The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is running a "Travelin' Tom McClintock" commercial that employs a playful map of California to take multiple shots at the veteran Southern California state lawmaker running for Congress against Democrat Charlie Brown in Northern California's 4th District. The following is a text of the ad and an analysis by Peter Hecht of The Bee Capitol Bureau:
Text
Narrator: Travelin' Tom McClintock. Assembly 1984. Got wined and dined by Big Oil. Ran for Congress down south. Lost. Went north and opposed renewable energy. Ran for governor and lieutenant governor. Lost them both. Now he is a state senator who voted against benefits for our troops. Who pockets $300,000 in travel expenses while living 14 miles from the state Capitol.
Travelin' Tom, pull over.
We can't let you get to Washington.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is responsible for the content of this advertisement.
Analysis
The DCCC ought to pay royalties to the Republican primary campaign team of former Sacramento-area Rep. Doug Ose. The bulk of its charges were previously aired in an Ose advertising blitz. The Ose campaign even used a similar playful California map and traveling McClintock theme, only to lose badly to McClintock in June.
But the DCCC hopes to exploit the theme of McClintock the career politician who is termed out in the state Senate and now trying to find a new job far from his home district.
The ad rebroadcasts Ose's pointed charge that McClintock collected $300,000 in his legislative career by abusing a state per diem system set up to offset lawmakers' costs for maintaining residences in Sacramento and their home districts. Though he is registered to vote at a home he owns with his mother in Thousand Oaks, McClintock lives virtually full time in Elk Grove.
A handful of Sacramento-area lawmakers, including incoming Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Assembly members Lois Wolk and Dave Jones refuse to accept the per diem because of their close proximity to the Capitol.
Yet McClintock is among the vast majority of lawmakers, including 39 of the 40 state senators, who legally choose to pocket tax-free per diem payments – which recently rose to $173 a day – for living expenses while on legislative business in Sacramento.
Another volatile charge in the DCCC ad deals with McClintock's votes on veterans issues.
McClintock opposed a bill to allow military members to defer financial obligations while deployed on active duty, citing violation of private contracts. And before his election to the Senate, he was one of four Assembly members – compared to 76 who voted yes – to vote no on Proposition 16, the state Veterans Home Bond Act in 2000. McClintock cited wasteful spending and federal responsibility to care for veterans.
However, McClintock is now supporting Proposition 12, a state initiative to authorize $900 million in bonds to provide home loans to veterans.
Call Peter Hecht, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5539.
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