McClintock rips government, but provides no solutions

By Kathryn Reed

Rep. Tom McClintock rattled off a slew of statistics about how bad the national debt is going to be in the next five and 10 years – mostly because of government bailouts and the week-old national health care plan.

The Republican whose district office is in Granite Bay, but who got elected to the 4th congressional district without living in it, was at South Tahoe High School on Saturday talking to a largely partisan audience of more than 150 people.

“There is twice as much money out there as there was last year,” McClintock said in his 15-minute opening speech. “The federal government should not bail out people who make bad decisions.”

He received a resounding roar of applause to this. Many of his statements were met favorably by his constituents.

However, “out there” wasn’t exactly defined. Talk to anyone on the South Shore and there is less money out there than a year ago. The state of California has told cities to expect a 20 percent decrease in sales tax this year compared to 2009. Unemployment numbers for South Lake Tahoe are expected to come out Monday, with the figure to hit 18 percent.

“Two-thirds of economic growth depends on consumer spending,” McClintock said.

The congressman didn’t have definitive ideas for where the jobs that bring the cash to fill the wallets so the people have something to spend are going to come from.

“You guys have failed us,” Jesus Herrera, a junior at STHS, said. “I haven’t seen anything from either party that’s creating a more secure future.”

McClintock did not defend everything his party has done. He said he was against attacking Iraq and added that it should take an act of Congress to go to war.

“There were some very serious mistakes made by the Bush administration. This administration is doubling down on them,” McClintock said.

He said he believes people voted for President Obama not because of his policies, but because they didn’t want John McCain for fear it would be like a third Bush term. McClintock said the country is getting a second Jimmy Carter term.

When Larry Green, Lake Tahoe Unified School District member, brought up the inefficiency of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, McClintock said, “I think No Child Left Behind needs to be repealed.”

The congressman believes the difference in education today compared to the 1960s when California had one of the best systems in the country is that teachers were in charge of their classrooms and had more of a say over curriculum.

However, this doesn’t explain why other states with a similar structure, as well has having to work within the federal mandates, do better on test scores.

Many people brought up health care and how the costs have affected their lives, how insurance companies are making decisions for them, and how employer plans leave little choice.

To this McClintock said government destroyed freedom of choice because they give tax credits to employers for health care.

McClintock, like the 11 attorneys general who’ve filed suit against the government, believes the health care plan signed by Obama is unconstitutional. He does not believe the government should force people to have health care.

But the reality is government forces things on people every day. No one has the option to opt out of paying for Social Security or Medicare, though McClintock seems to support that idea.

This pep rally of sorts fired up the believers, who mingled afterward with the congressman and in small clusters. It left others wondering what this man is going to do about everything he doesn’t like and if he is going to stop blaming others for all the ills that consume this country.