If the Reps lose in CA, then …

Steven Greenhut: For years, Republican moderates have been telling conservatives (and libertarians, too) that the only way the GOP can elect candidates in California is if they nominate moderates. We’ve seen that conservatives have lost statewide elections repeatedly, and this year is the moderates’ chance to prove themselves. It is mostly an ideological-free zone at the state level. This is the GOP Moderate Dream Team — Meg Whitman, Abel Maldonado, Carly Fiorina, Mike Villines, Steve Cooley. This is going to be a big Republican year nationwide, which means the stars are aligned for them. If the moderates win, they will have a point about electability (but not policy). If they lose, then the GOP might have to recognize that it is no longer a viable statewide party in California under the current situation. That’s an uncomfortable situation to contemplate.

Certainly, Cooley wins because Kamala Harris is too far to the Left, especially on the death penalty. But the rest are toss-ups. Fiorina does the most credible job of bridging the conservative-moderate gap, but Boxer seems destined for another seat, impossible as that is for me to understand. Are there people who really think Boxer makes sense about anything? Whitman is on the ropes after this ridiculous Allred stunt, which is a joke by emphasizes what people don’t like about Whitman — her chilly personality and lack of authenticity. Maldonado will lose and should lose, thanks in part to the write-in candidacy of conservative activist Karen England. That’s perhaps the best news. Republicans should be happy having Gavin Newsom as lieutenant governor. He will be good for fund raising, he will have no power and he won’t be Abel Maldonado, a Republican In Name Only who takes every chance he can to annoy conservatives.

I won’t write any more today. I’m depressing myself.