Contested Republican primaries are tricky things. They can be divisive and explosive. Add a mix of 10 GOP candidates and the dynamics get more interesting. Factor into that mix that at least four and maybe more of these candidates will have a lot of resources with which to engage their opponents. A perfect storm? Not yet, add one more element. At a time when scandals, indictments, and a resignation are plaguing the Republicans in Congress, the ‘perfect storm’ I’ve outlined is taking place in the 50th Congressional District, where Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham plead guilty to taking seven figures in payoffs – resigning his seat in disgrace… waiting for a jail sentence.
At a time when conventional wisdom would be to disassociate with the besieged GOP establishment, there is one candidate for whom that is not an option. Brian Bilbray, one of the leading candidates is not only a former Member of Congress, but is currently a federal lobbyist.
Interestingly, Bilbray’s campaign seems to be on trying to turn a potential major liability into a plus. The main emphasis of his campaign right now is demonstrating that he is very much an establishment, status quo candidate.
Starting with the high profile endorsement of neighboring Congressman Darrell Issa, Bilbray has been rolling out a sea of endorsements from many of his former colleagues, most representing districts far far away from San Diego County. A good example would be his endorsement from Congressman Bill Thomas of Bakersfield, who is one of the "Cardinals" of the House, as Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which puts its fingerprint on all federal spending.
While Thomas is notorious for supporting moderates like Bilbray, he is also known as the "King of Pork" and has brought us policy failures like the horrific Medicare Prescription Drug plan that may cost Republicans the votes of an unknown number of outraged seniors.
Bilbray is banking on the notion that Morrow, Kaloogian, Uke and the others will divvy up the "we need new face" vote and he can return back to his home in Washington, D.C, put his lobbyist ID in the desk drawer, and dust off his old Congressional lapel pin. This strategy may or may or my not be a winning play, but it is only play available to a consummate insider like Bilbray.
(A sobering thought – when I was on Google’s Images Search looking for a graphic to represent lobbyists, I got a page full of photos of Jack Abramoff. Perhaps this underscores Bilbray’s challenge in this race.)