2012 Contender: Thaddeus McCotter

Today we look at Thaddeus McCotter, who just jumped into the race. McCotter is an early booster of Big Hollywood and appears regularly on Fox, though he’s not well known by the public yet. I knew little about his views before my research for this article and what I’ve found is. . . well, you be the judge.

1. Background: McCotter has a solid political background. He got his start on the Wayne County Commission in 1992 (think Detroit). In that position, he helped change the county charter to require a 2/3 approval of the commission and the approval of 60% of the voters to increase taxes. Between 1998 and 2002, he was a Michigan State Senator, where he was elected to become Assistant Majority Floor Leader. In 1999, he led the Senate Law Revision Task Force, which repealed scores of unneeded Michigan laws.

In 2002, he entered Congress. By 2006, he was elected Chairman of the Republican House Policy Committee, a position he held until 2010.

As an aside, McCotter is Catholic and is married to a first generation Mexican American, something which in these cynical days of identity politics will play very well.

2. Economics: I’ve criticized several of the other candidates for not having any economic plans (Bachmann, Santorum) or having just platitudes (Newt) or being Democrat-lite (Romney, Huntsman). McCotter has a plan:

● “Dismantling destructive concentrations of power -- in banking, in government and in education.” Oh, that makes me happy! On banks, he mentions (1) requiring banks to recapitalize, (2) applying anti-trust laws to limit bank size, and (3) ending taxpayer support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. All good.

● Shrinking government spending by (1) passing a balanced budget amendment, (2) giving the President a line item veto, (3) capping growth of federal spending at the level of household income growth, and (4) ending ineffective federal programs through sunset reviews. One and four are gimmicky, but two and three are good.

● Reforming the tax code to (1) make personal taxes flatter, (2) cut corporate tax rates, and (3) eliminate tax loopholes. He doesn’t say what he considers loopholes, but this is all pointed in the right direction.

● “Ending the Social Security Ponzi Scheme,” by allowing workers to choose personal savings and investment accounts. Another good idea, though he doesn't mention how to fund the system for those already in it if this is done.

● “Ending Chinese mercantilist trade policy,” to encourage American manufacturing. Again no details, but this makes sense.

This plan is like the good parts of Ron Paul without the crazy. And McCotter’s record is generally consistent with his plan, though he has made some missteps. McCotter earned Tea Party “cred” in September 2008, when he became the first Republican to oppose the TARP, calling it “American socialism.” He also opposed the first stimulus ($825 billion). BUT he did vote for the second ($192 billion) stimulus and he voted for the GM bailout. In 2003, he also voted to create the Medicare prescription drug benefit and to oppose importation of cheaper prescription drugs. Those are bad.

But he also voted to regulate the subprime industry in 2007, opposed Obama’s mortgage foreclosure plan, and tried to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment in 2009. He has voted to restrict lawsuits against gun makers and food providers, voted to limit attorneys fees in class action lawsuits, voted to cap damages in medical malpractice cases, and voted to restrict frivolous lawsuits. He opposes Congressional pay raises and voted to require Congress to cite Constitutional authority for all laws they pass. These are good.

3. Social Conservatism: McCotter is definitely a social conservative.

● Abortion: McCotter has a 100% pro-life record and has voted to criminalize the interstate transportation of a minor to get an abortion, the harming of a fetus, and partial-birth abortions. He also favors granting fetuses legal rights under the 14th Amendment -- which would be a royal mess.

● Stem Cells/Cloning: He opposes stem cell research and human cloning.

● Gays: McCotter voted against including homosexuality in hate-crime laws and he favors a Constitutional Amendment to ban gay marriage, but he did vote to prohibit discrimination against gays in employment.

4. Foreign Policy: McCotter talks about winning the war against terror and expanding liberty at home and abroad. He seems intent on staying in Afghanistan and says we must support “grassroots movements that seek to give birth to liberty and freedom” around the world. He names China, North Korea and Iran as our enemies and wants “constructive containment” against China.

5. ObamaCare: McCotter opposed ObamaCare. He advocates the generic Republican plan of increased individual savings accounts, a national insurance market and litigation reform. But he breaks from the standard Republican plan by favoring a safety net for those who cannot afford a basic level of catastrophic coverage and he wants pre-existing conditions covered. He also wants to give doctors incentives to work at federal clinics, wants to prevent any decrease in Medicare benefits for anyone over 55, and wants to give veterans control of their health care benefits.

6. Immigration: On immigration, McCotter takes the Commentarama line! He does not want to “stigmatize illegal immigrants, the vast majority of whom are honest, industrious people,” but he says he (1) will not support amnesty, (2) wants no taxpayer money spent on illegals, (3) wants to secure the borders, and (4) wants to punish business that hire illegals, unions that won’t report them, and local/state governments that establish sanctuary cities. He also proposes ending “birthright citizenship” for anchor babies and wants English declared the official language. And he says something I am thrilled to hear a Republican say: “Big government, business and others have combined to entice illegal immigrants to come to America and then exploit them.”

7. Energy Policy/Global Warming: McCotter contends that global warming is a myth and opposes cap and trade as a violation of property rights! He proposes an energy policy “based on making all domestic options available.” He has opposed tax incentives for renewable energy production and conservation, but has voted to maintain oil and gas exploration subsidies. BUT, he voted against ethanol! He also voted to allow offshore drilling and to authorize new refineries.

Conclusion

As I say above, McCotter is like Ron Paul without the crazy. What's more, he has a deep and nuanced understanding of the world. For example, he gets that big business does not equate to capitalism. He gets that it's counterproductive to verbally attack illegal aliens, when there are better methods for dealing with the problem. His thinking on encouraging grassroots democracy overseas is the real key to winning the war on terror and long term stability. And his opposition to cap and trade as a violation of property rights, rather than just because he disagrees with global warming, demonstrates solid principles. Would he make a good President? Absolutely. Would he make a good conservative President? Without a doubt.

Now the catch. He has no name recognition. I don't see this as a problem vis-à-vis Obama because our nominee will get name recognition automatically. But it will hurt his chances of winning the nomination. Also, sadly, with many conservatives (especially in the media) looking for venom rather than substance, he may not be angry enough to get noticed. But he should be noticed.