CA Republican candidate has issues with Bush.

By Mike Rosenberg / The Examiner


SAN FRANCISCO - Ask Republican Mike Moloney what he thinks about the Bush administration, and you better have some time on your hands. the retired businessman, one of five candidates vying to fill the late Tom Lantos’ seat during a special Tuesday primary, said the first thing he would do if elected to Congress is introduce articles of impeachment against President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

“I think that before the Bush administration’s term is over, they’re going to bomb Iran back to the stone ages,” the Foster City resident said.

In addition to wanting to bring the troops home immediately, Moloney wants to provide citizenship to the nation’s illegal immigrants and called Sen. John McCain “George Bush on steroids.” But do not be fooled — he is indeed a Republican, although he admits he used to be a Democrat and worked on Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign.

Moloney knows his biggest competition to succeed Lantos is longtime politician Jackie Speier, someone he called a “wonderful lady” and a “terrific person.” But he also said he would do a better job than she would.

The New York native wants to tackle the nation’s ever-growing deficit. Now retired, Moloney owned a chain of liquor stores but went bankrupt after “some poor economic decisions.”

Moloney considers himself a man of the people. He vowed to keep his door open at all times to his constituents. He said he hit the picket lines to support thousands of local nurses during their recent 10-day strike against Sutter Health.

Moloney is in familiar territory — he has run for this seat three times, and Lantos defeated him each time.

In addition to having no political experience, Moloney has just $1,900 in donations — short of his $50,000 goal — and does not accept endorsements from anyone other than voters. Speier had raised more than $850,000 as of last week.

Despite the previous losses, the reason Moloney keeps coming back to run for Congress, now for a fourth time and later this year for a fifth, is for the American people, he said.

“I stand on the corner and I hold my sign that says ‘Moloney for Congress’ and I talk to the American people,” Moloney said. “I absolutely love the contact with the people, and that’s what makes it so much fun.”