Recall: Tom McClintock has a clear plan

With the recall election, Californians will make history by
having the chance to oust a lousy politician who has sent them to
the proverbial poor house. Who should replace him? Tom McClintock.
McClintock is unquestionably the most qualified candidate to take
California out of the doldrums of the Davis administration.

McClintock is a UCLA grad who has 20 years of political
experience as an assemblyman and state senator. His track record as
a fiscal watchdog is what sets him apart from other “fiscal
conservatives.” For example, his joint authorship of a tax
rebate act which returned $1.1 billion of tax over-collections to
taxpayers is among his notable accomplishments. Over the last
couple of years, McClintock has fought the special interest
machinations of both the Wilson and Davis administrations by
opposing measures which sought to increase government spending at
the expense of the taxpayers.

McClintock is neither a millionaire nor a movie star, but he is
a man whose stances match his label. He is not a candidate who
panders to the special interests of Indian gaming like a certain
Davis proxy and is not in favor of so called “tough
love” approaches which, in reality, are nothing more than
budget plans that spell “tough luck” to middle- and
upper-class families.

His plan for California is clear. According to his Web site he
will:

1. “Stop the illegal car tax.” McClintock will
repeal the tax that largely affects middle- to working-class
families. To put matters in perspective, the recall will cost each
California family an extra $6 while the car tax will cost that same
family an extra $460 a year.

2. “Void the energy contracts.” Davis’
negotiator with energy companies was also a consultant for the
energy companies and negotiated a $42 billion contract. McClintock
will work to void those contracts due to an obvious conflict of
interest.

3. “Reform workers’ compensation and save our
jobs.” According to the Web site, our state “has the
highest workers’ compensation costs and among the lowest
payouts to workers in the nation.” McClintock will slash
costs by two-thirds.

4. “End government waste.” Our state is on a
gigantic spending binge. According to the McClintock Web site,
“Our population has increased 21 percent, our revenues have
climbed 28 percent, but Gov. Davis has allowed spending to explode,
increasing it by 40 percent.”

Clearly revenue is not the problem. Responsible administration
is ““ and these measures are exactly what the doctor ordered
to get our state out of the Dark Age of Davis and company. Yet
certain Republicans oppose McClintock’s campaign out of fear
of electing another Democrat. Let’s look at what
Schwarzenegger brings to the table. Does Schwarzenegger have any
political experience? No. Does Schwarzenegger have any concrete
solutions to solve our financial crisis besides vague promises to
“clean house?” Not really.

What is clear is that Schwarzenegger has hired none other than
Warren Buffett to be his chief economic adviser. If you
didn’t know it, Buffett believes that the solution to our
budget crisis is to repeal Proposition 13. If that doesn’t
ring your tax and spend alarm bell then nothing will.
Schwarzenegger himself stated, “You know, I don’t
believe in spending,” yet he is guilty of being a fiscal
liberal when he supported the big-spending Proposition 49 last
election.

Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger has not clearly taken a “No new
taxes” pledge. He may wear the “R” but his
actions are baffling to many Republicans. Schwarzenegger himself
said that he would not be a special-interest puppet but lately
he’s raised as much as $5 million. But it won’t matter
as long as a Republican is in office, right? Wrong. Unless the
right kind of person with the right platform is elected, California
will continue its precarious descent into the abyss of corruption
and mismanagement.

Our state’s financial position once again proves that in
California, the government is the problem, not the solution. Not
surprisingly, people are starting to pay attention to McClintock.
His campaign went from an asterisk to double digits faster than you
can say “Gray, Gray, go away/Stop taxing us to death this
way!”

McClintock’s campaign is picking up serious steam as many
disappointed Schwarzenegger supporters realize that the actor is
simply not the answer. Throw in the former Simon supporters on top
of some independents and Democrats, and you no longer have a dark
horse, but a serious contender.

This is not because McClintock has a huge campaign fund, but
because his platform is representative of a candidate that seeks to
right what is fundamentally wrong and illegal. If your voting
decision will be made on the basis of qualifications, issues and
merit, as opposed to partisanship, the choice is clear: “Vote
Tom McClintock 4 Governor!”

Marian is a second-year history and political science
major.