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More Parsky Watch Parsky Watch - The Magazine Take the Parsky Watch IQ Test Visit the Parsky Watch Store	Back to Parsky Watch archives Kneecapping the Nominees Parsky Watch #4 May 10, 2002 Going On The Record Future issues of the Parsky Watch will include on-the-record comments from leading California Republicans and political observers. If you’d like to share your thoughts, send us a reply and how to contact you. Kneecapping the Nominee Believe it or not, some out there think we are not being entirely fair to Mr. Parsky. If that’s the case, read the following excerpt from the May 7 Washington Times’ “Inside Politics”column. Regardless of your feelings about Parsky’s ideological bent, it should arouse serious doubts about his fitness to supervise the GOP’s fortunes in California and the sincerity of his commitment to our party’s nominee for governor. GOP vs. Simon "How badly has the Republican Party slipped in California? You judge," says the Prowler column (www.americanprowler.org). "With six months to go before a critical general election, in which its gubernatorial candidate, Bill Simon, is running a competitive race against incumbent Gray Davis with little assistance from the California Republican Party, the state party has budgeted less than $100,000 thus far for its absentee-ballot program. "In states like California, absentee ballots tend to run in the Republicans' favor, sometimes 2:1 over Democrats. And in past elections, such as Pete Wilson's Senate races or George Deukmejian's runs against L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley for governor, absentee ballots helped push Republicans over the top. But for some reason, the state party, which used to spend more than $1 million on 'get out the vote' programs for absentee voters, isn't interested in re-creating that kind of success. "And even though Simon now appears to be a candidate who could make a real race against a weak, unpopular sitting governor, state party boss and Bush administration bagman Gerald Parsky has been less than cooperative with his lead candidate. Take Bush's big trip out West last week on behalf of Simon. According to a state Republican source, the Bush advance team planned two presidential events for the California swing, including a last-minute commemoration of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. "But according to a White House communications aide, the idea for the L.A. event came from the state party - read Parsky - in order to divert major media attention from the later Republican fund-raiser for Simon. 'The state party asked us for something in Los Angeles to help with minority outreach,' says the aide. 'It was California's idea to lock out Simon, not ours.' "All along, Parsky and his Republican Party minions have been creating problems for Simon. The media chalk it up to the simple fact that Parsky, whose disdain for the state GOP's conservative wing has become legend, wanted Richard Riordan for the Republican ticket, not the more conservative Simon." Grow up, Gerry. Your juvenile antics are especially outrageous and frustrating given Davis’ obvious weakness presents a genuine opportunity for Bill Simon to win, as evidenced in the Field Poll discussed in the same column: Ominous sign California Gov. Gray Davis, whose popularity suffered with the state's electricity crisis last year, continues to get low marks from most California voters, Reuters reports. Mr. Davis, who enjoyed relatively high approval ratings during his first two years in office, is now rated poorly by 49 percent of Californians, against 42 percent who say he is doing a good job, according to a Field Poll released yesterday. And in what pollster Mark DiCamillo called an "ominous sign" for Mr. Davis in advance of the November match-up against Republican challenger Bill Simon, registered voters showed the strongest disapproval ratings at 55 percent, against 39 percent who approve. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020507-67223556.htm