Off the transom (a busy day, so bear with me – the CfG release is online here):
Today, the Club for Growth PAC endorsed former State Senator Thomas “Rico” Oller in California’s Fourth Congressional District for the open seat left by retiring Republican Congressman John Doolittle.
As a State Senator from 1997 to 2004, Rico Oller was an outstanding defender of taxpayers, consistently voting against state budgets because they spent too much, taxed too much, and in one case, didn’t cut taxes enough. If there was a tax increase being proposed, taxpayers could count on Rico Oller to be in the thick of the fight, making the case against it.
In 1997, Oller coauthored the Assembly Republican plan to enact tax cuts for California’s families. The same year, Oller also insisted that any budget contain genuine welfare reform that establishes “a system which encourages work, honors human dignity, and rewards self-sufficiency.”
In contrast to Oller’s stellar record, his likely opponent, former Congressman Doug Ose, has a lackluster record that includes voting for increased spending, increased regulation, and limiting economic freedom:
- Voted for McCain-Feingold and against protecting political free speech (RC #240, 02/14/02)
- Voted against school choice (RC #135, 05/23/01)
- Voted against eliminating money for pork projects, like wood utilization (RC #160, 05/26/99) and peanut competitiveness (RC#161, 05/26/99)
- Voted against the Republican Study Committee budget that would cut wasteful spending (RC #73, 03/23/00) (RC #79, 03/20/03) and for a Democratic budget (RC #75, 03/25/99)
- Voted to spend taxpayer money on mohair subsidies (RC #383, 07/11/00)
- Voted for the fiscally irresponsible Medicare Prescription Drug Bill (RC #669, 11/22/03)
- Sponsored 37 bills to increase spending by $46.7 billion in the 107th Congress
“It is clear from Rico Oller’s record that he believes in the principles of economic freedom and limited government and has never wavered in those beliefs,” said Club for Growth Executive Director David Keating. “If elected, to Congress, Oller will be on the front lines fighting against wasteful government spending, higher taxes, and new government programs.”