The benefits of conservative government cannot easily be measured. Promises of small government and fiscal restraint, hallmarks of the conservative ethos, provide the governed with a certain warm fuzzy feeling. However, my efforts to actually quantify the impact of conservatism on state government have left me scratching my head. We need look no further to make the point than the Governor's Mansion. Since Bobby Jindal took over from that wanton liberal Kathleen Blanco, he has instituted not one, but two hiring freezes. --- A light freeze --- Jindal's hiring freezes thawed pretty quickly, however. The first one, instituted on Jindal's...