And still he runs

He lacks big bucks, party backing and name recognition. In addition, his campaign for Congress has had virtually no mainstream press coverage, and even Democratic pollsters give him just a one-in-four chance of winning the congressional race.

Those facts, however, have not dampened the enthusiasm of Democrat Howard Beeman, who is giving his all to beat Republican Congressman Doug Ose on November 5.

Beeman’s chances of being elected to represent the re-carved, Republican-dominated 3rd District appear as likely as Don Quixote’s odds of defeating the windmills. Beeman is taking on far more than just Ose, and some say the challenger is up against a rigged system.

But Beeman is idealistic. He’s as convinced of the righteousness of his cause as was the Man of La Mancha. Beeman compares predictions of his campaign loss to warnings he received when converting from traditional to organic farming in Woodland in the 1970s, which turned out to be a success.

Beeman is also placing bets that he can beat Ose, whom he calls the “friend of the rich man,” because of the public’s disgust with the rampant corporate-fraud and campaign-financing scandals.

“People are tired of sellout candidates,” Beeman said. “I believe you can win if you get a real message to the voters.”

Beeman comes from many generations of Central Valley farmers. He rejects a preemptive strike against Iraq without international support and wants President George W. Bush’s whopping tax cut repealed. Beeman supports universal health care and the elimination of all nuclear weapons. His other priorities include reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, bolstering renewable resources, conservation, opposing the deregulation of the electricity market and privatizing the water system.

Pounding the pavement
Beeman; his wife and de facto campaign manager, Susan Pelican; and the couple’s oldest son, Ezra, have raised a little more than $35,000 in the last few months—a fraction of what incumbent Ose has raised with no great effort.

In addition to holding fund-raisers and running a phone bank, they and their dedicated band of volunteers have walked dozens of precincts and have mailed political flyers highlighting Beeman’s positions on key political issues.

When muckraking filmmaker and author Michael Moore was in town to promote his film Bowling for Columbine, he put in a plug for Beeman’s candidacy and helped raise $2,000 earlier this month.

Ose, a wealthy Sacramento businessman, has done minimal campaigning as the incumbent but had raised more than $800,000 by the end of September, according to the Federal Election Committee.

Steve Rice, a consultant for Ose, could not point to any specific congressional campaign activity of Ose’s and acknowledged the redistricting of the 3rd District certainly works to his advantage. But Rice, who works for McNally Temple Associates, added that “Doug Ose is not taking anything for granted.”

In early October, Beeman attempted to get Ose to debate publicly, but the congressman declined, saying he had pressing matters at the U.S. Capitol to which to attend, including passing a huge military budget and voting to support Bush’s war resolution to allow the United States to attack Iraq unilaterally.

The recently re-carved 3rd District, which includes parts of Sacramento and Solano counties along with Amador, Alpine and Calaveras counties, remains a predominantly Republican district. Before the once-a-decade redistricting, the district, which once elected Democrat Vic Fazio, included Yolo, Sutter, Colusa, Glen and Tehama along with parts of Sacramento, Solano and Butte counties.

“The fact is that the Republicans and Democrats divvied up the state so there is no competition,” said Robert Stern, president of the nonprofit, non-partisan Center for Governmental Studies. The only competitive race in the state is the one between Democrat Dennis Cardoza and Republican Keith Monteith, who are fighting for Congressman Gary Condit’s old seat.

“My vote doesn’t count anymore,” Stern said, adding that he believes campaign contributions are not made to bolster races anymore, but simply to buy government access. Stern gives Beeman a lot of credit for running despite the stacked deck.

Sacrificial lamb?
One might wonder if Beeman, whose wife calls him the “stealth candidate,” is little more than cannon fodder for the Democrats.

Bob Mulholland, campaign advisor for the Democratic Party, balked when asked if Beeman was a sacrificial lamb. Mulholland claimed Beeman’s candidacy represented a right to choose. To suggest otherwise, Mulholland said, was “an insult to our founding fathers.”

The Democratic Party, however, has done little to boost Beeman’s chances. Beeman was reimbursed for his filing fee to register for the race, but the only Democratic politicians to back him financially so far are U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, who made a $1,000 donation, and Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickerson, who gave $100. No state politicians have shown up at any of Beeman’s fund-raisers, and only a few local officials have made appearances.

“We are not a targeted race,” Pelican acknowledged. “The way the system works is that people throw money at incumbents. It is not a wise use of money, but that is just how it works.”

In spite of that, Beeman and Pelican continue to push against the tide. The Beeman for Congress campaign targets Democrats who have not voted in the last election and encourages them to sign up for absentee ballots. Statistics show that absentee voters are far more likely to cast ballots than are other voters.

“With an aggressive get-out-the-vote program, the chances are good I can defeat my opponent, who is considering a senatorial campaign against Barbara Boxer in 2004,” Beeman said.

He said he was compelled to run “because of the mess the country is in” and to counteract mega-money political fund-raising. In late summer, he launched a low-key, grassroots fund-raising picnic at his mother’s farm in Woodland. He asked supporters to contribute $100 to his race “to stay clear of the big-money contributions that corrupt our system.”

A couple of weeks earlier, he held his first press conference at the Capitol to knock Ose for interfering with federal funding to protect and purchase Deer Creek Hills, a 4,000-acre tract of oak woodland and grassland in East Sacramento.

Before Beeman made his appearance, a smattering of supporters shouted under the hot sun, “Beeman for Congress! Ose has got to go!” They were virtually ignored by people strolling by during their lunch breaks. On the other side of the Capitol was a packed, raucous rally to push for legislation to increase funding for educational programs.

Not fazed in the least by the stark contrast, Beeman, who also ran in the Democratic primary for Congress in 1998, strode across the lawn to the portable podium. He and his mini entourage posed for a photo and struggled to fit under the “Beeman for Congress” banner.

“Move to the right,” the photographer shouted, to which one of the supporters replied, “We will never shift to the right.”

With that being the case, and with redistricting, miniscule funding and publicity, predictions are that it will be a slam-dunk for Ose. The outcome here, as in the rest of the 53 reapportioned districts, is “preordained,” Stern warned.

Nonetheless, Beeman remains committed to sticking it out until the bitter end.

“This is not going to remain a Republican seat,” he insisted. “We are building the foundation, and the district demographics are good enough that we will take back the seat. And I am going to be part of that solution.”