Tom McClintock Is In Washington DC - And Ready To Say No

Among the things that he'll say no to are: President-elect Barack Obama's plan to spend roughly $800 billion to rev up the economy; spending billions to bail out the auto industry; and to California and other states looking to Congress to get out of their budget messes.

McClintock's stand is that the federal government doesn't have the money to spend to do these things. He contends that the federal government, if it does these things, is as irresponsible as California and will run into the same problems later down the line. McClintock was always a firm believer in fiscal responsibility - even while he was in the minority in California. It doesn't appear that will change in Washington DC.

McClintock is also looking forward to saying "no" to renewing No Child Left Behind. He believes that NCLB has made Congress a national level school board, and that those issues are better dealt with by the locals. There are not many people who will disagree with that statement. Education officials of all parties have said that NCLB is a bad law and needs to be rewritten and have major funding behind it if it is to be effective.

Republicans are much fewer in number in Washington DC these days. They have lost over 50 seats in the last two elections, due in part to the negative press of the Bush Administration. However, even if Republicans are fewer in number, they still have an important role, McClintock said. If the party is to regain majority status, he said, it must offer a better vision of government and stay devoted to principles, just as it did in 1994, when Republicans won the House and controlled it for 12 years. For McClintock, that means lower taxes and cuts in spending. That means going back to the Republican promise of smaller government, not larger. It was something that the Republicans could have delivered on early in the Bush years, but instead the Republicans worked to make government bigger, not smaller. McClintock wants a return to the smaller government that did less and made people do more.

On the campaign trail, he warned that Obama and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco represented "European socialism" and yet more spending. He has already co-sponsored bills that would require Congress to balance its budget and to increase the tax credit for children. And he said his consistent message will be that Congress must stop out-of-control spending. McClintock said he'll oppose Obama's stimulus plan because the U.S. budget deficit is predicted to hit a record $1.2 trillion this year. He said the auto companies can file for bankruptcy. And he said California shouldn't get any federal help because the state overspent for years, causing its own troubles.

McClintock's view is certainly in the minority. It means that people, industries and states have to take responsibility for the positions they have put themselves in. It means a return to the idea of personal sovereignty - that the individual has to have responsibility for themselves. And while many people say they want this - the truth is that it is easier to have someone tell you what to do.