San Diego Politics Blog

Republican candidate Eric Roach is being blasted for putting out a bogus newspaper called "California News & Reviews" that is in reality a campaign mailing designed to fool voters into believing it’s a legitimate publication.

In a column headlined "No News in Roach Mailer" North County Times columnist Richard Riehl says that Roach intentionally tried to deceive San Diegans by making them think it was a legitimate publication.  Riehl takes Roach to task for the fake newspaper:

But everything else about it —- the nameplate (featuring a lone palm tree at sunset), format (same size as The Coast News), and layout —- suggests it’s a new North County newspaper. Some folks receiving the campaign mailer probably thought they’d been given a gift subscription.

Disguising his campaign mailer as a newspaper seems a strange choice for someone who calls himself an outsider, won’t engage in politics as usual, and aims to "restore trust and confidence in our system of government."

Was he hoping the newspaper format would make his campaign more credible by misleading voters into thinking a nonpartisan newspaper had endorsed his candidacy? If so, it’s hard to take seriously his claim to be a reform-minded political outsider.

Deceptive advertising and smearing opponents looks like politics as usual to me.

This seems like a dumb move for Roach to have made at a time when he has clearly been surging in the polls.  This fake newspaper stunt undermines Roach’s newest tv commercial where he asks voters to "take a stand for something better."

 Hello to visitors from DailyKos.com

Read about Jantz’s observations from the "Last Supper" of the 50th here.

Some highlights:

As the six candidates tried to squeeze length-wise down an eight foot table made for four, I quipped that it looked like the last supper.  Richard Earnest, not considered a contender at this point by many, proved his mettle in the humor department by quickly shooting back, "It is for some."

Howard Kaloogian busted up the watchers, starting an answer with, "I went to Iraq last year … and I have pictures of Istanbul to prove it!"

Alan Uke’s campaign for a while looked to be on life support.  Despite $1 million in spending he was going nowhere in the polls.  The press didn’t seem that interetsed in covering his campaign other than to say he was spending a lot of money. 

But then he got the endorsement of the much loved Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. 

Today he adds another coup, receiving the backing of the North County Times.   The newspaper which serves the conservative heartland of San Diego County likes Uke’s blend of pragmatic conservatism and social liberalism. 

Here’s the endorsement from the NC Times.   For those keeping track that’s Busby: 1 (La Prensa), Bilbray: 1 (Union-Tribune), and Uke: 1 (North County Times).

Here’s a better endorsement for Republican candidate Brian Bilbray that’s certainly worth touting.

Father Joe Carroll has announced he’s backing Bilbray’s campaign for Congress.  It’s interesting since Cardinal Mahoney the other day made it clear he would fight to have the Catholic Church ignore all laws against illegal immigration that might interfere with the Church’s mission.

Father Joe has a lot of praise for Bilbray’s character and service.

“I have known and trusted Brain Bilbray for many years,” said Father Joe Carroll.   “His integrity and honesty are needed in Washington, D.C. now more than ever.”  

I can’t believe the Bilbray campaign put this out as news.

Pool guy Ken King whose contribution to the 50th congressional district race was to announce he was running and then immediately drop out, has endorsed Brian Bilbray for Congress. 

I wonder if there will be a big bump in the polls for Bilbray once word of this endorsement gets out.

I realized after reading the Union-Tribune’s profile on Bilbray that this Republican candidate who the Union-Tribune endorsed, and Democrat Francine Busby, would be the only 2 candidates to receive a full profile from the Union-Tribune.

The other candidates are treated as if they’re not up to the merits or significance as these 2 candidates.  Morrow and Kaloogian shared a column about their different styles and approach to politics.  Bill Hauf, Eric Roach, Alan Uke and Richard Earnest were all lumped into 1 column about the millionaire candidates.  And everyone else will get mentioned in an "also ran" column that was published today (Sunday).  So if you’re Chris Young challenging Busby or Paul King trying to attract support for your Libertarian candidacy, forget it.  The Union-Tribune has decided your campaigns aren’t worthy of even receiving the obligatory pre-election profile.

Shouldn’t the Union-Tribune report on the candidates with as much  balance as possible?  In the day to day horse race coverage of this race it is understandable that only the leading candidates will receive much focus.

But is it too much to expect that the Union-Tribune print just one column dedicated to each of the other candidates running?

The other day the San Diego Union-Tribune had this story outlining the admiration former Congressman Brian Bilbray earned from the GOP establishment. 

The Union-Tribune previews expected endorsements for Bilbray from San Diego Mayor, Jerry Sanders, and former Governor Pete Wilson.  Wilson and Bilbray are very similar figures when you think about it.  They are both considered moderates in the GOP but also both strident in their positions on illegal immigration.

You can read the U-T’s story on Bilbray here.