Bill Simon's non- campaign

Washington Times ^ | Thursday, July 18, 2002 | House Editorial

[JohnHuang2]

What can we say about Bill Simon, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in California? He makes every mistake, and then some. In November, we can write a postmortem on why Mr. Simon lost to Gov. Gray Davis. Or we can go public now, hoping someone will fix the mess.

[BibChr]

Totally agree that the grass roots needs to work with!

I don't see this as someone with an axe to grind. You're more knowledgeable than I. Where is he wrong? It sounds to me as if he's saying "Here are mistakes Simon is making, here are loser staffers he's hired, here's what he ought to be doing -- we want him to win, so here's hoping he starts doing what he needs to do while there's still time!"

Followers can't get a leader elected who either won't lead, or shoots himself in the foot. Or won't shoot.

Dan

[kidd]

I agree. This sounds like a friendly, constructive criticism of the Simon campaign. There is no real criticism of Simon himself.

[ElkGroveDan]

Here is a brief history of the LAUGHABLE string of press/pundit criticism the Simon campaign has endured since last year.

March 2001 - November 2001 "Simon is a nobody, he'll run for Congress in 2010"

November 2001 "Riordan is in, Simon is dead."

December 2001 - January 2002 "Simon doesnt have his ads up - I thought he'd be on the air - he's dead in the water

January 2002 "Oh SHIT!! Riordan goes on the air first, so Simon is dead in the water"

Rudy Giuliani - "Rudy endorsement gets attention, but Simon cant get any traction by himself and he didnt get enough of a bounce - he's a goner - by the way, Rudy has backed a loser (NY Post)"

Debate number 1 - "that idiot simon didnt do anything but call himself a 'conservative' - What a moron."

GOP convention - "simon bought the convention straw poll, so it was a phony win. this guy's going nowhere"

Debate number 2 - "That dipshit Simon faded into the background, riordan still in command, bill jones stole the show!"

Election night - "WHAT?! Simon won?! Well, Simon got lucky, Davis beat Riordan and Jones didnt raise money"

Post primary, March - "Davis is attacking Simon on abortion - Simon is dead since he wont answer questions on abortion. Why even have an election? Team SImon just doesnt get it - Simon should talk endlessly about abortion! Dont change the subject! if simon's team was smart he'd take the bait. what a moron for not talking about abortion"

April - That Simon wont release his tax returns - public opinion will crucify him." (But when the Field poll tells different story, it is ignored by the press.)

April - "Bush raised $5 million for Simon? He must not support him."

May - "That dumshit Simon wont talk about the budget deficit and list how many ways he'd cut more than davis- Team Simon is cowardly for not discussing cuts and cut and more cuts. Davis won't attack him, take our word for it."

June - "Davis now seems to be in trouble, but it's over fundraising scandals that team simon has nothing to do with."

And yet in the most recent serious poll Simon is up 8.

Now everyone who wants to wine and complain and spout doom and gloom either shut up or go over to DU where you will have sympathetic ears.

Otherwise, sign up either at the Simon For Governor web site or your local GOP County HQ (they are all unified and working together, so it doesn't matter where you go to volunteer.)

[GraniteStateConservative]

Even rookie pitchers strike out home run hitters. And Davis can at best be considered a nasty singles hitter with a pulled hamstring and broken collarbone.

Not in comparison to Simon. That's the thing-- Davis has to be beaten by an opponent. This isn't a no confidence vote they are having in November. Having voters not like Davis isn't enough to elect Simon.

[Gophack]

The problem is that the person who wrote this thinks that it was a total accident that Simon won the primary, that it had more to do with Davis than Simon. The fact is, Riordan would have won the primary if Simon wasn't there as an alternative candidate. Simon set himself up to take the votes from Riordan once the electorate discovered how truly bad Riordan was.

But according to this person, Simon's campaign did everything wrong in the primary. I completely disagree.

[ElkGroveDan]

appologies for the 'S' word above #23. I took this from an email a friend sent me, and forgot to fix the offending verbage.

[Gophack]

This isn't a no confidence vote they are having in November. Having voters not like Davis isn't enough to elect Simon.

I totally agree, and Simon is doing what he needs to do over the summer in order to go full-force after Labor Day and give the voters (who will be paying attention then) someone to vote FOR.

[Wphile]

It's been my impression that Simon is deliberately waiting until after Labor Day to really launch his campaign. Davis has so much money that Simon has to use his wisely. I really doubt many are paying attention to the campaign during the summer.

In any event, a little public chasticement never hurt a campaign. I just hope they are off their duff and ready to roll come Labor Day.

If Davis wins, I will definitely be sick. Sure wish I lived in CA so I could work for Simon.

[Gophack]

You're right. The election isn't over. If you find yourself in California on vacation, call the campaign office and volunteer!

[dpwiener]

This Washington Times editorial nails it. In a state as heavily Democratic as California, an incumbent Democratic governor should be unbeatable. It is a measure of Gray Davis' incredible corruption and incompetence (except at raising money and running smear campaigns) and dishonesty and disastrous policies that he is eminently beatable this year.

And it is a measure of Bill Simon's inexperience and less-than-competent campaign staff (to put it as delicately as possible), that Gray Davis still has a good chance of being re-elected.

If I had any skill as a political cartoonist (which I don't), I'd draw a cartoon of Simon and Davis as two gun-slingers facing off against each other, each competing to shoot off his own feet first.

[Coop]

LOL! Excellent chronology of events!

[Coop]

And it is a measure of Bill Simon's inexperience and less-than-competent campaign staff (to put it as delicately as possible), that Gray Davis still has a good chance of being re-elected.

You're a bit too kind to Davis. The Political Oddsmaker lists this well funded incumbent as only having a 51.7% chance at re-election. Hardly a powerful endorsement.

[daviddennis]

I dunno. Seems to me from articles posted here on FR that Simon has gotten his attacks against Davis reported well.

Simon made the appealingly gutsy move of aiming his first commercials at hispanics, who have been badly underserved by the existing system.

The latest funny commercials are brilliant - effective without sounding nasty.

The Field Poll, love it or hate it, is the only poll I know of that's been done more than once with the same basic questions and methodology. It has shown Davis' lead plunging dramatically. Adjusted for what we know about likely voters, it's probable that Simon is neck and neck with Davis, if not a little ahead.

The campaign is extremely competent at packaging up information into their newsletters and sending them to us.

All of this good news appears to contradict the allegations made in this article. I'm not saying the people who wrote it shouldn't be listened to, but I don't think this article has enough substance to justify the kind of alarmism implied by the headline.

D

[Gophack]

What's the political oddsmaker?

[Gophack]

You made several good points and I'm inclined to agree with you.

Go Simon!

[Impeach98]

Why are we eating our own?

Shame on the person who wrote this piece for the Washington Times

It is the liberal media attitude that Bill Simon's win was a fluke. Why on earth would the Times agree with this assessment? Do they not see the appeal in Bill Simon's "everyman" congeniality, decency and integrity? Do they not think that this persona was what comes across?

Instead of nit-picking with him and his naivitae because he is inexperienced or second guessing his campaign team the Times staff should remember that we conservatives ADMIRE the non-politician who brings real-world experiences into the staid and bloated political world that seeps with the sewage of complacency, compromise of principle and pursuit of little more than power and absolute power.

Tsk tsk tsk for this treacherous editorial :(

[Wolfstar]

Unless something absolutely remarkable happens, Davis will win re-election in a cakewalk. Simon can't even be called a bad candidate, because he's virtually a non-candidate. He seems to be running in name only, and doing a lukewarm job even at that.

I am a dedicated, life-long Republican who's volunteered on many campaigns. Walked countless precincts, stuffed countless envelopes, made countless phone calls. A true-blue grass-roots volunteer who does it because I really care about this country and its future.

So take it from someone who knows: the Republican Party is in disarray here in California because there is NO LEADERSHIP at any level. None! Zero! Zilch! Nada! And I'm talking down to the Central Committee level. The Conservative right and the "moderate" right are always fighting each other rather than the Dems. No one organizes and works to recruit and retain volunteers. No one does anything to keep in touch with the average registered Republican. There is no true statewide, top-to-bottom Republican Party organization. For all I know, the Dems have the same problems, but I don't pay any attention to them. I just know what's going on with Republicans, and what's going on isn't much.

The party in this state desperately needs leadership from top to bottom — and the top needs to listen to recommendations from all levels. But we've had a long list of pathetic candidates in the 1990's, and Simon may very well be the worst. Although it seems impossible to get this through the heads of some of the more rock-ribbed Conservatives out there, IT TAKES MORE THAN JUST SOMEONE WHO HOLDS GOOD CONSERVATIVE VIEWS TO WIN ELECTIONS. It takes someone who knows how to be a presence on the news every night; how to get his name and face recognized by every voter; how to attach a positive message to that face; how to build a winning coalition; not only how to raise money but how and where to spend it effectively; how to use current news events to his advantage; how to hire and manage a lean, mean, nimble, effective campaign team; how to take on the opposition effectively.

If your side doesn't win, all the Conservative "purity" of your candidate's positions doesn't mean a hill of beans, because your views will never be translated into policy and law. I don't want to win at all costs, at the expense of some deeply held Republican/Conservative positions. But I also don't want to be stuck with incompetent candidates over and over again just because the are Conservatives. Simon may very well be running one of the stupidest campaigns in the history of this state.

[Wolfstar]

And what, pray tell, is it that Simon is doing? As mentioned above, I'm, as true-blue, grass-roots loyal Republican as can be. I live in the Torrance/Beach cities area of greater Los Angeles, not exactly a backwater. Yet I haven't seen hide nor hair of my candidate so far. I've seen the occasional TV commercial which doesn't feature the candidate, but features Rudy Guiliani. I've seen a TON of TV commercials from the Davis campaign defining and attacking Simon. While I personally find those ads despicable, I believe they are effective. I've received no mailers even though I've volunteered on a number of campaigns and my name should be in Republican volunteer lists. Simon has my vote whether he works for it or not, but I want him to win, so I want him to work HARD to defeat Davis. I just don't see it happening. By Labor Day, it may very well be too late.

[goodieD]

I suppose the fact that Davis loses support from another sector every day doesn't mean anything? cakewalk? not unless he buys every single voter out there. Everyone here hates him, liberal and conservative alike.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the ping!