Thanks, but no thanks, Tom
Posted by: Jeff Flint | 02/27/2008 8:22 AM
It would be hard to miss that the buzz in the 4th Congressional District race is the likely entrance of State Senator Tom McClintock (R - Simi Valley) into the GOP primary. In a race already turbulent first from polls showing Democrat Charlie Brown had a serious shot at winning, then Congressman John Doolittle's long insistence that he would not step aside, followed by focus on the brewing battle between moderate former Congressman Doug Ose and conservative former State Senator Rico Oller, the McClintock speculation has trumped all stories.
Both FlashReport editor Jon Fleischman and I have written, in acknowledgement of political reality, that Tom McClintock's popularity among conservative activists, high statewide name ID for previous runs, and obvious leadership on many issues, means that Tom could probably move to any district in California and win a GOP primary.
But that doesn't mean he should.
As we all know, Tom represents a Ventura County-based State Senate district in the legislature. Most also know that his family has long lived with him in the greater Sacramento region, including in Placer County for a period of time.
He has run for statewide office three times, losing narrowly twice. And I would certainly be remiss if I did not acknowledge his leadership on a whole host of conservative public policy issues. He's been a champion of lower taxes, fiscal restraint, eliminating waste from government, property rights, and more. Every legislator votes thousands of times, and I could comb through his long public record and find votes with which I disagree, but that would be a trivial exercise. Tom McClintock is a leading, perhaps the leading, conservative public policy figure in California.
All of which is entirely irrelevant to whether he should run for Congress in the 4th District, and whether we should welcome him as if he is doing us a favor.
And that's what bothers me about so much of this. The perception, at least, of an attitude from the McClintock camp that we should all be overjoyed about his likely entry in this race. Obviously, neither Rico Oller nor Doug Ose lives in the 4th Congressional District either, but at least Ose represented a neighboring district and lived in the greater Sacramento region his whole life, and Oller represented much of the 4th District previously in the state legislature. Both have spent significant professional time in the private sector, and have some claim to understanding the values of the 4th District.
Meanwhile, for someone who is as anti-government in his rhetoric as Tom McClintock, he sure likes to be on the public payroll. As articulate as Tom can be sometimes, I find myself wondering if serving as a freshman Congressman from a community he has little ties to is the best that he can do. Wouldn't you rather see Tom McClintock leading a new, conservative public policy think tank, or as a radio talk show host, spreading his philospohy to thousands if not millions of listeners?
One is left with the inescapable conclusion that McClintock's entry into the 4th District race is about him, and preserving his political career and time in office, and not the people of the Sierra Foothills.
I can also speak with some experience on how good a team player all three leading GOP candidates are. Rico Oller was part of Curt Pringle's leadership team, and was the epitome of a leader and team player. I worked with Rico day in and day out, and as I wrote before, he is the kind of guy you'd trust to be in your political foxhole.
Doug Ose, whom I don't agree with on some important issues, was nonetheless, in my more limited experience, a good team player. He used his position on a special committee after the California energy crisis to demonstrate that much of the blame fell on former Governor Gray Davis' inaction and wrong action. And I know Doug's team well from other work, and he has surrounded himself with people I consider to be good folks, including Richard Robinson, Doug Elmets, Marko Mlikotin, and the team at McNally Temple. Ose won't vote the way I want every time, but as the GOP fights to regain control of the House, I suspect Doug will be part of the team that pitches in.
Meanwhile, if you are honest with yourself, indeed, by factoring in this most recent effort, I have been left with the clear impression over the years that Tom is an individualist who doesn't play well, even with his own team, and seems to prefer to be in the limelight than to winning the fight. To me, politics is a team sport.
Let me put it this clearly. From my years of observing Tom McClintock, I'm sad to say that, if confronted with the choice between a public policy win in which some one else gets the credit, or a public policy defeat in which he gets praise or headline, I believe McClintock would choose the latter.
This is all probably moot.
I suspect the decision has already been made.. I don't believe for one second that the Bob Moore poll which started the McClintock campaign was uncoordinated or not part of a plan. Tom McClintock will likely announce any day now that he is in the race. I even believe that he will easily win the GOP nomination and then win the general election by a comfortable margin. While I will stand by Rico Oller in the primary if he stays in the race, certainly in the general election, I will vote for Tom.
But that doesn't mean I have to act like he's doing me a big favor by running here.
Both FlashReport editor Jon Fleischman and I have written, in acknowledgement of political reality, that Tom McClintock's popularity among conservative activists, high statewide name ID for previous runs, and obvious leadership on many issues, means that Tom could probably move to any district in California and win a GOP primary.
But that doesn't mean he should.
As we all know, Tom represents a Ventura County-based State Senate district in the legislature. Most also know that his family has long lived with him in the greater Sacramento region, including in Placer County for a period of time.
He has run for statewide office three times, losing narrowly twice. And I would certainly be remiss if I did not acknowledge his leadership on a whole host of conservative public policy issues. He's been a champion of lower taxes, fiscal restraint, eliminating waste from government, property rights, and more. Every legislator votes thousands of times, and I could comb through his long public record and find votes with which I disagree, but that would be a trivial exercise. Tom McClintock is a leading, perhaps the leading, conservative public policy figure in California.
All of which is entirely irrelevant to whether he should run for Congress in the 4th District, and whether we should welcome him as if he is doing us a favor.
And that's what bothers me about so much of this. The perception, at least, of an attitude from the McClintock camp that we should all be overjoyed about his likely entry in this race. Obviously, neither Rico Oller nor Doug Ose lives in the 4th Congressional District either, but at least Ose represented a neighboring district and lived in the greater Sacramento region his whole life, and Oller represented much of the 4th District previously in the state legislature. Both have spent significant professional time in the private sector, and have some claim to understanding the values of the 4th District.
Meanwhile, for someone who is as anti-government in his rhetoric as Tom McClintock, he sure likes to be on the public payroll. As articulate as Tom can be sometimes, I find myself wondering if serving as a freshman Congressman from a community he has little ties to is the best that he can do. Wouldn't you rather see Tom McClintock leading a new, conservative public policy think tank, or as a radio talk show host, spreading his philospohy to thousands if not millions of listeners?
One is left with the inescapable conclusion that McClintock's entry into the 4th District race is about him, and preserving his political career and time in office, and not the people of the Sierra Foothills.
I can also speak with some experience on how good a team player all three leading GOP candidates are. Rico Oller was part of Curt Pringle's leadership team, and was the epitome of a leader and team player. I worked with Rico day in and day out, and as I wrote before, he is the kind of guy you'd trust to be in your political foxhole.
Doug Ose, whom I don't agree with on some important issues, was nonetheless, in my more limited experience, a good team player. He used his position on a special committee after the California energy crisis to demonstrate that much of the blame fell on former Governor Gray Davis' inaction and wrong action. And I know Doug's team well from other work, and he has surrounded himself with people I consider to be good folks, including Richard Robinson, Doug Elmets, Marko Mlikotin, and the team at McNally Temple. Ose won't vote the way I want every time, but as the GOP fights to regain control of the House, I suspect Doug will be part of the team that pitches in.
Meanwhile, if you are honest with yourself, indeed, by factoring in this most recent effort, I have been left with the clear impression over the years that Tom is an individualist who doesn't play well, even with his own team, and seems to prefer to be in the limelight than to winning the fight. To me, politics is a team sport.
Let me put it this clearly. From my years of observing Tom McClintock, I'm sad to say that, if confronted with the choice between a public policy win in which some one else gets the credit, or a public policy defeat in which he gets praise or headline, I believe McClintock would choose the latter.
This is all probably moot.
I suspect the decision has already been made.. I don't believe for one second that the Bob Moore poll which started the McClintock campaign was uncoordinated or not part of a plan. Tom McClintock will likely announce any day now that he is in the race. I even believe that he will easily win the GOP nomination and then win the general election by a comfortable margin. While I will stand by Rico Oller in the primary if he stays in the race, certainly in the general election, I will vote for Tom.
But that doesn't mean I have to act like he's doing me a big favor by running here.
CATEGORY:
4th Congressional District Race, FEATURE
"Bob" your response basically means Roll Call hit the mark. Quoting left-wing sites is no ointment for the...
Well said Jeff! You have written exactly the things I have been thinking. I am actually annoyed about Tom thinking that we "need" him here or even want him for that matter. I say go run in the 24th and take out that guy.
Jeff - I am going to write a separate post about Doug Ose's idea of being a team player.
I am a die-hard Rico supporter, but I can see what is going on locally.
You missed the target on the assertion about Ose and being a team player.
Suffice to say, given how the local electeds have united behind the anyone but Rico freight train and in my opinion McClintock may be necessary to keep Doug Ose out of the 4th CD.
Agreed, Jeff.
The major newspapers ran a photo from the recent convention that included the sign that said "McClintock - California's Congressman" and a lady from San Diego urging the Senator to run for Congress 600 miles from her home.
That seems odd.
I signed the card along with several others from the 4th Congressional CD. If McClintcok wins the primary (over Ose) he will be doing us all a big favor. He may or may not be a "team player" with Republicans but he is always on the team of taxpayers. Something neeed in Washington! Run Tom Run.
The Original tommygirl!
Simi Valley is over four hundred miles from Roseville. That's about the same distance as Boston is from Washington D.C. Put that way you can see how ridiculous McClintock running in our district really looks.
So here's the Republican Primary lineup:
* Three electable candidates followed by Egland and the DUI guy
* All three of the electable candidates are carpetbaggers
* One is to the right of Doolittle, an anti-environment, anti-animal "Guns, God and Gays" rich guy
* One is moderate but was a staunch (and rich) supporter of the corrupt John Doolittle in the 2006 election
* And the other guy is a career politico with his own self interest at heart as Jeff described very well
Can't you guys do any better than this?
Meanwhile, Democrats have united behind a straight talking middle-income local man who is passionate about ably representing his home in Congress. A man who is ethical. Who--if you get past the attack pieces--is a political moderate, someone who was a Republican for most of his life. Were it not for G.W. Bush and Karl Rove he would probably still be a Republican. And you can bet he will consider CD-4's political demographics when voting in Congress. He takes representation seriously (unlike Marianas Man).
So instead of wasting all this energy putting forward candidates in 2008 who don't live in this district why don't you take a few years and groom Republican candidates who do live here and who represent the center--not the far right--of the district's political spectrum? Granted the center of CD-4 is well to the right of most other places in the U.S. but Brown or Ose are better mirrors of the center here than either Oller or McClintock.
I personally just can't get over Ose's vocal support for Doolittle in 2006 when Doolittle's corruption was so evident. That raises significant ethical questions for me. Ose chose party over purity. Therefore, Charlie Brown is by far the best choice for CD-4 for Congress in 2008.
Bob's statements about Charlie Brown are complete hogwash.
The reality is that Brown is a longtime member of the radical left ACLU--a Christian-hating organization that believes gang members should have more rights than Boy Scouts.
Belonging to this American-hating liberal organization is proof positive that Brown is no moderate. That's why he refused to take a public stand on illegal immigration or tax increases in the 2006 campaign.
Charlie Brown is a phony who uses past military service as a smokescreen to cover up his pathetic liberal views. Any of the Republican candidates will flush Mr. Brown down the political toilet in Novemeber.
Jeff- We have plenty of good candidates who are in the district already. McClintock has been a pretty good politician but he does not belong here.
Chris - thanks for chiming in.
The fact that there is enough on Ose to make an effective comparison between him and Brown is proof positive that the GOP nominee needs to be Rico Oller.
Washington is in serious need of adult supervision, and Tom McClintock can give it!!!
I too really don't care if Tom is in it for the "Republican Team" or for himself. Remember it was the "Republican Team", which Ose was a member, that had the spending problem.... and they earned their "thumping". As far as I am concerned, Tom McClintock should be cloned and he should replace the "Republican Team". Tom McClintock has always stood up for and been with the taxpayers. Can we say the same about the "Republican Team"????
Today I very proudly donated to Tom's exploratory committee, and I would encourage everyone who believes Washington is broken and is in need of adult supervision to do the same.
Rico will get his chance, the urgent issue at hand is to defeat lefties Charlie Brown and Doug Ose.
Chris Jones knows not what he is talking about. Brown has been a member of the ACLU for about three or four years--hardle a lifetime. This is the same organization that has supported many conservatives caught in civil liberties situations. Need I list them for you? Do you not understand precedent? That the ACLU's concern for infringement of civil liberties doesn't pertain to the content of a case or to who the defendant's are but to the fact that the decision on the law in a case can extend to cover far more than what actually triggered the case?
Some will say, "Yeah well, but they don't defend second amendment cases". Maybe true, but ever hear of the NRA? That territory is very well covered. Why would the ACLU spend money on gun cases when the NRA will spend whatever it takes to defend those same civil liberties? Think of it as a complementary relationship.
Let me ask you, Chris. Ever heard Charlie Brown speak? No? You should try it sometime. Watch the debate with Doolittle on You Tube (all fourteen parts or however many there are). Reason versus raving nut.
I'm no lefty myself. Voted for Reagan twice and for Bush senior. Couldn't vote for Bush junior--he struck me as a dim bulb in 2000 and events have shown I made a good choice, I think. So before you reply and put me into the Code Pink category just understand this: Retired senior officer, U.S. Navy. Manager with a top U.S. multinational corporation. Top 10% in income. Graduate degree in business. And sick and tired of Republicans who ignore science and who cut taxes while spending a trillion on a war. Can't stand political corruption which hangs most heavy over Republicans which you cannot deny if you are honest. Want to see America both strong and respected in the world after watching our military get destroyed in an endless Chinese water torture war while our international reputation was smeared through short-sighted policies on civil liberties and torture.
These are a few of the reasons a LOT of people like me have left the Republican Party but from reading this blog for several months it's clear NONE of you understand that or even talk much about it. That's why this election will not be the slam dunk you expect even if well-known McClintock is your nominee. McCain won't bring the Republican right to the polls and neither will Hillary Clinton, it looks like.
Membership in the ACLU for 60 seconds is enough to disqualify you in my book.
Bob et. al. Please try to understand that those of us who have lived in CD4 for many years don't have a fondness for "luke warm" individuals. You succeed in these parts by being tough-minded, not limp-wristed.
We have enough Democrats who want to be Republicans or is it Republicans who want to be Democrats throughout the rest on the country. The Charlie Brown's of the world are always looking for friends. CD4 is not the pumpkin patch and I'm sure Charlie Brown will get nothing but rocks at Halloween this year.
While Rico Oller does not live in CD4. He was our State Senator and did a great job representing the most rural areas of a vast district.
We are a conservative district. Why in the world would we want to be represented by anyone who has an ideology the majority of us oppose?
I realize that the population concentration of CD4 (the outer Sacramento area) is more moderate than the balance of the district, but please don't saddle us with a politician who sways wherever the wind blows and whose supporters spew hackneyed anti-conservative statements.
That applies to moderate Republicans and Democrats alike.
---Sorry for the anonymous post. The site won't allow me to sign in. Gary
So now I read that Oller's out. McClintock's in. The rocks come early Charlie Brown.
While Tom is a good guy, it is a shame that we need to import someone from Southern, California to represent us in Washington. Maybe Tom should see what it takes to earn a real paycheck for a few years, then come back into politics.
As a conservative, I believe that serving in the military shows real dedication to our country. I am always surprised, especially by our local elected officials in Placer County on how they all support the war in Iraq, wave the flag, and say all Democratrs want to cut and run. How many of these elected officials have served in the military? How many of their sons or daughters have or are serving in the military? While Charlie Brown is a moderate to liberal, he has served. Not as a paper pusher in the military but as a search and rescue helicopter pilot in Vietnam. And decorated for his service. His son is flying missions in Iraq. For all of you who speak ill about Senator McCain, I believe you all know about his service. He has 2 sons in the military, with one serving in Iraq.
With regards to Charlie Brown, he will probably loose to Tom. It is important that we keep this seat in Republican hands. However, Tom, Rico, and, Doug cannot compete with Brown when it comes to real service to our country.
Gary and Mark, thanks for your respectful posts. I'll try to done it down a little, too. But I sure do get mad when people put all Democrats into a lefty lunatic bucket just as I'm sure some of you get mad when Republicans are lumped together into the wing nut category.
I wonder if Karen England has ever needed her civil rights for anything ever? That would be nice to know. Women had to fight hard to get the vote ninety years ago. The ACLU continues to protect people from others who would make it more difficult for them to exercise their right to vote. They also work hard on the concept of equal pay for equal work. Women are still paid well under what men are paid for the same job and with similar experience.
If there were three parties with one representing the middle of the political spectrum I suspect a bunch of people would be in it and stay in it including myself. I could register 'decline to state' or 'independent' but I figure if I'm going to vote for Democrats most of the time now that I have become disillusioned with the Republican Party then I should register that way. I changed registration from Dem to Repub in 1980 and back to Dem in 2004. Not exactly day-by-day swings.
You can say some folks are "luke warm" but I say sticking with something that has morphed into something entirely different is worse. The Republican Party is a shadow of its former self for some of the reasons I stated in my earlier post and many more. In a few years, most likely, Democrats will need to be swept out in turn. It's healthy.
I look forward to watching this debate over the next few months. I hope it moves from "keep the seat" to more about what really matters to people--and not just the well off or well connected.
Tom McClintock is NOT a team player, make no mistake about that. Having been a resident of Thousand Oaks for many years, I have seen Tom pander to special interest(i.e.sponsoring a bill that gave tax exemption for million dollar arabian horses who "raced" owned by wealthy donor David Murdock). He opposed bills to make seat belts and motorcyle helmets mandatory. Those laws have saved thousands of lives and millions of dollars in medical bills.
He is arrogant, smug and has never held a job outside of the government. How do you think he will relate to those who have faced rising medical care insurance premiums, raises that don't keep up with inflation, and living life without having the tab picked up by lobbyist who wants his vote.
Tom is for Tom and keeping his cushy faux job--as state legislator or in Congress. It's time for Tom to finally become a taxpayer and get a real job and a real life.
Abraham Lincoln must roll in his grave everytime McClintock quotes him!
Tom has used and abused so many of his previous supporters in Ventura County, he needs to find new ground. Don't be taken in!!!! Anybody but Tom!
Not that I have an opinion.....