“It’s disheartening to see a failure to champion conservatism in the heart of the South,” said ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp. The only highlight from this past session was a modest reduction in the income tax that only goes into effect if revenue increases each year. Yet important bills died in the Mississippi Senate. “The Senate failed to fight for the protection of unborn life, for the rights of homeschoolers and for education reform. Parents should have the right to educate their children in the way they see fit and I hope the legislature will revisit theses crucial issues next year,” said Schlapp.
ACU announced today the results of our ratings for the 2015 meeting of the Mississippi Legislature. Like our Congressional ratings, ACU’s State Ratings reflect how elected officials view the role of government in an individual’s life. Mississippi legislators with the strongest scores consistently voted with the ideals articulated in our U.S. Constitution.
ACU researches and selects a wide range of bills that reflect a member’s adherence to conservative principles. We select bills that focus on former President Ronald Reagan’s philosophy of the “three-legged stool”: 1) economic: taxes, budgets, regulation, spending, healthcare, and property; 2) social and cultural: 2nd Amendment, religious freedom, life, welfare, and education; and 3) government integrity: voting, individual liberty, privacy, and transparency. The range of issues selected have been specifically designed to convey to voters the most accurate assessment of Mississippi’s elected officials who can be counted on to defend the principles of a free society: Life, Liberty, and Property.
Legislators who scored above 80% in ACU’s 2015 Ratings of the Mississippi Legislature will receive awards for their hard work toward passage of legislation that reflects conservative principles. As Reagan stated, “The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally.”
The following Representatives and Senators will receive a 2015 ACU Ratings Award:
Representatives: ALDAY, ALDRIDGE, BARKER, BARTON, BENNETT, BUSBY, BYRD, CARPENTER, CRAWFORD, CURRIE, DeLANO, EURE, FRIERSON, GUICE, GUNN, HANEY, LADNER, LAMAR, MARTINSON, MAYO, MONSOUR, MOORE, PATTERSON, POWELL, READ, SHOWS, SNOWDEN, WEATHERSBY, WILLIS, and ZUBER
Senators: CHASSANIOL, CLARKE, COLLINS, FILLINGANE, GOLLOTT, HILL, LEE, MASSEY, McDANIEL, PARKER, SMITH, SOJOURNER, TINDELL, TOLLISON, WATSON, and WIGGINS
To view our Mississippi ratings guide, visit http://acuratings.conservative.org/state-ratings-2015/ and click on Mississippi.
