Could the GOP lose another safe congressional seat?

[babylonsister]

Could the GOP lose another safe congressional seat?


It's been a rough spring for the GOP. Now, it appears another safe Republican congressional seat may be up for grabs this November.

Republican incumbent Rep. John T. Doolittle has decided not to run again in California’s 4th Congressional District, which stretches from the Sacramento suburbs to the Oregon border, because of a long running FBI investigation into his ties with disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Doolittle has served 10 terms, and the district is one of the most conservative in the state -- even more so than the famous California Republican stronghold of Orange County, according to one political expert.

The race to replace Doolittle has already gotten wild. Neither of the two Republicans vying to replace the congressman -- State Senator Tom McClintock and former Sacramento Congressman Doug Ose -- yet live in the 4th District. In fact, McClintock represents a State Senate district in southern California. McClintock and Ose’s primary battle has grown so nasty that the Los Angeles Times wrote that it has a “hint of fratricide.” McClintock has accused Ose of being a "Washington, D.C. liberal," while Ose has fired back that McClintock is a carpetbagger.

Republicans' woes are compounded by the fact that they will likely face a former Republican turned Democrat in the general election this fall. Charlie Brown (yes, that's his real name) is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who is running on a pro-gun, small government platform that should resonate with the Central Valley's conservative voters. Brown, who nearly unseated Doolittle in the 2006 General Election, faces a relatively unknown candidate in the Democratic race for the congressional seat. Voters in both parties will cast ballots in primaries on Tuesday.

Despite the fact that 47 percent of the 4th District voters are Republicans and only 31 percent are Democrats, Barbara O’Connor, a professor of political science at California State University in Sacramento, told Salon that she gives Brown a "50-50" shot of taking the General Election. She said the race was indicative of Republicans' struggles around the country and that its narrative would be familiar to most political junkies.

more...

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/?last_story=/politics/war_room/2008/06/02/california_seat/

[opihimoimoi]

1. The Poor Pubs flummoxed no end....is that hard to quit a flawed Pub Party and join us DEMs??

The Pub Philosophy is FLAWED...it reeks of selfishness....

[XemaSab]

2. Insh'Allah

Lemme tell ya,we're looking to give that asshole Herger a run for his money in district 2. :D

[DCKit]

3. All the talking heads are going to explode on election night...

as seat after seat falls and they can't find any way to spin it.

Then again, with the mess the Democrats are being left, do the Republicans even really care about this election? They'll have four years to re-write the history from 2006-2012 and blame everything on the Democratic Congress, expecting to come charging back in 2012 to finish the hit job on America.