11.03.04
Jim “Caustic” Costa
The race between Roy Ashburn and Jim Costa for the 20th Congressional district of California displayed some of the worst examples of base political campaigning. Jim Costa handily defeated Ashburn in the end but unfortunately, did not choose to act as a gracious winner during his acceptance speech.
Usually when a candidate wins an election, there is at least an attempt to bury the hatchet and move past the animosity and bitterness of the campaign trail. Jim Costa chose instead to continue the vitriol and blood-spitting rhetoric, basically accusing Ashburn of being a liar, “distorter” and puppet of the NRCC.
Jim Costa should apologize for these comments. This is especially true if he hopes to reach across the aisle to work with his Republican neighbors, Devin Nunes and George Radonovich, who enjoy strong support in their nearby districts (Nunes is my U.S. Representative).
So Jim, what will it be?
Tim Bourne said,
December 20, 2004 at 10:57 am
Jeff:
Pull off your blinders. The Republicans tried mightily with RNC money to win this seat but failed despite their very misleading ads. Jim Costa is an intelligent leader who has a history of seeking concensus, while Roy Ashburn is the worst kind of right-wing extremist. Thank God Ashburn went down in flames. The nation is polarized enough without having an idiot like Roy Ashburn in Washington! Surely you can see can the parallels between the religous ideals of the mullahs of the Middle East and the religous nuts in the good old U.S.A. The men who established our country had enough sense to realize that we need to keep God out of government. Now we have a bunch of idiots in Washington who want to inject their narrow views of Christianity upon the U.S. Rather than focusing on the race between Costa and Ashburn, you should get out into the world and seek to do some good with your ministry. Jesus’ greatest lesson was love your neighbor as yourself. See what you can do for the poor Hmongs and Mexicans living up the road from you in Fresno rather than banging on Democratic politicians. Picking a guitar at church on Sunday doesn’t get it. Real faith requires real action, not hateful invectives!
Tim Bourne
Jeff Doolittle said,
December 20, 2004 at 11:49 am
Tim,
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. I am concered with what appears to be an angry tone in your comment and wanted to address it.
First, I did not mention support for Ashburn anywhere in my post. I was not an Ashburn supporter and I am aware that the RNC dumped a huge wad of cash into his campaign to try to beat Costa. I did not support this action.
Second, you make some serious and baseless assumptions about me. Apparently you have perused my website and assume that you can determine who I am from the site. My ministry is not simply “picking a guitar at church” on Sunday, it is a lifestyle of reaching out to people’s spiritual and physical needs, including those of Mexican background (good idea about reaching out to the Hmong community, I’ll give it some serious thought and prayer). You cannot determine who I am (or anyone else for that matter) through a website.
Finally, you talk about “hateful invective” but if I see negativity and polarization anywhere, it is in your comment and not in my website. I’m always a fan of open and honest debate and would love to discuss these issues with you. However, if you continue to talk about “idiots” and “religious nuts”, you really don’t have a leg to stand on in telling others they are employing “hateful invective.”
Respectfully,
Jeff
Peter Sean Bradley said,
December 20, 2004 at 1:21 pm
Hello,
For the record I have been extensively involved in helping the poor in the Mexican and Hmong communities in Fresno. As Community Service Director for my Rotary club I spent a year spearheading a community outreach effort into a school and neighborhood that is one of the poorest in the state of California. I’m happy to report that many of the programs I worked on are continuing. I’m not one of “narrow kind” of Christians that was referred to, but I and my fellow Rotarians do our share to help out those who need help in Fresno, and, Tim, I’d be more than happy to introduce you to the good works that Rotary does in helping out the poor in Fresno all of which is done, I should mention, with a complete adherence to the most sacred principles of the separation of church from every aspect of life that doesn’t happen inside of church, temple synagogue. So if you’ve been frightened of joining Rotary lest you be made to sacrifice to idols, stop worrying and drop me a line.
Having said that, I’m very disappointed in Costa’s performance in the election. I didn’t have a “dog in that fight,” but I do remember the abrasive ads he ran against Lisa Quigley in the primary. I’m not a Democrat and my only interest in that primary was that Quigley’s sister is a partner in a local law firm. I wasn’t affected by Costa’s ads but I still thought they were out of line in focusing on spurious issues such as being a “carpetbagger.” I’ll grant that Costa could have taken offense about Quigley’s revival of the Costa’s 1986 no contest conviction for soliciting a police decoy to engage in a “three way sex act.” It appears, though, that voters in his district are forgiving of such mistakes. (But a similar mistake on the part of a Fresno Assemblyman in a Republican district resulted in his decision to retire. ( A rare showing of prudence on his part, in my opinion, particularly since I am a voter in that district and would relish the opportunity to vote against him again.)
I guess that as an onlooker, I’d be more impressed by Costa if he would show more maturity and grace, particularly because he has received such an abundance of blessings from the voters.
Bob Jones said,
December 20, 2004 at 6:49 pm
Here comes that accusation against Jim Costa again! The only place I’ve seen the alleged charges against Costa that you mention are on a blog of channel 29 in Bakersfield. Where can those charges be independently confirmed or were they designed to derail Costa?
Bob
Bob Jones said,
December 20, 2004 at 6:49 pm
Here comes that accusation against Jim Costa again! The only place I’ve seen the alleged charges against Costa that you mention are on a blog of channel 29 in Bakersfield. Where can those charges be independently confirmed or were they designed to derail Costa?
Bob
annika said,
December 20, 2004 at 9:20 pm
Just a point of clarification. Here are Jesus’ own words:
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
i love it when anti-Christians try to quote scripture.
Peter Sean Bradley said,
December 24, 2004 at 5:56 pm
Bob,
I assume your talking to me and you’re talking abou the Costa- looking-for-a-double point. If so, here’s my answer:
First, I was alive and aware when it happened. It was in all the papers.
Second, do a google search. I did one before I posted my comment and found the citation. I also tried to make a hyperlink to a source in my comment but apparently that can’t be done with this comment system.
Third, the article I found said that Costa pled nolo, which is exactly what I remembered from the time. So it wasn’t a wild charge made up against him by opponents.
Fourth, what is it with this fanatic defense of Costa? Are you and Tim on his staff? Everyone with an ounce of memory and awareness knows about Costa. The Valley is not that big a place and if I wanted to, I suspect I could scratch up confirmatiosn about this and similar stories about Costa. At a certain level, everyone known everyone else. (For example, the current DA of my county is a former student of mine, and twenty years ago I attended the wedding of the current DA one county north of here. It’s ultimately a small place at that level.) Likewise, Samuelian’s prediliction was well-known, but voters turned a blind eye to the problem until he (a) cheesed off the Bee and (b) became a festering embarrassment to Fresno.
I think, frankly, that we voters would do well to realize that none of these politicians own their office and that they’re not indispensable. They’re in office at the sufferance of the voters and we don’t have to pick the ones with obvious blemishes. We can pick much better people than we do.
For example, Larry Wiley was a better man and businessman and leader than Samuelian. He also was a grown up who had contributed to the community. He should have been elected instead of a 26 year old who had never had to work in the private sector his entire life. Samuelian led a privileged life and he threw it away like a spoiled brat, which is what his life experience had raised him up to be.
Likewise, I suspect that there was nothing about Quigley that would have made her inferior to Costa as a Congressperson.
But, again, I have zero “dog in this fight,” save that I’d like to see more turn over in politicians so that they can go back to being taxpaying producers again.