Senator Warner Scores a 0% on Heritage Action Legislative Scorecard.
Congressman Hurt Earns a 71%.
Cantor Scores a 60%.
Heritage Action released their Legislative Scorecard ratings for the House and Senate. Heritage based their rankings on how well each senator and representative’s recent voting records support freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society. The House rankings were based on 30 votes and the Senate rankings on 19 votes. Co-sponsorship activity was also factored into the ratings.
Senator Jim DeMint (SC) set the standard in the Senate with a 99% score. Senator Mike Lee (UT) earned second place with a 98% rating. Virginia senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner earned failing grades, with 5% and 0% ratings, respectively. Senator Warner was in company with several other senators who earned 0%, including Dick Durbin (IL), Barbara Boxer (CA), and Chuck Schumer (NY.) Senate Leader Harry Reid scored 5%. Harry Reid ranked higher than Mark Warner? Incredible.
In the House, Virginia’s 11 congressmen scored poor to failing grades. Representative Robert Hurt’s 71% score was the best in Virginia. House Majority Leader Cantor could only muster a 60% rating. (Where I went to school, a 60% was a D minus.) And, well, there’s Congressmen Connolly and Scott who scored 13% each, and Jim Moran who posted a 10% rating. Even, Nancy Pelosi’s 15% score beat those three Democrat congressman from Virginia. San Francisco-style voting records among Virginia’s three Democrat congressmen? This is completely out of sync with the best interests and wishes of Virginia voters.
Why is Virginia lacking in conservative representation, especially in the U.S. Senate? What can we do about this critical deficiency?
First, hold your representative and senators accountable. Please take the time to contact your congressman and senators and ask them why they scored so poorly on the Heritage Action Scorecard. Tell them you demand that they support legislation that strengthens freedom, opportunity and prosperity.
Second, make the commitment to support genuine conservative challengers for Senator Jim Webb’s open seat, and the 11 congressional contests in 2012. Invest your volunteer time and effort in supporting candidates who will consistently vote for legislation that strengthens freedom and opportunity.
Third, learn to be a discerning voter. Beware of dubious self-described claims that a Virginia candidate for the Senate or House in 2012 is a true conservative. Most candidates will purport to be the “true” conservative in the race, but as the Heritage Action Scorecard confirms, genuine conservatives are rare in these days of trillion-dollar deficits and big government. Take the time to learn and question new candidates on the campaign trail and vote for the true conservatives in the June 2012 primaries.
Here is the link to the Heritage Action Legislative Scorecard: http://heritageactionscorecard.com/scorecard/index.html#va#state#Virginia
This scorecard provides a wealth of information. You can click on each representative or senator’s name to pull up their voting record on key legislation.
Mark Daugherty
