I know I'm not the only one rooting for one of our first successful, 100% homegrown, grassroots, progressive candidates running in 2006. Jerry McNerney is a true netroots success story and hot damn HE'S WINNING! But...why should YOU (Mr./Ms. non-Californian) care? From the horse's mouth:
If you like clean air and water and want to kick our nation's addiction to oil, then remember to tell everyone you know that we all live in Richard Pombo's district. - Jerry McNerney Wind Engineer, running for CA-11
One of my fellow DFA-ers discovered McNerney back in 2003 when we were still trying to get Dean into the White House. Although McNerney was originally inspired by General Wesley Clark's "insurgent" candidacy for the presidency, McNerney has had lots of help from Deanfolk. Several people from my local DFA group are now on staff for McNerney. These are people who before the Dean campaign had little or no political organizing/activism experience. Now they sure do and let me tell you they're running a hell of a great campaign!
Due to their hercluean efforts McNerney just won DFA's Grassroots All-Star competition and now Jim Dean himself is rooting for the campaign. I just got an email asking for donations (surprised?) in time to beat tomorrow's FEC fund-raising deadline.
I coughed up another $50. Why? Because Jerry and his team, against ALL odds, have climbed from the curb to the candidacy! Most of the struggle has been against his own party, (good going CA-Dem leaders) but finally, after McNerney PROVED Pombo was beatable (without their help), they're on board.
Again, why should you, Mr./Ms. non-Californian care about unseating Representative Richard Pombo (GOP incumbant in CA-11)? Well he's a virilent anti-environmentalist:
In his first year, he was credited with helping win congressional support for President Bush's Healthy Forests plan to thin national forests to reduce the wildfire risk, passed overwhelmingly last fall after the devastating Southern California fires.
He has been a leading advocate of the energy bill -- including its provision to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- which passed the House, but is stuck in the Senate.
Last week, his committee began the first of several hearings on proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act. For the last 12 years, Pombo has been on a mission to rewrite the law, which he argues saves few species and tramples on the rights of farmers, ranchers and other landowners.
"It's not recovering species," Pombo said in a recent interview with The Chronicle. "It is causing a lot of confrontations with property owners over the implementation of the act. And it is being used to achieve other goals: stopping timber harvesting, stopping mining, stopping growth."
Pombo's selection as Resources Committee chairman last year frightened the nation's largest environmental groups, which have long clashed with the congressman. Now those groups are gearing up to challenge Pombo and block his effort to rewrite the Endangered Species Act.
"He doesn't believe in the Endangered Species Act," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. "He doesn't believe we should protect our wildlife heritage."
Pombo is used to sparring with environmental groups -- and, at times, appears to revel in it. In February, he attacked the League of Conservation Voters for releasing a scorecard that gave all but one of the 28 Republicans on his committee failing grades for their environmental votes. He accused the group of operating as an arm of the Democratic Party.
Environmental groups, he argues, have misled the public into thinking that air and water quality have gotten worse in recent years, when national trend lines during the last 30 years show improvement in reducing pollution. Full article
He's got Abrimoff slime on his hands:
From Think Progress:
CONTRIBUTIONS -- POMBO RECEIVED MORE THAN $35,000 FROM ABRAMOFF AND HIS CLIENTS: "Pombo has received more than $35,000 in contributions from Abramoff and Indian tribes he represented." He has given away more $7 he received from Abramoff. [The Hill, 12/15/05; AP, 1/13/06]
FAVORS -- POMBO REFUSED TO INVESTIGATE ABRAMOFF: Rep. George Miller (D-CA), a member of the Resources committee that has sole jurisidiction over the Marianas, has continually petitioned Pombo for an investigation into Abramoff's dealings there, to no avail. [The Hill, 12/15/05]
MASHPEE -- POMBO PASSED A BILL HELPING ABRAMOFF CLIENT, RECEIVED MONEY IN RETURN: In 2004, Pombo ushered a bill through his committee helping the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians tribe -- an Abramoff client -- gain federal recognition and special benefits, which was approved in Sept. 2004. "Members of the tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians, have donated at least $20,000 to Pombo's political group since he was named Committee on Resources Chairman on Jan. 8, 2003. Tribe members gave an additional $12,000 to his re-election campaign earlier this year. The first Mashpee donation - $12,000 from six members of the tribe to Pombo's leadership political action committee, Rich PAC - came Sept. 29, 2003. That same day, Abramoff gave $5,000 to the fund. Abramoff also gave $2,000 to Pombo's re-election campaign days after he was named resources committee chairman." [Lodi News Sentinel, 12/5/05]
More dirt on Pombo
So even if you can't send Jerry McNerney $5.00 of your hard earned money, at least go vote for him on Mark Warner's Map Changers. Jerry is currently at #3 and he needs to win this thing!
The Solution