Part of Fresno will likely get a congressman known for doing little but talking much

The new Fifth Congressional District in California should be a battleground between the major political parties. The GOP has more registered voters than Democrats, but not by an overwhelming margin. But the battle won’t happen. Incumbency brings advantages, and in this case few people know much about either candidate.

The 5th is a newly formed district, stretching from east of Sacramento and heading south through Gold Country towns to a finger of northwest Fresno. It includes Oakhurst and Yosemite Valley. Another spur takes in eastern parts of Modesto and Turlock.

Technically there is no real incumbent, but the GOP candidate, Tom McClintock, was elected in the redrawn Fourth District (he lives in Elk Grove) two years ago and claims the Fifth as his own.

He is not well known because he has never sponsored or passed any major legislation of any kind. He claims naming a post office as a major accomplishment.

The folk singer Pete Seeger sang a song in the 1960s with this line: “Our congressmen are the finest men, and we keep electing them again and again.”

Despite McClintock’s lackluster career, and many years on the state and federal payrolls, he is considered a shoo-in. The challenger, Democrat Mike Barkley, is even less well known and largely underfunded. He offers standard Democratic Party platform ideas and faces an uphill fight. He seems like a nice guy, but it probably won’t matter. McClintock is coasting toward the election. McClintock barely bothers to campaign.

The few of us who have followed his career in Congress know he can be counted on to vote “no” on almost everything. Voters have not shown much interest in the race and the political parties are not providing much money for either candidate. Most of the state’s pundits expect it to be an easy win for the Republican.

The media rarely covered news about the McClintock’s record in Congress because the districts (old and new) fall between the cracks of major television or newspaper coverage.

His frequent speeches are provided, at taxpayer expense, to local radio stations and internet outlets, and weeklies that generally publish them without comment. He frequently mentions the radicals in office, invaders at our border, and an economy on the verge of collapse.

His efforts to allow timber companies to harvest trees in Yosemite National Park didn’t get very far. And his public comments that firefighters working for the Forest Service didn’t need a raise — the minimum wage was about right for their skills — barely echoed in the foothills. And he doesn’t worry about climate change.

McClintock is known as a reliable Republican vote in the House, following the GOP leadership at every turn. He jumped onto the Trump election deniers’ bandwagon recently. He supported Ted Cruz initially.

McClintock is a back-bench Republican who can be depended upon to do several things:

▪ Demonize any Democrat as a radical socialist;

▪ Vote “no” on all Democratic sponsored legislation, including to keep the government operating;

▪ Make long speeches to an empty chamber echoing the GOP leadership talking points and send endless e-mails to constituents;

▪ Frequently mention the “hordes of aliens” at our borders;

▪ Blame economic bad news like inflation on Democrats, and never mentions good news like employment or deficit reduction or a record stock market.

His campaign donations historically come from the building and development industry, energy corporations and a lot of “retired” people. He avoids much personal contact with constituents except for carefully managed telephone talks where he does all the talking, and a few fundraising events.

When constituents tried to ask questions about his record at one town hall meeting two years ago, he left in a hurry, demanded police protection from the mostly elderly folks in attendance, and claimed he was attacked by an unruly mob.

Other than some TV footage of him running away from the event, he is a pretty dull guy.

You can research his voting record, his speeches and claimed accomplishments easily online. Few will bother. It will be a low-budget race for both parties.

In the primaries earlier this year, 5% more voters went for McClintock than the challenger Barkley, with a very low turnout.

Sanders LaMont of Murphys has lived in Calaveras County for the past 15 years. Prior to retirement, Lamont was a journalist for 45 years, including as executive editor of The Modesto Bee and ombudsman for The Sacramento Bee.