Things I Think You’ll Ask

To have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on a brand new website about a just-released scorecard is a logical contradiction. If it’s brand new, how could anyone have frequently asked you anything. Still, here are questions I think might come up.

Q: Why do you only list the veto override votes on the Grocery Tax bill and the smoking ban in bowling alleys?

I don’t believe in grading legislators twice on the same issue in the same session. Thus, to include both the vote on the original passage and the override attempt would be unfairly putting the exact same issue on the scorecard twice.

I made the decision to use only override votes on issues the Governor vetoed a bill, because the override vote is what will determine if the bill becomes law. A vote in favor of conservative values that turns into a vote against conservative values when the Governor unsheathes his veto pen isn’t worth much. What matters is where a leader stands at the end of the day.

Q: I didn’t hear a lot about this subsidy to the film industry. Is it really a good measure of whether a legislator is conservative?

At a time when folks are paying taxes on the food they eat, and the legislator and governor are fighting over whether a few dollars can end up in our tax refund, it’s completely out of line to expect taxpayers to invest money for “qualified media productions.”

“Qualified Media Productions” such as movies or commercials film in the state once or twice and then head for new locations. It doesn’t even make logical sense as a source of economic development. Overall, it was an idea that transferred money from the citizens of Idaho to commercial filmmakers and Hollywood for short-term engagements. Napoleon Dynamite didn’t need a subsidy and neither does any other media production that chooses to film in our great state.

Q: There shouldn’t be smoking in bowling alleys. I don’t think this issue belongs on the scorecard.

I appreciate your opinion. As a non-smoker, I would prefer that bowling alleys not allow smoking. Indeed, I would prefer if any smokers whose houses I might visit would kick the habit. However, it’s not my right to use government coercion to force private property owners to do my bidding.

As I stated before, not everyone is 100% conservative. Few people could not find some areas in which they think a little differently. And that’s OKAY, but we’re trying to measure legislators against accepted conservative viewpoints. That some people who identify themselves as conservative don’t hold to a particular view doesn’t alter the composition of the scorecard.

Posted on April 15th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: 2007 Scorecard