CA: Kaloogian rides Move America Forward into the public eye (50th CD election)

Howard Kaloogian is one of those rare politicians who may have spent more time in the public eye since leaving office than he did while he was in it.

Since being termed out of his San Diego-area Assembly seat in 2000, Kaloogian has had a hand in some of the more visible conservative media efforts in recent years. The organization he founded, Move America Forward, has made headlines with campaigns that took on liberal icons such as Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore.

Republican political consultant Mark Bogetich, who counts himself as a philosophical supporter of many of Move America Forward's activities, said that Kaloogian has found his political voice in a way he never seemed able to while in the Assembly.

"It was fairly widely documented that while he was there that he was the invisible man," Bogetich said. "He has found a very interesting way to participate in the political process."

Now polls show him in a statistical tie with two other Republicans in the race to replace Randy "Duke" Cunningham in San Diego's 50th Congressional District. Kaloogian has held his own against a more nationally experienced candidate, former Congressman Brian Bilbray, and a better funded one, millionaire businessman Eric Roach. The trio has left behind nearly one-dozen other Republicans, including a sitting state senator. One of the three likely will face Democrat Francine Busby in a June 6 runoff.

Kaloogian has been in a similar position before. In 2004, he came in third out of 11 candidates in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. But that race essentially was about who got to lose a general election to Barbara Boxer. Whichever Republican emerges in the 50th likely will be favored to top Busby.

He credits some of this success to the name recognition he built up while serving in the Assembly from 1994 to 2000. His district was almost completely contiguous with Cunningham's 50th; Kaloogian handily won all three of his Assembly races with between 59 percent and 61 percent of the vote. This is important, he said, given that most of the candidates hold similar positions on issues important to district voters, such as curtailing illegal immigration and runaway government spending.

Much of Kaloogian's "invisible-man" status while in the Assembly probably came from his willingness to cross the party establishment. He said that he is completely confident that the party will get behind him if he is the top Republican vote getter. But he was critical of President George W. Bush long before it was acceptable for Republicans to break with their once-popular leader, taking him to task in January 2004 over his immigration-amnesty proposal.

"If the president makes a mistake, it is up to those of us who support him to tell him he's wrong," Kaloogian said.

Of course, Move America Forward has been one of Bush's biggest supporters--even while lacking any formal connection to the administration or the Republican Party. The group grew out of Kaloogian's early efforts to spark the successful movement to recall former Governor Gray Davis. This led to Kaloogian joining forces with radio host Melanie Morgan, who now chairs the group. Media consultant Sal Russo is the group's chief strategist and largely guides media campaigns that have sought to drum up support for the Iraq war.

Move America Forward's biggest headlines have come from its efforts against Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sheehan's protest at Bush's Texas ranch. Their ads also have urged support for U.N. Ambassador John Bolton and have advocated that the United States evict the United Nations from their New York headquarters. Another ad claimed the group had documents linking Saddam Hussein with Al Qaeda--but the documents currently are not available on the group's Web site.

Such positions have led to it being widely mocked by Democrats. Sheehan called them "Move America Backward," while others term the group "Move America Forward to the Middle Ages."

The group's ads also have attacked former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. The group has been criticized for running such advocacy ads while maintaining a 501c3 nonprofit tax status. However, several political watchdogs noted that the group adheres to the letter of the law. For instance, the group does not give to candidates or directly call for people to vote for anyone.

"They're not saying vote for or against Kerry," said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies. "I think they are probably within the law."

The group also plays up its charitable activities, such as sending coffee and cookies to U.S. troops and teddy bears to young terrorism survivors in Belsan, Russia.

"The coffee and cookies is probably the largest project we work on," said Robert Dixon, executive director of Move America Forward. "People tend to look past that."

According to the group's 2004 federal tax returns, it spent about $40,000 on such activities--and nearly $400,000 on commercials and other "education media" efforts. Dixon said these ratios have been changing. Move America Forward's Web site claims it, "Collected and sent $2.8 million worth of pharmaceutical supplies to Afghanistan and Iraq."

Kaloogian said that he also has distanced himself from the organization he created in order to avoid any conflict of interest with his candidacy. While he said last summer that he would run for Cunningham's seat, he did not formally file until December, long after the he went on Move America Forward's June 2005 "Truth Tour" of Iraq. He said he had relinquished any day-to-day role with the group as of last August.

Nevertheless, Kaloogian admits his role with Move America Forward is also a factor in his recent success.

"People can look at my opponents and say 'Where have you been? What have you done?'" Kaloogian said. "I think it does help."

Democrat Seeks Upset in Calif. 50th Vote

by David Freddoso
Posted Apr 11, 2006
Conservative former Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian (R) has fallen off the map in today's special election in California's 50th U.S. House District.. Whether it has been his recent gaffes, or loss of support to State Sen. Bill Morrow (R) or frontrunner Eric Roach (R), Kaloogian has tailed off significantly since the last poll showed him in the midst of a very tight three-way race for the nomination.

What was a three-way race now looks like a two-way race between Roach and former Rep. Brian Bilbray (R), a moderate. Both have surged in recent polls -- Roach with a huge infusion of cash into his campaign and ads featuring President Ronald Reagan. Bilbray clearly understands that Roach is the man to beat, and his new negative mailers are aimed at the frontrunner. Leaning Roach.

There is an off chance that Francine Busby (D), the only serious Democratic candidate in the race, will run away with a majority and win without a June 6 runoff. We expect, however, that she will finish first, but below 45%. Her future is much less certain in a runoff, which would have higher turnout, falling as it does on the date of the statewide primary election. The district is two-to-one Republican in registration. A Busby win would be a huge Democratic victory, and a wakeup call for Republicans that could foretell disaster in November.
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=13938

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