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Sacramento Bee Endorses Charlie Brown for Congress—Confidential Republican Memo Says McClintock Likely to Lose Seat

Momentum in district many had thought a Democrat could not win

By Frank D. Russo

The Sacramento Bee today endorsed Democrat Charlie Brown for the Congressional Seat once held by Republican John Doolittle over Tom McClintock, a Republican who currently represents Orange County—some 400 miles to the south. Their editorial, “With clear choice, voters should opt for pragmatism, not rigid ideology,” comes during a week that couldn’t have gone better for Brown: He had a great final debate with McClintock, an infusion of cash from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and it appears Brown is flush with money while McClintock’s till is near empty.

In doing so, the Bee was the fifth newspaper this week to come out in support of Brown. It is the largest newspaper in the district, but take a look at the strong support by other papers in the district:

• The Chico Enterprise-Record/Oroville Mercury Register: “Brown would be better for this district...McClintock...strikes us as a man desperately looking for his next job."

• The Modoc Record: "Brown would be a fresh face, with new ideas and a willingness to listen to both sides of an argument. And that would be remarkably refreshing and productive."

• The Chico News & Review: "Charlie Brown, is a moderate Democrat with a practical approach who understands that the needs of his district and the nation won't be met by political pontificating, but rather by working cooperatively to reach practicable solutions."

• The Veterans Press, northern California's largest veterans newspaper: "Despite...this papers historical support for McClintock...in this race the only choice for veterans, and the one that has the Veterans Press endorsement is Lt. Colonel Charlie Brown."

Even before this, a confidential national Republican memo revealed the party was already predicting McClintock was going to lose to Brown. There are plenty of reasons why. Charlie Brown is a very attractive and hard working candidate who has ran hard in this district and nearly won the last election against a sitting Congress Member. But take a look at this ad that just skewers McClintock that is playing in the district:

Brown’s own polls showed him ahead a month ago and that he enjoys a higher net favorability rating than McClintock---despite the fact that McClintock is a better known career politician who has run for Statewide office four times. Brown, who is a career military officer, has also built a 29 point advantage among Independents while capturing nearly one in five Republican voters.

Republican Oroville Mayor Steve Jernigan captured some of the sentiments of Republicans in saying: " This election is about solving problems, not party ideology or keeping a job in politics... Charlie's story is that of e! very mid dle class American who has worked hard, played by the rules and sacrificed to give their children a better future. Charlie is one of us, he listens to us, and I'm confident he will do an outstanding job championing our interests in Congress."

What’s in a name? Charlie Brown has a great name. There’s also another name, not on the ballot, but very relevant—Doolittle the Republican who decided not to run for re-election, faced with scandal. Perhaps, “do little” is a better way to think about it. The Sacramento Bee reported the week beforein an article, “McClintock: lawmaker not making laws,” that McClintock was “the only state lawmaker to fail to shepherd a single piece of legislation into law in the last two years.”

In these troubled times that call for bold action, the voters in this district may just want to send someone to Congress to do something.

Posted on October 26, 2008

Comments

Tom McClintock, a Republican who currently represents Orange County.

Other than the sense that all Republicans represent Orange County due to their no new taxes and unit rule pledges, McClintock's district (SD19) includes all or parts of
Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Posted by: publius at October 26, 2008 09:22 AM

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