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.”
Rep. Tom McClintock speaks to constituents Saturday. Photos/Kathryn Reed
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.”
STHS student Jesus Herrera talks as Norman Gonzales holds the microphone.
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up the inefficiency of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, McClintock said, “I think No Child Left Behind needs to be repealed.”
Tom McClintock
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.
This guy is a lifetime politician who will go anywhere and do anything to get elected. You can’t expect anything positive from him!!
nice reporting! the guy is a two faced slime. you are so right that it does no good to complain. we (and he) need to focus on building positive every day.
do you know how many of these old tea party ranters are giving up their medicare and social security to go private?
No solutions, just criticism? I guess he’s taking a page from the Democrats who ripped Bush for eight years while provided no solutions themselves? Ah yea no, McClintock is the man! Personal responsibility, small government, cut spending, cut taxes. You tell em Tom!
How disappointing to see the liberal slant in this article. I thought we finally had an online paper that would tell it like it is, without insulting the readers by interjecting editorial comment or leanings on a topic. I was there and did not see this the same way. McClintock pointed out the “good, the bad, and the ugly” in the past SEVERAL administrations and showed us where that has gotten us. He also said that none of that is an excuse for the Obama administration to ignore the majority, trample on our rights as Americans, and increase debt and unemployment. THAT got the most applause.
McClintock is opposed to that Big Brother/Government expansion Obama/Pelsosi/Reid has the gall to call “Health Care Reform”. Yes, he deserves loud applause for that!!
And he hits the hammer on the head when he states that Bush made some very serious mistakes, but Obama is doubling down on them!
This back and forth partisan bickering is getting tiring. Each party has different ways of expanding government into our lives. We are at a point in this country where voters can only choose the least of two evils. The health care bill does have a lot of good things in it. Would anyone really want children to be denied health care for pre-existing conditions? I agree that having the government require you to have health coverage is overstepping boundaries that should be in place to keep the government out of our lives. The reality is that the government is a part of our lives and if we keep bickering and arguing it will get more and more out of our control.
I disagree Heather. Government will keep expanding into our lives unless we DO bicker, argue and speak up when politicians do try to ram things down our throat!!
And I do have to say a bias is revealed when in the title of the article is “offers no solutions”. Is that going to be put in every time a politician speaks?
How does the bickering and arguing change anything?
Well by bickering and arguing it got the Cornhusker Kickback thrown out!! Or at least now all 50 states are supposedly getting the benefit? Supposedly?! And the union special tax exemption is now at least 8 yrs. off! And maybe?, maybe?, that mandate can be overturned?
Those things got changed by people contacting their representatives and voicing their opinion. I feel it is better to contact your legislators and voice your opinion than for us citzens to bicker and argue with each other. To each their own.
Guess it’s all in your perspective. I think dialogue is good, even when people don’t agree with me. It shows they are THINKING and not willing to be blindly led. Many of us did call our representatives. They ignored us or hung up on us, and no, I did not swear or threaten them. One of the most offensive things about the government lately is their ignoring the majority of the people and telling us things like “we know best” and you “have to pass the health care bill so you can see what’s in it.” I think that insults the intelligence of the American people and takes AWAY freedom. We needed change, but I don’t believe the government should control our lives anymore than they already do.
C’mon Kae, put your politics away and write an article with the facts as they occurred, not as you interpret them. Congressman McClintock can’t wave a magic wand for the man who doesn’t have a job, nor for the teacher who felt the cost of her health insurance is too high. But his overriding philosophy, and his solution for their and other concerns, is less government, not more. He believes, as I do, that more and more government has created the problem, not solved it. Our record deficits, and the legacy of bankruptcy and government intervention that we leave for our children, is the result of our “leaders” who believe they know better than we, the people. He did have a solution when Dr. Larry Green asked about No Child Left Behind: get the federal government out of the classroom and let the teachers teach. And he was consistent in his message about other solutions, including for Jesus Herrera, the unemployed man and the teacher concerned about the cost of health insurance, and our economy: get the federal government out of our health care, get it out of our home purchases, get it out of our cars, our personal decisions on what to purchase, quit manufacturing money, and quit spending more than we can afford. We and the next generations will be much the better for it. Solutions were offered, apparently just not ones you agree with. This is not your finest example of journalism, Kae. Your readers deserve better.
Couldn’t agree with you more, LeAnne. This is a capitalist society, and when government gets out of the way of free enterprise, we are at our best. The people WILL NOT be ignored. Kae, this was your first major slip into “yellow journalism.” Hope it’s your last. Most of us came to your “paper” because we were tired of slanted reporting. We just want “the facts,ma’m” so we can make up our OWN minds.
Never thought I’d say this, but Matt Welch’s artcle in the Tribune on this is much more objective.
Actually, when the government gets out of the way of free enterprise, we end up with big banking fiascos. I am constantly amazed at how short peoples’ memories are.
The big banking fiasco’s were partially a result of big government insisting they make shaky loans to people who didn’t look like they could pay them back.
What a ridiculously slanted article Ms. Reed.
Congressman McClintock is unusually thoughtful. Criticizing the Congresman for not answering a question you didn’t ask demonstrates your inability to look at an issue with even a smidgen of objectivity.
I attended this meeting,and there was a healthy bipartisan representation. I was introduced to your web publication in Oct. and have been pleased with your prompt coverage of local events. However,your left slanted presentation of this event clearly shows your bias. I will view you with this in mind in the future,
As crazy old Don Rumsfeld would say “Oh my goodness gracious, does not Rep. McClintock know one of my unknowns. We never paid for mine, Dicks and Georgies Iraq oil War.Does he now know of the Millionaire Tax cut we enjoyed instead.
Another unknown i have in my old bag of tricks. I do not give a damn