Unruh himself will not be able to sit this one out, but his usual followers have been noticeably cool toward Brown this year. Foremost of course is Carmen ("Dragon Lady") Warschaw, who was odds-on favorite to win the Democratic state chairmanship at the state convention in August. Brown's aides quietly worked for Assemblyman Charles Warren, her chief opponent, and Brown himself, despite previous promises to Mrs. Warschaw, refused to endorse her publicly.
Mrs. Warschaw, a Harvey Aluminum heiress, has been muttering under her breath about Brown's treachery ever since her narrow defeat, and has withheld her considerable resources from the campaign.
Although the party is in disarray, Brown is at least in good shape financially. Last spring, the Committee on Political Endorsements (COPE) of the AFL-CIO voted to contribute $350,000 to the Brown campaign. Individual locals have protested ever since that that they had no choice in the matter, but last month COPE decided to pour even more money into the campaign.
Unlike the feuding Democrats, Republicans have closed ranks behind their man; even supporters of former San Francisco Mayor George Christopher, Reagan's opponent in the primaries, have taken positions of importance in Reagan's organization. Dozens of left-over Rockefeller-for-President fans have joined the fight, as have the more extreme Goldwater supporters in Southern California.
Only Thomas Kuchel, the Senate's Minority Whip, and Christopher have remained aloof. Kuchel backed Christopher in the primary and is quoted as saying, "I know where Christopher stands, which is more than I can say about Ronald Reagan."
Big-time Republicans -- Everett Dirksen, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford -- have offered to campaign for Reagan, but he has righteously declared that out-of-staters should not become involved in a California election.
He neglects to mention that protocol would require that Barry Goldwater be included in any appeals to outsiders. Reagan has quietly tried to dissociate himself from Goldwater, for fear of alienating any members of his newly put together Republican coalition.
Unlike Goldwater, who ran as Goldwater, Reagan has tempered his views considerably and even disclaimed stands he expounded when he stumped for General Electric years ago.
Yet Brown has said that it is his job to convince California voters that Reagan is a right-wing extremist, and Brown's staff has unearthed and made public every right-wing statement Reagan has ever made.
To some extent, Reagan makes their job easier. He has refused to repudiate the John Birch Society, as most other Republicans have done, and he has accepted funds and support from notoriously conservative Californians.
The money for his venture comes from many of the same sources that funded the Goldwater campaign: rubber magnate Leonard K. Firestone, Schick Razor president Patrick J. Frawley, former CIA chief John McCone (now a millionaire San Marino resident), and Henry Salvatori, co-chairman of Reagan's finance committee and member of Project Alert and the Anti-Communist Voters League. Reagan's father-in-law, Chicago neurosurgeon Loyal Davis, has also contributed heavily, and recruited support among right-wing friends.
Other members of his executive committee include Walter Knott and Walt Disney, who built amusement empires in Orange County and now dabble in politics. John Wayne and Ray Bolger, looking considerably down-at-the-mouth since "Hondo" and "The Wizard of Oz" respectively, have also taken to the stump.
Reagan has spent a great deal of money on television. For a candidate with his looks and long experience before cameras this is an excellent tactic. Months ago, just after Reagan opened his primary campaign with a masterful fireside chat, it seemed that he might win the election on the strength of his television appearances alone.
This has not proved to be the case. Reagan, stung by charges that he was avoiding the issues, seems to have lost his taste for folksy, luxuriantly-staged presentations most appealing to viewers. During his official campaign kick-off program he presented a long, rapdily-delivered, issue-load-