These are bills for which no Constitutional authorization exists that President Bush signed and that are some of the most blatant examples of what "compassionate conservativism" is -- big-government Republicanism. If you're willing to forgive your Congressman or Senator(s) because they were just supporting their president, don't forget that the principled small-government conservatives like Congressmen Jeff Flake, John Shadegg and Ron Paul voted against all three of these bills. They voted against these bills in the spirit of Barry Goldwater when he said,

Many organizations provide ratings for elected officials on a variety of issues. The American Conservative Union, for example, rates members of Congress based on votes reagrding fiscal, economic and traditional-value matters.

Regarding fiscal and economic matters, the Club for Growth is especially thorough and reliable. In addition to providing ratings for all members of the House and Senate, the Club for Growth monitors voting records regarding pork-barrell spending and the scourge brought upon us by big-government Republicans -- "earmarks."

Although earmarks are just a small percentage of the federal budget, Republicans seem to have lost sight of the concept of federalism, and of the Tenth Amendment. America needs a Republican Party with leadership that advocates keeping the federal government out of activities such as local infrastructure, which is what most earmarks are for.

An earmark is a spending add-on to a bill that brings money home to a legislator’s district. Earmark spending does not go through competitive review and oversight, but is distributed largely based on party affiliation, political clout, committee assignments, etc. The biggest beneficiaries of the earmark strategy are those with the longest tenure, who usually claim that earmark monies go to worthy projects or organizations.

This is a feckless argument. If the project or organization is indeed worthy of the funding, then having Congress manipulate an agency’s budget is unnecessary. Congress declared a moratorium on earmarks in 2004. However, the pork spewed forth when the moratorium was lifted. And earmark spending was even greater than before --- $29 billion in special projects in the 2006 budget. Citizens Against Government Waste say the number of earmarks in 2008 is more than three times what it was in 2007. What a surprise in an election year! The group Taxpayers for Common Sense has developed a comprehensive list of the 2008 earmarks with names, amounts and topics attached.

   

State Government

In elections for statewide office such as Governor, State Treasurer, etc., one source of ratings relative to conservative principle is the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. Now active in more than 40 states, it provides links to state Republican Assemblies that keep score on Republican candidates.

Although they also provide some information about candidates for the state legislature, the information they have for first-time candidates will generally be limited. To find out more about your local legislative candidate(s), you may have to do more research.

One thing to do would be to check on whether or not the candidate has signed the Americans for Tax Reform's (AFTR) no New Taxes Pledge. AFTR keeps a list of State and Federal legislators and candidates who have signed the pledge. They also list legislators who have broken their pledge.

And don't be bashful about attending candidate forums in your community and asking candidates that will reveal their philosophy of government.

Local Government

Elections for Mayor, City Council, District Attorney, School Board, etc. are often done on a non-partisan basis. So, the first thing you need to do is determine which political party the various candidates have registered with. Keep in mind that many of these people become part of a “farm team” for higher political office at some future time. If you help a so-called “conservative Democrat” - which is arguably an oxymoron - remember that you are helping build the Democrat farm team.

Campaign literature for local elections is rarely substantive and learning what your town’s local candidates believe is difficult to determine. As with state legislature candidates, it is helpful to attend local forums and ask questions. A very important issue regarding your town's Mayoral and City Council candidates is their opinion on the Supreme Court’s “Kelo decision” that greatly expanded the definition of “public use” in the Constitution’s 5th Amendment regarding eminent domain. If they agree with the decision, oppose them because such candidates are enemies of liberty.

Information about judges, including their party affiliation, is usually difficult to find. One source of information is the National Federated Republican Women (NFRW), a nationwide group that often compiles lists of recommended judges. However, be careful to ask if a list you receive from NFRW or any source distinguishes between activist and strict constructionist judges or simply the most competent of the two (or more) choices. Often these lists are compiled on the latter basis and you could wind up voting for a judge who is very good at creating new laws by fiat.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to share the results of your research with as many friends and neighbors as possible. If you have researched every candidate on your ballot, your circle of friends and acquaintances will come to regard you as a reliable source of voting information. There's an old saying that an activist votes many times simply by influencing the votes of others.