Charlie Brown locked in a close race facing a recount

While election day brought great news to many at both the national and the local level, it was not the perfect storm that some had hoped for on the Democratic side. There are in fact still a number of very close races that still need to be resolved.

One of the races that is so close and so important if you are on the left is the Fourth Congressional District. Ret. Lt. Colonel Charlie Brown is locked in a very tight battle with State Senator Tom McClintock, a right wing icon in California. The only problem with Senator McClintock is that he is running for a district that is over 400 miles from his home. There is no law that saw you must live in the Congressional District that you run for, only the same state. However, McClintock could not even vote for himself.

It is a district that has a 15 percent Republican convention, and yet Charlie Brown came within a nose in 2006 of defeating longtime incumbent John Doolittle who has since be indicted. And now he is even closer to McClintock.

But this will go to the courts and the recount committee.

Here's the current numbers:

Charlie Brown (Dem) 155,735 49.8%
Tom McClintock (Rep) 156,379 50.2%

A scant 554 separates the two.

Charlie Brown issued a statement yesterday afternoon to his supporters:

“I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to every single voter who participated in yesterday’s historic election. It appears we are headed for a record turnout. We understand that there are still more than 40,000 ballots remaining to be processed, and we will not know the outcome of this election until all of those votes are counted.

Our priority today is to support a fair and accurate count of every ballot. I want to thank the election department staffs and directors of all of the counties who are working so hard and so well to assure an accurate count.

I want to thank my wife Jan, my entire family and my entire campaign team for all of their tremendous work during these past many months. I am proud of the campaign we ran—one focused on putting patriotism before partisanship and solving problems. While I remain very confident that we will prevail once all the ballots are counted, I know that this team has already won important battles for veterans, for families facing tough economic times and for so many other important priorities.”

There are roughly 40,000 provisional ballot still to be counted. Those could swing towards Charlie Brown. McClintock has not claimed victory. And even once those votes are counted, there will likely be a recount.

Charlie Brown said on Wednesday morning:

"It appears we are headed for a record turnout. We understand that there are still more than 40,000 ballots remaining to be processed, and we will not know the outcome of this election until all of those votes are counted. Our priority today is to support a fair and accurate count of every ballot."

It could therefore be weeks before we know the outcome of this election.

---David M. Greenwald reporting

Congressman Doolittle to Retire

The Associated Press reports this morning that Republican Congressman John Doolittle, who serves in the Fourth Congressional District, will retire rather than seek reelection.

Congressman Doolittle was nearly defeated in the most conservative district in California by Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Charlie Brown.

The Congressman who has served since 1990, has come under fire for his involvement with lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

According to the AP story, Doolittle has denied wrongdoing in his ties to Abramoff, the disgraced former lobbyist whom he considered a close friend. But after the FBI raided the congressman's Virginia home in April looking for information about event-planning work that Doolittle's wife did for Abramoff, the congressman was forced to step down from the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Republican leaders have not only distanced themselves from the Congressman but have encouraged him not to run.

In the last hour, Democrat Charlie Brown has issued the following statement:

“I believe John did the right thing today for his family, for the 4th District and for America. Now is the time to unite as Americans, heal our wounds and move forward to solve the many difficult challenges we face both here in CD4, and across the country we love.”

Unfortunately for Charlie Brown and the Democrats, this move puts in peril Brown's chances for election in the heavily Republican district that extends from Roseville to the Nevada Border. A number of Republicans have already stepped forward to challenge Mr. Doolittle and without the stain of scandal, it may be difficult for Brown to make headway.

Nevertheless, Brown has created a formidable organization with money and a strong grassroots movement. His moderate views and background as a military official will serve him well in this fight.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Charlie Brown Announces He will Run Again For the 4th Congressional District

Yesterday afternoon, Charlie Brown announced his intention to run for the second time for the 4th Congressional District seat, currently held by John Doolittle. As his wife, Jan Brown noted in her introduction this was a far cry from two years ago when Charlie Brown, a retired Lt. Col. in the Air Force announced his bid for Congress as an obscure candidate who was an exceedingly long shot to win one of the most Republican seats in Congress against a longtime entrenched incumbent. Jan Brown described in detail the man that Charlie Brown is and his dedication not only to his country and his family but also to the people he left behind in Vietnam.

By the end of the election in 2006, this was one of the top 10 races in the country. Charlie Brown turned dissent against the Iraq war and anger against the corruption of Congressman Doolittle into one of the most amazing stories of 2006. And yet, Charlie Brown ended up 9,000 votes or 3 percent of the vote short from winning.

On a day when Congressman John Doolittle defiantly brushed aside repeated calls from his own party to step aside, it was Charlie Brown who once again stole the show.

Rep. John Doolittle defiantly declared Friday that he will not retire from Congress despite increasing Republican concern that if he runs for a 10th term next year, the seat could fall to Democratic challenger Charlie Brown.

"I will not step aside," Doolittle said in a telephone news conference. "I am running again. Period."

I attended the second of four announcements that Charlie had in his district. The announcement was at the Auburn Airport hanger. Charlie Brown and his wife Jan Brown arrived by small plane and were greeted by his son Jeff and his daughter Stacey.

Jeff has recently returned from his fourth rotation in Iraq with the Air Force. Charlie Brown was greeted as well by a throng of 200 supporters in the midday event in the heart of Doolittle Country in one of the most Republican Counties in the state, Auburn county. And he was greeted with a hero's welcome.

"Thirty Five years ago, I took an oath. I raised my head--and I pledged to faithfully protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath has guided my life ever since that day. That oath took me to the skies above Vietnam and Cambodia, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama and Iraq."

He continued:

"That oath echoes in my heart when I heard my own son take it--and again when Jan and I said goodbye to our son Jeff, as he left to serve in Iraq four times in the last three and a half years. And it is that same oath that brings me back here today--to announce my candidacy for the United States Congress."

Finally he arrived at the crux of his statement:

"When you raise your hand--you don't swear to defend a political party. You don't promise to protect a special interest or a campaign contributor. You certainly don't pledge to put yourself before your country. You promise to stand up and fight for what's right and good about this nation. You promise to protect our freedoms. You promise to put your life on the line if necessary to stop any nation or any individual who means this country harm."

And then pointedly:

"I don't doubt for one second the patriotism of members of our government. I really don't. But I'll tell you this--I do question their priorities."

And on this day, Charlie Brown would make a new pledge to his country. A pledge to give back to his a country. Not a pledge to give back to his country if he gets elected. Not a pledge to give back to his country two years from now. No, a pledge to give back to his country, today, yesterday, and tomorrow.

"[I]n this campaign we will not wait until January of 2009 to make a difference. We're going to lead by example, by giving 5% of every dollar we raise between now and election day to charities that serve veterans and families in need--here in the 4th District, and across the country.

But we're not stopping there. I'm calling on every candidate in any party, running for every level of elected office, to do much more than just say they "support our troops," by joining us in this effort to truly "leave no veteran behind."

The prognosis of Brown is difficult to predict. With Doolittle vowing to stay in the race, the key will be whether or not Doolittle can win the Republican nomination. If he does, Charlie Brown has an outstanding chance to win, even in the most Republican district in the state. If not, then it becomes a truly uphill battle.

However, watching the audience on this day, it was remarkable to see the number of veterans in this crowd. It was remarkable to see the dedication and the vision of Charlie Brown and his family. And you had to believe that if anyone could do it, if anyone could change the country, it would be Charlie Brown.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Charlie Brown will speak at the Vanguard's Party July 30

On July 30, 2007 the People's Vanguard of Davis will celebrate its first birthday from 7 to 10 PM at the Davis Odd Fellows Hall. There will be food, a no-host bar, and speeches from a broad array of local officeholders and politicians. Excess proceeds will go to the Yolo Crisis Nursery.

Congressional Candidate Charlie Brown will speak at the People's Vanguard of Davis' first birthday party. Brown, a retired Lt. Colonel in the Air Force, challenged sitting incumbent John Doolittle in 2006 in California's Fourth Congressional District. Despite the district being among the most heavily Republican districts in the Brown was narrowly defeated by three points last November.

With Doolittle facing possible indictment for improprieties stemming from contributions from Jack Abramoff and also from his wife collecting campaign money for consulting services, Brown has already announced he will change one of the most corrupt politicians in the country.

Other Speakers include: Councilmember Lamar Heystek, Former Candidate for District Attorney Pat Lenzi, School Board President Jim Provenza, and County Supervisor Matt Rexroad.

The emcees will be: Former Davis Mayor Ken Wagstaff and the "General" Dick Livingston.

The Party will be held Monday, July 30, 2007 at the Davis Odd Fellows Hall located at 415 2nd Street in Davis from 7 until 10 pm. Admission is $20.

Please RSVP as soon as possible as seating is limited and we are expecting a capacity crowd for this event.

To RSVP please contact me as soon as possible.

Doolittle in Deep Trouble

A new flurry of charges and investigations into those with ties to Abramoff have come forward in recent weeks, spawned it seems by a federal effort to get Abramoff himself to talk. Prosecutors last month in Miami, Florida said that they were prepared to reduce Abramoff's fraud sentence in exchange for him giving them the goods on a number of lawmakers who he had dealings with.

Roseville's John Doolittle had his home in Virginia raided by the FBI a few weeks ago. They were looking for papers from Doolittle's wife's home consulting business that received payments from Abramoff.

Doolittle's wife also drew tremendous scrutiny in the election last year when it came to light that Doolittle had hired her to be his fundraiser. The problem here is that she then took a normal fundraiser's fee, meaning that Doolittle and his wife pocketed a portion of the money from fundraising, raising a number of unseemly specters that led him in January to promise to cease the practice.

All of this leads to our conundrum. Last fall, Charlie Brown a retired Lt. Colonel in the Air Force, took on Doolittle in a spirited and vicious campaign riding against public dissatisfaction with the war and the specter of corruption that Doolittle so aptly embodied. In the end, Brown fell just short losing by a mere 7,000 votes and holding the incumbent under 50% with a 49-46 loss.

Charlie Brown has already announced he will seek election again. However, California's Fourth Congressional District is the most heavily Republican in the state. Had Doolittle resided in any other district in the state, he probably would have lost given his problems. A three point loss was an impressive showing.

However, last week, Doolittle announced he would temporarily step down from the power Appropriations committee in the House. This suggests that Doolittle is indeed in deep trouble. But it also leaves us with a tough conundrum.

In order for Charlie Brown to win, he almost certainly has to face Doolittle himself--a now wounded and likely ineffective representative. If Doolittle is forced to resign, a number of prominent and strong Republicans have already signaled they would move into the district and run. This is a district with a near 20 point Republican advantage in registration at 48-30. That would make for a near impossible race against someone not tarnished with the scandals of Doolittle. It does not seem likely that the war in Iraq would be enough even with the strong name recognition of Brown, to catapult him into office absent Doolittle's presence as the Republican nominee.

Republicans are already lining up for the prospect of taking that seat. The Flash Report nine days ago came out with a list. One hot and heavy rumor is that Conservative and anti-tax mogul Tom McClintock would move up to the district and run. McClintock is currently a state Senator in the conservative parts of Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. McClintock recently ran for the Lt. Governor against John Garamendi and surprisingly narrowly lost by a 49-45 margin to the veteran and respected lawmaker.

McClintock would be vulnerable on the carpet bagging charge, he would also be vulnerable to the general dissatisfaction of the Iraq war. The question would then be whether a Republican would have to take on the negative coattails of the Doolittle scandal. As we saw in a number of close races in the fall, it's not clear that they would.

Thus it would appear that Charlie Brown's best opportunity to win the congressional seat would be the face the wounded John Doolittle and likely short of an indictment against Doolittle himself, that may be the most likely scenario anyway.

For more information on Charlie Brown's campaign, click here.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting