Posted on 02/08/2002 1:49:47 PM PST by Richard M. Nixon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, February 8, 2002
Former State GOP Chairmen: Riordan Unacceptable as Republican Nominee
SAN JOSE - Three former chairmen of the California Republican Party - John Herrington, Michael Schroeder and John McGraw - today issued the following statement concerning the candidacy of Dick Riordan:
"For the past few months, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has campaigned across California asking Republicans to support him in the upcoming state Primary Election. As former chairmen of the California Republican Party, we feel it is our duty to weigh in on the unusual candidacy of Mr. Riordan.
"After careful review of Mr. Riordan's record, both prior to his announcement as a Republican candidate for Governor, and through his statements on the campaign trail, we feel only one conclusion can be reached: Dick Riordan is no Republican.
"While we as a Republican Party will individually disagree on one issue or another, we are bonded together by a common commitment to a limited, less intrusive government and the belief that every citizen should have the freedom to achieve his or her dreams.
"Mr. Riordan's record has put him at odds with our core beliefs time and time again. While we believe this Party is more than willing to accept differences of opinion and a healthy exchange of ideas, we believe Mr. Riordan's countless endorsements and financial contributions to Democrat candidates, which began long before he became mayor of Los Angeles, have amounted to nothing more than outright betrayal of our basic principles, something we can never accept.
"Moreover, Mr. Riordan's statements on the campaign trail have not only put him at odds with the majority of California's Republicans on social issues, but his statements supporting tax increases and increases in the size of state government stand in sharp contrast with our core beliefs as well.
"Further, Mr. Riordan has shown a genuine intolerance for Republican candidates and grass-roots leaders possessing other view points and an unfortunate interest in his own political career over the interests of his 'fellow' Republicans. We believe these traits make Mr. Riordan particularly ill-suited to serve as the nominee for our party's top position, as Mr. Riordan is likely to engage in a selective support strategy to enhance his own personal motives that will leave many Republican nominees at every level out in the cold.
"As former chairmen of the Republican Party, we are forced to conclude that Mr. Riordan's Republican credentials extend no further than a check in the box of a voter registration form.
"In contrast, Bill Simon has demonstrated in the past months that he is not only committed to up-holding the core Republican belief of limited, less intrusive government, but has also shown a genuine appreciation for Republicans of every stripe. He has spent months campaigning across the state, building a solid, genuine grass-roots organization that will be of the utmost benefit to our state party in the General Election. He has also pledged whole-heartedly to support every GOP nominee in November.
"Bill Simon is clearly the candidate who should represent the California Republican Party in the General Election."
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I think the courts have changed that law. You now have to declare that you are a Republican in order to vote in the Republican primary. Check your Official Sample Ballot and will you see where the declaration has to be made.
But, as a prognosticator, I say: Riordan wins the Primary, and loses to Davis ... and the pragmatists learn nothing at all from the experience.
Wish I didn't think it, but I do.
Cheerful ... over the long haul ... as always,
Richard F.
Geez Louise, dude! Is your memory that bad or do you twist every piece of history into ideologically convenient pretzels?
Dan Lungren was seen as a up-and-comer in the conservative movement for years! He was supported by Jim Rogan and appeared on National Review's cover as the "The Great Right Hope"! He was likeable, articulate, and unapologetically anti-tax and pro-smaller government, and Davis spent the entire campaign flogging him for the GOP's signature views on abortion, education, and for Pete Wilson's record on immigration.
Ditto for Fong; he was a star of the flat-tax movement and Babs Boxer's attack ads on him repeatedly accused him of being anti-abortion.
Now if your theory holds, and the entire state of California knew unequivocally that they were conservative, they shoulda won in a cakewalk. Didn't happen, did it?! But all we were treated to was more revisionism that, well, he didn't really run as a Republican!
Christ, how many more Bret Schundlers is it gonna take to convince you people that conservatives can't win in left-wing states?!
I love sarcasm. Only a few thousand pixels were harmed in making this post, have a great weekend! (My silence means I am NOT "logged in", I with gaze upon FreeRepublic on Tuesday, I have some snow in the Sierras that needs my attention.)
I would like to get your thoughts on how Deukmejian was able to get elected as governor for 2 terms after Jerry Moonbeam had been elected for 2 terms. I recall alot of people saying back then that the election of a liberal like Brown demonstrated that a conservative couldn't get elected governor anymore in California because California was too liberal. I think they were also saying the same thing at the same time about Ronald Reagan being elected president.
The bottom line is that President Bush has made many Democrats and moderates wake up and see that the media-generated stereotype of conservatives is wrong. So, just as the conservative Deukmejian was able to get elected in 1982 after people had gotten a good like at the conservative Reagan, I think there is very good chance that an actual conservative could get elected as governor of California based on what Bush has been able to do.
I went to UC Santa Cruz with Matt's older sister. She kept ratting on me to her mom, who passed it on to my father. It took me a long time to figure out why he was suspiciously well informed about my college escapades.
Example: The campus lefties tried to rename our Stevenson plaza as "Che Guevara Plaza", so I called then San Francisco Mayor Joe Alioto's office and convinced him to come down for a ceremony naming it after him, then called KGO-TV and said we'd really name it the "Piazza de Mussolini" (Roger Grimsby referred to da Mayor only as "Il Duce" for all of KGO's newscasts on Grimsby's last day there before he left for ABC's New York City affiliate).
So Ms. Fong ratted to her mom about that and my father warned Alioto.
Would you be willing to try social conservatism with Mexicans who will soon enough be a majority in California or, in order to keep them out of the GOP, do you prefer to keep this vitally important group heavily in the Demonrat column? Would it be acceptable to offer Planned Barrenhood Wilson as a human sacrifice and have the GOP apologize for the way he embarassed us all? I would gladly see Wilson sacrificed.
Maybe it is RINO Riordan's status as a potential 75-year old rookie governor that has us all agog or his potential to wield the California delegation at platform sessions to cause difficulty for Dubya's re-election?
The three former GOP state chjairmen are right, whether it is a win or a loss, nominate a Republican not the RINO and Bill Jones ought to get out of the race unless he is pulling more votes from the RINO than from Simon.
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