Obama. Noriega. Doggett. Maybe even Kinky in 2010. Yes, Texas could be in the beginning stages of a Democratic revolution. But before Central Texas blue-bleeders grovel for faith-hope-change as fiery tears of joy and racial harmony fill the streets, remember that although Austin has a proud liberal infrastructure, there is still one relatively large elephant in the room that remains ignored and undefeated.
Surprisingly, a Republican represents the state's 21st congressional district, which houses a large portion of Austin and the University. Not only is Rep. Lamar Smith the current face of our district in the House of Representatives, but he also won re-election in 2004 with an impressive 65 percent of the vote and again in 2006 with 60 percent of the vote (with at least six other candidates vying for the same spot) - surely a consistently red blight on our (nearly) spotless blue record.
As someone who, according to The Washington Post, voted with the majority of House Republicans 95.5 percent of the time, Smith probably did not make many district 21 Democrats happy, so it is safe to say that he's not a good liberal.
But is he even a good conservative? There is an easy political litmus test that can be applied to Smith's voting record on key issues - the old adage that "a good conservative keeps government out of my wallet and out of my bedroom."
The most recent piece of legislation anyone cared about was the motherly economic stimulus package - the federal government's way of breaking your bones and then giving you some Tylenol. During the current housing crisis, it was the government that stepped in and made the loans attractive by helping the industry stay afloat. No one forced us to take those loans, and if we did take them, it was our responsibility to pay them back. Smith voted for the bill and apparently subscribes to the "big nanny" philosophy that if enough people are irresponsible with their money, he will always be there to take money from others and support the misguided masses.
On the other hand, in early 2007, Smith voted to lower the interest rate on federally subsidized student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. He kept government out of my wallet, and he got bonus points for doing something good for his constituency.
Smith also voted to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. Though this made a lot of people happy, Smith needs to be comfortable enough with entrepreneurial freedom to take off his "big nanny" skirt. Instead of placing more restrictions on small businesses, a good conservative would stop intervening in so many areas of the free market so that it can work.
Though 60 years old, Smith recognizes the importance of the Internet and has remained committed to keeping it free from local, state and federal taxes. In late 2007, the House (and Smith) voted to extend the tax moratorium on the Internet by four years. But he even went a step further and expressed discontent on his Web site that the House did not make the tax ban permanent.
Unfortunately, regarding past major legislation, Smith's record goes a bit downhill. His support of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 effectively quashed habeas corpus, the right to question imprisonment. He gave the green light for warrantless wiretapping and subsequently flushed the Fourth Amendment down the toilet with his vote for the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act.
Like most "conservatives," Lamar Smith cannot satiate his appetite and must consume our wallets and our bedrooms. Though, it is a good thing he serves Austin - big-government Democrats should rejoice, because Smith has done more than enough to increase the size of government.
Kumar is a business honors and economics senior.
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