Richard Pombo Takes a Pounding
Let's take a moment to remember California Congressman Richard Pombo, a true nut and total crook who has soiled everything he's touched for seven long horrific terms in the House.
Pombo's 11th District has gone from Mostly Farms to Endless Tract Homes in those 14 years, while he has worked tirelessly to sell off national parks, drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, trash the Endangered Species Act and peddle his fat ass to Abramoff and the Indian Casinos. And he chaired the House Resources Committee, so his environmental threats weren't exactly idle ones.
With 98% reporting, an out-of-nowhere Dem named Jerry McNerney beat Pombo 53-47. Pombo's equally crooked neighbor in the sprawling rural District 4, John Doolittle, managed to hang onto that very conservative chunk of northeastern California only because the Libertarian took 10,600 votes. So Doolittle -- considered the most crooked congressman after Tom DeLay -- won 49-46 against Dem Charlie Brown.
Challenger defeats Pombo in a stunner [SF Gate]