was overturned, it was too late for Simon to recover. I believe that this is partly why the people of California resent Gray Davis and is part of the reason for the recall.

So, I wouldn't say that Simon is unelectable. I would say that Simon has to show the forcefulness of his determination if he wants voters to reconsider him, or else he will be unelectable.

-PJ

[Political Junkie Too]

I don't think anybody in their right mind bought that "can't hear you" BS.

Perhaps he should have said, "My English not so good."

-PJ

[Miss Marple]

Reports on Fox this morning said he would release tax returns, investments, business affiliations, etc. That sounds pretty complete to me. Anyone know what Gray Davis' investments are?

[McGavin999]

What it means is that you have to be realistic. A conservative will NOT win in California yet. You have to convince the people of California that republicans are not evil, cold hearted people. That's the simple fact of the matter. California is so far left that even Arnold is going to be tough for them to swallow, but they may do it because they're in so much trouble.

Even the far left knows that you can't trust democrats with your pocketbook despite what the Clintonites have been trying to convince people of over the past decade. As it is, it's going to be a real fight to get Arnold in, it would be impossible to get Simon or McClintock in. Failure to face this fact is going to result in Governor Bustamante, and then California's troubles will really begin. You get Arnold in, and if he does a good job (and I think he will) THEN you can run a conservative. The stigma will be removed. You might even end up getting republicans voted into the state senate. Arnold will make being a republican hip, and you know how Californians are.

[medscribe]

What should happen in California is for the conservative wing of the party to be realistic. Can California afford to have the Dems retain control of the governor's mansion, whether it be Davis or Bustamante? Your $38 billion deficit will double...triple? And what will that do to California then? You'll still be paying taxes through the nose because the Dems will still be in power. Stay home and go down in a blaze of glory...or be a little more realistic and support somebody that the general population can accept? I'm not saying Arnold is the best choice out there, I'm saying Arnold is the best choice for the California GOP to have in order to retake Sacramento.

[lainie]

Does anybody know what is the drop-dead date for removing your name from the recall ballot?

[B-bone]

IIRC, because of the short length of time until the election, no names can be removed from the ballot once the papers were filed.

I think that Garamendi (?sp) and Issa had taken out the papers but had not filed them (although they had both declared they would), which is why they were able to pull out of the race.

I can't point you to a specific place to confirm this, but this is what I remember.

[Brian_Baldwin]

I agree with your comments, and you followed the previous CA gov election well. I think any one of the Republican candidates could win this one, considering what most Californians think of Davis.

By the way, I've been at a Scottish - Celtic festival for the last several hours and just got back, surprised to find so many posts to this question. I believe there are a lot of Simon and McClintock supporters out there, and this is very, very good news.

[Brian_Baldwin]

You know, sort of OFF THE SUBJECT, but:

. . . how come the phony liberal (local Bay Area CA) news never refers to that fat slug Larry the Hut Flint as DEMOCRAT LARRY FLINT? The phony liberal news keeps calling it a CIRCUS with "action movie hero, REPUBLICAN Arnold Schwarzenegger" in the race, but the same phony liberal news never says "porno-magnet, DEMOCRAT Larry Flint" (or whatever his name is) ...

[Petronski]

"[Impeachment] was another thing I will never forgive the Republican Party for," Schwarzeneggar said. "We spent one year wasting time because there was a human failure. I was ashamed to call myself a Republican during that period."

[Brian_Baldwin]

Being that you are a senior citizen, with years of experience watching and participating in GOP elections in general, I probably will bank on what you say. In fact, you probably hit the numbers right on the money.

[Kevin Curry]

Arnold is an unstoppable schwarzeneggernaught rolling in from left field.