Cookouts and church services were on the agenda as the candidates for governor and U.S. Senate closed out the final weekend before Tuesday's primary election.
The LAT reports, "In the race for governor, state Insurance
Commissioner Steve Poizner
sought votes for Tuesday's election at a church in
Norwalk and at a pro-
Israel rally in Los Angeles, while former EBay executive
Meg Whitman
spoke at a farm near Fresno, then flew north to hold
an event at a ranch
outside Sacramento.
Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief who leads in polls for
the Republican nomination for Senate, campaigned near
the coast while
her rival Tom Campbell, a former congressman, reached
out to voters from
his home by telephone. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of
Irvine, who is also
vying for the Senate nomination, spoke at the demonstration
for Israel."
The Sac Bee's political team stalks the gubernatorial candidates.
"
Whitman said Californians are approaching "a historic election" and that she would work to improve the state's business climate, noting that the state has the third-highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 12.6 percent.
Poizner discussed social issues at the church, which Pastor Reggie Bowie said is dedicated to "traditional values."
Evan Halper catches Meg-a-Palooza near Sacramento.
"Voters who attended the event did their best to have
a positive outlook
about the nastiness of the primary campaign. “It showed her resilience
and ability to persevere through a tough campaign,” said Stacie Hewitt, a
31-year-old educator from Pleasant Grove.
Those interviewed who
were frustrated by the tone of the campaign tended
to direct their anger
at “labor unions” and “liberals” and not Whitman primary opponent Steve
Poizner.
One voter, however, said he attended the event because
despite the tens of millions of dollars spent on advertisements
and
other campaign materials by the candidates, he still
was unclear what
exactly Whitman stood for.
“The waters have become so muddied by
these negative campaigns,” said Stephen Leonard, a 59-year-old
veterinarian from Elk Grove.. “Nobody answers any questions. Poizner
puts up these ads with her direct quotes and then she
refutes it. What
is the truth? Is she for or against illegal immigration?”
Carly Fiorina and Tom Campbell hit the phones as part of their final campaign push, reports Maeve Reston.
"Campbell attempted to reach thousands of likely voters through an automated call that dialed 200,000 of them and asked them to stay on the line for a live exchange with the candidate.
"For an hour and a half, Campbell took questions on illegal immigration, taxes, school vouchers and his solutions for stopping the outsourcing of American jobs to China and India. Throughout the call, Campbell repeatedly made the argument that he was the most electable Republican contender -- citing the findings of the L.A. Times/USC poll, which showed him ahead of Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in a general election contest.
“Both of my two primary opponents lose to Sen. Boxer -- one loses by six and the other by 10,” said Campbell, who was speaking to voters from his home in San Jose. “If we wish to replace Sen. Barbara Boxer -- and I surely do -- we’ve got to focus on this historic opportunity to do so.”
Poizner even went door-to-door in what he called an effort to "set the record straight" about his candidacy.
"Predicting that Whitman would soon hit the $100-million mark, Poizner tasked his young foot soldiers with getting the word out: “There’s massive amounts of information out there — a lot of it false and wrong — and we have to set the record straight."
"But the insurance commissioner’s challenges were evident in his brief encounters with voters during a walk around a tidy neighborhood in Irvine.
"Setting a brisk pace in jeans and hiking boots with his shirt-sleeves rolled up to the elbows, Poizner said the low number of absentee ballots turned in so far show that voters “are confused and haven’t made up their minds.”
George Skelton wonders whether Ronald Reagan would have a home in today's Republican Party.
"Once in office, he usually governed as a moderate, a pragmatist. And he was easily reelected. Today, Reagan would be branded "just another liberal politician" by the likes of Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner.
"Remember? As governor, Reagan was the biggest California spender of the last half century. Under him, state spending leaped 177%. And as president, he spent like the proverbial drunken sailor to expand the Navy and the nuclear missile arsenal while winning the Cold War. He left Washington with a then-record national debt."
The Wall St. Journal reports the "tea party effect" is diluted in big states like
California.
"The raucous and costly Republican primary races in California and Nevada, like those in other states, attest to the tea-party movement's rising influence. But Tuesday's votes in the two states will be the first big test of the movement's promise and limits—and offer clues to its nationwide strength this fall.
"The pride of the California tea party, Chuck DeVore, has failed to catch fire in the Republican Senate race to challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. On Tuesday, polls suggest he will finish well behind Carly Fiorina, a wealthy former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive endorsed by the GOP establishment.
"The California and Nevada primaries illustrate a potential weakness of the tea-party movement: The bigger and more complex the stage, the more money and organization the movement needs. It has little of either now."
And finally, from our No Honor Among Thieves Files, it looks like not even bee keepers are immune from petty crime.
AP reports, "A northeast Florida beekeeper is under arrest after deputies say he stole bees, honey and equipment from his competitors. Ruben Josey was arrested Thursday in Putnam County after deputies said they recovered 48 stolen beehives and other goods worth thousands of dollars. The hives were reported stolen in December and January in Putnam and surrounding counties and possibly Georgia. Local beekeepers said they had become increasingly suspicious Josey was the thief and gathered evidence against him. Each hive has a state registration number."