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Since it needs to be spelled out, CA is a moderate to liberal state. As evidence, I would cite the fact that

1. there are many more registered Democrats than registered Republicans.

2. There are a handful of Republicans in the State House and senate.

3. CA went overwhelmingly for Gore in the last Pres. election.

4. Gray Davis, a horrible governor, easily (yes easily) beat Bill Simon in the last election for Gubernor of CA.

I think it is safe to assume that this (CA) is a moderate to Liberal state.

Based on the evidence, it is quite obvious that a Conservative Republican has zero chance of being elected. The best that can be hoped for, at this stage, is to elect a moderate as Governor in the hope that this person will pull CA out of it's fiscal morass.

A "moderate" is a giant step to the right, considering the likes of Willie Brown, Gray Davis and Cruz Bustamante.

So, as I see it, we can do the following: We can keep bellowing about the "RINO" Schwartzenegger, refuse to vote for him because of our "principles", cast our vote for another "can't win" candidate OR we can decide that we need to win; that we will not, yet again, as a Party shoot ourselves in the foot.

Agree or disagree with Schwartzenegger, it has to be as plain as the nose on your face that he is the only hope that the GOP takes the Governorship in CA. McClintock, conservative though he may be, cannot and will not win.

We have been demonized way too effectively as that. We need a "star" to defeat the demogoguery of the Left, someone that transcends politics, like Fred Thompson and Ronald Reagan. (Yes, I know, Arnold is no Reagan, which is of course missing the point, again.)

refuse to vote for him because of our "principles"

No, I refuse to vote for a tax-raising liberal because of my POCKETBOOK. I'm not a head-in-the-sky ideologue who votes on abstract principles. I'm a middle class Joe who CAN'T AFFORD MORE TAXES !!!! I can't afford them EVEN IF THEY'RE PILED ON BY SOMEBODY WHO CALLS HIMSELF A "REPUBLICAN" (as tax-hiker Pete Wilson did). So Arnold's new taxes will hurt me just as much as Cruz's new taxes. I'm voting McClintock not for "principles" but for SELF PROTECTION!!!!

"Based on the evidence, it is quite obvious that a Conservative Republican has zero chance of being elected. The best that can be hoped for, at this stage, is to elect a moderate as Governor in the hope that this person will pull CA out of it's fiscal morass."

Your writing is entirely correct.

I'll add that as a political candidate, McClintock is weak right now (aside from being right, left, center). He lacks money, name identification and personality.