Without a doubt, the Republican primary for California’s Fourth Congressional District was the highest profile legislative race taking place in yesterday’s statewide elections in California. Whether you look at how the race shaped up locally, or how it was covered Inside The Beltway, the battle between conservative State Senator Tom McClintock and moderate former U.S. 
Representative Doug Ose was truly looked to as an election-day indicator of where the heart and soul of the GOP was, and whether Republicans want to see change in direction that their party has taken in the United States Capitol.
Of course Tom McClintock’s name is well known to Republican primary voters, as he has run for statewide office as the Republican nominee numerous times, and was also a high-profile candidate in the 2003 recall election of Gray Davis that catapulted the politically ambiguous Arnold Schwarzenegger into the Governorship. McClintock established credibility with conservatives for his principled and forceful articulation of the great principles of the Republican Party, and has been an unwavering and unabashed defender of freedom and liberty. McClintock’s popularity and message garnered him a massive amount of grassroots support in his candidacy, with a record amount of small donations coming in from supporters in the district, around California, and from across the country.
McClintock, with the help of conservative organizations like the Club for Growth, was able to easily define the primary as a contrast between McClintock’s brand of fiery, principled conservatism, and the track record of Doug Ose when he was in Congress. Ose was a leader among House moderates in Washington, and served as a board member of the Main Street Partnership, which was and continues to be the GOP weak sister organization, opposing most meaningful efforts to truly shrink the size and scope of the federal government. Ose had a healthy appetite at the pork trough while in the House, as contrasted with McClintock who has pledged that he will not carry nor support earmarks as a Member of Congress.
**There is more – click the link**
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I couldn’t agree more with everything you just said Jon. This was a huge victory for Tom. DC can definately use a lot more principled Republicans back there.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
A wonderful ray of sunshine in an otherwise depressing election year.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I am not sure what you mean by saying “It may take some time to figure out exactly what happened with the campaign of ex-Congressman Ose.” Actually, I think it has been apparent to everyone for quite some time.
Doug Ose and his slimy campaign team were never able to overcome the problem of Ose being a very liberal candidate in a very conservative district. Ose tried to run as a conservative, but that only called attention to his liberal voting record. It was clear to everyone that he was a big phony.
Ose did not live in the district, so he tried to distract voters about that fact by spending millions of dollars to call Tom McClintock a carpet-bagger. That strategy backfired by calling even more attention to Ose’s outsider status.
To build credibility, Ose needed the appearance of local support, so he worked hard to compile an impressive list of local endorsements, particularly in Placer County. Unfortunately, the kind of Republicans who were willing to endorse Ose were mostly big government RINOs who have supported all manner of tax increases that Placer County voters keep rejecting.
Although Ose’s record-breaking spending on negative ads made me nervous, this race was over and Senator McClintock had won it on the day that conservative heroes Rico Oller and Eric Egland dropped out and endorsed McClintock. Their sacrifice guaranteed that conservatives would be able to unite behind a single conservative candidate, which meant that Ose never had a chance.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
There you go again Jon, off the rails to the far right. First, McClintock’s share of the vote in the recall was 13.5 percent compared to Bustamante’s 31.5 percent and Schwarzenegger’s 48.6 percent. Hardly a ringing statewide endorsement for McClintock. Actually, that 13.5 percent of the vote likely represents the full share of the far right wing nut vote in California. Next, I will be very surprised if McClintock wins the seat in November. Very likely, the seat will go Democrat. Then you and your friends can chant that far right wing nut “we are sending a message (we are losers) and we don’t care if we win” and that familiar “if the voters don’t vote for our (far right wing nut) candidate they deserve what they get.” To bad that Ose lost; he could have won in November and kept this seat in the Republican column.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
PS: has anyone noticed what has happened to voter registration since these “principle Conservatives” have taken over the Republican Party? Example, between January and May of this year, the Democrats have added (I emphasize added) 304,454 voters while the Republicans have added 14,969 voters. When November comes, get ready for a blood bath for our Republican candidates unless the Republican Party (of which Jon is an important governing member) gets off it’s butt and starts to aggressively register voters.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Bob, wherever these rails to which you incessantly refer lead, please take them and don’t look back.
The rest of us will watch as Tom takes this seat and hopefully serves to the DC Republicans as a shining example of what a real conservative ought to be.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
What are you smoking, Bob? Dick Mountjoy, who basically didn’t campaign, beat Dianne Feinstein (probably the most popular Democrat politician in California) by 6 points in that district in 2006.
Just tell us this: What margin of victory for McClintock in November would it take for you to publicly acknowledge you’re an ignorant troll and never post here again?
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
LOL
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Get real people. McClintock is the beneficiary of a very light turnout. Don’t fool yourselves. Unless the Republican Party gets real busy real fast, the party will become totally irrelevant. Then watch your wallet empty and regulation take over from cradle to grave. The only way Republicans can hold the line is run candidates who appeal to the moderate decline to state and Democrats. But that is not how the primary ran; the Republicans tried to outdo each other on how far to the right they could get without falling off planet Earth. And in McClintock’s case, he wasn’t successful in staying on planet Earth. Don’t lean so far to the right that your brain falls out.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Bob,
I would love to hear your definition of “far right”, for entertainment value more than anything.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Bob probably thought Ronald Reagan was a “right wing extremist”.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I’m neither the social conservative nor GOP loyalist I used to be, but there will always be a place in my heart for Tom McClintock. A champion of liberty, the Constitution, and limited government – from any party – is always a rare thing in Washington, to be celebrated.
In any marketplace – especially the political marketplace – an advantage will almost always go to the candidate who cuts through the usual mealy-mouthed, focus-grouped pablum with something to say. In short, someone who has a clear, compelling message. Someone who actually has a reason for wanting to be in office (other than ego gratification or personal gain.) If any California GOP in recent history has consistently run on a clear, compelling message, that would be Tom McClintock.
I won’t waste any keystrokes on McNally Temple. Their work product and track record speak for themselves.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Living in Simi Valley I’ve had the pleasure of voting for Tom eight times, for Assembly and State Senate and statewide offices. I regret that I was not able to vote for him for Congress in the 4th District. But at least I know that he’ll still be representing me in Congress, just as he’ll be representing everyone in the state and in the country who believes in limited government and a freer society.
Congratulations, Tom, on your victory. I know you’ll do us proud.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:00 am
WHich is better: Being a freshman Congressman or a Sacramento legislator with loads of per diem. Help?
June 5th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Ah, true believers. You gota love um. I’m reminded by some of the above posts of that old rock song “Another one (Republican Congressional seat) bites the dust.”
June 6th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Bloodshot Bob:
Go off the tracks for a moment, and ponder these numbers on California
congressional district number 4…
2004
Bush…….216,838……..(61%)
Kerry…….132,267……..(37%)
With Jack Abramoff no longer an issue in this district, Tom McClintock
will cruise to a 15% win.
People like you predicted the death of the Republican party for nomina-
ting Goldwater, then Reagan, then Deukmejian, then making Gingrich
the U.S. House Speaker.
These doomayers are always wrong. You remember nothing, and you
learn nothing.