The primaries passed yesterday, with most of the races being decided as expected. In addition to the regular races, however, the Republican primary ballot also contained four "survey" questions at the end to assess the popularity of several important issues. I was struck with how popular conservative principles really are in my ever-so-red county in suburban Atlanta.
The first question read: "Do you support Guest Worker programs for illegal aliens?". The results were 59% no, and 41% yes. This should be considered, (locally anyway), as a solid rebuke of the compassionate conservative position that posits an amnesty program for illegals, under a nicer sounding name.
More surprising, however, was the margin of victory for the second question: "Do you support the 'Fair Tax' plan which is a federal national sales tax to replace the income tax?". Here, the results were 85% yes, and only 15% no. This is astounding, and very welcome, news. The time for comprehensive tax reform has come.
The last two questions were local issues, but their results do shed some light on the guiding principles of Cobb Republicans. Solid majorites of 73% and 84% agreed that school board terms should be shorter, and that SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) votes should only occur during general elections to maximize voter turnout, respectively.
In the first case, shorter terms for government officials, even local government, is in keeping with the traditional conservative principle of limited, responsible government.
In the second case, limiting SPLOSTs to the general election will increase the number of voters weighing in, making them less susceptible to special interest rallying. Its reasonable to assume that more participation should result in fewer, and smaller, SPLOSTs being passed.
Yesterday was a good day for conservative principles in Cobb County, Georgia.
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