Disclosure: I’m working with Eric Egland’s campaign. I’m doing so because I believe this race is a great opportunity to clean house and revitalize the Republican Party.

Erick Erickson got it absolutely right when he wrote, “If we do not clean our own house, the voters will do it for us.” The house cleaning just swept Idaho (though it looks like we’ll need to send the cleaners back in). It’s happening in Alaska, where new Governor Sarah Palin is standing up to Ted Stevens and Don Young and winning. The next big test — and perhaps the biggest one in the next few months — is California-4 and the fight to replace corrupt appropriator John Doolittle in Congress.

From corruption to influence peddling to selling out his conservative principles, John Doolittle has failed. The answer is Eric Egland, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and true conservative. I urge you to support the $10,000, 4-day online fundraiser for this worthy primary challenger being spearheaded by Red State.

In light of the ongoing FBI investigations into John Doolittle’s ties to Jack Abramoff, many potential challengers are talking about getting in. But Egland is the first and still the best. He understands the War on Terror firsthand, and his work supporting our troops has already earned the respect of the blogosphere. On earmarks, he’ll vote with John Campbell and not like appropriator John Doolittle who scored a miserable 2% on the Club for Growth’s RePORK Card and voted to send your tax dollars to the Charlie Rangel School of Public Service.

California’s 4th district has already been burned by one career politician, and its next Representative needs to be just the opposite. The district needs real change — not just a different Congressman, but a different kind of Congressman. If you want to clean our own house before the voters do it for us, there is no higher priority than CA-4. If you want someone who will go beyond just party-line votes on Iraq and the War on Terror, Eric Egland is your man.

As Erick points out, this is a hugely Republican district. Any Republican not named John Doolittle (who loses by 20 points to liberal Democrat Charlie Brown) will carry it in November. Our task is to ensure that the very best conservative is the nominee.

Make sure to show your support before the critical September 30th fundraising deadline.