Tough job, but somebody has to do it. For the 44th year in a row, the American Conservative Union has released its annual Congressional ratings for lawmakers who either uphold conservative values - or find them akin to kryptonite. The ratings have become a kind of gold standard, the organization says, in holding every member of Congress accountable for their voting record - and their support of limited government, prosperity, individual freedom and traditional values.
“There are several takeaways from ACU’s 2014 Rating of Congress,” says Matt Schlapp, chairman of the group. “First, the liberals in Congress tend to vote together as a block. The Left does a great job of enforcing lockstep orthodoxy, to the detriment of the constituents they represent. When it comes to passing real conservative reforms, the Left collectively obstructs implementation of commonsense economic, national security, and cultural reforms.”
On a 100-point ratings system for their conservative voting records, there are essentially no Democrats in House or Senate who breeched the 40th percentile. Over 30 Democrats had a score of 0 percent this year, including Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.
“We can only conclude that the former Democratic National Committee Chairman plans to serve one-term representing the Commonwealth of Virginia before he returns to lead the fringe portion of the liberal activist base,” Mr. Schlapp observes.
A slim few Republicans were rated between 40 and 49 percent on the scale, with the majority of them scoring 60 percent and above. Sixteen earned a 100 percent rating this year, including Sen. Mike Lee and Ted Cruz and Rep. Ron De Santis.
Mr. Schlapp and his research team also compared the cumulative records from other lawmakers, in other years. “Another interesting fact in our analysis is the stark reminder that Hillary Clinton is no moderate,” he says. “While many in the media portray her as more centrist than self-described Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders or fringe activist Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Clinton’s lifetime rating of 8.13 percent is within two percentage points from those extremists.”
He also finds it shocking that all three of these presidential hopefuls are even more liberal than President Obama’s cumulative rating of 10 percent, based on his time as a U.S. Senator.
“If America wants a third Obama term, three candidates will not disappoint,” Mr. Schlapp adds. Find the ratings system and results here
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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