Restore the 2nd Amendment & Take back the California Assembly Today!

I just received this letter from David Codrea, the Guns and Ammo magazine columnist who has done so much to protect and restore the Second Amendment.

From: David Codrea
Date: Sunday, June 9, 2002
Re: Take back the California Assembly by electing Constitutionalist John Brantuk

To all who know me-- either personally or through my writings: I make no pretenses of who I am-- I'm just a guy who tries. That said, I'm honored and more than a bit flattered that California Assembly candidate John Brantuk chose to include one of my messages in his weekly update.

I can't stress this strongly enough-- John is that rarest of creatures in politics-- one of us-- one of We the People-- a citizen who has shown the courage to stand up and be counted in a bold attempt to make a difference-- in spite of odds that would make a lesser man not even try. But I'm convinced that John Brantuk has the ability to pull off a major upset in a traditionally Democrat-dominated district-- provided we make a commitment to give him our support.

I swear to you that I believe the following-- and this belief is founded on personal knowledge of the man based on years of friendship: I respect John Brantuk. He is a man of integrity and a patriot of the first order. He will not gain office and then turn his back on us. He will be a leader-- and actively work to reverse the decline of liberty in California. He will identify with us, not with the Sacramento power structure. He will break his back for us, give us his all, and then give us more. And he will do this with undivided loyalty to the Constitution. I KNOW this to be true and I freely stake my reputation on the belief that this man will do his utmost to champion our rights

For all who complain that we are victims of politics, powerless to do anything to change things for the better-- here is your chance to help reclaim individual freedom. It's time to elect a true citizen statesman-- the kind we have heard about but all too rarely seen. But ONLY YOU can make this happen.

YOU-- please pass this message on to all of your liberty-minded friends--both in California and wherever you think John's campaign could generate support-- plus, your out-of-state friends will certainly know Californians they can pass this on to. Do it TODAY.

YOU-- contact the Brantuk for Assembly campaign and pledge your support. I don't care if you don't live in his district-- electing John Brantuk to the Assembly will benefit all of us. Donate to the campaign. If you live close enough to help out, give the campaign your time as well by becoming an Impact Team member. Do it TODAY.

Don't expect someone else to pick up the slack. We do our share of griping-- how can we not be willing to put our shoulder to the wheel when we stand a fighting chance to elect one of our own-- how can we remain detached and then look our children in the eye knowing that we were given a chance to make a difference and didn't even try?

I'm proud to know this guy, and my praise is not just campaign rhetoric-- it's heartfelt because it has been earned through years of honorable and intelligent grassroots leadership. Please send in your support TODAY before we lose this opportunity to make a difference.

A Galloping Dark Horse
Nobody thought Bill Simon had a prayer of winning California’s statehouse. What’s he doing in a dead heat?

By Karen Breslau
NEWSWEEK

June 17 issue — In Orange County, once represented by Rep. “B-1 Bob” Dornan, it’s impossible to say anything too harsh about a Democrat—especially if his name is Gov. Gray Davis and you are the Republican nominee gunning for his job.

SPEAKING LAST WEEK to the Lincoln Club, the GOP’s most faithful, Bill Simon gave it his best shot. “I want to run a positive campaign, so I hope you’ll permit me to bring up a few things about Gray Davis,” said Simon, with a sly grin. “He’s a good campaigner and a good fund-raiser, but he just happens to be an awful governor.” The Lincoln Club waited for the knockout punch, but it never came; Simon cut short his assault before it had even begun. The well-heeled crowd snickered appreciatively and stared at their plates, still hungry for red meat. But by then, Simon was back on message, looking every bit like Clark Kent as he lectured earnestly about building roads and boosting water supplies.

It was this decorous, Eagle Scout quality that made many Republicans doubt whether Simon, a businessman who has never held elective office, could win the Republican primary in the first place. But last March he overcame a 30-point gap in the polls to defeat former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan. Simon’s victory stunned the Bush administration, which had backed the more moderate Riordan. And it delighted Davis, who had blasted Riordan during the primary with $10 million in negative ads, anticipating that Simon’s conservative stands on abortion, gun control and environmental regulation would make him a weaker opponent in November. “If people knew anything about him it was, ‘Oh, my God, he’s a right-wing Republican’,” says Davis polltaker Paul Maslin.

BUSH’S BELATED EMBRACE
But a funny thing happened on the way to the landslide: instead of collapsing, Simon, 50, has advanced in recent weeks into a virtual dead heat with Davis. While Simon has yet to issue coherent policies, he has moved deftly to defuse perhaps his biggest political liability in pro-choice California. He recently told a GOP women’s group that, as governor, he would never interfere with a woman’s legal right to an abortion. Simon is also enjoying the belated embrace of George W. Bush, who is helping with fund-raising chores—and sending his wife, Laura, for a rare political appearance in San Francisco this week.

Meanwhile, Davis, scarred by California’s energy crisis and a mounting budget deficit, has seen his popularity plunge. Suddenly, the prospect of a Simon victory is no longer as farfetched as it seemed three months ago. “Voters may not know much about Bill, but they know plenty about Davis,” says former governor Pete Wilson. “That’s enough for Bill.”

But Davis, who has spent decades in California politics, still has enormous advantages, starting with the fact that California is an overwhelmingly Democratic state. With $40 million in the bank, Davis last week launched TV ads to repair his tattered image. Ads attacking Simon are in the can. “He’s a babe in the woods,” says Davis adviser Garry South.

While Simon lags in fund-raising, he can dip into a personal fortune—he founded a successful investment firm with his father, former Nixon Treasury secretary William E. Simon. The candidate says his lack of political experience shouldn’t scare voters away. “There are times it’s good to have an outsider,” Simon told NEWSWEEK. “I’ve had the kind of experience where you sign the front of the check instead of the back.” If he plans on being governor of California, Bill Simon had better keep his pen handy.

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