Educate Voters With Congressional & Legislative Scorecards
by Larry Greenley, Associate Editor, The New American
For we regard education as the means, and political action as only the mechanics, for bringing about improvements in government. The mechanics of change will automatically be used when sufficient education has prepared the way.
— Robert Welch, February 1970 JBS Bulletin
What do you do when the federal government is clearly out of control — when it is actively fostering existential threats to our freedom and prosperity, such as uncontrolled immigration, rapid inflation, central bank digital currency, widespread election fraud, etc.?
All these threats can be solved by getting the federal and state governments to simply obey the Constitution. According to Robert Welch back in 1970, education is the means and political action is only the mechanics for bringing about improvement in government, such as getting it to obey the Constitution.
That’s why we have often described our mission as “creating an informed electorate.” We believe that once the voters have: (1) a sufficient understanding of the limitations placed on the federal government by the Constitution; and (2) easy access to nonpartisan scorecards that reveal how well their congressional and state representatives are obeying the Constitution, the mechanics of politics will be automatically used to bring the federal and state governments back within those limitations.
As most readers of this Bulletin know, an excellent way to create understanding among voters about the limitations placed on the federal government by the Constitution is to hold public showings of the six-part The Constitution Is the Solution! video series (see https://gojt.us/cits). Please make this a regular chapter activity.
An excellent way to educate voters about how well their congressional and state representatives are obeying the Constitution is to distribute widely and systematically copies of The New American’s latest Freedom Index, the 117-4 edition, which includes scores for all 535 representatives and senators in the 117th Congress, and which is available as a reprint (hard copy or PDF) from ShopJBS.org and also online at https://gojt.us/4zqh.
For a less-expensive educational tool that focuses on one representative or senator at a time, see TNA’s Congressional Scorecard at https://gojt.us/4zqh. Copies showing the constitutionality of six recent votes along with the cost per household (where available) can be printed on one sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper on either a home office printer or by a professional printer for each of the 535 representatives and senators.
State Legislator Voting Records, also from TNA, are now available for each state legislator in 40 states and counting at https://gojt.us/4zqh. These Legislative Scorecards can also be printed out on standard 8.5 x 11 sheets for easy and inexpensive distribution.
The John Birch Society encourages you — as a chapter — to distribute these tools via door-to-door literature drops. In a given area, distribute the 117-4 Freedom Index reprint, along with the Congressional and Legislative Scorecards of that area’s individual legislators.
Additionally, distribute the Freedom Index and Scorecards in a targeted manner to legislators, influential individuals, concerned voters, and attendees at events such as town hall meetings. The “Scorecard Power Pyramid” (available at https://gojt.us/spp9) provides a useful model for how to distribute them.