Interview

Back to the conservative basics

Tom McClintock’s fight for individual freedom and limited government

By Alisa Farenzena
From the April 2006 Print Edition

Last month, the Patriot caught up with State Senator Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, and had a chance to interview him on topics ranging from his lieutenant-governor bid to his ballot initiatives aimed at eminent domain.

California Patriot: I heard you speak at the state Republican Party convention, where you voiced your support for the governor. Can you elaborate a bit on what parts of the governor’s agenda you think are the most important?
Tom McClintock: There are two areas I think deserve strong support from the Republican Party and all Californians. This governor has finally confronted what Jerry Brown called his “era of limits,” in which we decided that if we stopped building things people would stop coming. We stopped building things, but people didn’t stop coming. Governor Schwarzenegger has confronted this. Another thing Republicans should support is that he confronted the most powerful special interest group that has ever wrapped its tentacles around our state government: the public-employee unions. Although the initiatives were defeated in November, the courage and leadership he showed was exemplary.

CP: Surely, there are also parts of the governor’s agenda on which you disagree with him, right?
TM: There are, but the differences among us as Republicans are not as important as the differences between us and the Democrats. Many Republicans believe that the rate of spending is too fast. . . . Many Republicans, including myself, are very concerned about debt instruments. This, however, is a minor concern compared to the Democrats’ agenda of debt instruments for social programs. It’s important as Republicans for us to keep our bearings, but also to keep our perspective.

CP: Do you think that your support of the governor and your run for lieutenant governor are sufficient to energize the base enough to bring conservative voters out to the polls?
TM: Ultimately, that question will be answered by every citizen who fulfils his duty as a citizen. Politicians don’t decide elections. Those decisions are made through the many discussions between citizens. The Athenians called a citizen a “politicos”; in the Athenian view, when you assumed the rights and privileges of a citizen, you also assumed the responsibility of a politician to take an active role in the government, and that responsibility has not changed in more than 2,000 years of democratic practice.

CP: When did you decide to run for lieutenant governor?
TM: About a year and a half ago.

CP: Why did you decide to run — to accomplish what, in particular?
TM: To advance the agenda that I put forward during the recall election of 2003, which won the highest approval ratings of any candidate running, according to every major public opinion poll. When Republican candidates advance our principles of individual freedom and limited government, 62 percent of the voters in this state will rally around us.

CP: Where do you see yourself in January of 2007?
TM: I see myself introducing Governor Schwarzenegger at the annual State of the State Address.

CP: Where do you see yourself in January of 2011?
TM: I learned a long time ago that you cannot predict what twists and turns politics will take. Wherever I am, in whatever capacity I am afforded, I will be fighting to restore those principles — individual freedom and limited government — to the governance of California.

CP: You have been highly visible on the issue of eminent domain. What do your initiatives do?
TM: They say that rich people should not be able to steal poor people’s homes. . . . It used to be that if a widow did not want to sell her home to a developer, that was the end of the story unless the developer sent in a bunch of thugs to beat her up, and the government was there to protect her from the thugs. Now, government is becoming the thug.

CP: How successful do you think these initiatives will be?
TM: I think that at least one measure will qualify for the ballot in November — and, if it qualifies, I think it will pass overwhelmingly.

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