This will be of interest only to my thousands of readers in El Dorado County, California, but if you’re like me, you’ve been blown away by the nastiness of the campaign against Tom McClintock. His opponent, Doug Ose, has now taken to accusing McClintock of voting against benefits for veterans—the commercial even has an almost self-parodying line, “how does he sleep at night?” It’s laughable in its demagoguery.
The fact is that Tom McClintock is a man of integrity with a passion for freedom and our constitutional traditions. I’ve rarely met a political leader more sincerely devoted to the principles of liberty and respectful, not only of soldiers, but of the political leaders who have fought for our freedom in the past. The man quotes Jefferson and Lincoln off the top of his head, for crying out loud—and actually understands what they mean. How a man as sincerely devoted to the promises of freedom and opportunity could stay sane in the legislature of California is beyond me, but he has done a masterful job of it and has earned the respect of every Republican in California as a result. In fact, he’s earned the respect of many Democrats, too, who may not agree with him but recognize him as a principled and serious believer in the principles of Goldwater and Reagan.
Of course, I’m not a Republican, and I disagree strongly with McClintock on some things. I think he’s completely wrong on gay marriage—he would support legal prohibitions of this fundamental right. I wish he were better regarding drugs—he supports medical marijuana, which is good, but doesn’t go far enough. He describes himself as “pro-life” although it is not clear if he would try to fo farther than eliminating the most extreme forms of a woman’s fundamental right to an abortion.
But McClintock is one of only three or four members of the California legislature that acted to protect property rights against eminent domain abuses. He has long been the only member of the legislature to speak honestly about the state’s budget problems. Long before Schwarzenegger was “surprised” by the size of the state’s debt, McClintock was warning of looming financial problems, the problem of pension obligations, and fraudulent bookkeeping by Democrats in the legislature. And he had the best ideas for fixing those problems. He has consistently opposed tax increases and welfare boondoggles. He is a hardworking, honest, and decent candidate who would make an unusually effective member of Congress.
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