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HOLMES ON THE RANGE — Leave it to hometown lad Mike Holmes to stir the pot. A lot of us Holmes fans who’ve been encouraging him to tackle blackguard J.T. Doolittle in next year’s primary election were delighted to hear that he’s taken a step in that direction by forming one of those “exploratory committees.” The idea of such a panel is to gauge if there are enough pro-Holmes/anti-Doolittle Republicans out there to warrant a formal campaign. Money, of course, is a huge factor. Doolittle outspent Holmes 10 to 1 (at least) in the 2006 primary that the nine-term incumbent won by a 2-to-1 margin. But the pickings are slimmer for JTD this time, with or without the outcome of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the sweetheart deals he and his wife made with crooked lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Doolittle is off the House Appropriations Committee, he’s no longer
viewed as the sixth or seventh most powerful member of the House, and
he’s now a member of the House minority! No longer can his wife pick up
the phone and call corporate bigshots and lobbyists, tell them John is
having a fundraiser, and inform them they’re down for so many
$1,000-per-napkin tickets. That’s how easy it was to raise big bucks
for JTD when he was on top of the heap with no sword of Damocles
dangling over his head. And to think that Mrs. D pocketed 15 cents of
every easy dollar she raised! Talk about highway robbery! I’ve got more
respect for a gent with some courage and a gun who heists a bank than I
do for political fundraising specialists...Don’t look for Mike Holmes
to make his decision in the near future. He just might wait until the
state Republican and Democratic parties decide if they’ll accept votes
cast by decline-to-state folks who, in Placer County at least, comprise
about 20 percent of the electorate and are generally moderate. A
decision on this is expected early next year, and Holmes would be nuts
not to be lighting votive candles in church and praying that the state
GOP biggies give the okay to independents (I hope the Democrats do
too). No matter what’s in store for the Republicans, it’s a sure bet
that Charlie Brown will be the Democratic nominee next year. Doolittle
beat Brown by a nose in last November’s general election, and Charlie’s
been thirsting for a rematch — and raising a lot of money — ever since.
Frankly, Doolittle is the only Republican Brown could possibly beat in
November 2008. Despite Doolittle’s ethical and legal problems, the 4th
Congressional District remains a solid GOP bailiwick, although the
incumbent’s popularity obviously has plummeted since his ties to
Abramoff, along with Mrs. D’s 15 percent kickback setup, were
disclosed. A fresh GOP face could pull off a win over Brown on the
basis of registration alone. Heck, Doolittle might make all this
conjecturing unnecessary by either (1) opting not to run for
re-election, or (2) getting indicted by a federal grand jury, something
he boasts will never happen. Brown’s backers are hoping that JTD gets
renominated because they’re sure their guy can dump him, and only him,
next November.
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