SIDEBAR: In interview, Clark weighs in on Palin, 4th District's 'blue' future

Just two months before the November election, Democrats welcomed one of their big guns to support congressional hopeful Charlie Brown in the hotly contested 4th District on Thursday.

Retired four-star general and former presidential candidate Wesley Clark appeared alongside Brown at Veterans Memorial Park North in Roseville to tout the Brown campaign’s “Promises Kept Veterans Challenge,” which gives a portion of political donations to nonprofit organizations that benefit veterans groups. The appearance came as Brown and his Republican opponent, State Senator Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, enter the post-Labor Day home stretch of the campaign.

“Everybody needs money and wants support, but this is the first time I’ve come to a candidate who gives back as he raises,” said Clark, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination and served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe from 1997 to 2000.

Amid a crowd of Brown supporters, local veterans and nonprofit leaders, campaign officials were eager to press the message that the event was not merely a political play, but rather a way to draw attention to groups serving the veterans community. Clark and Brown were also scheduled to help produce care packages on Friday for U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Brown didn’t mention his Republican opponent by name in remarks that referenced the need to give more attention to the needs of returning veterans. And both headliners took the opportunity to laud organizations working to support veterans, including Rebuild Hope, the Greater Oroville Homeless Coalition and Cottage Housing. The three groups, which won an online poll on the Brown Web site, shared a total of $30,000, an amount the campaign said represents 5 percent of all Brown campaign donations.

“This is about giving people a hand up and not leaving anyone behind,” said Brown, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel.

Still, the undercurrent of politicking wasn’t hard to find. In an election year when Democrats are working furiously to reclaim House and Senate seats across the country, politics was in the air – especially in a district that Brown narrowly lost in 2006 to Republican incumbent John Doolittle. Doolittle announced he would not seek another term earlier this year.

For their part, at least one local Republican leader lauded the spirit of the Brown campaign’s contribution, even as he took issue with the candidate’s positions.

“I do think that contributing to military charities is a positive thing,” said Tom Hudson, chairman of the Placer County Republican Party.

But he also said the appearance of Clark was unlikely to sway many voters in one of the most heavily Republican districts in the state – one in which he said Brown, despite his military credentials, was too far to the left to win.

“I think it would be more honest if he had Nancy Pelosi, who's been funneling a lot of money to his campaign,” he said.

Bill George, communications director for Tom McClintock, agreed, and derided calling attention to the grants for what he suggested was political gain.

“Tom McClintock is a very strong supporter of the military and veterans,” he said. “He does a lot of good things for veterans without calling press conferences.”

George added the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to Sen. John McCain’s presidential ticket has “energized” Placer County Republican base voters, which would carry over to heightened turnout down the ticket.

“We’ve seen tremendous enthusiasm with the volunteers and rank and file of the Republican party,” he said. “People are clearly energized about the Palin pick. And they’re responding.”

Thursday’s grants marked the second time Brown has donated campaign funds to veterans groups. In March, the campaign provided $17,500 to three other local nonprofits.

One of them was Soldier’s Angels, which supports veterans care at VA hospitals.

“The outpouring of support got us through some really hard times,” said Josh Steward, a disabled veteran and Brown supporter who received help from the group after he returned from Iraq.

The Clark appearance was also the second time the national figure has appeared at a Brown event. The Democratic challenger hosted an event in Sacramento in 2006 during the campaign against Doolittle, which fell 3 percentage points short.

In an interview after his remarks, Clark said he was confident Brown would carry the 4th District, despite the overwhelming advantage Republicans have on voter rolls here.

“This is a year in which the American population says ‘enough is enough, we don’t want eight more years of what we had.’ And Charlie Brown represents a wave of change,” he said.

Clark’s appearance on Thursday followed a “Serve with the General” online contest sponsored by Clark’s political action committee, WesPAC, whose mission includes electing Democrats to Congress; and Democrats Work, which encourages Democrats around the country to complete community service projects.

E-mail Nathan Donato-Weinstein at nathand@goldcountrymedia.com.