Are you a good man, Charlie Brown?

Today I got to thinking about this coming Fall's election. Now, that'll be a gubernatorial election for us Californians, and though Angelides is already running a substantial campaign, I think Arnold's reformed policies will net him another victory. But I'm not really that concerned about the gubernatorial race - it's odd how at ease some of us lefties are with Republican governors (see Massachusettes with Romney). But what I am concerned with in this election is the House seats. And I'm concerned in a big way. Changing the face of the legislature will go a long way in terms of steering this big, slow, and stupid ship back onto course. And it's the only ground on which any gains can be made, what with Bush having another three years as a lame duck, and the rest of the Supreme Court appearing rather healthy...

I decided to look up the candidates for my own district, California's fourth. This district, stretching from the affluent, commuter-based suburbs of Roseville and Rocklin (both heavily Republican), up to the Oregon border in bass-ackwards Modoc County. Aside from Oroville, Susanville, and the towns of Nevada County, there's not much in that swathe of land aside from a SETI reasearch facility, a lot of ranch land, and a rather good meadery. According to one source, this is the sixth most Republican district in California. It is "Red California" - the affluent white-flighters and the good rural folk (who the Dems have done a damn good job of outright ignoring for decades...) It's a helluva district for a Dem to try for, and it's exactly the kind of district the cancerous DC Dem establishment has chosen to ignore and/or throw. And it's exactly the kind of district I think the Dems should start fighting for.

So, anyway, the current Democratic cantidates for CA-04? Well, there's this woman, Lisa Rea, who makes me want to run screaming. Exactly the kind of unfocused, mildly batty, and downright uninspiring candidate that excells at losing in Red districts. An example of her half-baked and oh-so-strangely strategized policies?

"'We need to hold criminals accountable to their victims,' she said, noting her program goes beyond financial restitution. Criminals need to face their victims, apologize for their misdeeds and make right, she said. As an example, Rea said a person convicted of graffiti might be required to actually paint over the graffiti he painted."

Hrmm. That's an odd stance, seeing that it's standard practice with graffiti to A. photograph it for evidence and then B. paint over it immediately so as to deny the perpetrator an audience for their crime. What's up next for the first contender? Cue the pandering to the senior vote:

"Rea strongly believes in honoring 'our parents.' 'I don't think the lives of our seniors are well respected or represented,' she said. 'I want to reach out to the seniors in the region.'"

The lives of "our seniors" aren't well represented? Senior citizens are one of the most mobilized voting groups out there! Politicians pander left and right to seniors! Those who aren't represented are the young folk. The twenty-somethings struggling to establish careers and unable to buy houses due to a rampant, intetest-rate induced bubble.

Anyway, enough with her. I shouldn't be too concerned about Rea, as I'm certain she'll be soundly stomped in the primary by contender number two, Charlie Brown. An Air Force veteran and Acadamey grad, he's recieved some good buzz from Kos as a "Fighting Dem," a strategy of which I don't wholly approve (remember how well Clark did?) but I suppose Brown's military credentials could be quite an asset in this district. Reading over his site, I'm fairly pleased with what I see. Sound policy stances, general political finesse. And Brown might well have enough charisma to fare well in CA-04. Is he the "real thing?" I don't know. Does he have a chance of winning against entrenched, Abramoff-linked Republican heavyweight Doolittle in a solidly Red district? More of a chance than I'd ever expected to see. So for now I'm throwing my support behind Brown, hence the new banner below. As the election picks up, and I learn more about him, I hope he continues to prove himself "a good man."