GOP rival moves in to take on Pombo Former ...calls him embarrasing

[Sequoia]

Lodi, San Joaquin County -- After nearly a quarter century out of office, 78-year-old maverick Republican Paul "Pete" McCloskey is taking on his party's establishment once again, this time challenging Tracy Rep. Richard Pombo, chairman of the powerful House Resources Committee, in the June primary election.

Pombo's support for changes in the Endangered Species Act and increased drilling on federal land, and his association with the House leadership caught in the bribery scandal involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff, make it time for a change, the former Palo Alto congressman said.

"The party has shifted way away from the Republican values I knew,'' said McCloskey, known for his opposition to the Vietnam War while representing the South Bay a generation ago. "This man Pombo is an embarrassment," he said Monday as he opened his longshot election effort at a downtown Lodi restaurant.

McCloskey acknowledged he didn't really want to make the campaign himself, but when he and other like-minded Republicans couldn't find another challenger to the seven-term incumbent, he decided to become a candidate again.

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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/24/BAGD1GS5JU1.DTL

Pombo is more than an embarrassment, he's a dirty scroundel and his attitude toward the enviornment is a travesty. Expect Karl Rove tactics on this election.

[BrotherBuzz]

1. The nation will be watching this race!

Here's an indication about how Pombo intends to run his dirty campaign.

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To keep McCloskey from showing any strength, Pombo's campaign team "will make sure every Republican knows (McCloskey's) maverick record,'' Hoffenblum added. "By the time they're through, people will think he's (Democrat National Committee Chairman) Howard Dean's brother-in-law."

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Pombo is an insult to pond scum!