[doug from upland]

My post reflected what I heard earlier on the radio. I think it was from David Dreier.

[william clark]

Well, I'd say that a more accurate headline would be "Conservatism in California: R.I.P." With all the ammo we had against the Davis/Bustamante administration, and with Arnold stepping in to split the LIBERAL vote (since he passes so many of their litmus tests), we had a golden opportunity to step up to the plate and articulate a sound reform policy that could be embraced by non-Republicans who have witnessed the lunacy of Davis/Bustamante and are willing to listen to reason. But the GOP leadership has been gun-shy for so long, they no longer have the vision to distinguish this election from any other, and are without the guts needed to wage a challenging campaign. Arnold was the easy way out and they took it, even though it means abandoning so much of the Republican platform. If they couldn't muster the resources and nerve for this fight, I don't see them ever doing it in the future. Forget incremental change. There's no incentive to move in that direction now.