| Jerry McNerney picked up the San Jose Mercury News endorsement (Hat tip to Jerry's Blog). The Mercury News also endorsed Pete McCloskey over Pombo in the Republican Primary. It's not particularly hard to see how the editorial board feels about Pombo: Any of the candidates, even Republican McCloskey is better than Pombo.
Even before he became associated with the sleaze surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, even before he was accused of taking a family vacation on the government's dime and even before a watchdog group called him one of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress, it was clear that Richard Pombo had to go.
The conservative seven-term Republican congressman from Tracy has a record of radical anti-environmentalism that has imperiled the nation's natural resources, is wrong for the country and is out of step with a state that's known for its environmental leadership.
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On the Democratic side, two good candidates have emerged as leading contenders. Neither Jerry McNerney, 54, an engineer and wind-energy consultant from Pleasanton, nor Steve Filson, 59, a United Airlines pilot and retired U.S. Navy commander from Danville, has held elected office. But both bring good ideas and have energized various Democratic Party constituencies. Of the two, we find McNerney's message more compelling.(SJ Mercury News 5/8/06)
The editorial gives good reviews and descriptions of all three competitors to Pombo. The choice is a bit muddled now, but we know what needs to happen. Richard Pombo must go.
As, I've written here, I think McNerney will be a better candidate because of his connections to the grassroots. The national party will support him this time if he wins the primary. They have to, they smell blood in the water all around Pombo. McNerney will bring the assets of the grassroots to bear against Pombo. This year it will be enough to take that seat back from the radical anti-environmentalist Richard Pombo.
And in a complete rejection to the "You've had your chance" line of "thinking", the Mercury News touts the fact that McNerney has run against Pombo before:
McNerney ran against Pombo in 2004 and got 39 percent of the vote, despite receiving no support from the state or national Democratic Party and being massively outspent by Pombo. That experience should come in handy in November. |
