Nonetheless, McClintock said, "I'm very concerned that he's continued those writings since he joined my staff and I'll have a talk with him about that."Apparently, it's not a big deal with McClintock.Stoos said Monday that the rigors of the campaign have not allowed time for such a discussion.
By the way, Stoos came to McClintock with a controversial past:
In 1995, Stoos was quoted in a Northern California newspaper as saying that Jews "would not have total acceptance" in the Christian-based society he envisioned, and that though they would nevertheless be tolerated, they "would feel more at home" in Israel. The remarks, the Contra Costa Times reported, were made during a Berkeley panel discussion on religion and politics. Stoos participated as a representative of the Christian Coalition, a conservative group founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson.McClintock knew about Stoos' being kicked out of the Christian Coalition and the Gun Owners of California, but "took Stoos at his word:"Stoos maintains that he was quoted out of context, and that the Contra Costa Times later retracted the article and apologized to him in writing. Stoos declined to comment further.
In fact, the newspaper did clarify that the article did not mean to imply that Stoos was anti-Semitic or had made anti-Semitic remarks, and apologized for any misunderstanding the article might have caused. The clarification made no mention of Stoos being misquoted.
San Francisco attorney Martin Kassman, who was on the panel with Stoos and represented the American Civil Liberties Union, said there was no mistaking Stoos' message that day.
"He was clearly expressing his opinion that Jews are not equal to Christians as he defines Christianity in the United States that we are a lesser breed of U.S. citizen," Kassman recalled in a recent interview. He said he immediately challenged Stoos' comments.
Following his remarks, Stoos was asked to resign from an advisory board affiliated with the Christian Coalition, and did so. Ralph Reed Jr., then the coalition's executive director, called Stoos' remarks "outrageous and totally unacceptable" in a letter to the head of the Anti-Defamation League.Stoos also resigned as executive director of Gun Owners of California. He did so, he told The Times, because he did not want the controversy to tarnish the reputation of the group.
Kassman said his concerns about Stoos were renewed when he saw his name in recent newspaper articles that quoted him on behalf of McClintock.
"It is very troubling that a major candidate for governor of California has a senior advisor who subscribes to the views Mr. Stoos subscribes to," Kassman said. "As a Jew who lives in California, I'd be very worried if we had a governor who had a senior advisor who believes that."
Asked about the comments attributed to Stoos in the 1995 Contra Costa Times report, McClintock responded: "If that's what he said, that's an absolutely outrageous and unacceptable comment."
Two years later, when Stoos was poised to go to work for McClintock, Republican Assembly members Gary Miller and Curt Pringle tried to dissuade McClintock from hiring him, citing his comments at the Berkeley forum and other issues.
"We believed he was divisive — and we were conservatives," said Miller, now a member of Congress from Orange County.
McClintock said in an interview last week that he subsequently had a long conversation with Stoos, and Stoos assured him that he had been misquoted and that the newspaper article had been retracted. McClintock said he took Stoos at his word
Two years later, when Stoos was poised to go to work for McClintock, Republican Assembly members Gary Miller and Curt Pringle tried to dissuade McClintock from hiring him, citing his comments at the Berkeley forum and other issues.OK, now I am convinced. McClintock either knew, or should have known. If they tried to dissuade him from hiring this guy, then either they told him, or they told him enough where he should have pulled the string.
CP- I still think your Claremont point in the original article here did nothing but confuse things. It proved nothing and does a disservice to a good organization.
There was nothing to talk about. McClintock knew what Stoos was up to. The warnings from the CRA served as notice to McClintock that there was a problem with Stoos. Since 1997 McClitock has known of Stoos writings and Chalcedon relationship.
McClintock said in an interview last week that he subsequently had a long conversation with Stoos, and Stoos assured him that he had been misquoted and that the newspaper article had been retracted. McClintock said he took Stoos at his word
The CCTimes stood by their story and did not retract the quote by Stoos. Witnesses confirm the statement.