Ose points to House record to back his conservative credentials

WASHINGTON – During his six years in the House representing the 3rd Congressional District, former Rep. Doug Ose's votes on such issues as abortion, guns, spending and immigration placed him squarely on the moderate end of the Republican caucus.

Now, at age 52, Ose's record is rearing up as his biggest hurdle as he competes against state Sen. Tom McClintock, a champion of the far right, for the Republican nomination in a neighboring district centered in El Dorado, Placer and Nevada counties that is arguably the most conservative in the state.

Ose's record is Issue No. 1 for McClintock, who cites his voting record in denouncing him as a liberal.

"The 4th Congressional District is ground zero in the fight to restore conservative Republican principles in Congress," McClintock said in a recent mailer detailing some of Ose's votes.

In rebuttal, Ose touts more than 200 votes on the House floor to cut taxes, fight wasteful spending, protect gun rights and toughen immigration laws.

"I think I have a strong national security and economic record consistent with even the staunchest of conservatives," he said.

During his six years, Ose introduced bills to stop automatic pay raises for members of Congress. He cast votes for cutting taxes and against raising the federal debt ceiling. He supported the Iraq war.

He led a congressional investigation into gifts received by President Clinton. He sponsored a balanced-budget amendment and legislation giving the president line-item veto power to erase unwanted congressional earmarks.

He backed several bills to criminalize the defilement of the U.S. flag and to stop broadcasters from using profane language on the air, and he wrote legislation to protect the constitutionality of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

After the death of President Reagan in June 2004, Ose co-sponsored legislation to put Reagan's image on the dime and, in what may have been his last bill before leaving office, to carve Reagan's face into Mount Rushmore, next to Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

On issues of local concern, Ose paid close attention to his district, winning him strong support among Sacramento-area businesses and political leaders that persists into his race today.

He delivered money boosting community policing in Folsom, business developments at McClellan Park and various traffic improvements. He was a leader in trying to stop the epidemic spread of methamphetamine. His earmarks included $1.5 million for a Citrus Heights police station and $1.2 million for a Northern California world trade center.

But on hot-button issues such as abortion, a key litmus test for many conservatives, Ose's record is mixed.

Ose, who considered himself a proponent of abortion rights when he ran for the 3rd Congressional District seat in 1998 and received the backing of abortion rights organizations, now balks at the "pro-choice" label.

"Abortion is not an ideal set of events," Ose said. "From every side it's a personal tragedy. But am I pro-life or pro-choice? I don't know how to answer that question."

Over the six years Ose represented the 3rd Congressional District, the American Conservative Union gave him a 78 lifetime score. That rating is more conservative than any Democrat received, but placed him in the bottom 25 percent of House Republicans on issues the ACU most cared about.

The National Journal, whose annual ratings more broadly analyze voting patterns, also placed Ose in the most liberal quartile of the 225 House Republicans in 2004, his last year in office.

Among California's 20 House Republicans, only Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, voted more often with the liberal position, the National Journal tabulations showed.

Ose's votes often lined up with Republican moderates from the Northeast. On guns, for example, they tend to back the Second Amendment but are more apt to tolerate local controls to combat rising big-city death tolls.

In June 1999, Ose was one of three California Republicans to oppose lifting the District of Columbia's gun ban, joining all of the state's Democratic lawmakers.

About the writer:

• Call David Whitney, McClatchy Washington Bureau, (202) 383-0004.