[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.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Now Doug Ose is alleging illegal coordination between Tom McClintock and a 501(c)(4) group headed by poster boy for Republican losers in the state:

A California-based group and other local officials filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint Monday regarding the alleged ties between an ex-aide to Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) and state Sen. Tom McClintock (R).

McClintock and former Rep. Doug Ose (R-Calif.) are in a bitter primary battle to face off against Democrat Charlie Brown this fall for retiring Rep. John Doolittle's (R-Calif.) seat.

At issue is the role of Steve Ding - an ex-McClintock consultant and former chief of staff for Pombo - and The Partnership for America, a 501(c)4 advocacy group headed by Pombo.

McClatchy recently reported that Pombo's group is organizing a $660,000 independent campaign in the 4th congressional district.

Whoever comes out of the primary is going to be tainted by multiple smears, and flat broke.  McClintock and Ose are both willing to risk that because they think the 4th District is automatically Republican, and they're underestimating the strength of Charlie Brown.

At their peril.

You can read on for McClintock's ties to Pombo and various Indian gaming groups.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The Sacramento Bee reports that legislators have no fundraising limit for ballot measures, allowing them to skirt a 2000 law limiting campaign contributions."Politicians have used the funds for everything from TV ads featuringthemselves to family Christmas cards to leverage in policy negotiationswith well-heeled special interests."

Peter Stahl reminds us all why Proposition 98 is a bad idea in today's California Progress Report. In contrast, Proposition 99 limits eminent domain without destroying rent control.

The race to replace Rep. John Doolittle is getting ugly, saysthe San Francisco Chronicle. Former Rep. Doug Ose is painting hisopponent Senator Tom McClintock as a carpetbagger, while McClintock forhis part is calling Ose "a Republican that votes like a liberalDemocrat." Grab your popcorn.

There's more...

Image courtesy Sacbee.com 

by fnpople [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Charlie Brown, running for Congress in California's 4th District, needs our help! I just received this email in my inbox, as I'm sure hundreds of you also have. Let's send Charlie into battle well-armed and prepared for these foreign invaders (quite literally foreign-- none of the Republicans running in this race even come from the 4th District) by sending in a donation to the Brown campaign!

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Our friends at The Politico are reporting that the story first reported here on CMR by Steve Maviglio yesterday morning is being confirmed by "House GOP insiders". Scandal-plagued U.S. Rep. John Doolittle will announce later this week that he will not run for re-election and will instead support his even-farther-to-the-right partner-in-political-intolerance former State Senator Rico Oller.