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.