There are a lot of Democrats running for a lot of offices in this fine nation of ours. Some of them, if elected, would instantly become leaders in their field. Some of them are running against morally odious Republican incumbents. Some of them have drawn momentum from a wave of Republican scandal. And some of them are totally dependent on our support. Only in a few cases, however, do all of these conditions come together in one place at one time in one man. And
Jerry McNerney, in Northern California's 11th district, is one of those people. Follow me under the fold and I'll show you why.
Our Man
Netroots-endorsed candidate
Jerry McNerney is an entrepreneur in Wind Energy. He's a PhD. He's worked with Sandia National Laboratories, US Windpower, PG&E, and a host of other energy concerns. He knows energy. He knows renewable energy. And the sad fact is, most of Congress doesn't. Securing the energy to keep America running is going to be the challenge of our times. Succeeding will bolster the US economy, create uncounted high-tech jobs, safeguard the air we breathe and protect our coastlines from cataclysmic flooding. Failure will leave us in hock to Middle Eastern despots, intensify international conflict, leave us subject to the whims of a flailing international energy market, and in the worst case scenario shut this nation down completely as the highways stop and the lights turn off. It's time for a real energy policy. Jerry can help.
The other guy
Richard Pombo... what can one say about Richard Pombo? To call him one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress, as CREW did, barely scratches the surface. Yes, Mr. Pombo is bought-and-paid-for in a way that Shoeless Joe Jackson would admire. And yes, he's a shameless Bush rubber-stamp. But Pombo's claim to fame goes above and beyond. Richard Pombo is, without a doubt, the most anti-environmental member of the United States congress. Only Oklahoma's Senator "Global-Warming-is-a-Liberal-Hoax" Inhofe, not up for re-election this year, comes close. Mr. Pombo's legislative priority is the effective repeal of the Endangered Species Act. Who SAYS that? If it exists, Mr. Pombo wants to stick a drill in it and turn it to slush. Alaska? Check. The Rockies? Check. And what is Mr. Pombo's reward for this kind of knee-jerk opposition to anything with Chlorophyll? The chairmanship of the Natural Resources Committee, of course. Republican priorities in action. If you breathe air, you've just met your enemy.
Where they stand
Jerry first ran against Pombo in 2004, where, running with zero institutional support, he took not quite 40% of the vote. That was before the sludge hit the fan. That was before the aforementioned CREW report. That was before the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund dropped into this race big time on Jerry's side. That was before former Republican Rep. Pete McCloskey, the author of the endangered species act, got pissed the hell off and ran against Pombo in the GOP primary, drawing almost a third of the vote. That was before Pombo's GOP opponents McCloskey and Tom Benigno and McNerney's primary opponents Steve Filson and Steve Thomas endorsed McNerney en masse. That was before Pombo got caught up to his neck in Abramoff, Cunningham, and DeLay money. That was before he panicked about his Abramoff connections and started telling obvious lies to the press. That was before his big area newspapers like the Modesto Bee, previously loyal to him, started endorsing Jerry McNerney. And so where does this race stand now? Dead. Freaking. Even.
So Now What?
Jerry's got the big mo. Pombo's got the big dough. That's our problem. He's got $200,000 from Casinos (he loves him some Indian gambling... at least for tribes that pony up campaign cash). $150,000 from Real Estate developers (big surprise - he opposes any regulation of private property.) $125,000 from agribusiness (he lives in a district of family farms, but ConAgra pays better.) $120,000 from Oil and Gas (need I say more?) Pombo is going to try to bury McNerney in filthy lucre. McNerney will win as long as he keep his head above water. And that's where we all come in. Yes, you've heard it before, but Jerry needs money. Sure, a lot of people need money. But where else are you going to get this kind of bang for your buck? He's a great candidate and a leader in a critical field. He's fighting one of the least worthy and most dangerous and men in Congress. He's a legit contender with momentum on his side. And he will not win without our help.
What else can I say? There's a time to say "Go Jerry!" and a time to float him a couple of Andrew Jacksons. This is the latter sort of time.