Category: Politics

— The Times of Los Angeles says the White House is hedging its bets in the Cal. gov. race (White House Begins Reaching Out to Simon)

After months of quietly working to boost Richard Riordan’s campaign, the White House is now hedging its position by reaching out through intermediaries to Bill Simon Jr.

It seems to us unlikely that Simon could win in November due to his anti-abortion stance. Bill Quick says Simon has promised to downplay it; I can assure you that Davis won’t go along with that strategy.

— Random Jottings sez:

NewsMax reports a Field Poll, which not only puts Conservative Republican Bill Simon ahead of Liberal Republican Riordan, but also ahead of Governor Davis! Could it be so?

Truly remarkable. Bill Quick has been saying that Simon has a 50-50 chance to beat Davis in November, and I’ve been shaking my head. I’d love to be proved wrong, just this once.

enters its final days, according to this in The Times of Los Angeles:

Battered by a wave of negative advertising, Richard Riordan has fallen from the lead and now runs dead even with Bill Simon Jr. as the Republican race for governor enters its final week, according to a Los Angeles Times poll.

Gray Davis did everything but hand the keys to the corner office to the Republicans on a silver platter, what with blowing the energy crisis, alienating the legislature, and spending more time raising money than appointing people to vacant spots on state boards and commissions. The Republican response was to throw a hugely damaging three-way hissy fit, from which a political amateur, Bill Simon, is about to emerge with a staunch pro-life agenda that will get him about 27% of the votes in November.

Republicans can kiss political relevance good-bye if this dude wins on March 5, and now that he’s got Rudy Giuliani campaigning for him, he probably will.

with the base as we countdown to the California Republican primary. His strategy is to look beyond the primary to the general election, but Gray Davis’ attack ads, carping by the party faithful that he’s not conservative enough, and a spate of ads by well-heeled challenger Bill Simon add up to bad news for the former LA mayor: (As GOP Primary Looms, Riordan Feels the Heat)

But that strategy of looking past his GOP opponents to the November election has always been a risky one. Now, analysts of all persuasions agree that it could end up keeping a Riordan-Davis matchup from ever taking place.

The major development is that the right wing of the party, which used to be split between Simon and Jones, is consolidating between political rookie Simon.

Countdown to death wish – only 10 more days.

— Outside of Boston, the only press coverage on the Amirault injustice is this AP story (Mass. Gov. Refuses to Commute Sentence)

BOSTON — A mother whose child was abused at a day-care center applauded Acting Gov. Jane Swift’s decision to refuse to commute the sentence of a man who molested and raped eight children at the center.

which presumes that the conviction was just. Nobody wants to talk about the role of Common Cause boss Scott Harshbarger in coercing fantastic stories from the Fells Acres children.
Continue reading “Harshbarger gets a pass”

Here’s the skinny on Amirault prosecutor Scott Harshbarger from James Reuben Haney

Not only did his sloppy, grandstanding prosecution result in three innocent people being sent to prison (one of whom died only a few months after being released), but as Attorney General he had actively thwarted attempts to redress this injustice.

There’s more at Haney’s site.

— James Reuben Haney explains the political background of the prosecutor’s misconduct in the Amirault case:

I believe that my profound antipathy toward Scott Harshbarger (and the similar feeling of other voters in Massachusetts) for his role in this atrocity (and more importantly his refusal to admit he made a mistake on this case and his casual willingness to let an innocent man rot in prison for another 4-8 years so Harsh could be governor) is the only reason that Cellucci won in 1998 (he got less then 51 percent of the vote, as I recall). Therefore, Gerald Amirault arguably made Jane Swift governor.
Continue reading “Swift/Amirault III”

— The Boston Globe is one of the most liberal papers in the country, but they joined the Wall St. Journal in calling for the release of Amirault. Swift’s action is backfiring on her, as her motives are so utterly transparent (Boston Globe / Governor explains Amirault decision)

”Was her decision based purely on political self-interest, on an assessment of how it might affect her chances to be elected governor?” Sultan said. ”Should a man’s freedom depend on political polling, rather [than] upon what is right and just? Has Gerald Amirault become, in a very real sense, a poltical prisoner? The answers to those questions are self evident.”

The Globe’s on-line poll has readers disagreeing with Swift 3-1, so the political move was a stupid one at that. Come on out to California, Jane, you’ll fit in nicely with our Republican Party.

— Gray Davis’ attack ads, using the nasty remarks of George Deukmejian as fodder, are hurting Dick Riordan at the polls (Public Policy Institute of California)

The dynamics in the governor’s race have changed dramatically. Richard Riordan still leads in the GOP primary race, but Bill Simon is gaining ground. Among likely voters, Riordan held a 37-point lead over Simon in January (41% to 4%). By mid-February, Riordan’s lead had shrunk to 17 points (41% to 24%).

The Republican Death Wish may be granted sooner than previously thought.

— Back in the 70’s, a wave of hysteria swept the nation around Satanic Ritual Abuse of children and child sex abuse in general. Originally driven by radical feminists who believe that most American girls are raped by their fathers (I’m not kidding), the movement gained strength when opportunisitic politicians realized that prosecuting large scale sex abuse cases was the key to the headlines and all that notoriety has to offer. Janet Reno first became famous prosecuting these cases in Miami. The coercive investigative techniques
Continue reading “Impeach Jane Swift”