— We commented recently on the ideological purity-driven death wish of California conservative Republicans that’s made that party a non-entity for the past several years. That theme has been amplifed by John Fund in the Wall St. Journal and Andrew Sullivan. Former governor George Deukmejian’s vicious personal attack against Dick Riordan at the state convention figures prominently in this commentary, and Gray Davis is now using it against Riordan himself: Davis Ad Uses Deukmejian to Attack Riordan
[Davis’ ad] quotes Deukmejian–no friend of Davis–questioning Riordan’s character. “Former Gov. George Deukmejian says Riordan tries to be all things to all people and questions his commitment to principles,” the ad intones.
Davis would clearly prefer to run against Bill Jones than Riordan, since Jones has no appeal outside the Republican base and no money to run a serious campaign. This ad of Davis’ cost $1.1M, ten times the amount that Jones has spent on his own campaign ads. If Davis succeeds in picking his own opponent – with the help of Deukmejian and the other party faithful – then we can say that California Republicans have truly drunk the Kool Aid and won’t be a factor for a generation.