Former governor worries at message he would send to voters
by Brian Leubitz
Back in 1994, Pete Wilson leveraged nativism and Prop 187 to a big re-election win over Kathleen Brown. But, apparently there is a bridge too far, and his name is Tim Donnelly: (h/t to David Siders)
“I respect and share the concern of Tea Party and other California voters who are determined to reverse the growth in the size and cost of our state government. I strongly urge them to vote for a candidate for Governor whose campaign can compel the public to focus on reform of our failing public schools and of the tax and regulatory burdens that are driving companies and good jobs out of California.
Neel Kashkari can and will produce such a campaign. Tim Donnelly will not because he cannot.
Keeping public focus on the real and important issues facing California will require a candidate who does not have to defend Tim Donnelly’s bizarre votes and statements or his irresponsible personal behavior. Donnelly’s record – not California’s critical challenges – is what would inescapably become the focus of a Donnelly campaign.
With Tim Donnelly on the ballot, it would be a losing campaign, risking injury to our party and our state, and to other Republican candidates who deserve to win.” (FlashReport)
Ouch! Now, unfortunately for Wilson and the GOP, the conservative base seems to like them some crazy. With the ballots already out, whether Kashkari can pick up the momentum he needs to pull into second is still a very open question. Meg Whitman and her millions of dollars aren’t walking through the door anytime soon, and the future of GOP as a viable party in California is looking rather hazy.
Wilson can thank himself for his role in the ruination of his party. At the moment in history when Jerry Brown is highly vulnerable (e.g. fracking, Tunnels), the Republicans are seeking to stay alive by running away from their gun nut candidate. Wilson’s own home county is on fire thanks in part to climate change and unchecked sprawl, but the best he can do is urge some love for a bankster bailout guy. One can easily make the case that Wilson owns this problem.
I’d like to thank Pete Wilson for deep-sixing the GOP as a state-wide party in California.
I am thinking of voting for Donnelly to make it harder for the Greedy Old Party to recover. Ratfucking is easy nowadays because you don’t even need to reregister into their party with the top two blanket primary. I don’t think that Kashkari could win the general election but he would at least be “respectable” and not hurt other GOP candidates. Screw that; let the crazyman be their nominee!