The Truth About Tom...

Volume 1, Number 11

Tom McClintock is running for Congress in California’s 4th Congressional District. That happens to be where I live. It’s one of the most conservative, Republican districts in the state. Republicans have a 17 point registration edge over Democrats. This is the seat currently held by Congressman John Doolittle, who while embroiled in an FBI corruption probe nearly lost the seat in 2006 to some guy named Charlie Brown (good grief!).  Still under a cloud of the FBI investigation, Rep. Doolittle decided not to press his luck with a 2008 rematch and announced plans to retire.

Enter Tom McClintock. I first met him in 1982 when we were both twenty six years old, two young men in a hurry. I was helping to run the Assembly Republican Political Action Committee and Tom had just won his race in a contested GOP Assembly primary in southern California. I worked for the Assembly Republican Leader, and part of my job was to make sure he kept his job. So I worked closely with Tom during the 1982 and ’84 election cycles to make sure he raised plenty of money and cruised to victory. He did.

I personally like Tom McClinctock. I found Tom to be a smart, articulate, hard-working but largely ineffective member of the Legislature. I think of him as a kind of “Lecturer-in-Chief” – the well-spoken, finger-wagging guy striving to be the “conservative conscience” but never one to actually attempt to govern the state. Still, I’ve admired his steadfast articulation of conservative principles and watched as he became a conservative icon over the years. I contributed $1,500 to his 2006 campaign for Lt. Governor. But I am not going to support Tom McClintock for Congress in my home district. I am endorsing Doug Ose.

Tom was largely an ineffective legislator, but that’s not why I refuse to endorse him.   Much has been written about his carpet-bagging move from his home in Ventura County to the foothills of Placer County, but that’s not why I refuse to endorse him either. No, the reason that I refuse to endorse Tom for Congress in this contested primary is because he is not nearly the conservative leader he’d like us to think he is.

Leaders attempt to gather followers and go about the hard work of attempting to change the course of government. That means finding like-minded people (i.e. recruiting candidates), helping them win election, (i.e. giving them money and raising more for them), and joining together to move government in the right direction (i.e. agree to reasonable compromises). That’s what Ronald Reagan did. That’s what Tom McClintock has never done.

Let’s look at the record of Tom McClintock in supporting other Republican candidates and groups working to elect Republicans to legislative office. That is a critical measure of a legislator’s leadership ability. Leaders recruit like-minded candidates, they give them financial support, and they encourage others to do the same. According to records online and on file at the Secretary of State’s office, in the past ten years Tom McClintock has contributed to only six candidates for partisan office, and gave those candidates a total of less than $42,000 in support. That’s over an entire decade. He didn’t give a nickel to the state GOP or other Republican groups working to elect good conservative candidates.

Tom McClintock’s record of contributing to Republican candidates is the worst of the entire 15 member Senate GOP caucus, except for Senator Abel Maldonado – and Maldonado is perennially the Democrats favorite election target so you wouldn’t expect him to be able to contribute funds to others. Among the rest of the Senate Republicans, Tom McClintock is dead last in contributions to other Republican candidates and organizations.

Contrast McClintock’s failure of political leadership to the record of State Senator Dave Cox, whom I have also supported over the years and who represents part of Placer County in the Senate. Cox has contributed over $1 million to Republican groups and candidates over the past ten years. Current GOP Leader Dick Ackerman has given almost $900,000. Senator George Runner, nearly $650,000. Senator Sam Aanestad, another northern Californian, gave over $164,000 to other Republican candidates and groups. Jim Battin has contributed over $700,000 to others.

When it comes to giving money, Tom McClintock has not been a conservative leader who has helped others; he’s been a conservative who has focused on himself. On this critical measurement of conservative leadership, Tom McClintock has been an abject failure.

To be fair, Tom has given generously of his time as a featured speaker at countless Republican fundraising events, and that counts for something. But in addition to giving of his time, he could have given of his campaign funds, and he hasn’t. Plus, being a featured speaker also serves to help Tom build his own network of supporters, which he’s tapped for his numerous races for statewide office.

Contested Republican primaries put people like me in the difficult position of having to make a choice, often between two good people. Tom McClintock is a good person and a good conservative. But he has not been anywhere near the kind of effective conservative leader he could have been, and wants us to believe he has been.

And that’s my problem with Tom McClintock. He’s too self-centered and not enough of a leader. His candidacy in the 4th Congressional District isn’t about furthering the conservative cause, it’s about furthering Tom McClintock’s career. If he’s elected to the House, he’ll become a media darling in Washington, a regular talking head on the various cable news shows. But he won’t be a player in the GOP winning back control of the House. He won’t be out recruiting and supporting candidates. And he won’t be able to get a single piece of important legislation enacted.

When I was 26, I could afford to support a well-spoken, conservative firebrand even if he didn’t get a lot of things accomplished. But I’m 52 now, and I need someone to get things done. The country is headed in the wrong direction, the federal budget is awash in red ink, and every time I turn around, someone in Washington wants more of my money. Like Dave Cox has been in the State Senate, Doug Ose will be an accomplished leader in Congress.

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Please visit http://www.schubertflintpa.com/SenateGOPContributions.pdf to see the research I compiled on contributions from every member of the Senate Republican caucus to other Republican candidates and groups.

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Comments

[BookWorm]

Couldn't disagree more. McClintock is the kind of leader we need in D.C. No need to support other phony Republicans with cash they don't need. He has better things to do, like fight the good fight.

Go Tom.

[sobiloff]

I agree with BookWorm--Frank's all upset because Tom doesn't give a bunch of money to the typically weak candidates the CA GOP promotes? I think that that just speaks well of Tom's judgement. Besides, who says Tom's sitting on a whole bunch of money to throw around?

[John Stoos]

First, when a legislator fights a battle, like Senator McClintock did on reducing the car tax, which results in savings of over $30 billion it is difficult to see how that is "ineffective." The average California family now saves over $400 per year on their vehicle registrations because of the Senator's efforts. Perhaps Frank, you should add up your vehicle registrations for this year, triple them and see if those savings are enough to earn Senator McClintock a vote!

And as to Senator McClintock helping conservatives, we all know that he is the single most sought after endorsement in California these days in primaries, because principles trump money as we are all about to witness in the 4th CD.

Frank you must also remember that Senator McClintock is a quick learner: He used to move a lot of money around under the direction of "smart" people that you must look up to... In fact one of my primary opponents was sent $10,000 by then Assemblyman McClintock as part of hundreds of thousands sent to stop ME because I was too conservative for the 3rd CD in 1986! Turned out to be a total waste of precious resources since the Democrats nominated a ProLife Colusa County Supervisor who tried to run to our right that year.

So no Frank, Tom does not throw a lot of money around, he just works hard to make sure solid conservatives get elected with is why all of the Senator and Assembly members serving in the 4th CD have endorsed him in this race!

JOHN

[Tom Hudson]

What has Doug Ose ever accomplished? He was a Republican Congressman during a rare period when we had a Republican Senate and a Republican President. Yet he accomplished nothing!

(OK, I admit that Ose helped keep the mohair subsidies, but that just isn't enough to get most Republicans excited about the idea of returning him to Congress.)

With all due respect to Frank Schubert, it is crazy to think that Doug Ose is the kind of guy who can get things done. His record proves just the opposite.

By contrast, Tom McClintock has a very long list of accomplishments -- not lease of which is the way that his campaign for Governor forced Arnold Schwarzenegger to address conservative issues.

[kathryn]

I think McClintock is the greatest conservative we have out there, and I just wish he could make it into the Governer's seat soon, and then on to the White House.. I'd support him all the way.. Go Tom!! We need you!