Friday Melange — Sunday Version

SNTP just received this press release from the Jerry McNerney campaign:

Today Michael J. Fox strongly endorsed Democratic Congressional candidate Jerry McNerney. As a vocal proponent of medical research, Fox is supporting candidates who support all forms of stem cell research in races where their opponents simply do not.

"America is about hope, about promise, about always moving forward, and we deserve leaders who are willing to deliver that hope to their constituents," Fox stated. [...]

"I enthusiastically support and endorse Jerry McNerney for Congress. By supporting stem cell research, Jerry McNerney puts America on a path that speaks to who we are as a nation," Fox concluded.

Richard Pombo is opposed to stem cell research and has consistently voted against it.


The SF Chronicle is reporting that Arnold Schwarzenegger, at a recent campaign appearance in Pleasanton, refused to support Richard Pombo.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, appearing at a campaign event in Pleasanton, carefully side-stepped questions about whether he supported Republican congressman Richard Pombo.

Pombo is locked in a neck-and-neck race against Democratic challenger Jerry McNerney. The outcome of the contest in the 11th congressional district could help determine whether Democrats gain the majority in Congress.

Pombo's district includes Pleasanton, but when asked by reporters Schwarzenegger would not discuss the race.

Meanwhile, the Stockton Record recently supported Richard Pombo in what is quite possibly one of the lamest editorial endorsements EVER, entitled “Pombo Should Be Re-elected, But Needs To Change.” Well, it turns out the Record has taken a lot of abuse from its readership for that lapse in judgment. In today’s edition, under the headline Endorsement Doesn't Get Endorsed, Stockton Record readers sounded off. Here’s a sample letter:

The rationale for The Record's endorsement of Richard Pombo was so convoluted it defied reason. To endorse a man on the mere hope he'll change his ways is ludicrous.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Other newspapers have declared it's time for Pombo to go.

The Record should acknowledge we have a breath of fresh air in Jerry McNerney, who would bring honesty, integrity and accountability back to Washington.

Carol A. Holman
Stockton

At yesterday’s Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund “Day of Action,” Jennifer Garner appeared and spoke out on the race in CA-11. Ben Affleck was ill and didn’t show up. But the AP had a writer there who reported on Garner’s speech:

Garner criticized Pombo's push for more domestic oil drilling, including in Alaska and offshore, while serving as chairman of the House Resources Committee. Pombo has taken contributions from oil companies but denies the money influences his votes.

Pombo also is a threat to wildlife, Garner said. The congressman, who is from a San Joaquin Valley ranching family, has spent years trying to rewrite the Endangered Species Act to make it more friendly to land owners.

"His stubbornness, arrogance and ignorance are a threat to our survival," Garner said.

After the speeches, 350 volunteers joined Garner in canvassing, and together they knocked on 17,000 doors in the Tri-Valley.

Also making an appearance at yesterday’s Defenders event was a float depicting Pombo as George Bush’s “Main Squeeze.” Modeled after the infamous “Kiss” float that has dogged Joe Lieberman throughout his campaign in Connecticut, this one seeks to immortalize this special moment that was shared by Bush and Pombo.


A tip of the hat to The Hollywood Liberal for the “Main Squeeze” photo.


The Nation today reported on the unhappy situation Laura Bush finds herself in these days:

These cannot be happy days for the First Lady, who spent the day before her 60th birthday on Saturday in the political purgatory that had to make her wonder about the compromises she has made in her life. […]

Watching Laura Bush go through the motions of supporting some of the most disreputable political bagmen of the age has been this election year's least attractive experience, and on Friday things turned downright ugly — Pombo ugly.

In this northern California suburb, the First Lady gripped a podium and squeezing out a pained smile as she discussed the dubious merits of seven-term U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, a Republican congressman who is so wrong on the issues and so ethically-compromised that, even in a district tailor-made to reelect Republicans, he is having trouble closing the deal. […]

It was Laura Bush's job — as the only prominent member of the Bush administration who is welcome in California this year — to try and stop the bleeding from the base. So she came to Pleasanton to try and lure traditional Republican voters back in the fold. To do so, she had to praise Pombo as a good man and a great congressman — statements that the First Lady is smart enough to recognize as, well, lies.

The poor woman actually claimed with a straight face that, "U.S. Rep. Pombo is an enthusiastic steward of our country's natural resources. Because of his leadership, wildlife, property and people will be protected from dangerous flooding." As lies go, that's a pretty big one, since Pombo, a supporter of selling public lands to mining interests and a passionate advocate for opening up federal wildlife reserves for oil drilling is running for reelection with the support of oil, gas and timber companies and with the opposition of every major environmental, conservation and wildlife protection group in the country.

Even the über-conservative Flash Report has gotten into the action, literally begging its readers to come out and do Get Out The Vote for Richard Pombo. Here’s the Republican spin on GOTV in CA-11:

While the Pombo team is well known for its attention to ground and ability to turn out the vote, McNerney is counting on bussing [sic] in an army from Berkeley, Oakland, Palo Alto and even from as far away as Los Angeles to steal votes on Election Day. Every single vote will matter coming down the stretch.

And with that, it’s time to launch into the drill: it’s all GOTV, all the time, from now until Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. Phone banking will be continuous from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and you can even phone from the convenience of your own home. Canvassing will be continuous during daylight hours. You can join with Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, Ocean Champions in the Tri-Valley or, better yet, go out to San Joaquin County (Lodi, Stockton, Manteca, Tracy) with the Jerry McNerney campaign. Here we are two days out, and this race is neck-and-neck, too close to call. We’ve all worked incredibly hard to get to this point. Please don’t let up now.

Tags: CA-11, Jerry McNerney, Richard Pombo, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jennifer Garner, Laura Bush, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, Pombo In Their Pocket, Ocean Champions