Who is going to run against Dan Lungren? n-t

[Ernesto]

[catabryna]

1. Speaking of Lungren...

What can you folks tell me about him?

I'm in Texas (Austin), but am moving home to California in a couple of months. I will be in CD3 in Calaveras County and am hoping to have more of an opportunity to get involved than I do right now. You can get sanitized information on the internet, but I know you DU folks probably have much better information than I can get from a resume of the man.

[Ernesto]

2. hi catabryna

As near as I can tell, he is your basic repuke retread.... Been thrashing around in Ca politics his whole life. A 1st termer in the house after operating in the state government for years.
I would suggest trying SacBee. com archives for political info around the state & especially the Sacto area.
Good Luck!

[robertarctor]

3. Lungren used to represent Long Beach in the House

Then he was elected Attorney General, and from there, he ran for Governor and got his ass handed to him by Gray Davis in 1998. Then he moved to Washington D.C. to work as a lobbyist, until Tom DeLay recruited him to run for the retiring Doug Ose's seat in the House, a reliably Republican district in what's now one of the reddest parts of California—the eastern Sacramento County suburbs (Fair Oaks, Folsom, Orangevale, Rancho Murieta, etc.) and some foothill and mountain counties (El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Alpine, etc.). After a bloody three-way primary fight against Ose's sister Mary and California Lege wingnut Rico Oller, Lungren prevailed. In Lungren's district, like in the neighboring one that keeps sending John Doolittle to the House, the general election is merely a formality.

Placer and El Dorado Counties are to California what Orange and San Diego Counties used to be—hardcore Gooper country.

[Ernesto]

4. Thanks for the bio, r.......

Are you saying tha Lungren is un-beatable?

[Semi_subversive]

5. I don't think he's unbeatable

He had a lot better name recognition than Gabe Castillo. Hopefully we can find someone with similar recognition. Maybe they'll be able to use his stance on Schiavo against him. I admit, our district does have a tendency to vote repub, but usually it's for someone much more moderate. That, he isn't.

[robertarctor]

6. I don't think he's unbeatable, either.

First, Lungren's a carpetbagger from SoCal; he doesn't really care about foothill and mountain issues. In a way, it's better to have to run against him, because he has a long track record in state and national politics, than against a foothill redneck like Rico Oller, who's an El Dorado county version of Richard Pombo, and who appeals more to the Gold Rush-country Clamper types.

Dunno if wrapping Tom DeLay around Lungren will work, but it might. It depends on how well the War and Feudalism Party is doing in November, 2006.

As far as Gabe Castillo goes, I thought he was a pretty good candidate, although he'd probably do better in a less-redneck and more urban Congressional district, like the one Pombo represents. Castillo should have better name recognition next time out, though.

[catabryna]

7. Thank you all

for the information. I've started reading the California forum as a good supplement to my conversations with my wonderful, uber-liberal, parents in San Francisco! Looks like I'll have a good political cause to get me jump-started in the community. Though, I must admit that I'll miss having a hand in bringing DeLay down...

Again, thanks again.

[robertarctor]

8. Cool

And if you can't work to bring doiwn DeLay, you could work to get rid of Lungren, a Beltway suit if there ever was one. Plus he's pals with DeLay.

[Ernesto]

9. Defeating lungren?

Heck that's exactly why I started this gal-durned thread. I'm ready for some local action. We got enough on these bastards, so let's git after it!

[catabryna]

10. Well,

give me a few months and I'll be home!