McClintock Key to Democratic Victory in California

Intellectual Conservative.com ^ | 9/2/3 | Bob Chandra

[socal_parrot]

A Democratic plot to boost Tom McClintock’s candidacy at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s expense has recently come to light.

On paper, the recall election should be a cakewalk for California Republicans. A cursory analysis reveals a governor with an approval rating below Richard Nixon at his low point. The only serious Democrat candidate is the state’s uninspiring lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, who unquestioningly followed Governor Davis through his mishaps with the budget and energy crisis. It should be a breeze for Republicans, right? Think again. Democrats are euphoric over Tom McClintock’s intransigence in continuing his long-shot bid for governor. This allows Democrats to divide and conquer their way into office. Democrats are attempting to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and Tom McClintock is an essential part of their game plan.

For starters, Democrats know McClintock cannot win. They know that he has ran for statewide office twice before and lost both times. McClintock’s problem is not so much that he’s unknown but that Californians know about him and have rejected his candidacy time and again. Knowing this, a Democrat plot to boost McClintock’s candidacy at Schwarzenegger’s expense has already surfaced. According to the Sacramento Bee’s Daniel Weintraub, “Ever since Cruz Bustamante entered the race, it's been assumed that California's Indian tribes were going to pool their money and do independent expenditures on his behalf, expensive ads that get around the $21,000 limit on contributions. Now I am hearing rumblings that the Indians might think about helping Cruz in a more creative way as well. If they spent, say, $4 million on behalf of state Sen. Tom McClintock, the most conservative Republican in the race, they might pump McClintock's numbers up while hurting Arnold and not harming Cruz a bit. Remember, Cruz needs a split GOP vote to win. That would be one way to get it.” The reliably Democratic Indian tribes, loyal to Bustamante, would essentially throw their weight behind McClintock to chip away at the support of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the GOP front-runner. The Democrat strategy with regard to Tom McClintock is: “If you know you can beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

McClintock is unfazed by this conniving scheme and is more than happy to play along. His actions suggest that he’s willing to make allies with loyal Democratic groups under the logic, the enemy of my enemy (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is my friend. On August 28th, McClintock and Bustamante went together before the California Nations Indian Gaming Association to pledge their support. Needless to say, money will follow. Whether McClintock knows it or not, he’s being used by the Left. If Democrat allies can keep McClintock in the game, they can put a cap on Arnold’s support. A recent Los Angeles Times poll shows Bustamante with 35% of the vote and McClintock with 12%. The poll indicates that McClintock will lose decisively but more importantly, his vote will ensure that GOP front-runner Schwarzenegger loses as well.

It doesn’t have to be this way. McClintock could see the light and do what’s best for the party – as Bill Simon did by bowing out of the race. Other than his new Democratic support, the picture continues to grow bleaker for McClintock. The Washington Post and Sacramento Bee are reporting that there will be a record turnout for the recall election. This invalidates the early calculus by McClintock supporters - that in a low turnout election, grassroots could carry the day. Further, the base is growing more familiar with Schwarzenegger’s conservatism – Arnold came out against partial-birth abortion, against gay marriage, and for a constitutional spending cap.

There comes a time when personal ambition must be set aside and self-affirming but false justifications for one’s candidacy need to be reexamined. If McClintock stays in the California Senate, and assuming Arnold wins the governorship, he and Arnold could play the good-cop/bad-cop routine to perfection, mirroring President Bush and Tom Delay’s efforts at the national level. Additionally, McClintock may be well positioned to challenge Barbara Boxer in next year’s US Senate race. However, if McClintock persists with his spoiler campaign and throws the election to Bustamante, it is doubtful he will have any political capital for a future race.

But assuming things stay the way they are, with McClintock’s help, Bustamante and the Democrats may well pull off an upset of a lifetime on Election Day.

[A Broken Glass Republican]

Ummmmmm.....

Pet Wilson was right. McClintock IS Effing Irrelevant. Well, he will be until he throws the election to Bust-a-move. And at that point he'll just be known as the political equivelent of Marcia Clark. He will have LOST a SURE thing, just like she did.

And like her...His career will be OVER. And all will come full circle...He'll be Effing Irrelevant once AGAIN!

[fieldmarshaldj]

Take your meds, Charlie.

[PhiKapMom]

Wouldn't even take 30 minutes to level McClintock by the media if Arnold withdrew. You are right -- most of the Bush supporters see it except for a few. We all went through the McClone Wars and then the Keyes wars -- this is just a bad dream reappearing on here once again.

Anytime the liberals start giving the Repubilcan face time or praising the man as the only conservative in the race, they are up to something and that something is to split the Repubicans. Fortunately, believe that most "True" Republicans see right through their attempts. The ones that don't are not thinking very hard.

From now on I am calling myself a "True" Republican because I believe that winning elections is the only way to advance a more conservative agenda. Losing does absolutely nothing!

[A Broken Glass Republican]

Please, call me Charles?

:-)

[FairOpinion]

"The LA Times is writing gushing articles about McClintock. Willie Brown and Jerry Brown were speaking glowinlgy of him as well. They all seem to be on the same page. "

===

This proves it's a coordinated Dem strategy.
"Divide and conquer" -- ancient wisdom, still works.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"A Broken Glass RINO"

[fieldmarshaldj]

Take your meds, Charles.

[FairOpinion]

"there's another angry Tom McC fanatic on there threatening to vote no on recall just because he knows that McClintock can't win.

Selfish and short-sighted it's rather sad. "

===

As they say, with friends like these, we don't really need any enemies.

[Tempest]

"From now on I am calling myself a "True" Republican because I believe that winning elections is the only way to advance a more conservative agenda. Losing does absolutely nothing!"

You must be a RINO because you can see the forest beyond the trees! ;)

[FairOpinion]

"Conservative and moderate Republican voters, with help from independent voters can get McClintock elected. Don't believe the hype from the leftwing. "

===

SIMON LOST in a two way race with the most despised governor of CA, which is direct proof that your assertions are false.

[PhiKapMom]

McClintock's supporters on here are sure not die-hard Republicans for the most part. I went around with some of these same people during the primaries in 2000 and a lot of them were Buchanites. Not to mention that a lot of the Keyes folks that are now calling the rest of us RINO's said they would never vote for Bush.

A die-hard Republican votes for the Republican candidate that can win -- not one that they know is going to be a spoiler.

[A Broken Glass Republican]

Nope.

I ALWAYS support the Republican Party. I am the DEFINITION of a "Broken Glass Republican".

Unlike the real RINOs...You know who they are...

The McClintock supporters. The RINOs who are obviously out to destroy the California Republican Party by LOSING a SURE thing for the SECOND time.

[Amerigomag]

McClintock is a seasoned politician, not an ideologue. He knows that if the election were held today: 1) He would loose, 2) Bustamante might edge out Schwarzenegger and 3) Davis would be recalled.

So why does he stay? Probably a mixture of character, personal political gain (if his exit is correctly timed) and an attempt to earn some conservative concessions from the liberal (from his perspective) party front runner.

Things change however if the national party leadership gets heavy handed with McClintock and the far right finds out, or the election is put off until March 2004 or Bustamante begins creeping over the 40% mark.

If the far right feels abondoned by the state and national leadership or they sense Bustamante has a genuine chance against Schwarzenegger then the dynamic changes.

They go to polls in large numbers. Davis narrowly escapes recall and Bustamante edges out Schwarzenegger in a meaningless contest.

[Wolfstar]

Chris, you are a reasonable person. I applaude your Post #44. By way of reply, let me remind (or inform) one and all of what happened in the California Assembly in 1995. The Republican Revolution of 1994 did not skip California. We won control of the Assembly for the first time in many, many years. And what happened? Did they consolidate their gains and use that golden opportunity to strengthen the party?

Well....for the next two years the Republicans squabbled amongst themselves — conservatives vs. moderates. They couldn't decide who to elect as Speaker. They couldn't decide what their legislative agenda should be. They quarreled when one of the Speakers they elected during those two years sold them out to the Dems. And on it went until 1996, when the Dems regained control and never looked back. Republicans have lost seats every year since.

This sort of self-destructive warfare on the right in this state still continues, as we can see in the McClintock vs. Schwarzenegger battle raging on this forum. McClintock seems to be going out of his way to encourage such intra-party division. To me, his behavior is very reminicent of the way the Republican majority acted in the Assembly from 1994 to 1996 — almost deliberately and willfully destructive of GOP chances in this state.

Even when he's smiling, there is something very tightly wound and guarded about the guy:

[A Broken Glass Republican]

Please, call me Chuck?

:-)

[FairOpinion]

Would "die-hard Republicans" hand victory to the Democrats?

If they had the interest of the party in mind, they would pressure Mcclintock to withdraw for the best of the party.

The McClintockites are the real RINOs.

[JustAnAmerican]

"A vote for McClintock is a vote for Bust-a-move.

This has to be the most oft used idiotic line I have heard in any of these threads. So in keeping in theme with the AS supporters, "A Vote for Arnold is a Vote for The Kennedys". Try espousing your candidates views that closely resemble conservatism instead of that tired old line. But then I guess there really is nothing conservative one can say about AS.

[pogo101]

And on it went until 1996, when the Dems regained control and never looked back. Republicans have lost seats every year since.

Minor nit: the GOP picked up Assembly seats in 2002, although the party is still night powerless in Sacramento.

[NormsRevenge]

From now on I am calling myself a "True" Republican because I believe that winning elections is the only way to advance a more conservative agenda. Losing does absolutely nothing!

---

LMAO .. Yeah .. you betcha!!!

Conservatism is dying on the vine.. and the "True" Republicans who cut their own throats to win with Arnold ... Have a nice day!

I've lost a lot of respect for a lot of folks on this board who I thought were smarter than falling for this ploy to insert Arnold in the race. I guess I was wrong.

Advancing the conservative agenda is getting a lot of lip service as RINO activity shows all too clearly at both a state and federal level. Argue that.

[Sunsong]

"I've been very understanding of McClintock, if only because I do see him as a man of principle. I am hoping that McClintock is playing the positioning game so he can negotiate with Arnold for a voice in the budget and help in a Senate campaign against Boxer. But if Tom takes money from the Democrats and the Tribes, then he can go straight to hell."

Thanks for your post. Sometimes you have to play hardball. That's something that most conservatives understand. If a guy is trying to kill you, it's better to kill him first. And McClintock sure looks like someone who is hell-bent on doing damage rather than doing good.