I HEART GRUMPY OLD MEN

Hooray for The Revolt of the Elders.

"We are in a contest for the soul of the Republican Party," says McCloskey. Hence the new electoral strategy, which seeks to help GOP candidates who support causes such as environmental protection, stem cell research and abortion rights. So far, their efforts have focused on finding people in four California districts: primary opponents for Richard W. Pombo and John T. Doolittle and candidates to succeed Randy "Duke" Cunningham , who's retiring amid a series of ethical troubles, and Christopher Cox , who resigned last week to run the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last month, the new 527 group paid $41,500 for a year’s worth of nine-second video advertisements on an electronic billboard in the heart of Doolittle's district. The sign had to come down, though, when the Roseville Auto Mall Association, which has the right to veto the sign's content, complained that it violated community standards. Doolittle chief of staff Richard Robinson has scored the Elders for mounting "a coordinated strategy to weaken" GOP leaders. McCloskey doesn't disagree: "The ethics of the Republican leadership is repugnant to us," he says.