There are a lot of people who worked very hard to take down Richard Pombo. In the end, Pombo was left crying about the environmental industry that was out to get him. But, no one tells the story better than babaloo at
Say No To Pombo. Today's post is in the form of an open letter to Richard Pombo that puts the lie to his whining.
Besides PomboWatch, I have also contributed to Say No to Pombo (delta). But this has been a real team effort, each one stepping up and doing what we could do best. The research that dengre and loe have contributed provided essential facts, background some of which we were able to channel to the mainstream media. For those who wonder about how Washington works, you should read loe's fine article at e pluribus media, How did Richard Pombo become House Resources Chair?. Thank you both.
Having said that, there are several things to watch out for today. First, we should pay attention to catch any voter irregularities in San Joaquin County. There are those who say that Deborah Hench, the Registrar of Voters, is another cog in Pombo's machine. Others say she is just incompetent. I do know that in the
June Primaries, some voting places did not open until 10:00 becaue no poll workers showed up.n
Also, the Republicans have long claimed that absentee ballots were their own secret weapon. Getting out the absentee vote won the CA 50 special election for Billbray last spring. One KTVU (Oakland Ch. 2) this AM, they commented on the fact that Contra Costa County Republicans were going to challenge the absentee votes, asking for double checks on signatures, addressses, etc. As I reported last night, the abnormally high absentee vote from Democrats must have them concerned.
In retrospect, the fact that Pombo has had so much trouble is in indication of his running a stupid campaign. When people are challenged, there is a tendency to fall back on what has worked best for them in the past. For Pombo, that has been to stay of of the limelight, to allow the machine to do it's work and to focus on negative ads. Both his campaign manager, Carlton Fogliania, and his political consultant, Wayne Johnson. Johnson is noted for using late campaign dirty tricks. He has been with Pombo since the first election in 1992. He is still up to dirty tricks.
Finally, for those who wondered about how Pombo got elected in the first place, it is maybe clear in this January story on Pombo from the Contra Costa Times. That story also explains why Pombo dumped $25,000 into the mayoral race in Tracy this year to defeat Celeste Garamendi. It is an old battle that he is still fighting.
Maybe that explains why Pombo is having such trouble. He is till fighting old battles using old tactics as if the world had not changed since 1992. But, his district has. It is not longer just the rural San Joaquin County. The demographics have changed. The shape of the district, gerrymandered to protect the Republican seat may not work against him. Even the idea that this may be a weak el niño year may give those living behind failing levees reason to think we need a change. To quote Dylan, The times, they are a-changin' and Pombo didn't. He is a dinosaur, an endangered specie without protection, soon (hopefully) to be a relic who can return to his ranch and wonder why he accomplished so little of what he started out to do.