Former GOP Congressman stands behind Fearing

Democratic congressional candidate George Fearing picked up a passionate and potentially influential advocate this week when former GOP Congressman Pete McCloskey of California joined him on a campaign swing.

McCloskey, who switched to the Democratic Party in recent years, is a fiery critic of Fearing’s opponent in the 4th Congressional District, seven-term incumbent Doc Hastings, R-Pasco. McCloskey is particularly critical of the job Hastings, 67, did as chairman of the House ethics committee in 2005 and 2006.

“They put him as chair of the ethics committee for a purpose,” McCloskey said Thursday during an interview at the Yakima Herald-Republic. “They knew he wouldn’t allow any investigation of Republicans.”

Hastings’ chief of staff, Todd Young, called McCloskey’s attacks unfair, pointing out that ethics committee rules forbid Hastings from discussing specific cases.

“If he could talk about some things, he’d be a lot better off,” Young said, in a phone interview. “But he can’t. He just has to sit there and take it.”

 McCloskey, 80, served as a Republican in the U.S. House from 1966 to 1983. He is best known for co-authoring the Endangered Species Act and for a failed run against Richard Nixon for the 1972 Republican presidential nomination.

He returned to politics in 2006 to run against Richard Pombo, R-Calif., who was implicated in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal. After losing in the primary, McCloskey switched to the Democratic Party and helped Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., beat Pombo.

Now he’s trying to do the same for Fearing.

McCloskey also held a press conference with Fearing at the Korean/Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Thursday in Yakima. The two also met with members of the media Wednesday in the Tri-Cities.

McCloskey said he plans to personally call House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and urge the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to support Fearing, 50, financially. Fearing, who has built his campaign around a pledge to end the war in Iraq, differs from the hawkish Hastings on most issues. But the committee, which allocates money to candidates it believes can win with it, likely will need some convincing, McCloskey and Fearing conceded.

Hastings has won each of his last five elections by at least 20-percent margins, including a 60 percent to 40-percent win over Democrat Richard Wright in 2006.

And Congressional Quarterly, which tracks all of the House races, still has the 4th District listed as “safe Republican.”

McCloskey begs to differ.

“There isn’t a race in America today where a Republican incumbent can’t be defeated by a decent Democrat,” he said.

Young, however, questioned the influence McCloskey could have, especially in light of Hastings’ 58 percent to 37 percent advantage over Fearing in Tuesday’s primary.

“There’s hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of former members of Congress,” Young said. “And this one hasn’t been in office since I was 10 years old.”

• On the Web: www.dochastings.com

www.georgefearing.com

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