I don't think Harry has a glass jaw. I do think that he thinks/knows that the general public doesn't follow this stuff very close.

If our local media did a better job covering the real news instead of The Emmys or American Idol, maybe we would get more genuine rhetoric from campaigns. But Harry got great press in the OC Register on his silly shredding party.

It is a game of money and who can define themselves and their opponent. So far, your average voter thinks Harry is the guy who is against negative campaigns and Mimi voted to make liberal Fabian Nunez Speaker of the Assembly.

This is the type of year that being the Republican who is "outside the establishment" might be a good thing too.

P.S. So happy David Cook won.

True stories:

I was sitting at the sushi bar and struck up a conversation with the stranger next to me. Talk turned to politics. He was disgusted with the Walters-Sidhu race.

Painters were working at my house, when neighbors stopped by to ask about the contractor. Talk turned to politics. They asked me what I thought about these two. They were very turned off by Walters-Sidhu.

What a shame.

While I think Walters is reliably conservative (voting record speaks for itself), I wish that were enough. After this debacle, I have lost a lot of respect for her. And I don't think she has shown that she is has any ideas or leadership.

Pity.

On June 3, we'll know whether this is an accurate statement or not. I think it was a risky move by Harry but there is a pretty good chance it will pay off.

The question isn't whether Harry thinks the voters are stupid. The question is whether the voters are stupid. What Harry thinks about Jon Fleischman or other readers of this blog is irrelevant.

But I think Republican voters will send a wake-up call to the establishment. Right or wrong, incumbent Republicans (of which Mimi generally is even though she is trying to move from the Assembly to the Senate) will be blamed for a lack of principle in the Republican Party. Harry is in a good position to benefit from this.

There is a Democrat running and his name is Gary Pritchard. No, he doesn't have big money nor the kind of experience that Sidhu and Walters have but, he does believe in fiscal responsibility and that funding our public school system is important to not just Dems.

I think Republicans are better than this and they deserve a better choice. Sidhu and Walters are taking the eventual win in the General Election for granted because of the overwhelming registration of Republicans over Democrats. The odds are in their favor, overwhelmingly so, it's a good gamble on their part.

Both my husband and I recognize the reality of where we live and talk not only to Democrats and Declined to States but Republicans too. Republicans are our neighbors, our coworkers and our family members. Demonizing them will not help anything in our State or our County.

I think we all deserve better than this.

And yes, I read Red County, it's good to know what people are thinking about local politics, all of them and Jubal has been very respectful the couple of times I have commented, it's much appreciated. Gary however does not read the blogs or comment, he's too busy walking precincts and meeting voters. Ultimately, even if we do lose, we know we will be better citizens for having been involved in the process. We are learning about the issues and our community. To us, it's a win/win.

Frankly, I think Walters thinks you, voters and OC Grand Jury are stupid. The OC Grand Jury Press Release said it all: 'Deceptive and misleading' campaign tactics by Mimi Walters. I respect Sidhu for not responding to Walters in the same shameful and deceptive manner. He seems to be the right candidate and I will vote for him.

The issue Fleischman brings up is a valid one: Harry Sidhu was shameful and deceptive in his press conference when he, the negative candidate, supposedly divorces himself from negative campaigning by shredding old mailers.

The OC Grand Jury would be upset about its memos being used IN ANY WAY by a political candidate. In order to avoid seeming partial or partisan, the Grand Jury has to chastise a candidate for using its material. That doctrine and practice is being exploited by Sidhu et al. Again, Harry Sidhu thinks voters are stupid.

Hypothetical question for you, Jon. On this issue involving Walters' negative campaign tactic that was publicly condemned by the OC Grand Jury, how can the voters be expected to buy into the "ten cents vent" of someone who was the spokesperson of around 7 yrs. or so for now indicted OC Sheriff Corona (while not knowing about any of the alleged corruption, of course)? Looks like it's apparently you, Jon, who think the voters are stupid enough to buy into your blind support for certain elected officials.

My .02 worth....

Harry Sidhu...what a canny little show he put on with his shredding stunt. "I am redeemed Harry" by shredding tons of mailers he had "intended" to send out....after spending several minutes verbally shredding his opponent. Really really really. Just watching the debate between the two of them tells you who the sharper candidate is, it is plain as the nose on your face...Mimi is obviously the best qualified. Just watch the debates and in all honesty, can you say Harry had better answers or was more convincing? I doubt an honest answer to that would be anything other than a solid vote for Mimi Walters.

As far as Walters being around for 7 years or so while Carona was running amuck, well a whole lot of people thought he was pretty great. He wasn't exactly open with his activities and kept a pretty tight lid on it, so if you have a secret sinner in your family and you don't know about it because they are damned good at hiding it, are you to be held accountable? If you suspect wrongdoing and you don't call them on it, then maybe you can be called lax. Or perhaps you should have done more homework on the subject, but really when you have your own life the only people you really know more about are family members, not Sheriff's, not other elected officials who for years are respectable and then one day you find out they have a "wide stance" in airport restrooms. Or in this case a guy with a lot of little pots cooking around with a lot of loyal people which then fell out of the "loyal" category when their own feet are held to the fire.

Don't blame Mimi for Carona, sheesh, what else can you come up with...please don't even try to answer that, I really was just asking that question in a rhetorical fashion.

Personally, I thought David Archeleta had the better voice....

I think that both candidates and the GOP establishment think voters are stupid. (And so do the Democrats - "I'll protect the environment and a woman's right to choose" - works every time).

At the beginning of this race, I was excited at the prospect of a competition based on ideas. What we got was "me too" politics ("tough on immigration", "protect Prop 13", yadda, yadda, yadda) and mudslinging ("liberal", "she voted for fabian", "he loves unions", blah, blah, blah).

What we did not get was a competition of ideas. Neither candidate has any. So, really, does it matter who wins?

We'll get the substantially the same voting record. We'll get no leadership. We'll be no closer to fielding candidates electable to statewide office.

Whatever.