Fiscal conservatives have long understood the danger of earmark spending.  Rep. Jeff Flake, who spent years fighting for an earmark ban in the House of Representatives, called earmarks the “gateway drug” to out-of-control spending because of the way that lawmakers can be enticed to vote for a controversial bill by offering them earmarks for pork-barrel project in their home state.  Led by Flake, conservatives succeeded in forcing leadership to impose an earmark ban after Republicans re-took the House in 2010.

The school choice movement is rapidly gaining momentum in South Carolina. Last year, a school choice bill failed by just one vote in the South Carolina House of Representatives. A virtually identical bill, H. 4576, has been introduced this session and grassroots activists are determined to ensure that it passes.

“To lean forward is to think bigger, listen closer, fight smarter, and act faster.” – MSNBC.com

Last night more than 350 citizens of Spartanburg, South Carolina rallied for parental choice in education. FreedomWorks joined the Spartanburg tea party for this fantastic event that drove a very clear message home: legislators should support parental choice in education or they will be replaced by the citizenry.

Dear FreedomWorks member,

As one of our million-plus FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your senator and ask him or her to vote YES on two amendments to S.2038, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. There are a large number of amendments and we have not had time to review them all because of the short time between their introduction and this vote. We suspect some senators face a similar challenge. 

Two amendments that have caught our eye so far are: