If you are a conservative in Mississippi, I'm sure you are celebrating the election results, and there certainly is cause for that. But at the risk of spoiling the party, I want to caution you not to think your job is over.
When Ronald Reagan won the presidency and Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate in 1980, and again when Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, too many conservatives wrongly counted on the Republican Party to fight the conservative fight on auto-pilot.
We went back to raising our families and running our businesses, expecting our leaders to know automatically the right thing to do. But that's not reality in Washington or here at home. Those officials never stop hearing from people and organizations who fight against conservative ideals, and we cannot let them stop hearing from us.
Tell them what you expect, support them when they govern by principle, and hold them accountable when they don't.
So continue your celebrations, but know that your job as a citizen is just as important between elections as it is on Election Day.
We at the Mississippi Center for Public Policy are here to help you - and the legislature - in the pursuit of liberty. Learn more at mspolicy.org.