Free Republic

<p>Bill Simon's political team inadvertently accomplished what no one thought possible just two years ago: They ran a campaign against Democrat Gov. Gray Davis without mentioning the energy crisis.</p> <p>Team Simon tried to run the Republican candidate for governor as an ethical standard-bearer in moderate California. The strategy wasted four years of work by Republicans in the Legislature, who hammered Davis on energy missteps and then heroically sustained a budget debate until September even as it was obvious that Team Simon was doing nothing to take advantage of their efforts. Instead, the Simon campaign defied the wisdom of all its polling, its extensive focus groups and even recent California political history. It entered the ethics minefield.</p>