RIPON, Calif. — When reports came out that U.S. Rep. Richard W. Pombo had rented a luxury camper at government expense and taken his family on a "working vacation" to several national parks, the common reaction in this San Joaquin Valley town was: So what?
"Most people thought, 'Well, at least he didn't take a Lear jet,' " said Ripon City Atty. Tom Terpstra, one of Pombo's many avid supporters in this almond- and walnut-growing center just north of Modesto.
"The RV trip? That's a lot of smoke but no fire," said walnut grower and developer Gary Barton, an officer with Citizens Land Alliance, a property rights organization that Pombo co-founded before he was first elected to Congress 14 years ago.
Pombo (R-Tracy), 45, and John T. Doolittle (R-Roseville), 55, have come under attack for their ethics as a corruption scandal threatens the GOP lock on Washington.
Ethics watchdogs have questioned their ties to Jack Abramoff, the Washington lobbyist who pleaded guilty to defrauding Indian tribes of more than $20 million. The watchdogs have also criticized the candidates for using public money for personal expenses and for making large payments to their wives and family from campaign funds.
Pombo also faces opposition from well-financed environmental groups.
But moderate Republicans hoping to oust them in the June 6 primary and Democrats looking to defeat them in November could find it tough going in the two conservative districts. Despite the ethical questions, interviews with voters here show that many still favor the GOP incumbents.
Nevertheless, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which coordinates the party's spending on House races, is waiting to pounce if either appears weak in their primaries.
Republicans, with control of Congress at stake, are taking no chances. Vice President Dick Cheney is flying in Monday to appear with Doolittle at a fundraiser in Sacramento and with Pombo at a rally in Stockton. And both candidates are shoring up their campaign funds. As of March 31, Pombo had collected more than $1 million; Doolittle, $406,596.
"That's two times what we usually do," said Doolittle aide Richard Robinson. "We believe the Democrats are going to come at us with everything they've got."
Pombo, whose spectacularly gerrymandered 11th District is a mix of ranchland and Bay Area exurbs, is seeking his eighth term; Doolittle, who represents the 4th District, stretching from the upwardly mobile Sierra foothills east of Sacramento to the Oregon border, is seeking his ninth term.
