Doolittle investigation sparks turmoil in party

In his home county, where Rep. John Doolittle built a potent political machine and inspired a legion of intensely loyal followers, the political fissures are frustrating his base.

As the embattled congressman fends off a Justice Department investigation into his ties with disgraced Washington, D.C., lobbyist Jack Abramoff, his supporters at home are taking aim at Republican challengers and would-be defectors.

In an intense Oct. 10 session, the Placer County Republican Central Committee "indefinitely" postponed a vote to censure Roseville Assemblyman Ted Gaines for forming a campaign committee to consider a run against Doolittle. That was only part of an unfolding local political drama.

Doolittle supporters – led by prominent GOP anti-tax activist Lew Uhler – say they are working to organize a media event demanding that federal prosecutors either charge the congressman or clear his name.

"After three years of investigation, if they haven't uncovered something that is chargeable, they should abandon this investigation and remove the cloud they've created over a very fine human being," Uhler declared.

Meanwhile, GOP congressional candidate Eric Egland, an Air Force reservist and Iraq War military intelligence contractor who appeared in Doolittle's campaign commercials last year, issued a news release saying Republicans are "defecting" from the "scandal-plagued incumbent."

And Republican political consultant Jeff Flint, a Placer County resident and a friend of Gaines who hasn't endorsed a candidate, says Doolittle must go.

"I don't think we owe John Doolittle the right to run and lose. That's not acceptable to me," Flint said. "It's the most conservative district in the state. The only Republican who can lose it is John Doolittle, and he needs to step aside."

Doolittle, who hadn't failed to win re-election with less than 60 percent of the vote in 14 years, narrowly defeated Democrat Charlie Brown, 49 percent to 46 percent, in 2006.

Since then, the FBI has raided Doolittle's Virginia home and issued subpoenas to Doolittle and five staff members in a probe of the congressman and his wife, Julie – whose business was hired by Abramoff.

But his troubles have seemed to embolden his ardent supporters, who dominate powerful Republican Party committees in Placer and El Dorado counties.

"We very much do have a Doolittle loyalist committee," said Placer County Republican Chairman Tom Hudson after the local GOP central committee debated whether to censure Gaines for publicly contemplating a run against Doolittle.

The censure motion was led by Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz, who said he was furious that "the assemblyman smells blood and wants to get the upper hand on getting the seat" held by Doolittle.

Kranz said he was also irked that Gaines seemed to be turning on a man who helped get him elected to the Assembly.

In August, Gaines announced he was exploring a run for the Doolittle seat because he feared voters have "lost faith" in the congressman's ability to lead.

Gaines said last week that he is raising money while withholding a decision to enter the race. "If I truly believe it's the right thing to do, I'll go ahead and do it," he said.

Gaines charged that the censure motion against him "was a personal attack by just a couple of individuals that were really focusing on the wrong subject."

Gaines, a colleague of Kranz on the Placer County Board of Supervisors, earlier declined Kranz's invitation to endorse him for run for an Assembly seat being vacated by Rick Keene, R-Chico, in 2008.

Kranz, who has since decided to seek re-election as supervisor, said he was "unhappy – there's absolutely no doubt" about getting a cold shoulder from Gaines. But he said it wasn't a factor in his censure resolution.

In a teleconference with reporters, Doolittle said Kranz is "a loyal friend and an outstanding public servant." The congressman said he had nothing to do with the effort to censure Gaines.

Doolittle said he was determined to run for re-election and vowed to triumph over detractors making "a real concerted effort ... to drive me out. If I am so weak and ineffective, they should be able to beat me with no problem. But they know I have deep and wide support in the district."

Among those supporters is Aaron Park, a Roseville insurance broker and GOP activist who writes an Internet blog attacking Egland as "Eric Kerry- Egland," a reference to former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Meanwhile, a renegade Web site recently appeared with a photo of Egland that morphs into Kerry.

"I actually supported John Doolittle before I ran against him," the site declared in a parody of Kerry's quote on funding for the Iraq War.

"I'm being blamed for it, credited for it, whatever you want to call it," said Park, who declined to say whether he created the site.

Egland, who calls himself "the only true conservative in the race," said he decided to run because he came to believe that Doolittle's legal problems "are much more serious than he led us to believe."

Doolittle, who also faces an election challenge from former Auburn mayor Mike Holmes, lost a key supporter in August when ex-Placer GOP chairman Ken Campbell charged that Doolittle betrayed his conservative roots by voting for "wasteful pork projects."

Steven Arreguin, a Lincoln native and former Campbell aide, recently formed a Web site – MoveAheadPlacerCounty.com – that asked voters to sign a "plebiscite" urging Doolittle not to seek re-election.

No such sentiments are shared by the neighboring El Dorado County Republican Central Committee. It recently voted 26-0 "in total support" of Doolittle pursuing another term, said committee member John Stelzmiller.

Unlike the Placer County committee, the El Dorado group didn't consider any censure motion or sanctions against would-be Doolittle challengers. Stelzmiller said he wasn't offended by other Republicans running.

"I think that's just normal. It's part of the system," he said. "But Placer has a little bit of internal combustion here and there."

About the writer:

• The Bee's Peter Hecht can be reached at (916) 326-5539 or phecht@sacbee.com.