John Doolittle Looks to Win Back Skeptics
John Doolittle looks to win back skeptics
Congressman John Doolittle hit the road Wednesday with a stop in South Lake Tahoe.
Before town hall meetings in Placerville and Orangevale, Doolittle, R-Roseville, gave an hour to the Tahoe Daily Tribune to air his thoughts on an array of issues including November's election he narrowly won, the war in Iraq, circulating scandals and hydrogen cars.
The visit was part of a plan to be more open to the press and his constituents. The 3 percentage point victory over Democratic challenger Charlie Brown may have humbled the eight-term congressman, who says he committed to accessibility by creating satellite offices in the 4th District of California, holding weekly press conferences and having citizen advisory committees.
November's election and 2008
Doolittle, 56, said he hoped, and thought, he would win a majority of the vote against Brown. He described the political culture in the November election as the "perfect storm" for Republicans to be in rocky waters.
"Our base was somewhat upset at the way things were going," he said. "The other side was extremely activated over the Democrats' theme of the culture of corruption and the unsettledness of the Iraq situation."
Doolittle is not considering a run for another office, but said he will seek re-election in 2008. It could be a rematch with Brown, who filed with the Federal Election Commission last month to raise money and test support for a repeat bid.
"What we're seeing and hearing are very positive things," said Todd Stenhouse, Brown's spokesman.
Doolittle likes his chances, although he expects a "vigorous challenge." He cited his past, where repeat challengers fared worse. In addition, 2008 is a presidential year and he believes Hillary Clinton will get the nod for the Democratic nominee.
"That will be the greatest Republican get-out-the vote effort that people will ever have seen," Doolittle said.
Yet he did say Clinton has a chance to win. "That can happen," he said.
As for Republican candidates, Doolittle didn't pull punches.
"Well it's the weakest field of candidates on the Republican side in my lifetime. ... None of them would be a Ronald Reagan Republican."
The Iraq war
Doolittle said he wouldn't change his vote to invade Iraq if he knew what he knows now. He views Saddam Hussein as promoting instability, terrorism, wars and suicide bombers.
"He needed to be removed," Doolittle said. "Obviously we underestimated how it would go in Iraq. We made some terrible mistakes."
Those mistakes, Doolittle said, included dismantling the country's army, a lack of a border patrol and a nonexistent police.
A slow withdrawal or pullout of American troops would create a vacuum that could result in sectarian violence spilling into other countries, he said.
He backs the addition of troops planned by President George Bush but is unsure how to fix the problem.
"This is either going to succeed or fail and we'll know in a matter of months, not years ... I don't have a good answer on this. We're in unchartered territory now."
The future of Iraq lies with its citizens while the role of Americans should be advisors and trainers.
"We cannot, as our national interest, just pull out of Iraq and just let the whole Middle East fall apart," he said.
A troop withdrawal could also raise gas prices. Fuel is one of the topics Doolittle likes to talk about.
Alternative fuels
Although he drives a Toyota Highlander hybrid, Doolittle doesn't subscribe to global warming. The facts aren't there, he said, on whether climate change is because of humans or if the world is indeed warming.
"As soon as it's established that it's a fact, that it's occurring and mankind is the cause then we'll deal with it," he said.
Instead, the hybrid he drives underscores Doolittle's stance the United States is too dependent on foreign oil thus is a national security issue. He is behind a push for hydrogen-fueled cars with a test area being in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
He seems frustrated the cars aren't available yet although the fuel is ready.
Ties to scandals
Last week Brent Wilkes, was indicted by a grand jury on corruption charges tied to former San Diego-area Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Doolittle helped Wilkes, a defense contractor, land a $37 million contract, and is a close friend and political supporter of Doolittle.
"I probably interacted with Wilkes maybe a half a dozen times over the years ... If he is leading a double life, which I know occasionally happens, I never picked up any indication that this was a bad man. My personal experience was very good with Brent Wilkes is all I'm saying."
Doolittle also owes his wife, Julie, $137,000 in fundraising commissions from November's re-election campaign, according to his latest federal campaign finance report reported by the Associated Press.
Julie Doolittle received a 15 percent commission on every donation raised - creating the impression that campaign donations given to John Doolittle directly benefited his household, according to the AP.
"I never felt it was improper in any way and I still feel that way but I know there is a certain segment of my constituents that disagree with me so we just have that disagreement," Doolittle said.
"However, we announced that she's not going to continue to do the fundraising for our campaign in part because of the discomfort for some of the people I represent," he added.
With ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Doolittle is facing allegations of wrongdoing himself. He said he has not been interviewed by the FBI or Department of Justice. He blamed a bias press.
"I'm not about to be indicted," he said. "In fact, I will predict I will not be indicted because I have not done anything to be indicted for."
On the road
His town hall meetings and openness with the press isn't a campaign move for 2008, Doolittle said. He wants to be more accessible. Rich Meagher, chair of the El Dorado County Democratic Central Committee, believes Doolittle is fueled by a different motive.
"I think he's scared," Meagher said. "We scared him quite a bit."
Perhaps Doolittle was scared, or at least shaken, and realized he needed more of a connection to voters.
"The truth of the matter is this is a big district," he said. "People don't have very much of a direct interface with someone representing the government and that's my job and I decided I needed to be more directly available."
http://doolittle.house.gov/news/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=58765