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[SOURCE: Harper's]

By Ken Silverstein

Here’s a lovely nugget from the fed’s indictment of Kevin Ring, the former aide to California Congressman John Doolittle who after becoming a lobbyist worked closely with Jack Abramoff. Ring was arrested yesterday “on conspiracy, fraud and obstruction-of-justice charges in connection with his alleged role in a four-year scheme to lavish tickets and trips on lawmakers and government officials in return for help for his clients.”

According to the indictment, in which Doolittle appears to be identified as “Representative 5″:

On or about September 16, 2002, defendant RING sent an email to Abramoff in which he reported that Representative 5’s Legislative Director was complaining that he was in a suite at which alcohol was unavailable and was “in a really low box in the end zone. View is obviously not very good.” Defendant RING asked whether that was “a mistake.”

On or about February 19, 2003, defendant RING sent an email to Representative 5’s Legislative Director in which he stated, “[I] also think we should discuss a [municipal client’s] post office soon. [T]hey didn’t do what they said they would.”

On or about March 7, 2003, after Representative 5’s Legislative Director had asked defendant RING for tickets to the first NFL game of the season and promised that he would never ask for anything again, defendant RING forwarded the email to Abramoff, stating, “So much for not asking for tix. . . . [Representative5]’s LD is looking for 2 tix for the Skins-Jets game.”

On or about March 13, 2003, defendant RING sent an email to Representative 5’s Legislative Director in which defendant RING submitted an earmark request for a client’s “interchange project.”

Popularity: 2% [?]

[SOURCE: Charlie Brown For Congress @ Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 1:20 PM]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 19, 2008

CONTACT: Todd Stenhouse, 916-397-1131, toddstenhouse@comcast.net

BROWN CHALLENGES McCLINTOCK TO FOUR DEBATES IN CA 04

Offering more than “empty partisan sound bytes,” Brown Proposes 3 Subject Specific, Moderated Panels/Town Hall Forums

Roseville: The Charlie Brown for Congress campaign today challenged Southern California State Senator Tom McClintock to a series of four debates in the race for the 4^th Congressional District.

“This is indeed a change election in CA 04,” Brown said.  “And the first change we are going to make is to open up the process so that every voter can compare and contrast the candidates who purport to represent them.  For 16 years, John Doolittle denied voters that opportunity.”

Under Brown’s proposal, the debates would occur weekly beginning on October 8th–each featuring a 90 minute, moderated panel or town-hall format, leveraging all forms of media (tv, radio, internet) to reach all corners of the 17,000 Square Mile 4^th District.

“This race is shaping up to be among the most closely watched in America this year,” said Brown Campaign Manager Todd Stenhouse.  “We are committed to partnering with community organizations and media outlets across the Sacramento, Chico, and Reno markets to ensure every voter is able to access every debate.”

Brown has proposed that the first three focus on specific policy areas—National Security, The Economy, and one on other Domestic Policy areas–including Education, Healthcare, Social Security, the Environment, and Local concerns.  Brown also calls for a longer debate in the 4^th District’s less densely populated northern counties, covering all policy areas.  Brown has offered to work with the McClintock camp in finalizing sponsors, moderators and panelists for each debate, with the full proposed schedule below:

Debate 1:  National Security, Week of October 8, 2008, Placer County, Moderated Panel/Townhall

Debate 2:  The Economy, Week of October 15, 2008, El Dorado County, Moderated Panel/Townhall

Debate 3:  Domestic Policy, Week of October 22, 2008, Nevada County, Moderated Panel/Townhall

Debate 4:  All Policy Areas, Week of October 29, 2008, North Counties Region, Moderated Panel/Townhall

“Too often, candidates skirt complex policy questions with empty, partisan sound bytes,” Brown said.  “That’s why so many of the problems we are facing in this election year aren’t new and it’s also why so many have gotten worse.”

“The stakes are too high in this election for more politics as usual,” Brown continued.  “That’s why we want to give ample time to each policy area, and why our first debate must cover the highest priority of the federal government—our nation’s security.”

After being limited to just one debate with John Doolittle in 2006, the Brown campaign added that both camps have already received several debate requests.  Brown’s proposal matches the total number of debates McClintock had with Lt. Gov. John Garamendi in 2006—his last campaign for statewide office.

“We realize that CA 04 is a much smaller pond than McClintock’s prior campaigns in Los Angeles and across the state of California.” Stenhouse said.    “On behalf of Charlie Brown and everyone who is proud to call this region their home, we hope McClintock will accept our offer.”

Retired Lt. Col. Charlie Brown spent 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, flying rescue helicopters at the end of the Vietnam War, piloting reconnaissance missions around the world, and coordinating a variety of intelligence collection assets.  His decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Sikorsky Winged S, 7 Air Medals, and 5 Meritorious Service Medals.  Charlie’s wife Jan is also a veteran, and their son has served four rotations in Iraq with the Air Force.  A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Brown also owns a California teaching credential and served 8 years on the Professional Staff of the Roseville Police Department.  He is a candidate for Congress in California’s 4th District.

PO Box 368, Roseville, CA 95661

(916) 782-7696;  E-mail:  info@brown4congress.org

www.charliebrownforcongress.org

PAID FOR BY BROWN FORCONGRESS

Popularity: 3% [?]

[SOURCE: SFGate.com]

The state Democratic Party has a simple answer for anyone who complains about the $250,000 in party money that was dropped into Oakland state Sen. Don Perata’s barely breathing legal-defense fund last week — on top of $200,000 the party gave the fund last year.

“The job of the state Democratic Party is to elect Democrats to the state Legislature and keep them in office,” said Roger Salazar, a party spokesman. “When leaders of our party get attacked, it’s the party’s responsibility to help them.”

That’s an answer that works OK when the attack is a political shot from Republican partisans or a Swift Boat-style campaign aimed at smearing someone like Perata, the Democrat’s leader in the state Senate.

Problem is, the people attacking the Oakland senator are agents from the Justice Department and the FBI, who for the past four years have been working to build a corruption case against the veteran Bay Area legislator.

They’ve subpoenaed Perata’s friends and associates and raided the home of his son, Nick. Even loyal Democrats around the state are questioning whether the party should bankrolling Perata’s growing legal bills, especially given how it would look if the long-rumored grand jury indictment comes down.

Democrats have an answer for that, too.

“This is a Bush-appointed U.S. attorney going after one of our elected leaders,” Salazar said.

Of course, it was a Bush-appointed U.S. attorney who sent San Diego-area Republican Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham to federal prison on corruption charges in 2005. And another Bush-appointed U.S. attorney authorized a raid last year on Rocklin GOP Rep. John Doolittle’s Virginia home in the course of another corruption investigation that forced the nine-term congressman to drop his plans to run for re-election this year.

California Democrats didn’t complain about either of those investigations. But there’s no comparison between what happened to Cunningham and Doolittle and what’s happening to Perata, as far as state Democratic leaders are concerned.

Doolittle’s case, for example, “was a totally different situation, because he was doing something wrong,” Salazar said.

Popularity: 4% [?]

[SOURCE: SacBee.com - Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, June 6, 2008 - Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B6]

From the city of Sacramento to the rolling Sierra foothills, voters in the region signaled Tuesday that they are unhappy with the way things have been going. They want change.

A prime example was the hotly contested Republican primary in the 4th Congressional District to decide who will compete in the general election for the open congressional seat being vacated by retiring Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville.

In that race, state Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks handily defeated former Rep. Doug Ose of Granite Bay, 54 percent to 39 percent. Here McClintock appeared as the agent of change – leaving behind the tainted, spendthrift congressional politics of the last decade. Ose had served in Congress from 1998 to 2004. McClintock won despite Ose spending $4.6 million (close to $3 million of his own money) – the second highest spending for a congressional primary in U.S. history.
Click here to find out more!

McClintock sees this election “as a bellwether over the future direction of our party – and ultimately of our nation.” A well-known ideological warrior, McClintock’s consistent message has been one of limited government.

In the general election, McClintock faces Charlie Brown, the Democrat who came within 4 percentage points of unseating Doolittle in 2006. Brown has his own message of change: He sees this election as a choice “between a Southern California politician who wants control of the Republican Party, and a local leader who is taking action to unite all parties and solve problems for our country.”

The question for voters in the general election now may boil down to which of the two candidates best represents change – McClintock, who has been in the California Legislature for two decades, or Brown, a retired career Air Force officer who has never held elective office.

In this heavily Republican district, McClintock will start with a big advantage. But as the recent special election in an equally Republican district in Mississippi showed, all bets are off this year.

In another closely watched race, incumbent Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz finished second in a three-way race in District 5. Sixty-three percent of voters voted against Kranz, a well-known Republican and Doolittle protégé.

Kranz came in behind a total political newcomer, Jennifer Montgomery, who is a Democrat. The third-place finisher was a moderate Republican whose views closely match Montgomery’s. It’s not clear which candidate will pick up those voters in the fall.

Montgomery, a small business owner who has been a volunteer firefighter and active in the Sierra Business Council, ran a grass-roots campaign and spent far less than Kranz. As Montgomery said, “One-on-one is important to people.”

In that Placer district, the big issues for the fall will be growth, growth and growth. Voters will want to hear more about the proposed Forest Ranch development in Foresthill, Royal Gorge near Donner Summit and other developments. They’ll want to hear about the services that accompany growth – fire protection, transportation, wastewater treatment, drinking water and more.

The winds of change clearly are blowing. The general election will tell which candidates have been able to harness them.

Popularity: 2% [?]

[SOURCE: charlieforcongress.com -- E-Mail Alert @ Tue, May 27, 2008 at 12:34 PM]

Dear Voter,

One week from today, voters will go to the polls for the June 3^rd Primary.  And with so much at stake in this election, we’re not taking anything for granted—we’re taking action, and we need your help.

All this week, you can make a big difference for this campaign, for the fourth District, and for our country by taking the “4 for District Four” Challenge, and encouraging 4 friends to do the same.

1. Vote to Send General Wesley Clark to work for change here in CA 04
2. Sign the Petition–Urge President Bush to do right by American Veterans and sign the New GI Bill into law!
3. Contribute to the Campaign and help us reach our $100,000 Goal by June 3^rd.
4. Volunteer to Phone Bank or Walk Precincts on our May 31^st and June 1^st GOTV Days of Action!

Together, we are changing politics in America by making our campaign about taking action to solve problems right now.  In this same spirit, Democratswork.org has announced that former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Retired General Wesley Clark will be joining a Congressional Candidate this summer to work on a community service project.  The District General Clark visits will be determined entirely by your votes—and voting takes just 30 seconds!  

Click Here to vote Now, And Help Charlie Bring General Clark Back to District Four.Last weekend, Americans came together to honor and remember all who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe and free.  And last week, bi-partisan majorities in both houses of Congress came together to keep faith with a new generation of American Warriors—passing the “Post 9-11 Veterans Education Assistance Act,” also known as the New GI Bill.

As Charlie notes in his recent press release, the measure is needed to not only keep faith with veterans, but to strengthen our military and restore our economy.  We’re asking everyone to join Charlie in calling on President Bush to sign the measure.

Sign the Petition–Urge President Bush to Sign the New GI Bill into Law Here.

By June 3^rd, Doug Ose and Tom McClintock will have spent nearly $4 million attacking each other on tv, the radio, by mail and robo call.  Their bruising fight has reminded every voter in District Four what is wrong with politics as usual in Washington—and politicians who make attack ads instead of taking action to solve problems.

By helping us keep Charlie’s positive message of “patriotism before partisanship” on the air through June 3rd, you are helping to define the clear contrast that voters will face in November—no matter which career politician survives the GOP Primary.

Contribute $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 or more to the Brown for Congress Media Fund!

Turning out a big June 3^rd vote FOR Charlie Brown will send the strongest message of all. So next weekend (May 31^st and June 1^st), we will be conducting our first “Get Out The Vote Days of Action.”  Starting at 10 am each day, we’ll be phone banking and precinct walking to encourage voters to go to the polls, and to stand with Charlie as he fights to get our country back on track.

CLICK HERE to volunteer for our GOTV Days of Action, May 31^st-June 1^st.

If you want to volunteer, but can’t make it next weekend, please sign up here and a member of our team will contact you about other upcoming volunteer opportunities.  We will be registering new voters, phone banking, and precinct walking every day until the election in November.  And you can give as much or as little time as you have available.

Remember, taking just four actions this week will go a long way towards getting things back on track here in the Fourth District, and across America.  Thank you in advance for your continued support.

And please stay tuned for another e-mail in the coming days about our “Election Night Party” on June 3^rd.

Sincerely,

Todd Stenhouse

Campaign Manager

P.S.:  Take the “Four for District Four” challenge, and make this a week of action—Vote to bring General Clark back to District 4, Ask President Bush to support the New GI Bill, Contribute to the Campaign so Charlie’s Ad Stays on The Air, and Volunteer for our “GOTV Days of Action.”

P.P.S.:  Forward this Urgent Message to FOUR Friends!

Popularity: 3% [?]

[SOURCE: Charlie Brown -- E-Mail Alert @ Wed, May 21, 2008 at 2:01 PM]

Dear Voter,

Earlier this month, I campaigned with my friend and brother, Retired USAF Lt. Col. Charlie Brown. I was proud to be with him as he unveiled his first TV ad of the 2008 campaign.

You can view the ad, entitled “Patriotism Before Partisanship,” here.

The room that morning was a story unto itself. Veterans young and old, standing shoulder to shoulder to support a man who understands what it’s like to put your life on the line for our country—a leader who understands what it means to make and keep a promise.

Charlie’s campaign has always been different. That’s why he’s donating 5% of every dollar he raises to help veteran service providers throughout the area. But he’s not just giving back, he’s giving hope to all who are looking for a higher standard of leadership in Washington.

We need Charlie in Congress. He’s been there for our country. Now I’m asking you to join me in being there for him.

Please take a moment and contribute to Charlie right now.

I put together a short web video during my visit so I can tell you personally, what this race and this candidate means to our country.

Visit Charlie’s website to check out my short web video, or you can watch it here on YouTube.

Charlie’s opponents are career politicians who have spent millions of dollars attacking one another. They’ve even attacked Charlie’s historic Veterans Charity Challenge program. Every dollar they spend on petty squabbling and empty sound bites is a reminder of why Washington is broken and why we need new leadership in Congress.

Take a minute right now, view Charlie’s new TV commercial and make a donation to his campaign. Make a commitment to creating a different kind of politics.

“Patriotism before Partisanship” is not just the mission of Charlie’s campaign-but the clear choice that confronts the people of District 4 in this election.

That’s why the nation’s largest organization for Independents, as well as the largest political group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have both endorsed Charlie’s candidacy.

And it’s why I am asking you to help today-to help Charlie raise the $100,000 he needs to spread his positive message across the 17,000 square miles of District Four before June 3rd.

I’ll be back to campaign with Charlie again. And when I do, with your help, I’ll be seeing this great TV commercial on the air.

Please Contribute Now.

Thanks in advance for your continued support.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Max Cleland

Captain, U.S. Army, Retired

P.S. Please stand strong with Charlie Brown right now, so he can stand strong for us in Washington. Contribute what you can to help keep Charlie’s ad on the air today.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Added: May 02, 2008
From: LtColBrown4Congress

On Monday, May 5th, Charlie’s first TV ad of the 2008 cycle will hit airwaves across California’s District Four.

It’s about a family that has dedicated their lives to defending America–a battle-tested candidate who leads by example–and a campaign that’s focused on solving problems and producing results. You can watch the ad, called “Patriotism before Partisanship” here.

Popularity: 2% [?]

[SOURCE: TheUnion.com]

District 4 hopefuls square off

Candidates tackle border, security, oil and spending

By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
» More from Dave Moller
12:01 a.m. PT May 8, 2008

Differences and similarities between the six people seeking to replace John Doolittle in the U.S. House of Representatives were revealed at a packed Nevada City candidates forum Wednesday night.

The League of Women Voters of Western Nevada County attracted Republican candidates Tom McClintock, Doug Ose, Suzanne Jones and Ted Terbolizard, all of whom are vying to win their party’s nomination in the June 3 primary.

Also present were John Wolfgram and Charlie Brown from the Democratic side, one of whom will face the GOP winner Nov. 4 for the District 4 congressional seat.

The candidates faced questions of spending priorities, national security, illegal immigration, energy policy, education, global warming and the war in Iraq. Some Republican candidates bemoaned failures of a previous Republican majority in Congress and what they called a shift in the party’s focus.

In opening statements, McClintock, a Republican from Southern California, called for prudent spending and “not grabbing for pork barrel earmarks.”

“The government is not our nanny,” McClintock said.

Former three-term congressman Ose started off by laying his claim to the region.

“I was born and raised in Northern California,” Ose said.

Ose, who is advocating strong defense, tax limitations and border security, said he sees “our nation is adrift.”

Brown noted he was the only candidate who had raised his family in the district.

More than 25 years in the Air Force taught Brown that “the foremost duty of government is to keep the country safe.”

Jones, an attorney, said she was upset with her party for deficit spending and shifting to the left. “I’m unhappy with the status quo,” she said.

Wolfgram, a political philosopher and writer from Foresthill, said the nation’s primary problem is “fundamental corruption in government.”

“We need to reduce power and bring accountability to government,” Wolfgram said.

Nevada County’s only entry, Terbolizard, said, “I had the shortest commute to get here.” He said the others “probably needed a map to get here.”

The candidates offered a variety of solutions to dealing with illegal immigration, security and energy concerns.

• McClintock: Illegal immigration is overwhelming the country and a federal fence is necessary. He said the U.S. needs to develop its oil reserves in Alaska and off the California coast, while exploring hydroelectric, coal and nuclear power.

• Brown: Secure borders are paramount and that electronic sensors could do the job, not the military. Alternative energies would get the economy rolling again and those who invest in it will lead that economy.

• Wolfgram: Securing the borders should be Mexico’s problem and advocated “signing a treaty” to stop drugs and illegal immigration. Reviving the country’s manufacturing base could produce “clean energy” to sell.

• Ose: The border fence should be extended along with more Border Patrol agents. The U.S. needs “a portfolio of sources” for energy, including hydroelectric, wind, nuclear and coal.

• Jones: The borders need to be secured because of the “threat of terrorism.” She advocated drilling for oil in U.S. reserves and building more refineries.

• Terbolizard: Immigrants should be treated like brothers and the borders should be kept open for free trade. He said government shouldn’t be involved in energy policy. “That should be (handled) by the private sector.”

To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.

Six candidates are vying for their party’s nominations in the race for the 4th Congressional District of California. Campaign contribution numbers are from the Federal Election Commission, as of Wednesday.

n Charlie Brown. The Democrat and retired Air Force officer from Roseville almost beat Congressman John Doolittle in the 2006 election. His campaign has raised $952,000.

n Suzanne Jones. The Republican from Citrus Heights is running for office for the first time. She is an attorney. Her campaign, the latest to start, has raised no money.

n Tom McClintock. The Republican from Southern California has served 19 years in the state Legislature and has worked for taxpayers groups. He has raised almost $316,000.

n Doug Ose. The Republican from the Sacramento area is a former three-term U.S. congressman, a businessman and a developer. He has raised $2.3 million.

n Theodore “Ted” Terbolizard. The Republican from Cedar Ridge ran for governor in the 2003 recall. He is a businessman and Web designer with a rock ‘n’ roll band, and has raised almost $17,000.

n John Wolfgram. The Democrat from Foresthill is a political writer and a retired lawyer who filed late. He has raised no money.

- Dave Moller

Popularity: 2% [?]

[SOURCE: RealClearPolitics.com]

EXCERPT:

April 22, 2008
FEC Reports — West Coast

We’re on to the eleventh installment of our comprehensive look at the fun races in 2008, and throughout the districts in states that touch the Pacific Ocean — 70 combined in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii — just five look like they might be serious contests. A quick scan of the West Coast:

– California 04: Buffeted by investigations into his association with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Republican Rep. John Doolittle survived 2006 by just three points. Now that he’s retiring, retired Air Force officer Charlie Brown, Doolittle’s 2006 Democratic foe, faces a steeper climb against the winner of an increasingly nasty Republican primary. Brown has raised $952,000 and still has $590,000 in the bank, but he may need more than that to win a district President Bush carried by twenty-four points in 2004. He will face either former Rep. Doug Ose (R – Woodland\Yolo\retired Vic Fazio’s (D) former district), who has $845,000 in the bank after raising $3.25 million — including a $400,000 transfer from his old congressional account and more than $800,000 in loans to his own campaign — or State Senator Tom McClintock (R – Thousand Oaks), who has raised $315,000 and still has $125,000 left in the bank in advance of the state’s June 3 primary. The bizarre irony: Ose lives in the neighboring district, and McClintock’s house is in his State Senate district, 400 miles south.

Popularity: 2% [?]

[SOURCE: SacBee.com]

By David Whitney – dwhitney@mcclatchydc.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, March 31, 2008

WASHINGTON – The campaign trail is lined with the political wrecks of the unknowns and the unknowables who have fallen along the way in their own personal quest for a seat in Congress.

This year, three candidates are hoping to avoid a similar fate as they seek a spot on the ballot in the red-hot campaign for the seat being vacated by Rep. John Doolittle.

School district legal analyst Suzanne Jones of Citrus Heights, Cedar Ridge artist Theodore Terbolizard and legal philosopher John Wolfgram will be campaigning in the shadows of Republicans Doug Ose and Tom McClintock and Democrat Charlie Brown – the heavy guns in what is likely to be one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country.

It’s been a rough start for “Terbo,” which is what Terbolizard said his friends call him.

Terbolizard has been distracted by a driving-under-the-influence charge, which he is now trying to turn to his advantage. He said the February citation in Grass Valley was based on fabricated evidence and may have been aimed at derailing his political career.

“If it’s this easy to get rid of political candidates, we might just as well live in Estonia,” said Terbolizard, 40, who said he lives in an abandoned building on an old horse farm.

Terbolizard changed his last name from Hommel many years ago for reasons having something to do with his daughter, now 11, and the girl’s mother, who lives in San Francisco. He said people find it kind of catchy.

Terbolizard describes himself as a libertarian-leaning extreme fiscal conservative.

“I’m against government spending. Period,” he said. He said he wants to ax the Internal Revenue Service and reduce the size of government commensurate with the loss of income taxes the IRS collects.

Terbolizard also doesn’t trust banks, which he explained in the context of that box containing more than $10,000 in cash police found in his car on the night of the alleged driving-under-the-influence incident. That was his life savings to support himself during the campaign, he said. “I am really efficient at living,” he said.

Terbolizard has filed for the Republican nomination. He’ll be battling McClintock, Ose and Jones in the party’s June 3 primary.

Jones thinks her timing is perfect.

She said she should be able to capitalize on the fact that she used to live in the 4th District. That’s as much of a claim to residency as Ose, the former congressman for the adjacent 3rd District, can assert, and trumps McClintock, whose state Senate district lies in Southern California.

“I grew up in the area,” said Jones, 53. Even though redistricting moved her home outside of the 4th District by about 5 miles, Jones figures past residency must be good for something in this race of arguable carpetbaggers.

“I know what it is like to live here,” said Jones, whose politics run along the same conservative lines as Doolittle’s.

“When I was a kid, Sunrise Mall was a cow pasture,” she said. “I just think I have more of a feel for the community.”

Jones has no political experience other than her term on a local neighborhood association. But she said she thinks she might be the candidate voters turn to out of frustration with the high-octane fight brewing between Ose and McClintock.

In the Democratic primary, Wolfgram wants to take on Brown because the Brown campaign shunned him when he offered himself up to be part of its brain trust.

Wolfgram describes himself as a left-leaning libertarian and legal philosopher. He is very focused on what the Constitution really means.

“The duty of Congress is to take the Constitution very seriously,” he said. “Brown was not open to my ideas. That’s why I am running.”

Wolfgram’s motivating principle is that the judiciary is out of control. Only judges get to interpret the Constitution, he says, and that leaves out the people and invites corruption.

In 1988, he said he ran for judge in El Dorado County – he calls it “el corrupto county” – on a platform of “freeing the jury to examine what the government was doing.”

Later he was disbarred – he describes it as being rendered “forcibly inactive” – after a series of lawsuits he filed that were off-putting to the legal establishment.

Wolfgram, 63, admits that his thinking may be a bit “esoteric” for the campaign trail. But it has made him, as one anti-judiciary Web site termed him, “a national icon” in the movement.

Brown’s campaign spokesman, Todd Stenhouse, said it’s not that the campaign committee rejected Wolfgram’s concerns. He said the campaign just didn’t need the help.

“We have 550,000 campaign advisers – every man, woman and child in the district,” Stenhouse said.

Popularity: 2% [?]