I had a chance today to look at the Club for Growth's website, and to peruse the 2007 "Repork Card". Naturally, Congressman Tim did well, receiving a score of 86%, voting correctly 43 out of 50 times. The average Republican score was 43%, with GOP Freshmen averaging 78%. Congressman Tim was above the curve!

I know we would expect that he would vote the way his biggest group of contributors would like, but what was interesting were some of the specific votes he made.

He broke with the club on 7 votes:

Roll Call 640 (HR 2641) he voted against "remove various earmarks"

Roll Call 663 (HR 3043) he voted against "strike all earmarks in the bill"

Roll Call 671 (HR 3043) he voted against against eliminating funding ($300,000) of the Jefferson's Poplar Forest in Forest, Virginia

Roll Call 698 (HR 3074) he voted against against eliminating funding ($300,000) of the Belmont Complex in Kittanning, PA

Roll Call 735 (HR 3093) he voted against against eliminating funding($200,000) of the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine

Roll Call 736 (HR 3093) he voted against against eliminating funding($250,000) of the East Coast Shellfish Research Center

Roll Call 813 (HR 3161) he voted against eliminating funding ($6,300,000) for a "Wood Utilization Grant" to 8 states and Michigan

So Congressman Tim had a chance to vote against $7,300,000 in what was considered "Pork Barrel Spending".

I think his vote on the wood utilization grant is obvious, because it benefits Michigan.

I gather he must like shellfish and lobster. I know we don't harvest them here, but what the heck, they are tasty when broiled.

I don't know why he would vote funds to a community recreation complex (Belmont Complex http://www.co.armstrong.pa.us/belmontindex.htm), owned by Armstrong County PA. Maybe someone can tell us?

I guess Tim's support of Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest (http://www.poplarforest.org/hist.html) is because of it's historical value and ties to the founding father?

Also very interesting are some of the things Congressman Tim voted against, and pleased his Club for Growth masters. Let's look, shall we?

Roll Call 845 (HR3222) Congressman Tim voted to bar funding ($39,000,000) for the National Drug Intelligence Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Why? Is the Congressman now in favor of drug leniency? Does the Club for Growth see profit potential in Marijuana? I'll bet it was a vote against the congressman who represents that district, Jack Murtha.

Roll Call 639 (HR 2641) Congressman Tim voted to eliminate funding ($1,000,000) for work on nano-structure, fuel cell membrane research. It seems like high-tech projects would move our economy and position us for the future, but maybe Tim is against that "egghead research".

Roll Call 702 (HR 3074) Congressman Tim voted against $300,000 for the Houston Zoo. Whatcha got against Zoos? Maybe they could all be privately funded, like that cool new museum in Kentucky? http://www.creationmuseum.org/

Roll Call 809 (HR 3161) Congressman Tim voted against Catfish Pathogen Research funding ($878,046). I guess he only likes shellfish...