Doolittle Watch - Act for Democracy
The purpose of Doolittle Watch is to educate voters in California's 4th Congressional District about the ideas, values and votes of our
U.S. Representative, John T. Doolittle. We want to do this before the elections in November 2008 are upon us, when Mr. Doolittle will be up for re-election. Between now and then,
Coalition for Change will send Doolittle Watch email alerts with information and action items to inform and engage voters in our district.
We welcome your help:
- Get on our mailing list for DW email alerts.
- Research Congressman Doolittle's votes and positions on issues. See the links on the left.
- Write letters to the editor. Newspaper links are on the right.
- Monitor media in your area.
- Contact Congressman Doolittle with questions and comments.
- Staff voter registration activities.
If you'd like to join our efforts, contact us.
Through Doolittle Watch, we intend to accurately and responsibly convey the quality of Mr. Doolittle's representation. Help us help voters in our district cast an informed vote in November 2008.
More Dubious Doolittle Dealings
District 4 representative John Doolittle's dubious dealings with mega-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and other corruption-tainted wheeler-dealers in Washington are dribbling out in the open.
The secretive California Republican congressman was getting huge contributions not only from confessed briber Abramoff, but also from Brent Wilkes, one of two bribers of disgraced ex-congressman Duke Cunningham. Officials and lobbyists from PerfectWave, a company owned by Wilkes, helped raise at least $85,000 between 2002 and 2005 for Doolittle, according the Washington Post. Doolittle, who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, helped steer $37 million Perfect Wave's way. Doolittle claims that his support was based "on the project's merits and the written support of the military." The Post story is here.
Meanwhile, back at the Abramoff trough, the AP reports that Mr. Doolittle interceded with Interior Secretary Gale Norton for two of Abramoff's Indian clients in 2003, even though he is not on the congressional committee that handles Indian affairs nor is his district related to the Massachusetts and Iowa tribes involved. Doolittle's spokeswoman claimed that a previous intervention (2002) with Secretary Norton for an Abramoff Indian client from Louisiana was motivated by the congressman's "longheld anti-gaming position."
One can only wonder what justification the anti-gaming Doolittle will offer for his efforts on behalf of the Iowa tribe, which were directed to reopening an Indian casino.
Look here for more details.
Fighting Dem Takes on Doolittle
The Union of Grass Valley has an editorial look at the values and positions of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Brown, who is running against John Doolittle in California's Fourth District. Brown is one of about 30 "Fighting Dems," a growing number of veterans, including many who fought in Iraq, who are running for either Congress or the U.S. Senate to bring real change to Washington. Read the whole editorial here.
Revolt of the Elders
Some Republican elders are not happy with the representation, or lack thereof, of 4th District voters by Congressman John Doolittle. The Sacramento Bee reported that they signed a contract to run ads on an electronic billboard at the Roseville Mall informing voters about Doolittle's record. The congressman opposes embryonic stem cell research and voted against benefits for members of the National Guard. The ads also highlighted his association with Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is under investigation for shady dealings with Tom DeLay and other Republican congressmen. According to the Bee,
An independent group organized by Pete McCloskey, a former Republican congressman from the Bay Area and a Doolittle critic, created the ads and signed a one-year $41,500 contract to run the spots on the glittering billboard.
McCloskey's group - a collection of moderate Republicans called Revolt of the Elders - has been targeting the conservative congressman who's represented Placer County since 1990.
The billboard's operator told McCloskey on Thursday that the Roseville Auto Mall Association demanded the spots be dropped. Tom Langeland, owner of Smart Sign Media, said representatives for the auto mall informed him that the spots violated permitted uses for the billboard.
Some inhabitants of the mall and an official of the city of Roseville did not know anything about complaints or ordinance violations.
Note that Congressman Doolittle "represents" El Dorado County and other counties in northeastern California, as well as Placer County.
See the whole story here.
How do you feel about the squelching of legitimate political information in your district?
Social Security Debate
Social Security is a social insurance policy, guaranteed for the elderly by the whole nation. You pay into it, just like a life insurance policy. At term, it pays you back.
Mr. Bush and his allies want to change it into a private investment. Individual investments, especially in the stock and bond markets, are not insurance and are not guaranteed. They are not Social Security. In effect, Bush wants to get rid of the "social" and the "security" in Social Security and replace it with an individual gamble on the financial markets.
Many of Mr. Doolittle's colleagues want to phase out Social Security completely. Is that John Doolittle's intention, too?