CA-11: The Royal Flush

Jerry McNerney has now earned endorsements from every major paper that serves his district, not to mention the LA Times and the NY Times. Because the district is so crazily drawn, that's actually quite a few papers. And the final piece in the puzzle comes from The Sacramento Bee:

McNerney is a political neophyte, a Ph.D. engineer who attended West Point, once worked at Sandia National Laboratories and now owns a wind power company. He wants to develop alternative energy to create power and jobs. Wonkish and facing a charisma deficit, he has so far eschewed big corporate contributions -- meaning he will be thoroughly outspent.

This, like any election with an incumbent, is a referendum. While Pombo has been effective in a few high-profile issues -- such as helping to broker a settlement on rewatering the San Joaquin River -- he has worked even harder for a host of special interests. He is at the diseased heart of the quid-pro-quo process that defines Washington politics today. To send him back to the Capitol endorses a system we can no longer tolerate.

And while his strident environmental views have caused us concern in the past, the idea he floated this past term about selling off parks was over the top. It's just one of many such ideas.

Anyone concerned about the sustainabiliity of this planet should cheer at this news and do whatever is needed to help Jerry McNerney. Pombo is the poster child for anti-environmentalist ideas like trying to overturn the Endangered Species Act, but also blatantly anti-capitalist ideas like giving away natural resources to giant oil companies:

In a little-noticed provision of the much- reviled Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act — which the House passed in June and the Senate will take up when Congress returns — Mr. Pombo lowered the royalty rate for oil shale from 12.5 percent to 1 percent. Should the day arrive when the price of shale oil becomes competitive, this could turn out to be an extraordinary giveaway of federal revenue (most oil shale lies under federal land) and a huge incentive to wreak environmental damage.

None of this is surprising. Mr. Pombo, who is chairman of the House Resources Committee and is facing a tight race for re-election, has been well- financed by oil and gas producers. He has done his best to give away public resources and throw away prudent restraints on energy exploration.

We believe that this country must pursue energy independence. But unlike Mr. Pombo, we believe that there is a vibrant new economy to be found in conservation and that is where our future lies. When we try to envision the America that Mr. Pombo has mapped out for us, all we can see is a nation committed to devouring itself, one barrel of oil at a time.

First of all, call your Senator, and make sure that royalty rate is restored. Second, make sure that Rochard Pombo never has a chance to vote on the final bill by ensuring he will not return to Washington.