As mentioned a couple times on Calitics, Bob Novak is reporting that corrupt con Jerry Lewis may retire in 2008.  Novak may be a douchebag of liberty, but he usually has excellent inside information from the GOP (you know, like who’s a covert CIA agent and who isn’t).  It started me wondering why Lewis would retire at this point, when the investigations into his practices have slowed to a crawl.  Then I remembered this story I read in yesterday’s LA Times:

As Congress investigates whether U.S. attorneys across the nation were fired or forced out for political reasons, the Bush administration appears to be poised to nominate a respected career prosecutor as U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

Thomas O’Brien, 47, the chief of the office’s criminal division, worked for five years in the district attorney’s hard-core gang division before moving to the U.S. attorney’s office.

“He’s probably the most apolitical person selected to that job for some time,” Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said. “He’s an excellent pick. He’s a career, professional prosecutor.”

The position of US Attorney for Los Angeles, which holds jurisdiction over Lewis’ case, has been vacant since Debra Wong Yang left in January to go to Gibson Dunn, a high-powered Republican law firm that is also REPRESENTING Lewis.  O’Brien appears to be an unlikely pick for an ideological White House – he’s competent, apolitical, and a respected prosecutor – but because the Congress is sniffing around all of these US Attorney threads these days, they may have no choice but to hire someone of his stature:

Carl W. Tobias, professor of constitutional law at the University of Richmond, said O’Brien’s nomination would be a healthy sign that the Justice Department is changing its policies.

“My sense of what’s going on is that there is an inclination at the Justice Department to pick these kinds of people to defuse the controversy,” Tobias said. “It seems like it’s going to be much more of a meritocracy.”

And this could be bad news for the thoroughly unmeritorious Lewis.  An independent prosecutor would follow the evidence, and there’s a mountain of it where Lewis is concerned.  He used the Appropriations Committee in the 109th Congress as his own personal earmark factory, steering contracts to clients of connected lobbyist Bill Lowery, who has graciously given half a million dollars to Lewis campaigns over the years.

A guy like this as US Attorney in LA could be Lewis’ worst nightmare:

…O’Brien motivates attorneys to be creative and volunteer for cases. When an assistant U.S. attorney passed out during opening statements last week due to a medical problem, O’Brien took over personally. On Thursday, he was in court on the case.

“He came out with that background as a D.A. where you get a file the day before and go try it,” Carter said.

A hard-charging former D.A. versus Jerry Lewis?  That’s no contest.  Maybe it’s better for him to get out of Washington while the getting’s good, and focus more time and money on saving his own posterior.

Last December I took a look at the potential for a Special Election in CA-41. While that scenario would be the best opportunity to pick up the seat, Democrats would have a strong shot against the embattled congressman. Yet there is a third option, an Open Seat. And GOP insiders on the Hill are floating trial balloons to Bob Novak that Jerry Lewis won’t be running for re-election. I especially enjoyed the context provided:

Lewis is one of at least six Republican House members from California who have faced ethical scrutiny, beginning when Duke Cunningham was sent to prison. Most recently, Rep. Ken Calvert, who was sponsored by Lewis for a coveted Appropriations Committee seat, is under attack. He replaced Rep. John Doolittle, another Californian who resigned from the committee because the Justice Department was investigating him.

The CA GOP has been running a racket and it is finally catching up. And if last night’s blograiser was any indication, the Democratic Party base is pumped.

Any word on potential candidates? Is San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris interested? I’d expect that there should be a lot of chatter following this story.

Look what I found in Red County-San Bernardino, OC Blog‘s sister blog in the Inland Empire:

Will embattled 15-term Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis (CD 41) retire from the United States House of Representatives at the conclusion of the 110th Congress? Longtime Capitol Hill reporter Bob Novak is reporting in the Washington, D.C.-based publication Human Events that “both on Capitol Hill and in California, Republicans say that Rep. Jerry Lewis (R) is unlikely to seek re-election.”

Really? So the man who probably best served “K Street’s Queen of Earmarks” is now stepping down? The sleazy lobbyists might lose their best friend?

Follow me after the flip for more…

So what exactly did Robert Novak have to say about the 41st District? Well, here it is:

Both on Capitol Hill and in California, Republicans say that Rep. Jerry Lewis (R) is unlikely to seek re-election. This despite the fact that Lewis is not currently the target of an inquiry, and there have been no new developments in the ethical allegations against him. Lewis won last year with two-thirds of the vote against a token Democrat. Lewis has not tipped his hand at all, yet talk of potential Republican replacements already abounds. Conservative GOP San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus is said to be interested.

Republicans do not want to see either Lewis or Doolittle resign, because they do not want to spend money now on a special election. The money issue will also loom in the general election of 2008, but unless that election goes as badly for the GOP as last year’s, Republicans can take heart in the fact that none of California’s congressional districts is considered competitive. If there is anywhere you would prefer to have retirements, this is the state.

Wow, so Jerry Lewis is going against the will of fellow Republicans by deciding to retire? But they’re not really worried about losing this seat? Maybe they should be.
Republicans may have a sizable registration edge in the district, but it’s not insurmountable…
Especially if Democrats have a strong candidates, and perhaps they do…

Democratic possibilities for the 41st include downtown San Bernardino lawyer Tim Prince, who has pledged to run for the seat only in the event of a Lewis retirement. Prince’s last stand for elective office was a failed attempt at the mayoralty of the city of San Bernardino.

And CQ seems to be taking him seriously as a threat to the GOP’s possibly tenuous hold on this district, thanks to Lewis and all his scandal.

So would any of these Republicans have to put up a real fight to hold this seat? Perhaps. Look at how Brian Bilbray had to struggle to win in what was supposed to be a “safe Republican” seat. Look at how John Doolittle had to struggle in his “safe seat” last year. And so far, things aren’t looking any better for Republicans today. Maybe they’ll have another Congressional seat about in California, after all.

Thursday:

In a telephone interview Thursday morning, [KFBK radio host Tom] Sullivan said a number of Republicans are eying Doolittle’s seat, he among them.

“Vultures are circling,” Sullivan said. “They are all over the place. There are a number of people who would love to run.”

Among those frequently mentioned are Assemblyman Ted Gaines and former state Sen. Rico Oller, whom [Dan] Lungren beat in the Republican primary for Ose’s seat.

Friday:

Grass-roots conservatives are railing against House Republican leaders for tapping Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) for the appropriations seat vacated by fellow California Republican Rep. John Doolittle after the FBI raided his home in Northern Virginia.

Today:

But I will tell you this — Jerry Lewis SHOULD NOT be in Congress anymore.  This is something that I have said to FR readers before — and I will say it again.  The Republican Party need only look in the mirror if we are unable to 'police ourselves' when it comes to understanding how we could have a majority in both Houses of Congress, and hold the Presidency, and still preside over unprecedented growth in federal government spending.

Is it any wonder the GOP is suffering from an excitement gap?

This is a must see video, with special guest appearances by a number of California Republican Congressman. Four in fact (including the former Congressman from CA-50). It is not suprising — but somewhat shocking — that when the DCCC puts together a video on GOP corruption it is full of Californians.

Following up on dday’s great early look at vulnerable GOP seats, it is clear that California could play a huge role in picking up more seats for Speaker Pelosi. Especially considering that the Culture of Corruption could play a huge role against John Doolittle in CA-04, Jerry Lewis in CA-41, and Gary Miller in CA-42. And who knows who else, corruption doesn’t just happen in swing districts.

So I recommend everyone sign up for the new DCCC Rapid Response Network (I did).

There are no Senate seats up in California in 2008, and no statewide offices up for election, so the biggest seats outside of the Presidency will be in the House of Representatives.  While we’re 18 months out, I thought I’d give a snapshot of what races are most inviting for a Democratic pickup.

I’m going to concern myself solely with pickup opportunities, because the only realistic possibility of a GOP pickup is in CA-11, and I’m confident that Jerry McNerney and his grassroots army can handle whatever’s thrown at him, plus he’ll have the power of incumbency and the focus of the CDP.  There may be some retirements that would make things interesting (Lantos, Stark, Woolsey), but those are very blue areas.  So let’s look at the best opportunities to add to the Democratic majority:

1) CA-04 (Doolittle): The Doolittle watch continues, and what is most clear is that the best thing for California Republicans would be for Doolittle to just go away.  Charlie Brown has a $200,000 CoH advantage and the taint of the intensifying Abramoff scandal won’t be as easy to wash off the second time around.  If it’s a fresh challenger and an open seat, Brown will still have a higher name ID, but it would be more difficult.

2) CA-26 (Dreier): Hekebolos has mentioned David Dreier’s fundraising troubles.  Plus, as a member of the GOP Leadership, he can be very much tied to their failures over the years.  And the Partisan Voting Index (PVI) in the district is only +4 Republican, comparable to McNerney’s district, and has been shrinking over the years.  It’s the third-closest PVI district in the entire state, and yet Dreier is anything but a moderate.  Russ Warner ran in the 2006 primary (losing to 2004 candidate Cynthia Matthews, who then raised almost no money for the general) and will be running again, and appears to have the right makeup to pull off this upset.

3) CA-50 (Bilbray): The replacement for the Duke-Stir has not distinguished himself (does Bilbray live in that district yet?), and Howie Klein, at least, is intrigued by the potential candidacy of Michael Wray, a former Busby campaign worker and rocket scientist.  I think he’d have a somewhat better chance than Francine Busby.  This would be tough, but not a hopeless district.

4) CA-24 (Gallegly): Elton Gallegly maintains that he’s running.  He tried to retire in 2006, and then abruptly returned to the race because California election law mandated that his name would appear on the ballot regardless.  He eventually defeated Jill Martinez with 62% of the vote.  The word is that Martinez is running again.  Ventura County Democrats have done an amazing job turning around voter registration numbers in the region of late, adding to hope that this could be winnable even against the incumbent.  The PVI is R+5.

5) CA-42 (Miller): See above.  Not hopeless but tough.  The fact that it’s more Republican than CA-50 is balanced out by the fact that Gary Miller is a thieving scumbag who is under investigation by the feds.  Unlike last year, there will be a candidate, and the race is definitely on the CDP’s radar screen.  If we win this one, it’ll be a very good year.

6) CA-25 (McKeon): Buck McKeon is always a threat to retire, and this is a R+7 PVI, so it’s not impossible.  And this is one of those seats, in northeastern LA and San Bernardino Counties, that we have to start competing in, because the job growth in the inland areas of Southern California are outstripping the coasts. Robert Rodriguez did a decent job here in 2006 (McKeon won 60%-36%).  I hope he runs again.

7) CA-52 (open seat): The only Republican open seat to date, but it’s almost not open at all, because Duncan Hunter is trying to give the seat to his son, also named Duncan Hunter, and he’s likely to be fighting in Iraq during the election.  Kind of hard to compete against someone with that circumstance.

8) CA-45 (Bono): David Roth raised a decent enough amount of money in 2006 to at least make Mary Bono sweat.  The PVI is only R+3.  But it was one of the lowest-turnout races in the entire state.  If we can excite people out in the desert, ya never know.

9) CA-41 (Lewis): The Jerry Lewis investigation has gone cold, but the fact that Debra Yang appears to have been bought off the probe by the law firm representing Lewis means that the scandal might have a different set of legs.  And again, this is a part of Southern California where we need to have a presence; eventually there will be more and more people in this region, and probably more seats.  And the fact that they are likely to be coming from liberal Los Angeles means it’s an opportunity to get some infrastructure going.

10) CA-44 (Calvert): This district has actually less of a PVI (R+6) than CA-25.  And Calvert has some earmark and lobbying problems.  And the guy was caught with a prostitute in his car back in 1993.  So the atmospherics are there.  But Democrats have done little in this district.  His challenger last year raised 8 grand.  Total.  And he STILL got 38% of the vote!  It’s time to give this guy a real challenge.

Realistically, 2 pickups would be a really good tally; 3 would be amazing.  But the goal should be getting some of these incumbents to around 55%.

(oops – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

My thoughts on this issue over the flip…One more thing, if you give now to Charlie Brown, who will defeat John Doolittle in 2008, he’ll give 10% of every donation to veterans in need:

Click Here to support a real champion for our troops and our veterans-between now and March 31st, 10% of each online contribution to Charlie Brown for Congress will be donated to area outreach programs that help veterans in need get back on their feet.

Dirtiest duo, you ask? Well, there is so much competition. You have Arnold and his incessant fundraising (“I’m talking to them…not the other way around”), Brian Bilbray (“Yes, I live with my mother, not in Virginia with my wife and kids.”), and so many more choices.  But I’m talking about Jerry Lewis (R-San Bernadino Cty) and John Doolittle(R-Roseville).  These are California’s two Republicans on the Appropriations Committee and between the two of them, their legal defense bills must be astounding.

But what else do they have in common, I mean, besides the fact that they are both corrupt? Well, they both voted to continue to send troops to Iraq before they’re combat ready and fully equipped. From Kagro X at dKos:

Then you tell me why Republicans continue to vote unanimously to send unarmored, untrained, unrested (and even, Salon and the Hartford Courant tell us, wounded and mentally unstable) troops to Iraq.

In a recent vote, the Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee unanimously opposed requiring that the troops sent to Iraq be properly prepared for their mission and protected with armor. Again.

So, not only are they personally corrupt, they are morally bankrupt.  Good work, California GOP. 

Kagro X at the great Orange behemoth wrote a great post yesterday about House Appropriations Committee members voting to continue to send our troops over to Iraq without the proper equipment, body armor, rest times, and training.  Whatever your feelings about the Iraq supplemental bill (I hate that it doesn’t go far enough in enforcement of a deadline, and it’s larded up with unrelated pork, but other than that…), any member of Congress dumb enough to let our soldiers go to war without everything they need for battle ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Under instructions from the National Republican Committee, George Allen, Conrad Burns, Rick Santorum, Jim Talent and others dutifully complied with their orders: say you support the troops, but vote to kill them.

This cold-blooded political manipulation cost thousands of brave Americans their lives over the course of four years, but only when the truth came to light did it cost these Republican traitors their jobs. Maybe it should have cost them much, much more, but the political system only gives us one option: dump politicians who vote to kill American troops.

We have two California Representatives who voted to put American lives in danger.  There are about 10,000 reasons to dump Jerry Lewis and John Doolittle, but this is the most stark one.  They both voted against giving our troops the body armor and equipment and rest and training they need before being shipped to Iraq.

I agree with Howie Klein:

There are no elected members of either house of Congress as dangerous to our country’s safety and security as John Doolittle and Jerry Lewis.

Not only have both of these bloodsuckers drained the national treasury to give their defense contractor and lobbyist friends precious booty, they have talked about patriotism incessantly, yet committed the mostm unpatriotic act you can possibly commit, signing the death warrants of potentially thousands of Americans.

We have a great challenger to John Doolittle in Lt. Col. (Ret.) Charlie Brown, who came within a hair’s breadth of defeating Doolittle last year.  Reportedly, Tim Price may challenge Jerry Lewis in CA-41; he’s committed to running if there’s a special election to replace Lewis, should he be indicted (a possibility with both of these sorry excuses for public officials).  We need to encourage Price to run and we need to support Charlie Brown, so we can rid this Congress of members who show nothing but contempt for our men and women in uniform.

Over where I normally hang my hat I’ve been pretty intently following the Case of the Purged Prosecutors, the political firings of 8 US Attorneys by the Justice Department, which will reach a fever pitch tomorrow when many of the fired attorneys testify before Congress.  But Laura Rozen has an interesting story about the 9th US Attorney who left her job this year, the one who wasn’t fired:

Former Los Angeles US attorney Debra Wong Yang, who had been heading up the investigation into former Appropriations committee chairman Jerry Lewis. And where did Yang go on January 1st? To the law firm representing Lewis.

For those just joining us, the Jerry Lewis investigation is huge and far-reaching.  He basically turned the House Appropriation Committee under his chairmanship into a personal earmark factory.  The list of questionable dealings is long and luminous.  Lewis has already spent $900,000 in legal fees and hasn’t even been indicted yet.

Rozen continues:

The fact that Yang resigned her office November 10 — just after the elections – is interesting. It’s no secret that the decision to retire and a decision informed by knowledge one is going to be dismissed are sometimes the same thing. Is Yang the exception that proves the rule, or no exception at all? Among the powerful partners at Gibson Dunn, the firm that offered Yang a golden parachute, you will remember, is Theodore Olsen, the Bush White House former solicitor general. The Lewis investigation is of course the big enchilada, the one that would really hurt, and not just Lewis. Will Congress want to hear from Yang as well?

I hope they would, and I would suggest to Sen. Feinstein, a leader on this issue, that she look into what happened in her home state with respect to Debra Wong Yang.