As a Regional Vice Chairman of the California Republican Party, I take seriously my commitment to stay out of contested Republican primaries for partisan office. As such, it has been difficult for me to sit on the sidelines during the epic battle in the 4th Congressional District, because that primary is really all about defining the heart and soul of the GOP. I will leave it to the Republican voters in this large Congressional District in North Eastern California to decide for themselves whether they want to elect former Congressman Doug Ose or State Senator Tom McClintock.
All that said, I feel that I do need to weigh in a bit in response to former Governor Pete Wilson’s spurious attack on conservative Tom McClintock.
Wilson and McClintock did not get along. Why? Because, like today, Tom consistently stands up against increasing the size and scope of state government.
Wilson was furious with McClintock and other conservative legislators who opposed his plans to hike state sales taxes to the tune of $7 billion to deal with a budget shortfall. As a matter of fact (I remember this like it was yesterday), Wilson had enough moxie to actually call conservative legislators “f***ing irrelevant” – not very nice.
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May 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Well said, Jon!!
May 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
There you go again, Jon, sailing right off the rails. By the way, were you one of the CRA people who burned former Governor Wilson in effigy and refused to let him speak at the Republican convention? Anyhow, Wilson tells it like it is. He is an honest guy. And if Senator McClintock would just return that more than $300,000 in per diem he’s taken because he says (untruthfully) that he and his family live in his district when in fact he and his family live less than 14 miles from the state capitol building, he’d go a long way toward shoring up his image as a conservative Republican.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Bob Evans, Pete Wilson is NOT an honest guy. If you knew more about him, you would not say that.
The best example from yesterday’s speech was Wilson’s lie that Tom McClintock was “no help” in getting Proposition 187 passed. Actually, Pete Wilson was vehemently opposed to Prop. 187 when people like ME were out collecting signatures to get it on the ballot. He was opposed to it when we got the CRP to endorse it and fund it. He was opposed to it right up until the polls shows nearly 80% of the voters supported it, then he switched sides. Now he dares to claim that Tom McClintock, who was always on our side, was “no help” with Prop. 187. It is outrageous.
If you are so worried about the per diem Tom McClintock collected (like every other legislator), why don’t you ask Doug Ose to return all the taxpayers’ money he collected while serving in Congress? As a multi-millionaire, Ose did not need the taxpayers to fly him back and forth to Washington DC every week, as he himself admits. Ose cost us a great deal more than Tom McClintock has — in a much shorter period of time. Call Ose and ask him to give the money back. He can afford it, after collecting $700,000 in undeserved farm subsidies!
May 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
YOU DANCE WITH “Moderates” You GO DOWN IN FLAMES….
May 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Gosh Tom, your going flying off the rails like our good friend Jon. As I recall, Ose flew home every weekend so he could be at home with his wife and children. I would hope you would not begrudge Ose wanting to be with his wife and children. And how do you know that the taxpayers paid for his flights home? I always heard that he paid his own way. As to Wilson getting any help from Tom McClintock while governor, I don’t recall anything but criticism coming from McClintock about just about everything Wilson did. That is the problem with Tom McClintock. All McClintock ever does is make grand speeches where he quotes Lincoln and so on but when it comes to doing something for the people, there is nothing. McClintock doesn’t do anything but complain. California and the 4th district has real problems with water and infrastructure and the person who can cooperate and get things done is Ose, not McClintock.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Say Robert, isn’t the quote “justice is moderation?” I think that comes from Aristotle. And Blaise Pascal said “To go beyond the bounds of moderation is to outrage humanity.” On the other hand Oscar Wilde said “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” So I guess you are on the side of Wilde and not Aristotle or Pascal.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am
“California and the 4th district has real problems with water and infrastructure”
In other words, you are looking for the best piglet to suck on the federal teat.
“and the person who can cooperate and get things done is Ose, not McClintock”
do you mean cooperate with Pelosi and Reid? and what kind of things are talking about getting done? stealing more federal tax dollars to spend in your district a la Jerry Lewis?
May 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am
What I’m talking about is solving problems. And Ose can do it and McClintock can’t – or won’t. But if McClintock wins the primary then the Democrat will win the general and another Republican seat will fall.