After reading the articles on Rep. Tom McClintock and Jessica Morse in the Mariposa Gazette and attending the debate on Sept. 23, I will continue to support our Congressman wholeheartedly.
When I moved here in 1971 Mariposa was a thriving conservative community. Yes, we had Yosemite and tourism, but we had timber harvesting and our forests were healthy. We also had mining, and many ranches that raised cattle and a variety of livestock. All of this made for a healthy community and a wonderful place to live.
Then in the 1980’s everything began to change. With the well meant environmental laws that were put in place logging, mining and grazing were curtailed and Mariposa began to suffer. Now about all we have left is tourism, and as we have seen with all of the latest natural disasters, relying on tourism and payment in lieu of taxes is not enough to keep our county sustainable. Also, over the last decade there has been a major influx of liberals from San Francisco and the big cities that bring with them their flawed environmental thinking, and big government ideals that have not worked here in the past and will not work here in the future. These transplants now join local libs and support Jessica Morse. I don’t understand why they want to continue on the same path that has failed and caused Mariposa to become a depressed county destined to poverty like so many others in this state.
Tom McClintock is well aware of what is going on in District 4, and has and has actually done something to turn things around. He co-sponsored the Resilient Federal Forests Acts of 2015 & 2017, which placed wildfire spending on the same basis as other natural disasters. Morse complains that the Forest Service is not given the funds to put into forest management, but gives no solution for the problem. She forgets that before NEPA and ESA, and other so-called environmental laws, foresters could designate surplus timber and auction it without endless time-consuming and ultimately cost-prohibitive environmental reviews, mitigation requirements, and litigation.
I was unable to find any instance where Morse has called for an overhaul of these laws to expedite forest thinning and return the Forest Service to a positive cash-flow. On the other hand, Tom’s legislation contained in the 2016 WIIN Act has made a dramatic difference in cutting environmental review on forest thinning projects in the Tahoe Basin from more than 800 pages to less than 40, and breaking the gridlock these laws have created. His next goal is to extend these provisions to cover all of our forests.
McClintock has set the record straight concerning the letter he did not sign asking for federal assistance. This letter ignored the ongoing Ferguson and Donnell Fires actually burning in the Fourth Congressional District, and asked for assistance ONLY with fires in other parts of the state. Instead, McClintock spear-headed a letter from House members asking for equal consideration of the fires in all parts of the state, including the Fourth Congressional District.
I also disagree with Morse on the other issues that were addressed. She supports dangerous sanctuary city policies, immigration reform that will give amnesty to illegal immigrants, and opposes building a wall to secure our border. She opposes tax reform, and supports nationalizing our healthcare which would give us the largest tax increase in American history. She has also been dishonest about her experience and qualifications, and her proposed ballot descriptions have been denied 7 different times by the State of California and a judge because they were false and misleading. I find Jessica Morse’s misstatements, misrepresentations, and lack of honesty unacceptable. I see her as a Democratic Socialist. As we have seen from past and present history Socialism has not worked, and it will not work in America. Jessica Morse is too liberal for our District, and her policies won’t work here.
I stand strong for Tom McClintock and his fight for limited government, free trade, lower taxes, healthcare reform, and healthy forests. This is the reason that he has been re-elected year after year by his constituents, even though he lives just outside District 4, unlike Jessica Morse who just moved here last year to rent a house.
Freedom Works! Vote for Tom McClintock!
Wendy Brown
Mariposa
McClintock is what we need.