I have been watching the media and Democratic attacks on Bill Simon, currently running against that paragon of virtue, Gray Davis for governor of California.

The hit campaign centers on a jury verdict of $78 million brought against an investment firm owned by Simon's family for civil fraud. Carefully avoided by the Democratic media buttmonkeys are any discussions of the details of this case.

A lawsuit was filed in December 2000, brought against Simon's business partnership by convicted drug lord Paul Hindelang. It charged that after they canned him for being a drug runner and bought his company, Pacific Coin, the defendants acted recklessly, resulting in the company's failure. A Los Angeles jury found the firm liable for fraud and hit it with a $97 million damage settlement. The case is being appealed, but until the appeal goes through, Simon can legally say little about it, while the Democrats blow this up into a massive "corporate misdeeds" thing.

Every single news story about Simon dwells on this case. Every single story about Bush's trip through California this week twists around until it is dwelling on Simon and this case. This story, a masterpiece of "objective reporting," is typical.

Also carefully avoided by the press are the campaign and other abuses that Davis has been piling up throughout his governorship. Or pretty much anything about Davis. Simon, under the withering attacks, has dropped significantly in the polls from a point where he was actually leading Davis by a point or two.

Newsmax is right. The GOP has to take the gloves off.