Here’s an idea for beleaguered California Republicans looking for someone to run against Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014: Why not Victor Davis Hanson? He’s an articulate advocate of the conservative point of view on the central political issues of the state– a farmer, scholar, charismatic speaker who combines broad knowledge with ground-level machismo. He’d have an appeal in the disaffected, depressed central valley, where he lives, and the yuppie coast. While he’s skeptical of the current rush to amnesty, he talks about illegal immigrants living in his area with compassion. He’s not a career pol like the other mentionees. He’s a real human being. He’s not a multimillionaire ex-CEO either (we’ve had enough of them). The media would have an excuse to cover him–the fish out of water angle–as long as he kept them amused. The debates with Jerry Brown would be highly informative. It’s possible Brown would freak out in a fit of intellectual insecurity.**
What have the state’s Republicans, now a pitied, powerless minority, got to lose?
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**–Conflict note: Brown has been a better governor than feared–the Democratic left thinks he’s not spending enough, for example. He recently also had the good judgment to appoint a close relative of mine to the bench.