California Governor's Race: Simon Survives Attacks, Davis Cons for Cash

Whether or not the invisible-man campaign will pay off for Bill Simon, one thing is certain: If he too clearly defines who he is and exposes himself too early, he will get clobbered by an avalanche of phony TV ads funded by a $50 million campaign "war chest" ready to deliver its lethal payload of misrepresentation and character assassination. The ads have already started. Simon's relative silence is wise and calculated.

Image, not substance, constitutes the majority of any political campaign. Core issues, and how candidates handle them, are addressed in the confrontational combat of debates. And debates occur close to the election.

The Davis image is already well-established. What isn't discussed in the press is how tactically devious he is and the serious consequences this conduct has, even within his own party. Anyone heard a word of partisan support from judicial nominee beekeeper Dianne Feinstein? How about Barbara Boxer?

Davis and his profane campaign manager, Garry South, cannot wait to sink their fangs into Simon and pull him down into the gutter. Simon comes across as a nice guy, and it's driving them batty.

It makes complete sense for Simon to avoid a direct confrontation with these two on the substantial issues in the state, for now. Why walk into a trap, especially when so comparatively underfunded?

Money for your district, or threats? Davis' Plan A, to seduce four Republican Assembly harlots to approve a flawed budget, is failing. According to recent reports, Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach, was offered roughly $100 million to fund his pet project, the Bolsa Chica wetlands. No word if he's biting.

Plan B: Davis has gone to law enforcement officials to launch the scare campaign. Already, efforts have started to stoke the fears that unless the budget is signed as is, there will be no money to fight fires, no money to protect your children, criminals will run rampant, and social services will be cut. The ads have started in some members' districts, and the fear mongering is off the charts.

After severe pressuring, Simon agreed to permit Sacramento reporters to review some of his tax records. The conditions were restrictive: two hours, no cameras, recording devices or laptops. 2001 tax returns were unavailable due to an extension to file. Double dumb! Who's giving him this pathetic advice? The issue won't go away. Witness the lemmings at all major California newspapers cackle, bray and fall all over themselves covering this one on Wednesday.

The state quietly issued the largest bond sale in U.S. history, $11 billion, to address the horrendous electricity contracts signed by Gov. Davis. Why so quiet? The bonds will be "retired" using increased charges to Southern California Edison, PG&E and San Diego Gas & Electric customers for – get this; ready? – THE NEXT 20 YEARS. Enjoy your trip to the mailbox!

Davis signed the Greenhouse Bill, designed to advance a liberal pet agenda: global warming. The signing is largely symbolic. The bill does nothing to clean the air. It targets carbon dioxide, a natural by-product of internal combustion engines. The Air Resources Board won't implement the provisions until 2005, when Davis is long gone as governor. The emission standards they set will apply to vehicles from the year 2009 onward.

Think about it. Smog-check stations test for levels of three pollutants: oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC). Common sense says we need to better regulate older vehicles, the gross polluters and the choking emissions from diesel-based trucks and school buses.

Bottom line is this: Davis, the left and people like Al Gore want you OUT of your vehicle. Gore, in "Earth in the Balance," called for the elimination of the internal combustion engine by the year 2017. This bill keeps that goal on schedule.

California road capacity has increased 30 percent in the past 30 years, and the population has grown 70 percent during the same period. That means 140 percent more drivers, with demand far outstripping supply. How does Davis respond?

"There will be no more new freeway construction in California." Nice! Are you spending more time or less time getting anywhere in your vehicle? And is there any bus or train that will take you where you need to go every day?

The California K-12 education system ranks second to last in the nation in reading. Excuse me, but didn't Davis call himself the "education governor"?

The size of California government has grown 38 percent since Davis became governor, even though the state's population has grown only 5 percent.

The number of state government employees, as of three weeks ago, reached an all-time high! This occurring … oops, during a hiring freeze.

Davis canceled the Oracle deal this week. In a move to shed a hugely embarrassing misadventure, the no-bid $95 million contract for database software, allegedly in exchange for a $25,000 contribution, played havoc with his campaign. The $25,000 was returned to Oracle.

Now, if he would consider returning contributions of $109,000 from WorldCom, $120,000 from Enron and $120,000 from Global Crossing, maybe he would have an easier time accusing Simon of financial chicanery.

Watch for increasing pressure for him to do just that if federal prosecutors, as expected, issue indictments against WorldCom's Scott Sullivan and David Myers.

Did you know that you or I could have bought the same software off the shelf for half the price? And the number of user licenses sold by Oracle to the state – I'll be darned – exceeded the number of state employees, unless you include licenses for the guys who cut grass up at the capital.

Davis laments the unfairness of tax shelters: "I'm just a poor working stiff living in a 1,000-square-foot condominium. All I do is run against billionaires." That's a false and comedic quote. Bill Simon is not a billionaire. More laughable is the fact that Davis took $86,000 from KPMG, the same firm that arranged Simon's tax shelter.

Simon on deciding to release some of his tax records: "I changed my mind because I think this issue has become a distraction in the campaign." Could have fooled us.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association filed a complaint on Tuesday accusing Davis of using virtually every state agency and its employees as re-election campaign workers. Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio called the association "a wholly owed subsidiary of the Bill Simon campaign." Nice going, Steve. Who told you that – KPMG?

Why do politicians like Davis support illegal aliens instead of citizens? Why does Davis work to undermine the legal expressions of California voters? Because he realizes he cannot win the argument in a public forum. So instead he uses the courts to circumvent or, in his mind, invent the law.

Proposition 187 was passed by a 59 percent voter margin in November 1994. It was designed to prevent illegal aliens from receiving benefits or public services in California. It also placed pressure on the federal government to compensate the state for the extraordinary costs borne by state taxpayers for services provided to illegal immigrants.

Whether one thinks this was good or bad law is beyond the scope of this column. Davis worked a lawsuit to ensure that 187 would never be enforced, and he's prepared to exploit the issue to deceitfully characterize any Republican, including Simon, as a racist, using the same broad tar brush that coated former governor Pete Wilson.

Davis is backed by MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. This is the same MALDEF whose co-founder Mario Obledo said in 1998, "Eventually we're going to take over all political institutions in California."

Davis is endorsed by La Raza, another uncompromising immigrant rights group. La Raza considers the mere use of the term "amnesty" unacceptable. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, amnesty is "the act of an authority [as a government] by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals."

La Raza is so concerned about the word "amnesty" that it has advised Mexican President Vicente Fox to stop using it in all pronouncements.

As well, La Raza has filed lawsuits against U.S. Customs agents arguing against expanded search and seizure authority designed to stem terrorist infiltration into California. How's that for partnering in the war on terror? Excuse me, but where does the U.S. as a nation fit into any of this, Mr. Davis?

On this issue, Simon is taking instructions from George Bush, via Gerald Parsky. Cards are being held very close to his vest. For a period before 9-11, Bush was reported to be in serious amnesty discussions with Fox, then the issue was dropped.

Simon visited several poor Latino communities this week, and both he and Bush know how important it is to diplomatically address the issue of attracting Hispanic voters to the Republican Party. Their advantage is that they are doing it genuinely.

Davis deems immigrants' rights as his ace in the hole and will pounce with full force, backed by an enthusiastic and only-too-happy leftist press, if Simon missteps and blows the issue.

The subject is also Simon's path to victory, if he effectively articulates the national priority of border security, the duty to identify and apprehend those who support terrorism, fairness to overtaxed citizens, and financial accountability. He can steer clear of Garry South's attempt to impugn him with exploitative charges of "racial profiling" and hatred of minorities.

The challenge is to address what's necessary to screen and qualify a percentage of undocumented workers who pose no threat to the nation, and who honestly respect what the U.S. has to offer, without making the threat to the safety of Americans caused by uncontrolled immigration any worse.

The number of people seeking to come to the states is staggering. There is no perfect solution. Some will qualify, some will not.

This week alone, the INS issued an edict that "all foreign nationals in the U.S., whether temporary workers, students or permanent residents, must notify the INS in writing of their change of address within 10 days." The country is at war and serious about enforcing these laws.

It is prudent for both candidates to steer clear of illegal immigration as long as they can.

On Tuesday when Davis spoke about signing the global warming bill, he said, "My friends, the sky is not falling; it's just getting a lot cleaner." Another Davis falsehood.

The sky won't become any cleaner by reducing carbon dioxide as a greenhouse component. The dirt that makes the air less clean comes from carbon monoxide produced in vehicle exhaust. Consider this event as nothing more than a fundraiser for the Sierra Club.

Leave it to the New York Times, though, on Thursday to run a rousing front-page article on the signing, with Davis "smiling tightly and wearing a starched blue shirt." Is the Commissar in town? "As a clutch of environmental activists and Hollywood actors applauded." You know the rest of the story.

What Davis doesn't get is that Simon is winning the character war. No matter how much money Davis has, he cannot ignore who he is – or who Chicken Little is, for that matter.

Do people actually have to listen to DAVIS make a speech before donating their hard earned money? It's hard to understand when you look at the destruction during his time running California...into the ground!

Thanks for the ping!

Been away for a while.

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