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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

The American Conservative Union’s Embarrassing Scorecard

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  February 22nd, 2013 at 04:30 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I had to look twice. Then I looked one more time.

The American Conservative Union (“ACU”) has released its annual scorecard. It is supposed to be a scorecard for a measure of conservatism on Capitol Hill.

So you will be as surprised as I was to find that Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican Leader with a history of undermining conservatives in the Senate, has a 100% score for 2012 — higher, in fact, that either Jim DeMint or Tom Coburn.

I had to laugh.

I have to hope someone on the ACU’s Board has some sense of shame. Chairman Al Cardenas, in his letter introducing the 2012 scorecard, writes, “our ratings have become the most important conservative measuring stick in American politics.”

Not after this.

I guess if ACU wants to ignore that Mitch McConnell

  • voted to keep the Essential Air Service program that conservatives annually ridicule as a waste;
  • voted to continue federal student loan subsidization at a ridiculously low rate;
  • voted for a massive highway increase;
  • voted several times in favor of parliamentary changes in the Senate that undermine conservatives' abilities to stop bad legislation;
  • voted for the debt ceiling increase;
  • voted to keep market distorting energy tax credits and subsidies;
  • voted to let a $41 billion bailout of the post office go to the floor of the Senate; and
  • voted for a host of temporary spending measures designed to kick the can down the road to no end

then I guess you might could possibly consider Mitch McConnell more of a conservative than either Jim DeMint or even Tom Coburn.

But you have to ignore all the ways Mitch McConnell collaborated with Harry Reid to change Senate parliamentary procedure to work against conservatives; ignore a significant portion of fiscal bills in the Senate; and ignore a host of bills designed to keep subsidizing failing enterprises with tax dollars.

This is another reminder of why Heritage Action for America’s scorecard has become the gold standard for measures of conservatism in Congress. They, by the way, give McConnell a 75% rating.

As long as conservative groups continue to entangle themselves with the Republican Party and give Republican leaders undeserved passes, conservatives will keep yanking their own footballs away.

The fact is too many conservative groups and Republicans in Congress think the problem in Washington is Democrats in charge of government and not government itself. Scorecards like this contribute to that problem and keep propping up a status quo that deserves to crumble.

I sure hope someone at ACU is at least a bit embarrassed to pass Mitch McConnell off as a 100% conservative member of Congress.

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  • oribasius

    Astonishing. Mitch McConnell is the gold standard for conservatives? In a related story pigs were seen hang gliding in the frozen wasteland of Hades.

  • davesinsanantonio

    Those who call themselves conservative when all they are is self-serving politicians need to be identified for all who care about this country. That includes groups as well as individuals. I suggest you create a permanent place for the ranking of groups so that we can check their bona fides whenever they come out with their lists and ratings. That way it will be harder for the charlatans to sway those who don’t have the time or interest to do all the research themselves.

    Next we will have rankings of integrity from the Mafia, and they will put Al Capone at 100%.
    Or we will have Karl Rove creating an organization to back more spineless across-the-aisle types in office and calling it the Conservative Victory something or other—when he really means victory over conservatives.

    These jokers have become as practiced at lying as the Lefties. And, they are proliferating in order to create chaos among the real conservatives. We need some protection from them. Thus we need a permanent place we can go to check which groups we should pay attention to and which we can safely ignore. Thank you for your consideration of this.

  • daniel22

    This is just another contest between rating organizations. It is very similar to the fight over which fact checking organization do you trust the most. The major difference is the fact that people use this organization to decide who to vote for and who to donate to. It is probable that the establishment GOP influenced the outcome of the decision to give McConnell such a high rating. My rating for him is a lot lower. I would call it machine politics of duping the voter into buying a false bag of goods.
    What are you going to do about it? Pointing out this abnormality; I am trying to be nice here, is a good start. The fight for the next election has already started with people positioning themselves. You have an influential website as well as a voice on TV that people listen to except for the establishment GOP. Are you willing to take them on head to head? Conservatives want and we as a country need a strong principled leader. We do not nor can we stand for a created candidate made to fit an homogenous mold created by the Karl Roves of the GOP.

  • http://www.RambleRumbleRabbi.biz rumblewrabbi

    Shalom, Erick ~ Purim, the festival we celebrate this weekend, teaches us about “Who do you really trust?” The evil Haman attempts to exterminate the Jewish truth about GOD – He alone is GOD and there is no other. Mordechai, quietly but visibly, encourages us, through HaDassah (Esther) to expose the evil plot and reveal GOD Who has promised His eternal protection, prosperity and peace to His people. Trust ADONAI, even when unseen and not mentioned. Ranking organizations who begin or have already leaped over into the abyss of untruth, must be exposed. Those few seekers of truth and truth tellers must be revealed, but still watched. You have done the dual work of Kindling The Light of revelation and dispelling the darkness in your piece. Toda. Thank you.

  • Ari

    Our only hope begins in each and every single Precinct. Organizing grassroots conservatives to become the Power and Authority in each County, State and finally National conventions until the Rinos become the tiniest third party ever!

  • http://brainshavings.com OhioCoastie

    Who knows? Every US Senator looks in the mirror and sees a future president.

  • lineholder

    Question: Is the ACU likely to align itself with American Crossroads? If so, then it seems they are already seeding the ground against Conservatives in the mid-terms, doesn’t it? Which groups (other than Heritage) can Conservatives genuinely trust?

  • daniel22

    I have read the responses to the GOP tactics used against those that would stand up and say anything against their actions. Yet they still keep on doing it. Why? Because in the end everyone votes republican. They win with their chosen candidates. I would like to see more fire or at least a wish list of republican candidates you would back and maybe even a list of candidates you won’t back. And tell people why before they even announce. After all at this point it is speculation and can’t hurt.
    Have you advised people to not give to the national GOP and give locally instead? There is more that can be done.

  • adumas

    100% is quite amazing; it’s the same percentage that Saddam Hussein used to win elections by, if I recall…

  • gunnyg2002

    I’d love to see McConnell and Grahamnesty kicked so hard in the a** during the 2014 election that they strike sparks down the street on their way OUT of the Senate. Between McConnell, Grahamnesty, and McLame, I do not know who is more revolting.

  • shawntzu

    With all due respect Mr. Erickson, I do not believe this posting does full justice to the ACU ratings. The 2012 ratings are not saying that Mitch McConnell is a 100% conservative in toto, only that he scored that way in the 2012 annual ratings. His scores in other years have varied:

    2011: 85%; 2010: 96%;
    2009: 96%; 2008: 80%; 2007: 92%; 2006: 84%; 2005: 100%
    2004: 96%; 2003: 79%; 2002: 100%; 2001: 96%; 2000: 100%;
    1999: 84%;1998: 92%; 1997: 88%; 1996: 95%; 1995: 91%;
    1994: 92%; 1993: 79%; 1992: 89%; 1991: 90%; 1990: 87%;
    1989: 89%; 1988: 92%; 1987: 80%; 1986: 83%; 1985: 78%

    Mitch McConnell has scored 100% in the annual ACU rating exactly 4 times in 28 years! He has also scored below 90% 13 times and below 80% 3 times!

    So he had a higher score in 2012 than Tom Coburn or Jim DeMint? If you look at McConnell’s lifetime score from the ACU it is 90.09%. It took McConnell literally 28 years to get his cumulative score that high and as you can see, his ratings from year to year have not been consistent. By contrast, of the two senators you mentioned, Tom Coburn though he had a 92% score for 2012 had a 100% score for 2011 and a lifetime ACU score of 97.86%. And Jim DeMint had perfect 100% scores the past two years and a lifetime ACU score of 98.86%.

    So how exactly does the ACU in giving McConnell a lifetime score more than 7.8% less than Coburn and nearly 9% less than DeMint say (in your words) that Mitch McConnell is “more of a conservative than either Jim DeMint or even Tom Coburn”?

  • xmmx

    Nihil sub sole novum. [ There is nothing new under the sun ]

    —
    Any wold needs a pack,and any pack needs a wolf .