Local Hero to Local Zero
John Doolittle (CA-4) and Dick Pombo (CA-11) have managed to get a free ride from the local media in their districts for most of their careers in congress. Both represent substantially rural districts that touch up against larger population centers, but don’t include any substantial portion of those areas.
Because of the small town nature of their respective districts, there are no large circulation newspapers, nor any major market television outlets. Small town newspapers without investigative resources and often published on a weekly basis are not in a very good position to provide the sort of media scrutiny that would clause concern for Abramoff/DeLay disciples such as Doolittle and Pombo.
So, when you see local papers beginning to cover the expanding web of corruption that surrounds Doolittle and Pombo, it is a sign that the extent of public concern has increased to a point where these boys can’t hide out any more.
In Doolittle’s CA-4, the Auburn Journal is running a poll in its electronic edition that asks:
“Do you believe Congressman John Doolittle, R-Roseville, will be indicted in connection with lobbyist Jack Abramoff?”
As of noon today, the Not Indicted vote exceeded the Indicted vote 57% to 38%. The point here isn’t the unscientific sample; it is the fact that the paper would include such a poll at all.
On Friday, the Press Tribune, which publishes a number of local newspapers in Doolittle’s district, published four very anti-Doolittle letters in its Granite Bay publication and on-line.
Almost all of the Doolittle coverage in local papers has been neutral to negative. The impact of the Abramoff plea bargain and national and regional media coverage has hardly painted Doolittle in a positive light nor does Doolittle’s decision to hang onto his Abramoff contributions while virtually every other Republican is rushing to dump those funds help his image. These factors have yet to really begin to play out in the local press in CA-4.
Over in CA-11, Dick Pombo is also getting some local scrutiny. Today’s Tracy Press, from the heart of Pombo’s district, had a story about Sunday’s meeting of Defenders of Wildlife that attracted twice the anticipated number of attendees. Defenders of Wildlife is a pro-environmental organization that intends to target Pombo and actively work for his defeat.
“The Pombo race, the race for this district, is one of our top priorities,” Rodger Schlickeisen, CEO of the group’s political arm, told a gathering of about 75 people at the San Ramon community center Sunday.
The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund hasn’t made a final decision whether to commit its resources to Pombo’s race, said Mark Longabaugh, the group’s political director.
But Sunday’s turnout — double what organizers said they expected — and the group’s past action in the district seem to indicate it won’t be going away. Defenders of Wildlife already has started a Web site that seeks to tie Pombo to special interests and has bought advertisements on San Francisco and Sacramento television stations as well as in local newspapers, including the Tracy Press, that criticize Pombo.
“It’s hard to track constituents’ interests to (Pombo’s) legislation,” Schlickeisen said. “It’s easy to track his contributors to legislation.”
All politics are local and it looks like the locals are beginning to question if John Doolittle and Dick Pombo are really working for them or for guys like Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay.
Because of the small town nature of their respective districts, there are no large circulation newspapers, nor any major market television outlets. Small town newspapers without investigative resources and often published on a weekly basis are not in a very good position to provide the sort of media scrutiny that would clause concern for Abramoff/DeLay disciples such as Doolittle and Pombo.
So, when you see local papers beginning to cover the expanding web of corruption that surrounds Doolittle and Pombo, it is a sign that the extent of public concern has increased to a point where these boys can’t hide out any more.
In Doolittle’s CA-4, the Auburn Journal is running a poll in its electronic edition that asks:
“Do you believe Congressman John Doolittle, R-Roseville, will be indicted in connection with lobbyist Jack Abramoff?”
As of noon today, the Not Indicted vote exceeded the Indicted vote 57% to 38%. The point here isn’t the unscientific sample; it is the fact that the paper would include such a poll at all.
On Friday, the Press Tribune, which publishes a number of local newspapers in Doolittle’s district, published four very anti-Doolittle letters in its Granite Bay publication and on-line.
Almost all of the Doolittle coverage in local papers has been neutral to negative. The impact of the Abramoff plea bargain and national and regional media coverage has hardly painted Doolittle in a positive light nor does Doolittle’s decision to hang onto his Abramoff contributions while virtually every other Republican is rushing to dump those funds help his image. These factors have yet to really begin to play out in the local press in CA-4.
Over in CA-11, Dick Pombo is also getting some local scrutiny. Today’s Tracy Press, from the heart of Pombo’s district, had a story about Sunday’s meeting of Defenders of Wildlife that attracted twice the anticipated number of attendees. Defenders of Wildlife is a pro-environmental organization that intends to target Pombo and actively work for his defeat.
“The Pombo race, the race for this district, is one of our top priorities,” Rodger Schlickeisen, CEO of the group’s political arm, told a gathering of about 75 people at the San Ramon community center Sunday.
The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund hasn’t made a final decision whether to commit its resources to Pombo’s race, said Mark Longabaugh, the group’s political director.
But Sunday’s turnout — double what organizers said they expected — and the group’s past action in the district seem to indicate it won’t be going away. Defenders of Wildlife already has started a Web site that seeks to tie Pombo to special interests and has bought advertisements on San Francisco and Sacramento television stations as well as in local newspapers, including the Tracy Press, that criticize Pombo.
“It’s hard to track constituents’ interests to (Pombo’s) legislation,” Schlickeisen said. “It’s easy to track his contributors to legislation.”
All politics are local and it looks like the locals are beginning to question if John Doolittle and Dick Pombo are really working for them or for guys like Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay.
posted by RJB at 12:10 PM
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