It appears that in Washington D.C. Tom McClintock is much more pragmatic than he is in the district.
In the district, he has been acerbic to local electeds, listens to bad political advice and is known for being extremely hard on people close to him.
As a former rabid supporter of McClintock, I have personally witnessed this phenomena.
While I 100% agree with what McClintock did in this regard, given what I know about McClintock – I believe we need to look closely at the motive for what he did.
First, the Hill Reported that McClintock bailed out on the freedom Caucus.
McClintock noted that members of the Freedom Caucus perhaps ironically found themselves on the same side of a vote as Democrats during the debate earlier this year over blocking President Obama’s immigration executive actions through a Department of Homeland Security funding bill.
Did McClintock just throw conservatives under the bus, or did the one-time fire-breathing conservative just say that the failure to be pragmatic screwed the GOP out of beating Obama?
A three-week stopgap measure pushed by House GOP leaders melted down on the House floor when 52 Republicans and nearly all Democrats voted against it.
“At the behest of its board, most HFC members combined with House Democrats to defeat this effort, resulting in the full funding of these illegal orders for the fiscal year,” McClintock wrote.
He predicted that the Freedom Caucus’s decision to oppose any government spending bill this month that includes Planned Parenthood funding in the wake of controversial videos regarding the use of fetal tissue donations would be similarly counterproductive.
Translation: Tom McClintock quit the freedom caucus because of its all-or-nothing approach to governance.
I want this rational thinker to show up in the district, please.
Before I get too excited over this new, improved and more effective Conservative leader… I am reminded that a wise old man that I respect a lot told me that McClintock would “go native”.
McClintock voted for John Boehner for speaker of the house.
Now, we are starting to develop a pattern.
I remember McClintock’s speeches trashing Meg Whitman and the slate of moderates for Statewide office. I remember McClintock’s speeches about painting values in bold colors versus pale pastels.
They are speeches. His actions are to prioritize strategy and pragmatism.
“I have strongly opposed the public funding of abortions throughout my 29 years in public office, but this tactic promises only to shield Senate Democrats from their responsibility for a government shutdown and to alienate the public from the pro-life cause at precisely the time when undercover videos of Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practices are turning public opinion in our favor,” McClintock said.
Perhaps Art Moore provided a vital public service. If this new McClintock is going to understand how to “get things done” versus launching ideological missiles from the right, perhaps he is signaling that he has learned his lessons from the past?
Is McClintock signalling that he may actually try to help address the needs of local government, eschewing the lectures that accompany flat rejections for help?
It is not always a bad thing when your representative goes native.
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