We Can Expect No Help from McClintock! [View all]

[Daleuhlmann]

Last edited Thu Feb 27, 2025, 09:46 PM - Edit history (2)

I had moved from Ohio to California's Stanislaus County almost two years ago. Eager to contact the U. S. Representative of my district, I found out that he was a Republican incumbent named Tom McClintock. Naturally, as a life-long Democrat and a progressive, I wasn't crazy about his party affiliation, but, after all, he my representative in the U. S. House, so I decided to at least contact his office.

I logged on to his official website and emailed him a polite, yet clear stance on two issues: the need for clean, "no-strings-attached" wildfire federal disaster relief for CA and Congressional action against Elon Musk's intrusive and corrupt DOGE activitIes. I asked for a reply as well. To his credit, he responded online within two weeks with two fairly detailed responses at the the same time, one to each issue I had raised. His answers disappointed me, although I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.

First, while he was in favor of FEMA relief for my new home state, he said he would insist on such concessions as clearing away excess vegetation (yes, Trump's old "rake your forests" B. S.!), keeping the money out of the hands of Governor Newsom and L. A. Mayor Karen Bass--who else better to handle and distribute them, Mr. Representative?), and fire-proof sheathing of exposed power lines, something that cheapskate P G & E utility company, will never spend the money on! Not once did he mention human-driven climate change factors that had accounted for the extreme dryness and turbulent winds--something that his party stubbornly refuses to even acknowledge the existence of, let alone do anything about.

Then, his second response regaled me with GOP talking points about what a service for the nation that DOGE is performing by cutting "wasteful" government spending for "woke liberal" agencies like the USAID and its funding of such programs as supplying condoms for Taliban soldiers (a long-refuted MAGA lie). He insisted that no one had elected "bureaucrats" to spend taxpayers' money for progressive purposes (a specious claim), and that over 77 million Americans in the 2024 election had voted in favor of DOGE. I disagree. I am certain that not one American had voted for Musk, an unelected official, to access citizens' private and sensitive information, plunder private bank accounts, and order federal workers to perform certain tasks or be fired without due process. Plus, I fail to see how indiscriminate firing of federal employees (including those who are still on probationary employment, and some of whom the government has discovered are indispensable and must be rehired) improves efficiency.

Suffice to say, I will not be asking for any further input from Representative McClintock's office any time in the forseeable future. How about my fellow Californians from my district? What have been your experiences with the man and your impressions of him?