Spending is an issue for the GOP to seize

John Fund:

House Republicans clearly suffer from a form of split personality. Last month, Minority Leader John Boehner unveiled a series of reform proposals he dubbed "Change You Deserve." But a few days later, over half of his GOP caucus voted for a farm bill full of pork-barrel projects.

Pragmatic Republicans who voted for the farm bill defend themselves privately by claiming GOP voters send mixed signals, saying they want smaller government while also pressing for federal largesse. But is that still the case following the egregious spending excesses of the Bush years, and the victory of John McCain, an antipork candidate, in presidential primaries?

This week, a GOP primary for an open House seat in California featured a major clash between pragmatic and principled conservatism. The clear winner in the Sacramento-area district was state Sen. Tom McClintock, a politician popular with grassroots voters for his principled campaign for governor in the 2003 recall election won by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Mr. McClintock trounced former Congressman Doug Ose 54%-39%, winning all of the nine counties in the solidly GOP district. Mr. Ose spent nearly $3 million of his own money slamming Mr. McClintock as an "obstructionist" who rejected retiring GOP incumbent John Doolittle's success in bringing home earmarked federal dollars. Voters were given a clear contrast between Mr. Ose's "effectiveness" argument versus Mr. McClintock's pledge not to "fight for table scraps" from Washington. "Earmarks aren't only bankrupting our nation, they are corrupting our Congress," Mr. McClintock told voters. "An earmarked project winds up costing the community that gets it far more in taxes in the long run."

By mentioning Congressional corruption, Mr. McClintock was alluding to ethical problems that forced Rep. Doolittle's retirement this year. The FBI raided the congressman's home last year as part of a probe into allegations that his wife Julie received money from lobbyist-turned-felon Jack Abramoff in exchange for political favors for Abramoff's clients. Mr. Doolittle insists he and his wife will be cleared.

Mr. Doolittle had built a local political empire by excoriating liberals while bringing home federal bacon. He once told me that he marveled over how well Democrats and Republicans got along on the Appropriations Committee he sat on: "It's because we so often have the same priorities" – namely, spending other people's money.

Over 70 local officials that Mr. Doolittle showered with money backed former Rep. Ose. During his House service from 1998 to 2004, Mr. Ose was scored by the National Taxpayers Union as voting more often for higher spending than the average House Republican. Placer County Supervisor Kirk Uhler told the Sacramento Bee that "Doug understands the federal government has the responsibility to solve problems."

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The local officials appear to be the problem the GOP has not been willing to buck, but the local voters appear to be a different story based on the results in this race. I was impressed by McCilintock in his recall race and think he is showing Republicans how to win House races in a year when they need every advantage they can seize.