Much Ado About Doolittle McClintock

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By David Dayen
d-day

I don't know if people still have some notion that Tom McClintock is a good general election candidate, having never won a contested general election race, but this John Doolittle affair should completely put an end to that.

The story goes that on June 16, McClintock appeared to signal that he would be meeting with the disgraced Congressman to talk about campaigning in tandem during the fall election.

"We're talking about doing a couple of events and we're putting them together," said Doolittle spokesman Dan Blankeburg....Stan Devereux, a spokesman for McClintock, confirmed that the campaign had set up a meeting to discuss Doolittle's support for McClintock."

The very next day, June 17, a McClintock spokesman denied any desire for an endorsement or joint campaign event.

"If you're running as an outsider why would you want anyone's endorsement?" asked John Feliz, a McClintock consultant, when asked if the campaign would be receiving Doolittle's stamp of approval." June 17, 2008, PolitickerCA.

Then on June 18, McClintock's spokesman contradicted his consultant:

“McClintock spokesman Stan Devereux told Election Central that the ongoing investigations against Doolittle would not render him a political liability: "Doolittle is still the congressman for the area, has served the district well."”

McClintock himself contradicted his own spokesman on June 20:

"I don't have any plans to meet with Doolittle next week and I don't have any plans to campaign with Doolittle," McClintock said by phone from Sacramento."

Two days later, on June 22, there was news in the El Dorado Mt. Democrat of an imminent meeting:
“Fourth Congressional District Republican nominee Tom McClintock will meet with Rep. John Doolittle, R-Rocklin, next week to discuss his campaign, a Doolittle spokesman said Wednesday...he (McClintock) said, ...'I certainly do welcome the intimate knowledge Doolittle has with the district...' ...The meeting is planned for June 27."”

And a couple of days ago, June 25, McClintock told Roll Call that he killed the meeting: