ELECTION '92
CONGRESSIONAL RACE
Beilenson vs. McClintock
Seven-term
incumbent Democratic Congressman Anthony Beilenson faces a tough challenge
from Republican State Assemblyman Tom McClintock for the new 24th
Congressional District seat Beilenson, a social liberal and fiscal
moderate, is campaigning on protecting abortion rights, cutting the
deficit, and safeguarding the environment. McClintock, an ultra-right-wing
conservative leader, is calling for dramatic reductions in the federal
government, privatization of social services, and tough law and order
legislation. Polls indicate that the race remains very close.
One of California's seven new court-drawn congressional districts,
the 24th straddles the Santa Monica Mountains and includes Sherman
Oaks, Westlake Village, Malibu, Topanga Canyon, the West San Fernando
Valley, Hidden Hills, and several Ventura County suburbs. Beilenson,
59, chose to run in the new, slightly Republican district, with 55
percent of his old constituents, rather than challenge fellow liberal
Democrat Henry Waxman for a seat on the Westside where Beilenson built
his political base over the past 30 years.
"Reducing the federal deficit remains the key to reviving our
economy and solving every other problem facing our nation," says
Beilenson, who blames the huge federal deficit on President Reagan's
"irresponsible" 1981 tax cut. Beilenson sees the passage
of national health care insurance as anecessary step in controlling
medical costs and reducing the deficit while expanding medical coverage
to all Americans, 40 million of whom currently have no health insurance.
Beilenson favors dramatically cutting the national defense budget,
raising corporate taxes, and raising taxes on individuals with incomes
over $200,000.
Like Ross Perot, Beilenson also supports a 50-cent per gallon gasoline
tax increase to raise $50 billion dollars in federal funds a year.
Protected by a "safe" Democratic district, Beilenson previously
enjoyed the political luxury of questioning popular expenditures,
advocating tax increases, and in general taking tough, principled
positions. According to Politics in America, "Few members of
either party are as respected as Beilenson for their willingness to
act out of conviction regardless of political interest." Beilenson,
often described as practically non-partisan, also has won praise from
U.S. News and World Report as one of Congress' "dozen straightest
arrows "a group of twelve representatives "whose integrity
is beyond question."
Yet the new 24th district could be the Waterloo for Beilenson's maver?ick,
neo-liberal political career. McClintock, a fiery 36-year-old As?semblyman,
combines a populist anti-tax message with a libertarian zeal for cutting
social service pro?grams. An advocate of radical privatization of
government servicesranging from "streetlights to prisons and
schools," McClintock proposed cutting the California budget by
$14 billion dollars last summer, attacked Governor Wilson for submitting
a budget based on "literally absurd" estimates, and warned
that California
will face another budget crisis next year.
A leader of the so-called "caveman" extreme right wing of
the Republican Assembly Caucus, McClintock continues to wage an aggressive
campaign based on his opposition to higher taxes and "socialist"
national health insurance proposals. On other domestic issues, he
is adamantly anti-abortion, opposing the federal funding of abortion
and the Freedom of Choice Act, which forbids states from imposing
restrictions on abortion, and supporting parental consent laws. McClintock,
the sponsor of a California law allowing Death Row inmates to choose
lethal injection for their execution, favors tougher crime laws and
opposes gun control. Favoring "free-market solutions" to
environmental problems, McClin?ock opposes most "green"
legisla?tion. Predictably, he scored a four percent rating from the
California League of Conservation Voters; Beilenson, an ardent environmentalist
who helped create the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area,
received a 100 percent rating.
This close contest has gained national significance because of Republican
hopes of unseating an incumbent Democrat. Beilenson, however, has
won endorsements from the Los Angeles Times, the National Abortion
Rights Action League, the National Education Association, and the
California Organization of Police Officers and Sheriffs. The combative
McClintock, meanwhile, has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association,
the National Taxpayers Union, and received a 100 percent rating from
the National Right to Life Committee.
Beilenson, one of the few members of Congress who has never accepted
PAC money, has spent almost $500,000 in the race.
McClintock, heavily financed by the National Rifle Association and
oil companies, has also spent approximately $500,000. Beilenson supports
campaign finance reform and a ban on all contributions from special-interest
PAC money.
Departing from the liberal fold, Beilenson supports HR 2964, the Comprehensive
Border Control Act, which would almost double the number of Border
patrol agents and install concrete barriers along the United States-Mexico
border. "Illegal immigration has become one of the most serious
problems faced by our city and county, as wellas our state,"
claims Beilenson. "We have to gain better control of our nation's
borders."
More controversial among progressive voters is Beilenson's recently
announced co-sponsorship of a constitutional amendment denying citizenship
to American-bom children of illegal immigrants and limiting automatic
citizenship to children of legal resident mothers. "We must remove
the existing incentives for immigrating illegally," wrote Beilenson
in a mailing. "Providing education, emergency health care, and
other essential services to illegal immigrants and their children
in Los Angeles County costs county, state, and federal taxpayers an
estimated $1.3 billion every year." An estimated 770,000 undocumented
aliens live in L.A. County, and an estimated 100,000 undocumented
persons annually move to California.
The fact that Beilenson, known for his strong support of civil liberties,
endorsed the proposed constitu?tional amendment surprised and dis-appointed
some of the congressman's traditional support?ers. If Beilenson was
running against a more moderate Republican candidate, then it might
have caused more of the district's Latino voters to oppose him (the
24th is thirteen percent Latino). But McClintock, an extreme conservative,
takes a less sympathetic view towards illegal immigrants. Beilenson's
position, therefore, might have denied McClintock a potentially, popular
and intensely emotional issue. Other observers have suggested that
Beilenson pandered to the district's conservative voters.
While both sides predict victory, impartial observers consider the
race a toss-up. "This is a highly competitive district,"
notes McClintock.
"The outcome will be close. Every vote will count."
