Fox On the Record with Greta Van Susteren - Transcript

Fox News Network

SHOW: FOX ON THE RECORD WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN (22:21)

HEADLINE: Interview With California Recall Election Candidate

GUESTS: Tom McClintock

BYLINE: Greta Van Susteren, Major Garrett

BODY:
VAN SUSTEREN: California state senator Tom McClintock wants Governor Gray Davis's job, and he thinks he can beat Arnold Schwarzenegger. he joins us from Sacramento.

Welcome, sir.

TOM MCCLINTOCK ®, CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR: Thank you, Greta.

VAN SUSTEREN: OK, why should a Californian vote for you and not Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arianna Huffington or someone else? What makes you different?

MCCLINTOCK: Well, 20 years of experience in the public arena, proposing and fighting for exactly those fiscal reforms that the people of California are now demanding to restore the finances of the state and our economy and our public works. But ultimately, this isn't about Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom McClintock, and it's not even about Gray Davis. It's about the future direction of California in a state where people are really reaching a "fight or flight" choice. A lot are fleeing. You've seen the business numbers. We've lost nearly a third of a million jobs—net loss—in the last two-and-a-half years. Others are staying and fighting. And that's what this election's all about.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Well, so what will you do for the future that's so vastly different than, let's say, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Why you? Where do you differ?

MCCLINTOCK: I'll tell you. First few minutes of the new administration, I'll rescind the governor's tripling of the California car tax. If he can claim that he has the authority to raise it by fiat, I can claim exactly the same authority to lower it right back down again.

The next thing I'll do is act to void the $42 billion of outrageously overpriced electricity contracts that this governor locked us into. Californians are now paying the highest electricity prices in the country because of those contracts that were negotiated under illegal conflict of interest. The governor will not admit to those circumstances because it requires him to admit wrongdoing. I will stipulate to that, and I will void those contracts.

VAN SUSTEREN: Is your opponent Governor Gray Davis? It doesn't seem like that to me. I think you—it appears to me that your opponent is the many—the frontrunners who are running in the recall effort, the—Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arianna Huffington, Peter Ueberroth. I mean, some of those people. Are those your opponents?

MCCLINTOCK: Well, again, right now, we're in a major debate discussion here in California, among Californians, over the future direction of this state. I do think the people have formed an opinion on the matter of the recall, and I do believe that Gray Davis will cease to be governor in 56 days. The discussion that has to go on right now is what direction will this state take to restore the land of opportunity that our parents gave to us.

VAN SUSTEREN: Is this only about money and deficit and the financial consideration of California, or is it about other issues that come up in campaigns? For instance, right to life, right to choose. I mean, are those issues also in this campaign?

MCCLINTOCK: Greta, the biggest issue in this campaign is the fact that the state of California's spending a larger portion from people's earnings than it's ever spent in its history and delivering less. We rank near the bottom in our academic performance. Our roads are chronically congested. We pay the highest electricity prices in the continental United States, all this despite record levels of spending by the state government.

VAN SUSTEREN: So do...

MCCLINTOCK: This is about the top-to-bottom wholesale reform of the way state government is spending people's money.

VAN SUSTEREN: But you got to pay...

MCCLINTOCK: That's what at issue here.

VAN SUSTEREN: You got to pay for—got to pay for police. You got to pay for roads. There are a lot of things you got to pay for. And your state's a mess. Does that mean raising taxes or—I mean, how are you going to pay for this?

MCCLINTOCK: Well, it's a matter of reorganizing the way the state's spending its money. For example, we pay the third heaviest highway taxes per vehicle in the country, and yet we rank dead last in our per capita spending for roads. We put about $270,000 behind every classroom of 30 students. Only fraction of that, perhaps a third, actually reaches the classroom to educate those kids. The rest (UNINTELLIGIBLE) absorbed by layers of bureaucracy.

VAN SUSTEREN: And I can—and I can...

MCCLINTOCK: this is about the wholesale overhaul of the state government.

VAN SUSTEREN: And I can attest to the traffic, too, as well, that you have, especially down in LA, which is—everyone knows about. But anyway, thank you, sir. Good luck in your campaign. Appreciate it.

MCCLINTOCK: Greta, thanks for having me.