In Condit Country, Bad News Chips Away at Solid Backing

It’s breakfast time at the Old Mill Cafe, time to slurp a mug of steaming coffee and tuck into the story that’s been crowding the front page for weeks: the saga of the besieged congressman and the missing intern.

Not long ago, Gary A. Condit could have counted on the devotion of the retired mechanics and Korean War veterans slouched on the cafe’s red Leatherette stools. After all, this was Condit Country, just a few miles down ribboned Highway 99 from the congressman’s hometown of Ceres.

But with each headline--shouting news of Condit’s denial, then apparent admission of an affair with the missing Chandra Levy--support among even the Democrat’s stalwarts has begun to wither.

On Tuesday, police drew Condit even further into their investigation. They asked the congressman to take a polygraph test and submit a DNA sample. They also searched his Washington apartment for clues to Levy’s whereabouts.

“Unfortunately, I think he’s hiding things that he shouldn’t be hiding,” said Max Smith, 69, a retired Modesto trucker and Condit voter wearing a plaid shirt and hearing aid. “And when you’re hiding things, it sounds like you’re guilty. Why is he so evasive? I think he’s trying to cover it all up.”

Last November, the 53-year-old Condit was sent back to Washington with 67% of the vote. He was the rare politician who was not just reelected, but revered by conservative constituents who might have seen a bit of themselves--only better--in the preacher’s son with Oklahoma roots.

GOP Sees Chance to Unseat Condit

But now many question whether the seven-term congressman will hang onto his office through the summer. Democrats on Capitol Hill no longer rush forward to defend him. Republicans are sizing up their best political opportunity in years. And gone, perhaps irretrievably, is the bond that once tied Condit to Condit Country.

As Tammy Owen, a nurse and mother of three put it, “If he’s not honest with the police, how can he be honest with us?”

From virtually the moment Levy disappeared two months ago, the case has proceeded on parallel tracks: one legal, the other political.

Lately the two have converged, to Condit’s great detriment. Last week, airline flight attendant Anne Marie Smith stepped forward and said she had a 10-month affair with Condit and claimed the congressman encouraged her to lie about it in an affidavit. Condit, without confirming or denying the relationship, said he did nothing to thwart the Levy investigation.

Then, over the weekend in his third interview with police, Condit reportedly admitted having a romantic relationship with Levy, something his staff has vigorously denied for weeks.

Twin Revelations Harm Credibility

Although police continue to say Condit is not a suspect in Levy’s disappearance, the twin revelations have dealt a devastating blow to his credibility.

“The drip, drip, drip hurt him,” said Jim Boren, editorial page editor of the Fresno Bee, one of Condit’s home papers. But the latest developments are what really “pushed people over the edge.”

“It’s clear what he said to police in Washington and what he was saying out of his congressional office in Modesto were two different things,” Boren said.

On Tuesday, the Fresno Bee stopped just short of calling for Condit’s resignation. “It’s time for him to show that he deserves to be in Congress,” the paper stated. “If he intends to remain silent and duck his responsibility, it would be better for him to leave Congress.”

Condit, however, has given no indication he plans to step forward or, for that matter, step aside. Fellow Democrats publicly brush aside questions about Condit’s political fate. “We don’t consider that seat in play,” said Jenny Backus, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

But there has been a subtle distancing from Condit in just the last few days, as some of his defenders have grown notably silent.

Until recently, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) was among Condit’s most vocal supporters. But Tuesday he declined to comment, as did several other California lawmakers approached for their thoughts. “We just felt Mike seemed too out front on this,” said spokeswoman Beth Horan, who said her boss made his decision to stop talking even before the latest revelations surfaced.

Privately, some Democrats were seething. They noted Condit’s stern condemnation of President Clinton over the Monica S. Lewinsky affair, at a time when many staked their political reputations on defending their party’s embattled leader. “There’s a lot of anger, especially among those who were defending Clinton,” said one Democratic operative.

Democrats See Threat to Control of Congress

Whether he stays or goes, Condit’s political plight has already complicated Democratic efforts to regain control of Congress next year.

Until recently, the party considered Condit so politically safe they planned to siphon Democrats off from his district to undercut his Republican neighbors--Reps. Doug Ose of Sacramento and Richard W. Pombo of Tracy--as part of the once-a-decade redrawing of state political boundaries. Now, party map-makers will have to shore up Democratic support, for either Condit or anyone who hopes to succeed him.

On the Republican side, Modesto Councilman Bill Conrad announced Tuesday his intention to run for the Central Valley seat. He received just 32% of the vote against Condit in 1996, however, and party officials said privately their preferred candidate is state Sen. Dick Monteith of Modesto. Monteith has expressed interest in running--but only if Condit steps down.

Point, Counterpoint at the Old Mill Cafe

With all the speculation boiling, Anthony Jowl had had quite enough.

“I think they ought to give [Condit] a polygraph test, because this is getting out of hand,” he said from a corner booth at the Old Mill Cafe. “Why did he lie?”

Across the table, Jowl’s friend slammed down a beefy hand. “What the man does in bed [is] his own business,” he growled. “This is like the Clinton scandal. I feel sorry for the family--for Condit’s family.”

“No,” Jowl retorted, “for Levy’s family.”

“Gary Condit is a good man,” replied the friend, a 73-year-old who refused to give his name because--he said angrily--the press is out to destroy Condit. “That’s all I’ve got to say. Bill Clinton was a good man, and they ruined him.”

But the evidence suggests many more think along the lines of Bob and Jane Hansen.

In the back of their tiny downtown greeting card shop, the morning newspaper spread wide on the counter, the couple agreed that whatever happened to Levy, Condit’s political career is over. For years, they have voted for the congressman each time he was on the ballot--even though they’re Republicans. No more.

“Apparently our congressman is lying through his teeth,” said Bob Hansen. “I think he’s dead in the political arena. He should have come clean right away.”

“You kind of hoped that he wasn’t involved,” Jane Hansen said, shrugging her shoulders with a slight smile. “But it kind of sounded familiar--you know, Clinton and Monica. It just keeps getting worse and worse.”

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Times staff writer Janet Hook in Washington contributed to this story.