California Patriot Profile: Congressman Tom McClintock, Protector of the Constitution

A public servant whose consistency, clarity, and constitutional fidelity have shaped California’s political landscape for more than four decades.

🕒 5 min read

The Constitution, First and Always

Congressman Tom McClintock has represented California in the U.S. House since 2009. He currently serves the 5th Congressional District, stretching across the Sierra Nevada and including some of the most storied landscapes in the nation: Yosemite National Park, Sequoia groves older than the Roman Republic, and communities built on independence, self-reliance, and a belief that government exists to serve the people, not the other way around.

With the passage of Proposition 50 last week, which has sidelined the independent citizens’ redistricting commission and substituted new congressional lines, McClintock’s district boundaries are again slated to change—absent action from the courts, the map shifts on paper. But the constituency remains the same in reality. Roughly 80 percent of his current voters are in the new district, and he continues to represent one of the most reliably conservative regions in California — communities that know him well and trust him because he has never wavered.

What makes McClintock stand out in Congress isn’t simply the policies he supports. It is that his work is anchored in constitutional principle. He is one of the very few Members who does not treat the Constitution as a rhetorical accessory. It is his guide. His measure. His limit.

One time when the Congressman and I were walking into the Capitol building, he paused and looked up. He told me that he is filled with awe every time he enters that iconic symbol of our democratic republic — and that the day he no longer feels that is the day he will know it is time to retire. He meant it. For Tom, public service is a trust. Not a platform.

He is also the only formally trained parliamentarian in Congress that I am aware of. That is not a decorative credential. It reflects a seriousness about process — because McClintock believes that if the process collapses, the substance eventually collapses too.

A Congressman who knows both the Federalist Papers and Robert’s Rules of Order - imagine that!

More Than a Congressman: A Leader of California’s Conservative Movement

Before his time in Washington, McClintock was already a defining figure in California politics. He served in the State Assembly for more than a decade, and later in the State Senate, where he became known as a disciplined fiscal watchdog and a gifted communicator for limited, constitutional government. While many politicians focused on personality, McClintock focused on principles — and had the rare skill to explain how those principles apply to real life.

He is fondly looked upon across the state for his statewide campaigns, which rallied Californians who were tired of being told there was no alternative to bigger government and higher taxes. His 2002 race for State Controller came down to one of the closest statewide margins in modern state history — decided by less than half of one percent. That campaign showed that there was a constituency in California for accountability, transparency, and fiscal restraint — even in one of the bluest states in the country.

His 2003 gubernatorial run during the recall did something similar: it reminded voters that leadership is not performance. Leadership is clarity. He didn’t posture. He didn’t chase applause. He told the truth — and people followed because they believed him.

A Scholar’s Foundation and a Historian’s Perspective

Between his service in the Assembly and Senate, McClintock worked with the Claremont Institute — a rare organization dedicated to the study and defense of America’s founding principles. That time did not change his philosophy. It fortified and sharpened it. It connected constitutional doctrine to political history, and political history to the moral logic of free government.

You can hear this background any time he speaks. On the House floor, his remarks are not just arguments; they are also statements of conviction. They are lessons in constitutional architecture — reminders of what the Framers intended, and why their structure matters. Many Members of Congress talk about limited government. McClintock understands the necessity of limited government for liberty.

And it is not just academic knowledge. Ask anyone who has joined him for a tour of the California State Capitol. He knows the stories behind the portraits, the debates that shaped state constitutional history, and the great fights over the distribution of power. The official docents may know facts. McClintock knows the meaning.

The Courage to Mean It

In an era when many elected officials chase cultural engagement, media validation, or shifting winds of public sentiment, McClintock’s record stands out for its consistency. When Congress votes to expand the federal bureaucracy, increase deficits, or centralize authority in Washington, he is reliably — and unapologetically — in the minority. Not because it is politically advantageous. It isn’t. But because his oath means something.

He is proof that conviction, pursued steadily over time, has weight. Even when it loses a vote, it bends the arc of debate.

A Husband, Father, Grandfather — and Friend

Tom is also a father and now a grandfather. A few years ago, he suffered the sudden and heartbreaking loss of his beloved wife, Lori — his partner, closest confidante, and best friend. It was a grief felt across California’s political family. Through that loss, he continued to serve with steadiness and dignity, not because politics is his identity, but because duty is.

On a personal note, Tom and I have been friends since the late 1980s, when I was an active member of the California Young Americans for Freedom. The clarity people see in him today is the same clarity he had then. There is no reinvention. No new version. Just consistency — rooted in principle and in character.

So, Does It Matter?

In an era when politics rewards outrage, self-promotion, and performative certainty, Tom McClintock has stood for something steadier: the conviction that government must remain within its constitutional bounds, that public office is a trust, and that when a public servant takes an oath, they are obligated to mean it.

California has produced few leaders as intellectually grounded, morally consistent, and historically aware as Congressman Tom McClintock. He is not simply a representative of a district. He is a steward of a tradition — one that reminds us who we are supposed to be.

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If you missed this, this is a great time to check it out — a great interview between myself and the Congressman…

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Check Out Our Library of 23 Other California Patriot Profiles!

Each week, we profile an exemplary California conservative. Previous profiles have included Sheriff Don Barnes, Chuck Bell, Judge Roger Benitez, Adam Carolla, Jon Coupal, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, District Attorney Dan Dow, Kelsey Grammer, Julie Hamill, Victor Davis Hanson, Lance Izumi, Charles Kesler, Congressman Kevin Kiley, John Kobylt, Rob McCoy, Ron Nehring, Dennis Prager, Gary Sinise, Thomas Sowell, John Voight and James Woods. In memoriam: Andrew Breitbart and Sam Paredes.

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Below the firewall I have curated some great floor speeches by Congressman McClintock for our paid subscribers. You would love these. Check them out, and bust through all of our paywalls by upgrading! Try a week for free!