Simon concedes Davis fund-raising allegation 'in question'; Davis calls Simon to drop out

Associated Press

[DoveTurnedHawk]

I was wondering the same thing!

DTH

[ServesURight]

Like Al Gore, there are some politicians who enter a race with strong advantages, and through bad decision after bad decision, they demonstrate that they shouldn't be put in charge of running a lemonade stand.

Excellent comparison - you really nailed it. Maybe it's best that Davis wins after all, Kalifornia will then get the wake-up call it deserves.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Don't tell the Peace-niks among us, but there's a new thread up about the US and Brits bombing in Iraq.

[luckystarmom]

I agree. It is very sad to see. I supported Bill Jones, and I think he would have run a much better campaign.

[eureka!]

Re#73 Understood. I don't engage the obvious shills. He/She/It and others are going to be mighty upset when Simon is elected...

[Brad’s Gramma]

:-) Oh, they're ALREADY upset....it's showing more and more and more....

I think I'm (gasp!) gonna log off for a while and actually do something today.....

Fight the good fight!

BG

[Saundra Duffy]

Bill Simon is going to win. You don't know the climate here. Davis is a most despised figure. Creepy! Davis has spent $30,000,000 trashing Bill Simon and it has worked on some of you guys. Hook line & stinker. I have faith that Bill Simon is going to pull this off and FReepers are working round the clock behind the scenes. I'm doing my part. For victory & freedom!!!

[absalom01]

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement.

As you know, many of us are spending every spare waking moment between now and November 5 WORKING to help Joe Davis find a new job. Simple things like writing checks, spending our evenings at phone banks, our weekends walking precincts, or, for some, FReeping the Hildebeast stumping for Joe Davis.

In the midst of such a marathon effort, it is SIMPLY GREAT to hear from "conservatives" on the sidelines advising us all to throw in the towel now.

Once again, thanks a million.

[eureka!]

Ditto...

[dpwiener]

This ineptitude has been going on for months in the Simon campaign. One misstep after another. Once is a learning experience, twice is incompetence…

Here's the comment I posted on my blog:

Instead of just shooting himself in the foot, Simon blows his entire leg off.

All the papers around California are filled with Bill Simon's latest fiasco: An accusation that Gray Davis broke the law by accepting a $10,000 contribution inside the Lt. Governor's office. Except that the photographic "proof" seems to be crumbling into dust.

Timm Herdt, who is state bureau chief of The Star newspaper (my hometown paper), nailed it when he likened this to a failed reprise of "The Sting". He specifically compared it to the political ploy which propelled Tony Strickland into the State Assembly in 1998.

Let me take this occassion to bask in a little nostalgia for what was, in my opinion, one of the great political coups of all time. Back in 1998 a wealthy businessman named Rich Sybert decided to run for an open Assembly seat in Thousand Oaks, after failing to win two previous bids for Congress. The district leans strongly Republican, and Sybert collared the endorsements of the departing Assemblyman and much of the local Republican establishment (except Tom McClintock). Sybert did have some primary opposition, including a Port Hueneme city council woman and an administrative aide to McClintock named Tony Strickland, but Sybert was widely expected to far outspend them all (which he did) and coast to an easy victory (which he probably would have).

But Strickland's campaign noticed some of its large signs being torn down, and assigned a campaign volunteer to stake out remaining signs in hopes of spotting the vandals. Imagine his astonishment when he observed Rich Sybert personally sneaking around in the wee hours of the morning and ripping off Strickland's signs! Imagine the joy in the Strickland camp as they watched the videotape which the campaign staffer had taken of the vandalism!

Now comes the brilliant part. Tony Strickland held a press conference to accuse Sybert of destroying his signs, but didn't mention the videotape. Sybert indignantly denied the accusation, saying that Strickland must really be desperate to make up something like that. The Los Angeles Times quoted Sybert as further embellishing his story:

"Oh, please!" Sybert had said when informed Wednesday that Strickland had filed a complaint with the district attorney. "I've got better things to do. I'm in bed at three in the morning. I checked with my wife," he added, "and she's pretty sure the guy next to her Monday night was me."

Strickland patiently waited a day while Sybert tied the noose around his own neck and pre-positioned the rope on the gallows. Then the Strickland campaign began distributing copies of the tape to the Los Angeles television stations and other news media.

I have one of those tapes. It's an amazing thing to watch a grown man systematically commit political suicide.

Of course it was all over after that. Sybert had to admit he'd lied, but insisted that neither the lying nor the vandalism should be considered a reflection on his character. Tony Strickland was instantly converted from a young, inexperienced, little-known, long-shot candidate into the frontrunner, while all the other candidates faded into obscurity. Sybert kept spending money and refused to concede the race, and his big-name endorsers stumbled all over themselves trying to excuse and rationalize Sybert's "mistake", but in the end he got only 7% of the vote.

Following the election a Los Angeles Times article titled Sybert a Study in Ambition Unfulfilled quoted Sybert as whinging: "I don't think I was prepared for the brutality of the political process. When I look back over the last six years, it's been nothing but heartache for me and my family."

Bill Simon was hoping to inflict a bit of that same heartache on Gray Davis by "pulling a Strickland". But Davis is a hell of a lot cleverer and vastly more experienced than Sybert. Remember, campaigning and fundraising is Davis' area of expertise. It was wishful thinking to expect to be able to catch Davis in a comparable screw-up.

It was even more hopeless to expect Simon to competently execute such a political maneuver. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, I know Tony Strickland. Tony Strickland is a friend of mine. And Bill Simon is no Tony Strickland.

[Bella_Bru]

Anymouse, I live in Cali, and I can tell you between Simon and the rest of the CRP, they have massively bungled this. And, it is not a Davis shill alert...the campaign to write-in Riordan is very real and growing.

[DodgeRam]

How real? Is it just buzz or is there an actual effort going on?

[Brad’s Gramma]

Never heard of it. I'm not saying it's not happened, I've just never heard of it.

Dumb if you ask me.....

[Bella_Bru]

It is dumb, but many here are not pleased at all with Simon.

[MineralMan]

You're right. Unfortunately, it appears that anyone who thinks that Simon has done a poor job of campaigning is a "Davis shill," in this person's opinion. There are other candidates.

[Bella_Bru]

I am hoping it stops dead in it's tracks.

[oldironsides]

Some candidates have terrible advisors. You never take something like that photo and run with it. This GOP candidate does not know that even if true , the photo was of a Democrat doing something illegal. It does not matter to Democrats at all. DNC,Gore, Clinton, Hillary, Torricelli and a host of others were fined $790,000 recently and nobody blinked. Simon is a novice and surrounded by boobs.
Bringing that photo out was really dumb.

[Bella_Bru]

Simom has done a poor job, but the real blame rests on the shoulder's of the CRP, and more specifically, Team California and Gerald Parsky.

[MineralMan]

You have a good point.