The Ventura County Star's Timm Herdt wrote an article about the contest for nomination to take on Assembly Woman Audra Strickland that prompted me to ask what my readers think about this campaign.

Ferial Masry:

Pluses: On the one hand we have a Saudi born woman that draws worldwide attention to the virtues of American democracy. Ferial Masry, as a high school teacher and immigrant, has a important story to tell about our nation and our values. In addition, her son Omar ( full disclosure: I have known Omar for a few years) served in Iraq and helped to show this wasn't a crusader war for conquest but instead a war designed in part to help the people of Iraq. Ferial Masry, just by running, strengthens America's democracy and broadens the base of the Democratic Party. Click on continue reading to read an update from her campaign.

Negatives: Ferial Masry stands very little chance of winning. She has already lost twice to Audra Strickland and I don't see any real reason to see a fundamental shift. In the last two campaigns she hasn't shown the ability to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars it would take to make this a competitive contest.

There was a debate over the fairness of a mailer her campaign was using. Click here to see the mailer and read the discussion.

A campaign supporter that sends me updates responded to my requests for clarification with this statement:

Ferial made those flyers for this cycle BEFORE Hare was in the race. He got in very late... sorry for your confusion... Renee

David Hare:

Pluses: With a strong connection to the local agricultural community David could reach out to groups not currently connected very well to the Democratic Party. David owns his own small business and could campaign on his experience battling against bureaucracies when trying to get a business off of the ground. David is also a strong environmentalist which seems a natural fit for parts of the district. He also has done a better job raising money.

Negatives: David is being attacked for the legal hoops that he has had to jump through in the process of running his business. I don't know the level of infractions he has against him but most business people will tell you that almost any business has a history of some sort of warnings, violations, lawsuits, complaints, or financial disputes. It is up to voters to see if the charges are serious or frivolous. From what I have seen the complaints seem rather minor. I am interested to see how good of a campaign Hare puts together in anticipation of the open seat in about two years when from the looks of it Jeff Gorell will be running on the Republican side.

So, what do you think? How are you or did you make up your mind in this campaign? Is asking how much money each candidate raised a decent question?

Has CAPC rated the candidates in the primary?

It has been quiet lately. Anything exciting to report? Is the board getting along better than before?

Has anyone been following the story of the American born convert to Islam that in his own private swearing in ceremony to The House of Representatives used a Koran? It triggered such outrage that Virgil Goode ( R-VA) sent out a letter using it as an example of why he thinks we must stop Muslims from coming here and destroying American values.

Maybe the congressman from Virginia will admit he was wrong?

To win the war on terror we need to show the world what democracy and human rights looks like. We also need to show it is not a war between The West and Islam but rather a war against those who use a religion as an excuse for murder. But how are we to do that when Virgil Goode is making us look like bigots in the Islamic or Arabic media?

Thanks to an old president for his assist in proving a point. It is amazing the wisdom of our founding generation.