"In his big blue Ford F250, Rex Bloomfield coasted down out of the foothills, following a loaded logging truck west through the two-lane curves of Highway 193 between Newcastle and Lincoln. Bloomfield, a third-term Placer County supervisor, wore sleek-looking sunglasses, jeans and a short-sleeved dress shirt. With the truck, he easily could have been mistaken for one of many builders and developers at work in the county. Instead, Bloomfield is a grade-school teacher in Auburn -- and, as an elected leader, he belongs to a vocal minority that believes the county's unchecked development is making Placer County an unattractive place to live.

[...]

'It's a classic leapfrog type of development.' he said, turning off onto a dirt road next to an orchard where workers harvested peaches. He followed it to the top of Boulder Ridge, a former ranch where one of the country's largest home builders, Miami based-Lennar Corp., has plans for 1,800 homes. 'They go in the middle of the country and just put a very suburban-looking development surrounded by bucolic farms.'

When the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the plan, Bloomfield ended up on the lonely end of the vote.

Votes like that have gotten Bloomfield in trouble in Placer County, ... Bloomfield's environmental leanings have gotten him on the wrong side of the county's powerful development interests and the Republican establishment.

And Bloomfield has found himself running up against the most powerful political figure inthe foothills: Representative John Doolittle.

In Doolittle's 13 years in the US House of Representatives, the Rocklin Republican has risen swiftly. As Republican Conference Secretary, Doolittle, 53, ranks sixth in the House leadership. He meets weekly in the Beltway with the rest of the leadership team, including Speaker Denny Hastert and Majority Leader Tom Delay, and often with President George W Bush.

At the same time, Doolittle takes an unusual amount of interest in local politics back home. In Placer County, Doolittle's influence on local races is unmatched. A nod from the congressman means a great deal to those lucky enough to get it, whether support comes in the form of an endorsement or a check for tens of thousands of dollars.

For years, Doolittle has worked to reshape the Placer County Board of Supervisors, but he's also helped candidates who adhere to his conservative Republican, pro-growth values in El Dorado and Nevada Counties. And most surprisingly, he's endorsed people in low-level races usually below the radar for a political figure of national importance, backing city council, school board or even flood control district candidates. In one supervisor race in Nevada County, a mass mailing by Doolittle is credited with helping to tip an extremely close race toward a conservative challenger, ending that boards domination by liberal supervisors.

[...]

Doolittle is a hard-right conservative, so how people judge his involvement often depends on whether their ideology matches his. The way fellow conservatives see it, he's just showing strong leadership. But to Democrats, Moderate Republicans and those who fear development is out of control in the foothills, Doolittle is a power-hungry ideologue who won't rest until he commands every politico in his district ..." Read More

Ever hear of Project Evergreen?

"Dear Friend:

When I speak before or meet with Americans concerned by the extremism of the so-called environmentalist movement, I often find myself counseling only defensive action. But rather than complaining and beating back Clinton Administration proposals, we may soon have the chance to take the initiative with a new Republican President. I would like to assemble a list of Executive Orders and rules changes that a new president can enact immediately upon taking office to go on the offensive against extreme environmentalists...

[...]

Let me thank you in advance for your help on this important project.

John T Doolittle
US Representative"

Notice how he's talking about lawful government regulations and legislation - not, anyone like the ELF, but lawful regulations.

From the L.A. Times via kos

Washington -- In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence peddling scandal, two northern California Republican congressman used their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions.

The congressmen, John T Doolittle and Richard W Pombo, joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom Delay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millinaire Charles E Hurwitz, documents recently obtained by the Los Angeles Times show. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his role in the collapse of a Texas savings and loan that ultimately cost tax payers $1.6 Billion.

The investigation was ultimately dropped

More from kos

And the list goes on ...

From thehill.com

"In the wake of former Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cuningham's (R-Calif.) stunning resignation and tearful admission that he had accepted some $2.4 million in bribes Monday, many of his former colleagues are mulling what to do with tens of thousands of dollars they received in campaign contributions from Cunningham's co-conspirators.

[...]

Republican Reps. Tom Delay (Texas), John Doolittle (Calif.) and Jerry Lewis (Calif.) all received at least $30,000 in donations ..."

This is getting awful repetitive isn't it?

This is the first blog on the Rep from District 4 - so be forewarned, if you're a Doolittle freeper who is lurking - more is on the way