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Congressional candidates debate at chamber forum
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Campaign signs flooded the entrance of an Auburn hotel Thursday as candidates in the race to suc-ceed retiring U.S. Rep. John Doolittle sparred over the economy, party politics and federally unfunded mandates.
Democratic candidate Charlie Brown’s supporters packed the Charbeanou Room at the Auburn Holiday Inn during an Eggs & Issues candidate forum with Republican Tom McClintock. The break-fast debate was hosted by the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. More than 50 community leaders and residents were in attendance.
Candidates discussed their disagreement over the recently approved $700 billion Congressional fi-nancial bailout plan.
“The $700 billion bailout plan is taking our taxpayer dollars to bailout Wall Street’s mistake,” McClintock said. “It is money the government doesn’t have that it will need to borrow. There is an economic term for that — it’s called throwing good money after bad.”
McClintock said federal regulators tightened up on the nation’s monetary base, which is like “lighting a big fire under a big boiler and not putting enough water in it.”
Brown has said he supports a rescue plan that provides no golden parachutes for corporate execu-tives and promises any profits from bailed-out financial institutions are returned to taxpayers.
“It’s time to get reasonable controls back,” Brown said. “The economic stimulus package (ap-proved by President George Bush earlier this year) is something that should have never been needed. We should have been taking action years ago.”
Asked their positions on federal participation in solving local sewer upgrade requirements, Brown said he is opposed to federally unfunded mandates.
“If we are going to be facing new mandates, they need to happen more gradually or the federal government needs to give more money to support (those mandates),” Brown said. “We are not getting our fair share of money — our tax dollars are not coming back to the state.”
McClintock said Brown missed the point.
“Tax dollars should not be shipped off to Washington, D.C. in the first place,” McClintock said. “The money should stay with the state and we need to restore our principles of limited government.”
Ann Rivero, a longtime undecided voter, said after Thursday’s forum she is leaning toward voting for Brown, but still isn’t completely certain.
“I think coming to a forum like this is so much more informative,” Rivero said. “Seeing the two of them in person gives you more of an insight.”
During closing statements, McClintock and Brown emphasized their differences.
“Tom McClintock and I have chosen two very different paths in life,” Brown said. “I have served this country for 22 years in the military and as a policeman and Tom has been a career politician for 22 years. If you want change, vote for someone who will do the right thing for this country, not for someone who has been a part of the problem for the last 22 years.”
McClintock said he has repeatedly taken on both parties and has consistently stood on principal over partisanship.
“We must be aware of the damage bad public policy can have on our nation,” McClintock said. “The question is, ‘who do you trust to support lower taxes and for reform by eliminating the earmark process?’ The decision we make 26 days from now will affect our nation for years to come.”
The Journal’s Jenna Nielsen can be reached at jennan@goldcountrymedia.com or comment on this story at auburnjournal.com.
Congressional District 4, Charlie Brown, Tom McClintock, Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce
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Charlie can't force himself to say he was a clerk in the Roseville Police Department. He has been stretching the truth latrly, specially in the mailers he's been sending out. He also doesn't have a clue about the economy.
McClintock? Well, Tom is Tom, you either love him or hate him, I don't like him but I feel he has a better grasp of the economy and what to do or not do than Charlie. Charlie's answers were "safe" but not trend setting or showing much insight. CD04 is in trouble. So vote along party lines because there is no one better than the other.
McClintock showed up late and tried to sneak into the hotel by a back entrance to avoid all the local Charlie Brown supporters waiting in front of the building.
McClintock did not answer questions about why he doesn't live in the district.
Listen carefully to what McClintock actually SAYS about what he feels is the role of government- he is a miniature Grover Norquist, who has made many, many statements in many venues during this campaign where he says that certain branches or functions of government should BE ABOLISHED.
The man is so simplistic he thinks that the current financial disaster that has befallen our nation and that now is having a global impact can be fixed with a ..... tax cut.
This isn't a responsible candidate, this is grotesque irresponsibility on the part of someone who either does not have the intellect to comprehend the scope of the problem, and is pretending he does, or who does have somewhat a grasp of it, but who is convinced the voters are so stupid he must lie to them to garner votes.
Either way, McClintock is being dishonest. He toned down his pitch and rhetoric from the Oroville League of Women Voter's candidate forum, in which I am sure the other members of the audience were shocked at how downright supercilious and nasty he sounded when he was saying, in paraphrase, that we lived in such a time that we needed to send people like himself to Congress and not send somebody who would cause the country to enter a Great Depression by voting for the policies of .... Herbert Hoover.
Perhaps Republican Tom McClintock has now jumped the shark and forgotten that 1) He has NEVER voted for a state budget in CA's history, because he does not play well with others and can't convince members of his own party to adopt any of his ideas, let alone the other party's
and 2) Just which party Herbert Hoover belonged to - THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Since Tom McClintock continues to cite false facts about the energy situation in this country, and district, repeatedly, doggedly, in a breathtakingly bad manner, again, I would not trust his thought processes on making financial decisions with other people's money. His in the pocket of big Oil and Big Pharma and his funding comes mostly from real estate and casino interests in Southern California, and it shows.
Charlie Brown did an outstanding job at the forum. Voting local for a candidate who represents local interests is the only logical thing to do.
I must very simply say: "it's OK to vote for a democrat if you are a republican." And, visa versa if you are a democrat. I encourage all to vote for the person and not the party; vote for someone who will represent you and vote based on their own reasoning and not walk in lockstep with the party chiefs. That was Doolittle's biggest failure...all he did was follow the leader right off the economic cliff.
Which candidate do you think will work to restore our middle-class way of life and which candidate do you think favors the trickle down idea that the super rich will provide for the middle-class?
I favor Mr. Brown this time around and think we should give him a chance to prove himself.
@loomisresident:
Mr. Brown is retired military and often military retirees take secondary jobs to stay busy or earn a bit of money. My dad worked for the post office after he retired just to stay busy. I see nothing wrong with working as a clerk for a police department...if fact, I see it as honorable!
loomis exposed, finally.
He's a closet McClintock supporter. He says "I don't like McClintock" blah blah but then says "So vote along party lines because there is no one better than the other". A vote along party lines in this district means McClintock wins and that would be an absolutely DREADFUL result for CD4.
I invite all of you to do something very simple. Go to the links below; these are pages on the candidates own websites. See if you can see a difference between the two of them when it comes to an economic plan. I'll give you a hint. McClintock doesn't have an economic plan. He has some radio comments posted. That's pretty much it. Brown has developed and posted a thoughtful American Jobs plan.
You decide. Do you want a reactionary guy who has no plan and is a relic of the economic philosophy that is behind the biggest financial meltdown in almost eighty years or a moderate who has developed a thoughtful and balanced plan for the economy--and for energy, and health care and much more?
This choice could not be more clear. A vote for McClintock is a vote for more of the same failed economic stupidity that is draining our retirement accounts at an alarming rate. A vote for Brown is a vote for a sane and sensible approach in a world where that is desperately needed.
http://www.tommcclintock.com/
Click on "McClintock on the Financial Crisis" in the upper left corner. This will lead you to...an audio clip. Be sure to read the ugly comment someone posted on the same page to get a sense for what McClintock's supporters are like. Then go back to the home page and select "Issues" and see what Tom has to say (not much). There is no economic plan to be found anywhere on the site.
In contrast...
http://www.charliebrownforcongress.org/
In the center of the home page you will see a link to Charlie's American Jobs plan. After reading that go to Charlie's Issues page and see what he has to say about the many things that are important to all of us. You will see that Charlie has put far more thought into what he would do in Congress than McClintock. Brown's policies are the results of three years of meeting with people in this district to learn what they want and need from Congress. McClintock's sketchy policies are the result of a lifetime of inaction. Just call him "Doctor No".
Rat,
I do not blame McClintock if he avoided the Brown shirts.
Like their Nazi predecessors, they do not tolerate anyone who does not agree with them.
As for our economic situation, the mainstream media is doing a good job of covering up the cause, but the internet has a way of spreading the news....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs
Evidence of Democrat corruption/complicity
Miwtant, I took you advice and went to Charlie's web site. I see were he supports a lot of things, however he fails to mention how will those things he support are going to be financed. It is almost impossible to pretend to back cutting taxes and on the next sentence have all these programs that you want to see implemented. Now even an old guy like me knows that implementation of these programs will cost money so where is it going to come from? Oh yeas, the tax increase for those making over $250.000.00, yeah right.
Look, I wish I could like Charlie, I like him personally but unfortunately not politically, I have spoken to him on three occasions and he has failed to answer questions to my satisfaction, no, none of the questions was whether he was at the Pearcy's, I don't care a bout that because that would be his right.
I didn't bother to go to McClintock's site, I know him from Ventura County and he's not worth my time looking at his site.
I see the rightwingers as usual have a problem with freedom of speech, except when it's their people assaulting strangers in front of Planned Parenthood.
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The Venturian Candidate claims he wants to "fully fund the military", by which I gather means spend a whole lot more money, and also cut taxes. Where, pray tell, does he think that money will come from? Does he think our Treasury is flush with cash? Or does he have the Republican fantasy that it can come from 'program cuts'? Well, let's see him try to cut something really big like farm subsidies; his Repub buddies will crucify him. Or is he willing to reinstate the royalties that the oil companies used to pay us for -our- oil before the Repubs cut it?
No, the only way he can pay for what he says is through borrowing, meaning more deficits. Yeah, good plan.
Sorry folks, the VC has no clue about the economy. He's merely another of those deluded ideologues who has a simple answer for everything, but never achieves anything.
And by the way, he doesn't actually want to be our Congressman; it's merely a stepping stone to the Senate.
Your hypocrisy is rearing its ugly head again, RT, and frankly it is getting quite old.
Why is it when some Republican supporters yell "terrorist" and "kill him" at a recent political event, they are just exercising their "free speech".
However, when some Democrats show up with signs to support their candidate, they are Nazis?
This is the kind of ugly division that has done nothing but positive for our country and will not help us with future concerns.
People like RT keep our country in the mud.
Lets move on, shall we?
Dragon and Nash Grumbler, I love it when you put the pretentious Rat Think in his place ... it's a wonderful thing to watch ...
Bud Lee
Tom McClintok arrived 15 minutes late to the meeting and came through the back door. I was walking through the lobby when he arrived. I went to the front door to alert Charlie Brown's supporters that Mr. McClintock was coming through the back door. McClintock's staffers ran to the door and held it shut to stop Brown's supporters from talking to McClintock. When I confronted Mr McClintock ( all 125 pounds of me), he quickly went upstairs ignoring my question. I asked how he could represent our district when he lived in Southern California and why didn't he run for Congress in the district that he represented for 22 years in the California legislature. We deserve an answer to that and McClintock should be respectful to the constituents he wants to represent. He should be ashamed of himself.
By reading all these posts, two things are abundantly clear: the click is ticking down on the Brown campaign, and panic has set in bigtime. Anytime someone uses the word “Nazi” to describe either your candidate or a surrogate is codespeak for “our campaign is in full panic mode.” Namecalling is not only a sign of weakness, but it shows that the campaign tank is pretty much empty.
The other thing that jumps out, and I’ve heard and read this several times: ask Charlie Brown a question and you get a 10-minute answer. By the time he’s finished talking, a mountain of words has been tossed out with very little substance.
Fact is, district voters will cast their votes based on the issues of the day. And whether Brown’s folks choose to believe it, the economy is our biggest concern, but in California and nationally. And that’s why McClintock will prevail on election day.
Being in the military does not make you a good person to send to Washington. Yes, Charlie Brown is very good at giving other peoples money away to vets groups. I will not add another to Nancy Pelosi's Army. Keep your clerks job at the P.D..................................
Who is this "Docas?" He's right on the money -- Charlie Brown bathes people in a bathtub of words, leaving people pickled at the prospect of voting for him. And that was easy for me to say, thank you very much!