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DECEMBER 22, 2003 – Three
things: integrity, independence, and caring about what is best for
the people. These are the criteria used in determining our M/I hero
of the month.
And these three words could not fit any
man or woman better during December than they befit California State
Senator Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks.)
Let’s just paint the picture quickly
here. Many of you around the country are aware about the recent
recall election which led to the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger
as Governor of California.
During the election, the Democrats both
protested the recall itself, claiming it would undemocratically
overturn a free and fair election, and protested Arnold the
candidate, saying his claims that he could, simultaneously,
eliminate the deficit, without raising taxes, without cutting
education or other vital spending, while cutting the car tax,
without just borrowing as Davis was doing, were complete hogwash.
Arnold said he could do this because
there was so much waste, that he would simply open the state’s
books, “and let the sun shine in,” as he said numerous times on the
campaign trail, and in doing so, find enough useless, wasteful fat
to trim to fulfill all his promises at once.
So, as we reported last week, since
Arnold has gotten into office, one by one it has been seen that he
lied during his campaign. He lied when he said he would address the
groping charges, he lied when he said he would do a comprehensive
audit that would “let the sun shine in,” and he lied when he said he
could balance the budget while cutting the car tax.
Arnold came into office, cut the car
tax, and so increased the state’s deficit by $4 billion. When he
lightly – instead of comprehensively as promised – went through the
state’s finances, he found virtually no waste. His campaign people
touted about $100,000 in possible overspending on wheelchairs for
the handicapped and one $75,000 purchase of teddy bears for a PR
campaign. That was about it. Not exactly the $14-16 billion in
waste he said he could find and trim no problem.
So, when it came time to vote on a
budget spending measure, and Arnold, admitting he didn’t have the
plan he had promised, simply put forth a plan to borrow $15 billion
dollars to pretend the problem didn’t exist and Band-Aid his lies,
you would think the Democrats – who had just had their leader thrown
out based on this goon’s lies – would have hammered him, right?
This was their perfect opportunity to say to the people, “See, we
told you he was lying. He has no plan, and, in fact, has only made
the deficit worse by $4 billion."
Well, they didn’t. Following the
pattern that has become the norm for the Democratic Party
nationwide, the California Democrats one by one signed onto
Schwarzenegger’s plan, giving him the political cover he needed,
mortgaging the future of the state with this enormous debt burden,
and all of this without so much as holding out for any of the
remedies they had called for, such as some increased fees or taxes.
Even for Arnold’s supposed side of the
aisle, it should have been a tough pill to swallow. Republicans
claim to be fiscal conservatives. Mortgaging the future of the
state by taking on such an enormous debt load should be unthinkable
to any true fiscal conservative.
But, following the typical
new-Bush-breed Republican trend that is prevalent in the party
nationwide, one by one the Republican legislators signed onto
Arnold’s “I have no plan so let’s run up the credit cards” request.
"I think it's fiscally irresponsible to
use long-term, general obligation bonds to meet state expenses,"
McClintock said after the Senate session, as reported by the LA
Times. "That is why, for over 100 years, the state Constitution has
prohibited that practice — to prevent a prodigal generation from
running up a huge debt while it parties, then passing the bill on to
his children." He added, "A deficit bond will not have my vote."
Why did the Democrats, who had every
right and every opportunity to stand against this to their
advantage, go along? Simply because they were cowardly, castrated
political hacks who feared for their political lives. Davis was
swept out of office by Arnold, they worried, and if they stood
against him, the people would throw them out, too.
The Republicans also wanted to stay on
Arnold’s coattails, and so went along for the sake of the party.
The vote on the bond measure passed
27-12 in the State Senate. In the assembly the vote had been 65-13.
McClintock was the leader of the
opposition, and indeed, he never did garner much of a following.
And yet, he stuck to what was right, didn’t vote to let Arnold get
away with pulling the wool over the people’s eyes, and boldly touted
the truth and what was best for the state, while others cowered and
went along.
For supporting this face-saving measure
of Arnold’s – at great expense to the state – the entire Democratic
legislature should be forced to resign. Politically they were
pathetic, fiscally they were irresponsible, and they showed in
general they care only about their own political aspirations, not
the people of the state, and not even their own party.
For supporting this face-saving,
bank-busting measure, the vast majority of Republicans who chose to
go along should resign, as they have shown themselves to be
self-interested power-mongers, caring only about cozying up to
Arnold for their own political sakes, while mortgaging the state,
covering for Arnold’s lying campaign, and showing that, when it
comes down to it, they are no different than the Democrats they
assail as spineless.
Out of all of this ridiculous,
self-serving political mess comes a shining few, and the brightest
star leading the way, as steady and constant as the North Star, is
State Senator Tom McClintock. Though he is not a moderate but a
conservative, his boldly independent stance and willingness to put
truth and what is best for the people above everything else earns
him our December 2003 The Moderate Independent Hero Of The Month
Award. |
