You're also a McCloskey fan, I suppose.
Anti-Doolittle ads taken off freeway billboard
The Press-Tribune, August 3, 2005A controversial set of political ads aired on a freeway billboard attacking Rep. John Doolittle were taken off Thursday after the Roseville Auto Mall complained about the spots.
The ads, which began airing July 1, were paid for by Revolt of the Elders, a group of Republicans headed by Pete McCloskey, former GOP Congressman from the Bay Area and Doolittle critic. The organization paid $41,500 for a one-year contract to run the ads, which were displayed on the billboard at Interstate 80 near the Eureka exit.
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Revolt of the Elders is a 527 group, which gives it tax-exempt fundraising status; 527s have played an increasingly active role in politics in recent years because of their ability to generate large amounts of money for specified agendas. Doolittle added that most of these organizations opposing Republicans are comprised of former Democratic Party operatives.
Richard Robinson, Doolittle's chief of staff, said that the ads wouldn't have convinced Placer County voters anyway; Doolittle has held the seat since being elected in 1990 and in election years is considered a very safe incumbent. Robinson also alleged that McCloskey enlisted Auburn Vice Mayor Mike Holmes to run against Doolittle next year.
"McCloskey's a smart guy, but for some reason he thinks he's running a campaign in the Bay Area," Robinson said. "I can understand why the Auto Mall decided to take the ads down, given that they were highly political and paid for by the same guy that campaigned for John Kerry last year."
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McCloskey said Revolt of the Elders is comprised of Republicans who are dissatisfied with the current direction of the party.
"We're essentially a lot of old Republicans in our 70s and 80s," said McCloskey, who lives in Rumsey. "I think it's a very difficult thing to defeat Doolittle, in part because so few people in his district know about his voting record."
The group has also aired spots since spring targeting other prominent Congressional conservatives, including Tom Delay and Richard Pombo of Tracy.
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McCloskey, who served in Congress from 1967-1983 while representing the Bay Area, has a decorated and contentious history with the GOP. He ran on an antiwar platform in 1972 against Richard Nixon, and in 2004 supported John Kerry over George W. Bush. He is also a decorated Marine who served in Korea, winning the Navy Cross, Silver Star and two Purple Hearts as a rifle platoon leader.
You've read me wrong. I' not an admirer of Pete McCloskey by a long shot. But by opposing a fair redistricting measure, Doolittle has proven himself a self-serving beaurocrat. If Holmes were to win the primary (which is unlikely), he'd be unseated in the 2008 primary by a conservative without Doolittle's flaws.