When last seen on the House floor, Rep. Pete McCloskey could be found demanding the impeachment of President Nixon, helping write the Endangered Species Act and denouncing the Vietnam War.
It’s been a few years since the Californian roamed the arena with his pride of Republican liberal lions, espousing “good government” and balanced budgets along with a strict diet of environmental regulation.
He long ago traded his seat for his family’s Merced farm, and at 78, his distinctive mane of thick black hair is now gray. Yet Mr. McCloskey is back, 23 years after retiring from electoral politics, for one last fight.
Two weeks ago, he announced he would challenge seven-term Rep. Richard W. Pombo for the Republican nomination in California’s 11th congressional district. Driving the decision was the ethics issue, notably Mr. Pombo’s role in the investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and campaign donations tied to lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
“The lobbying, the ethics investigation — the whole thing has really begun to smell,” said Mr. McCloskey in a telephone interview. “I’d like to see the Republican Party go back to its traditional values of fiscal responsibility, a strong defense, smaller government and ethical standards.”
Mr. McCloskey began criticizing the House leadership last year as leader of the Revolt of the Elders, a cadre of former Republican lawmakers who wrote to House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois urging him to clean up the body’s ethics.
The elders then began seeking candidates to run against the “DeLay Republicans.”
They also are supporting Auburn Mayor Mike Holmes, who’s challenging Rep. John T. Doolittle of California’s nearby 4th District in the Republican primary, but when no candidate could be found to take on Mr. Pombo, Mr. McCloskey stepped in.
Republican politicos met his announcement with skepticism, saying the district runs too red for Mr. McCloskey’s brand of blue-state Republicanism.
“He’ll need earmuffs in hell if he gets through the primary,” said Sacramento Republican political consultant Ray McNally. “There are some moderate Republicans over the mountains outside the Central Valley, but when they take a look at his record, I’d be surprised if they support him.”
That record includes some easy targets, notably Mr. McCloskey’s regular endorsement of Democratic candidates, including Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race. Then there’s the residency issue: His farm lies about 90 miles outside the district, a problem he solved by renting an apartment in Lodi.
A rancher with staunchly conservative views, Mr. Pombo, 45, has never been popular with the state’s liberal elite. His efforts to make the Endangered Species Act more responsive to economic concerns and scientific data have made him Public Enemy No. 1 to environmental groups.
“From his seat as chairman of the Resources Committee, Pombo, a rancher and property-rights activist, has launched an all-out assault on the nation’s environmental laws,” said the San Jose Mercury News in an editorial praising Mr. McCloskey.
The Pombo campaign argues that Mr. McCloskey’s views on the environment are as outdated as his ties. Mr. Pombo has refused to debate Mr. McCloskey. The campaign also said Mr. Pombo gave Mr. Abramoff’s $7,000 donation to a local Indian youth group as soon as he knew about it.
“He operates out of a playbook from the ’70s. Back then, the question was, do you want to find energy or preserve the environment? Well, that’s not where the debate is today,” said Pombo campaign consultant Wayne Johnson. “Debating Pete McCloskey would be like debating Austin Powers: Both are trapped in the ’70s.”
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