[TheDon]

As predicted by myself and many, many others.

Tick, tock, tick, tock....the sound of the clock ticking down the time until Peter and Tom also do an Issa.

[John Jorsett]

I always liked Simon, but he didn't stand a chance. I hope he'll take the money he was going to spend and put it toward a referendum to overturn the illegal alien driver's licences, when they pass that law.

[Those_Crazy_Liberals]

Smart guy. McClintock should be soon to follow. Then we can get on to WINNING behind Arnold.

[finnman69]

Bye bye, thanks for playing along on California Recall: The Game. Please enjoy your parting gift, the home board game version.

LOSER.

[calcowgirl]

California Republican Bill Simon drops out of Davis recall race

ASSOCIATED PRESS
9:40 a.m., August 23, 2003

LOS ANGELES – Republican Bill Simon dropped out of the gubernatorial recall race Saturday amid calls from party leaders to consolidate support behind fewer candidates, a campaign official said.

Simon campaign spokesman K.B. Forbes confirmed that the Republican, who lost to Gov. Gray Davis in the 2002 race for governor, was dropping his bid to replace Davis if voters decide to oust the governor.

Forbes said Simon planned to release a statement Saturday saying: "I strongly believe that the desire of Californians must come before the aspirations of any single candidate. There are too many Republicans in this race, and the people of this state simply cannot risk a continuation of the Gray Davis legacy."

Forbes denied that Simon's move came in response to any pressure from the party.

"There was absolutely no pressure, no phone calls – this was a decision made by Bill Simon based on rational conclusions," Forbes said.

He said Simon would not be available for interviews.

[The KG9 Kid]

Saving himself for a run against Boxer is my bet.

[Ciexyz]

Wow!

[DoctorZIn]

PING!

Your One Stop Resource For All The California Recall News!

Want on our daily or major news ping lists? Freepmail DoctorZin.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

Great news. I'm sure he will be rewarded by the GOP in some way at some point in the future.

No doubt there is a call for Mr. Tom McClintock...

[rwfromkansas]

About time.

[TatieBug]

Simon & Issa are both good men and are dropping out for the good of the people which I admire. If McClintock can't do better, I feel certainly he will do the right thing also. We must WIN and Arnold is our best shot!

[TatieBug]

Doing voter registration today...should be interesting. R's have been doing really well since this recall started and hopefully Arnie will bring in some new voters!

[Once-Ler]

What the hell is wrong with Simon. One week he runs negative ads against Rnold then he drops out the next week. What an ass.

[Precisian]

Bill Simon is to be commended for doing the manly thing.

If Arnold crashes when the sludge attack comes after Labor Day and the GOP fails to recall Davis, Simon would have gotten the brunt of the criticism for waging a vanity campaign. Hugh Hewett and all the "pragmatist RINOs" had already tarketed Simon for this scapegoat role.

If the GOP un-seats Davis, Simon will be clean and heroically poised to take on Boxer or something else, down the road.

Well played, Bill. I know it hurts, but you did the "right thing at the right moment".

[dr_who_2]

I wonder what his reasons for doing so were. Is he bowing out forever, or what?

[lilylangtree]

Sorry to hear about this. So hang in there T-Mc!

[mac_truck]

"This recall election has been about bringing profound and substantial change to our state, and I strongly believe that the desire of Californians must come before the aspirations of any single candidate. There are too many Republicans in this race and the people of our state simply cannot risk a continuation of the Gray Davis legacy ... For these reasons I think it's wise to step aside." -Bill Simon 8/23/03

[jetson]

"tee..hee..hee..hee..look see I scared em..I scared em...O'boy I'm bad...I'm bad..."

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

Great news. Thank you Mr. Simon. 'Twas an honorable move.

[Commander8]

Any news on who Bill Simon is supporting, will he marshall his forces behind Tom McClintock or is he jumping on the Arnie bandwagon?