Free Republic

(snip) Doolittle was hailed by elected officials in a vast, stoutly Republican district for bringing home federal dollars. His bountiful political leadership fund furnished the purse strings for candidates and causes. His fiery conservatism plucked the heartstrings of party activists. (snip) Regional elected officials who stood with Doolittle now overwhelmingly support former Sacramento-area Rep. Doug Ose, claiming he is best suited to secure federal funding for local projects and infrastructure. Republican Party activists, particularly the local county GOP central committee members who were among Doolittle's most devout supporters, are breaking strongly for Ose's rival, state Sen. Tom McClintock. (snip) Tom...

Former Gov. Pete Wilson has lashed out at GOP state Sen. Tom McClintock, saying McClintock couldn't be counted on in the Legislature and should not go to Congress. Wilson, a fellow Republican, made the remarks during a campaign event for the 4th Congressional District GOP primary organized by McClintock rival Doug Ose. The two are battling to replace incumbent GOP Rep. John Doolittle, who is retiring. McClintock was in the state Assembly while Wilson was governor. Wilson said McClintock was the first to criticize but the last to help his own team. McClintock's campaign did not immediately respond to a...

The Republican free-for-all to replace retiring GOP Rep. John Doolittle is ugly and getting uglier, with the campaigns spending plenty to tag one candidate as a greedy carpetbagger and the other as a big-spending liberal. Those are fighting words in the Fourth Congressional District, which rambles from the Sacramento suburbs of Rocklin and Roseville east to Lake Tahoe and north to the Oregon border. Former Rep. Doug Ose and state Sen. Tom McClintock are brawling for the GOP nomination in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats 47 percent to 30 percent and the incumbent is leaving after being named in...

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...

3/17/2008 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Retired Staff Sgt. Jacob DeShazer, 95, one of the famed "Doolittle Raiders," who helped boost American morale in the early days of World War II with a surprise air attack on Japan, died March 15. Born Nov. 15, 1912, in Salem, Ore., Sergeant DeShazer graduated from Madras High School in 1931. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940. Sergeant DeShazer, then a corporal, was the bombardier of Crew No.16 flying the "Bat Out of Hell," the last of the 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to launch from the USS Hornet April 18, 1942,...

AUBURN (Placer County) -- Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock took the long jump from his Southern California legislative seat to a congressional race in the Sierra foothills today as he announced that he was running to replace retiring GOP Rep. John Doolittle. "I've heard your voices, I've heeded your advice," the 51-year-old McClintock told a crowd in front of the 1898 Auburn courthouse.At least two Republicans weren't calling for McClintock to run in the 4th Congressional District, which includes the Sacramento suburbs of Rocklin and Roseville and the northern half of the Mother Lode. Doug Ose of Sacramento, who held...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- State Sen. Tom McClintock is strongly considering running for Congress in the Northern California district now represented by John Doolittle, his political adviser says. McClintock adviser John Feliz told The Associated Press on Tuesday that an announcement likely would come by the end of the week. A crowded GOP primary already was emerging in the Republican-friendly 4th Congressional District.

State Sen. Tom McClintock, one of California’s most high-profile conservative Republicans, isn’t ruling out a run for the 4th Congressional District GOP nomination and a chance to replace U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville. McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, was asked by the Journal whether he was considering a run for the Northern California seat, which includes Auburn. He was also asked through an e-mail sent to his office whether he supported any Fourth District candidate for the Republican nomination. Jennifer Cressy, press secretary for the senator, replied that McClintock has “received calls from supporters urging him to run for a variety of...

State Sen. Tom McClintock, one of California’s most high-profile conservative Republicans, isn’t ruling out a run for the 4th Congressional District GOP nomination and a chance to replace U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville. McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, was asked by the Journal whether he was considering a run for the Northern California seat, which includes Auburn. He was also asked through an e-mail sent to his office whether he supported any Fourth District candidate for the Republican nomination. Jennifer Cressy, press secretary for the senator, replied that McClintock has “received calls from supporters urging him to run for a variety of...

Rep. Doolittle to announce retirement from Congress WASHINGTON—Republican Rep. John Doolittle, who is under investigation in a congressional lobbying scandal, plans to announce Thursday that he'll retire from Congress at the end of his current term, according to a Republican official who spoke with Doolittle. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a public announcement in Doolittle's Northern California district. (snip) He planned to address supporters in Roseville, Calif., on Thursday morning and scheduled a press conference for afterward. His aides declined to disclose his plans in advance.

This year, Rep. John Doolittle made Roll Call's "10 Most Vulnerable House Incumbents" list. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington placed Doolittle on its "22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress" roster. The Placer County Republican also is in the small club of elected officials under federal investigation for corruption. His name has come up in connection with convicted uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and with convicted (as of Monday, on bribery charges) defense contractor Brent Wilkes. In April, the FBI searched Doolittle's Virginia home. Doolittle was forced to resign from the House Appropriations Committee. Nonetheless, Doolittle is running for re-election. In...

Political pressure on GOP Rep. John Doolittle grew Wednesday as a fellow California House Republican said it would be best if Doolittle didn't run for re-election. Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Republican campaign committee pointedly declined to endorse Doolittle for the GOP nomination, saying that decision was up to voters. Doolittle, a nine-term conservative from Rocklin, is under Justice Department investigation in the influence-peddling probe involving jailed GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff. His fundraising has slowed and he's drawing Republican primary challengers amid mounting concerns that he would not be able to win re-election next year despite the fact his...

This is a particularly tough time for Congressman John Doolittle. Doolittle (pictured to the right) is in the midst of dealing with the taint of an FBI investigation of Congress that has included family business dealings with now-disgraced and imprisoned ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Our hearts to go out to John and his family at this time. In America, we have a strong tradition in our courts that you are innocent until you are proven guilty. I would tell FR readers that having known John for nearly two decades, I don't believe that he is guilty of any crimes. That having...

October 18, 2007, 7:30 a.m. How to Lose, Don YoungÂ’s WayA lesson of 2006: Purge now or pay later. By David Freddoso How can House Republican leaders stave off a rout in 2008? The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), responsible for electing Republican House members, had a pathetic $1.6 million in cash at the end of August. Republican retirements from the House continue to rack up, including several in vulnerable districts. The issues seem to be stacked against the GOP as Democrats exploit issues such as health care and the Iraq war. There has been talk of a few...

Embattled Northern California Congressman John Doolittle, fresh from attacks on Afghan & Iraq veteran Major Eric Egland (two attacks… one here, and the other here) has now launched on Deborah Johns, military mom and activist for the troops. Doolittle is under intense pressure from an FBI investigation into allegations surrounding his fund-raising, as well as his own party base in the California 4th District just outside Sacramento. His party base is infuriated because Doolittle is a chronic feeder at the Washington pork trough, second only to corrupt congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania, yet the district has little to show for...

Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) "defiantly declared Friday that he will not retire from Congress despite increasing Republican concern that if he runs for a 10th term next year, the seat could fall to Democratic challenger Charlie Brown," the Sacramento Bee reports. Said Doolittle: "I will not step aside. I am running again. Period."

If Rep. John Doolittle is the Republican nominee here in 2008, the seat is a certain loss for the GOP. ... Doolittle ... has pledged to fight plans to push him off the ballot in 2008. ... Charlie Brown, who nearly beat Doolittle in 2006, is back again. But given the Republican nature of this district, he needs Doolittle on the ballot to win.

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The Justice Department recently subpoenaed Rep. John Doolittle and five of the California Republican's staffers for documents as part of its corruption investigation. The nine-term congressman gave no indication whether he planned to comply. "These efforts raise serious constitutional issues going to the very core of our separation of powers created by the Founding Fathers," Doolittle's attorney David Barger said in a news release issued Thursday by the congressman's office. Doolittle did not identify the documents being sought.

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Two of GOP Rep. John Doolittle's top aides have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating ties between Doolittle, his wife and jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The grand jury subpoenas from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia were issued to Chief of Staff Ron Rogers and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Blankenburg. They were announced on the House floor as Congress returned from its August recess Tuesday after the aides informed the House speaker about the subpoenas, as required under House rules. Blankenburg and Rogers wrote in identical letters to House...

Roseville Assemblyman Ted Gaines announced today he is forming an exploratory committee to plot a run a for the congressional seat of embattled Rep. John Doolittle, declaring that voters have "lost faith" in Doolittle and that he can't win re-election. "What I want the voters to know is that I'm putting the name forward...And I think change should occur," Gaines said in a meeting with The Bee Capitol Bureau. He added that he would be "a viable candidate" if he enters the race. In a statement later, Doolittle responded, "Ted Gaines is sadly mistaken. After spending the last month talking...

During the last few days, both Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), two conservative Republicans, have broken with President Bush's policy on Iraq, both in very public ways. Here's a link on Domenici's statement on Iraq (via ThinkProgress), although it's still unclear on how far he will go in opposing Bush, and here's an article on Doolittle's recent comments in Iraq. Beyond being Republicans and facing tough re-election campaigns next year, Domenici and Doolittle have another thing in common - they are both under fire for ethics legal problems. Domenici is being investigated by the Senate Ethics...

Rep. John Doolittle, a consevative California congressman, today joined others in his party rapidly deserting the president on the Iraq war. At a town hall meeting in Rocklin and then in a meeting with the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee he questioned whether the conflict was worth the loss of more American lives. He said U.S. troops should be pulled back from the front lines "as soon as possible" and the fighting turned over to Iraqi forces. A longtime supporter of the war, Doolittle called the situation in Iraq a "quagmire" on Thursday. "We've got to get off the...

Besides Doolittle, California Republicans with ethics problems are: _Rep. Jerry Lewis (news, bio, voting record), now in his 15th term and chairman of the Appropriations Committee last year when federal prosecutors in Los Angeles began investigating his ties to a lobbyist with clients in his district. _Rep. Gary Miller (news, bio, voting record), in his fifth term, who's drawn scrutiny over a tax deferral strategy he used in a profitable real estate sale to a Southern California town outside his district. _Rep. Ken Calvert (news, bio, voting record), in his eighth term, who denies any conflict over pushing federal funding...

WASHINGTON -- Eric Egland, who helped Rep. John Doolittle defeat Democratic challenger Charlie Brown in November, said Wednesday that he is seriously considering challenging Doolittle in next year's Republican primary because the congressman is too damaged to win the general election. "The main concern of our district is that if Doolittle wins the primary, we will likely lose the seat to Cindy Sheehan Democrat Charlie Brown," Egland said in a telephone interview. Egland, a 36-year-old Air Force reservist from Roseville, says he was a lifelong independent voter before he re-registered as a Republican last year. Yet, he is picking up...

Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., under scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff congressional corruption case, charged Wednesday the government tried to strong-arm his wife to get him to admit to committing a crime. When he wouldn’t, FBI agents searched his home to intimidate and pressure him and his wife, Doolittle said. The congressman made the claims during a radio interview with his wife, Julie, on “The Tom Sullivan Show” on KFBK-AM radio in Sacramento, Calif. Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra declined comment. Doolittle had published an op-ed over the weekend in the Auburn Journal in his district accusing the government of leaking...

Rep. John Doolittle said in a weekend opinion article that he believes federal law enforcement agents staged a raid on his house last month, then leaked word of it in an effort to bolster Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as he was about to appear before a Senate committee probing the firing of federal prosecutors. "I do not believe it was a coincidence that the leak came the day before Attorney General Gonzales testified before Congress on charges that his office was overly partisan in its firing of eight U.S. attorneys, especially considering Gonzales specifically cited his recent prosecution of Republican...

Republican Rep. John Doolittle barely won re-election in his suburban-mountain district east of Sacramento last November even though his party holds an immense (18-percentage-point) voter advantage, thanks to a torrent of revelations about his unseemly relationship with disgraced Washington influence-peddler Jack Abramoff. In the six months since the election, the news has gotten even worse for Doolittle, including an FBI raid on his suburban Washington home, apparently seeking documents about that relationship, and reports that Kevin Ring, a former Doolittle aide who later went to work for Abramoff, is talking to federal prosecutors. Doolittle has stepped down -- temporarily, he...

Political leadership is based upon trust; without integrity, trust is gone. Integrity isn't just compliance with the law, it is doing the right thing - not just what one can get away with. Political leaders need to understand that the appearance of impropriety is just as damaging to trust as actual impropriety. The fundamental tenet of political leadership is that your constituency needs to believe that you are recommending policies or making decisions because they are the right things, not because you have a personal interest or some ulterior motive. It is in this context that I note the new...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Rep. John Doolittle has decided to temporarily give up his House Appropriations Committee seat after FBI agents searched his house in an influence-peddling investigation. The decision by Doolittle, R-Calif., to be announced Thursday, was confirmed by two Republican congressional staffers who spoke on condition of anonymity because the news was not yet public. The lawmaker's decision followed by a day the disclosure of the raid on his Oakton, Va., home last Friday. FBI agents had a search warrant for information connected with a fundraising business run by Doolittle's wife, Julie, that had done work for convicted lobbyist...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- FBI agents have searched the Oakton, Va., home of California GOP Rep. John Doolittle, who is under investigation in the congressional corruption investigation surrounding convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Doolittle's attorney said Wednesday. The search last Friday focused on records of Doolittle's wife's company, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions Inc., said attorney David Barger.

A lobbyist tied to the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal has resigned from the law firm where he worked, company officials said Monday. Kevin Ring worked with Abramoff until early 2005 and previously was an aide to California GOP Rep. John Doolittle, whose ties to the convicted GOP lobbyist are under investigation in the ongoing corruption probe. Ring resigned effective last Friday from Barnes & Thornburg LLP, said managing partner Alan A. Levin. Ring joined Barnes & Thornburg after leaving Abramoff's firm, Greenberg Traurig LLP. Barnes & Thornburg is based in Indianapolis and has offices throughout the Midwest and in Washington....

FBI Raids Doolittle's Home: The FBI has raided the Northern Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), according to Congressional sources. No details are publicly available yet about the circumstances of the raid, but Doolittle and his wife, Julie, have been under federal investigation for their ties to the scandal surrounding imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

/25/2007 - SAN ANTONIO (AFNEWS) -- Retired Lt. Col. Chase J. Nielsen, one of the famed "Tokyo Doolittle Raiders" who helped boost American morale in the early days of World War II with a surprise air attack on Japan and spent a lifetime as an advocate for American airpower, died March 23 at his home in Brigham City, Utah. Born Jan. 14, 1917 in Hyrum, Utah, Colonel Nielsen attended Utah State University and graduated in 1939 with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. In August 1939, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a flying cadet....

LOS ANGELES - GOP Rep. Richard Pombo, the powerful chairman of the House Resources Committee, plunged to stunning defeat at the hands of an almost unknown Democrat, Jerry McNerney, as Democrats wrested control of the House from the GOP. GOP Rep. John Doolittle beat down a strong challenge from Democrat Charlie Brown in Tuesday's midterm election, surviving a boisterous campaign that focused on the incumbent's ties to a congressional corruption investigation. San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi was in line to be the first female House speaker ever as Democrats captured more than two dozen GOP-controlled seats around the country. McNerney,...

Patriotism became the dominant theme in the heated race for Republican Rep. John Doolittle's seat Wednesday, with fellow Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter trying to tie Doolittle's opponent to the controversy surrounding comments by Sen. John Kerry. Democrat Charlie Brown, a retired Air Force officer and decorated war veteran, punched back by releasing a television ad accusing Doolittle of dodging the Vietnam War by attending college. The ad also notes that his son, Jeff, is about to begin a fourth rotation in Iraq as an Air Force pilot. During a news conference at the state Capitol, Hunter, R-San Diego, called on...

The GOP has launched a rescue mission in the final weeks of the campaign to save two powerful northern California Republican congressmen hurt by deep discontent over the Iraq war and corruption in Washington. President Bush attended fundraisers for both Rep. Richard Pombo and Rep. John Doolittle, and first lady Laura Bush plans to campaign for them later this week. The GOP's House campaign committee recently pumped in more than $1 million to help Pombo on next Tuesday's ballot. But the non-partisan Cook Political Report this week shifted the Pombo race from ``leans Republican'' to a tossup, and a poll...

WASHINGTON - Conservative Rep. John Doolittle found common ground with anti-war activists Tuesday - their mutual befuddlement over the war views of the congressman's Democratic rival, Charlie Brown. Anti-war activist Stephen Pearcy, who gained attention from his Sacramento home in February when he hung a human-shaped form dressed in a military uniform and adorned it with anti-war messages, charged that the retired Air Force officer is distancing himself from the protesters who had come to regard Brown as one of them. "He's back-pedaling," said Pearcy in an interview. "He was initially holding himself out as an anti-war candidate, someone who...

First Lady Laura Bush will visit Northern California later this week to campaign for two GOP incumbents in hot re-election races, John Doolittle and Richard Pombo. Her trip comes on the heels of a fundraising swing President Bush made for the two candidates at the beginning of October. The first lady will appear at a get-out-the-vote rally for Doolittle on Thursday evening in Rocklin. She'll do a rally for Pombo in Pleasanton Friday morning.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A Democratic Vietnam veteran running for Congress lashed out at his Republican opponent Friday after a series of Republican-financed attacks questioning his support for U.S. troops. In a rare display of anger, retired Air Force Maj. Charlie Brown called Republican Rep. John Doolittle (news, bio, voting record) a coward who is "hiding behind the flag" and slammed him for failing to serve in Vietnam. "While I was being shot at in Vietnam, John Doolittle was practicing his tennis game at (the University of California) Santa Cruz," Brown said during a news conference as he was surrounded by...

The Democrat challenging Republican Rep. John Doolittle lashed out at the incumbent Friday after a series of Republican-financed attacks questioning his support for U.S. troops. In a rare display of anger, Charlie Brown called Doolittle a coward who is "hiding behind the flag" and slammed him for failing to serve in Vietnam. "While I was being shot at in Vietnam, John Doolittle was practicing his tennis game at (the University of California) Santa Cruz," Brown said during a news conference as he was surrounded by fellow veterans. Brown, 56, left the Air Force in 1998 after 26 years of service....

BERKELEY — The congressional fundraiser was at a pub in the heart of this liberal political stronghold. A local band, The Flux, entertained with a tune titled "Impeach the President." The focus of attention: two candidates vying for seats in bedrock conservative districts to the east, currently occupied by Republicans John T. Doolittle of Granite Bay and Richard W. Pombo of Tracy. Although most experts still give them a narrow edge, Doolittle, 55, seeking his ninth term, and Pombo, 45, pursuing his eighth, are in the toughest fights of their political careers going into the Nov. 7 election. Their Northern...

Democratic challenger labels his foe corrupt, and in a return shot is called 'flim-flam man.' Rep. John Doolittle and Democratic challenger Charlie Brown went after each other in a bruising campaign debate Wednesday night, with Brown depicting Doolittle as a corrupt politician in the pocket of felons and Doolittle calling his rival a "flim-flam man" hiding his extreme liberal views.There were verbal haymakers almost from the outset of the televised debate that took place in the Rocklin studios of Starstream Communications and was aired live by the Placer County cable network."You try to be a conservative to the Republicans and...

Former congressman gave $1,000 in 2002; Democratic rival wants money returned. The scandal created by the resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., for sending lurid computer messages to House pages is beginning to infect the hot 4th District campaign fight between Rep. John Doolittle and his Democratic rival, retired Air Force officer Charlie Brown.Doolittle said in a statement that he had no knowledge of Foley's inappropriate electronic exchanges until the scandal burst wide open 10 days ago. Doolittle received a $1,000 contribution from Foley in 2002 and the Roseville Republican's political action committee, the Superior California Federal Leadership Fund, reciprocated...

President Bush traveled to California today to speak at fundraisers for Congressmen Richard Pombo and John Doolittle. Later, the president visited with the students and faculty at the nearby George W. Bush Elementary School, named in his honor. Click here for the complete transcript at the Pombo fundraiser. And click here for the president’s remarks during the school visit. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met with Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos and Latin American defense ministers in Managua, Nicaragua. Enjoy your Tuesday visit to Sanity Island

WASHINGTON -- President Bush assumes the role of campaigner in chief in California today as part of a monthlong drive to help Republicans keep control of Congress. He will be in El Dorado Hills to campaign for Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, after appearing in Stockton on behalf of Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy. In the last midterm congressional elections four years ago, the president's efforts paid big dividends for his party, but since then the political ground has shifted. He's still a big draw for Republican fundraisers, but some candidates who proudly campaigned with Bush in the past are keeping their...

SACRAMENTO -- Democratic congressional challenger Charlie Brown, engaged in a longshot bid to unseat Republican Rep. John Doolittle, campaigned with retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark on Monday and sounded the themes of security and integrity. The evening rally at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial near the state Capitol had the feel of an event intended to resonate with the congressional district's conservative voters. Republicans hold an 18-point voter registration edge. Brown and Clark served in Vietnam — Brown as a helicopter rescue pilot and Clark as an Army officer who was awarded the Silver Star. Clark, a former NATO commander, said...

President Bush is aggressively taking on his Iraq war critics as he prepares to travel to Northern California next week. On Friday he accused opponents of advancing an argument that "buys into the enemy's propaganda.'' The day before, the president accused Democrats of being the party of "cut and run.'' Earlier in the week, Bush said he considered it "naive'' to believe that going to war was a mistake. Bush arrives in Stockton in advance of a Tuesday morning fundraiser for Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, the chairman of the House Resources Committee. The president then travels north to El Dorado...

Republican Reps. Richard Pombo of Tracy and John Doolittle of Rocklin are preparing for President Bush's visit to California next week to generate campaign cash for their re-election bids, while Democratic activists are urging the party faithful in the Bay Area to head to San Joaquin County and the Sacramento Valley to help unseat the incumbents. "With the Bay Area's help, we can take back these districts," said Gary Lucks, founder of the group Progressive Action-East Bay, which is helping organize ground troops and raise money for the two Democrats running against Pombo and Doolittle. "Over the next five weeks,...

President Bush will visit California next month to raise money for Republican Reps. Richard Pombo of Tracy and John Doolittle of Rocklin, who are seeking re-election amid ethics questions. Bush will attend a breakfast for Pombo on Oct. 3 and a fundraising lunch at an El Dorado Hills country club for Doolittle the same day, the campaigns said separately on Friday. The Doolittle event, which his campaign hopes will raise as much as $500,000, will be Bush's first appearance on behalf of Doolittle. The congressman's friendships with former Majority Leader Tom DeLay and convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff have provided...

John Doolittle is with his people. The sixth most powerful Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives speaks to the Auburn Dam Council and an enthusiastic audience. The advocacy group shares his long, unquenched drive for a flood control and hydroelectric dam on the American River. Loyal constituents clamor for his attention. "You work so hard," Alice Ferrari, a Lincoln cattle rancher and Placer County resident since 1934, tells him. "You have a vision like the pioneers." At this gathering, John Doolittle is as unbeatable as ever. He's the congressman who hasn't failed to win re-election with less than 60...