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The Spectacle Blog
Not to nitpick Quin, but the Ron Paul fans can still criticize Rick Santorum’s record: while both candidates’ National Taxpayer Union ratings were good, Paul’s were higher than Santorum’s. Paul has also never ranked lower than 10 while Santorum has ranked as low as 33. Paul ranked first four years in a row while Santorum never ranked higher than third.
That being said, these ratings have their limits. (I say that even though NTU is one of the more discriminating.) Take a look at Santorum’s: he gets basically the same rating when Republicans were trying to restrain the growth of Medicare spending (with Santorum’s vote) as he did when Republicans were approving a massive unfunded new entitlement in the form of Medicare Part D (also with Santorum’s vote). His grade is barely higher when Republicans were reforming welfare and cutting farm subsidies than when they were increasing non-defense discretionary spending at the fastest rate in years. (It should be noted the 2002 farm bill was one piece of Bush-era big government Santorum voted against.)
Simply put, there is something screwy about ratings that don’t make these distinctions. The Club for Growth strikes me as pretty fair in its assessments of the candidates’ records.
View all comments (16) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/02/16/the-limits-of-conservative-rat
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Neal| 2.16.12 @ 2:50PM
The reason Santorum voted against the farm bill was because it got rid of the Northeast Dairy Compact.
Clint| 2.16.12 @ 9:29PM
Big Government Statist Ricky Santorum's Record On Voting For Earmarks, Even The Bridge To Nowhere, His Support For The Lobbyist "K-Street Project" , His Tariff Votes, Medicare Prescription Drugs, No Child Left Behind, Etc. Is Gonna Sink Him With Tea Party Patriots.
The Tea Party Rebellion Heads To A Brokered Convention.
Floyd Looney| 2.16.12 @ 5:06PM
I guess it depends on how 'conservative' is defined, doesn't it?
Bill| 2.16.12 @ 5:28PM
Meet the other Santorum:
1. voted for raising debt ceiling 5 times, adding $3 trillion to the national debt
2. voted AGAINST the "Right-to-Work" law
3. voted for Medicare Part D and NCLB
4. voted for "bridge to nowhere"
5. voted against free trade
6. voted for Clinton appointed Sonia Sotomayer for federal judge
7. endorsed Arlene Specter over Pat Toomey
Nick| 2.16.12 @ 5:44PM
"That nigger lover President Clinton had the pen and vetoed so many good bills passed by the Gingrich-led Congress."
- Written by Bill, yesterday, in the Time for Newt to Do the Honorable Thing thread:
http://spectator.org/archives/.....ent_749403
You're a moron and a racist, Bill.
GO AWAY!
Bill| 2.16.12 @ 6:04PM
NICK IS A CONVICTED CHILD MOLESTER.
Nick| 2.16.12 @ 11:44PM
Go Away, racist pig!
No one believes you.
Joe Sixpack| 2.17.12 @ 9:43AM
Oh, the ad hominem.
Take a look at this:
http://www.redstate.com/erick/.....ooks-like/
Refute the claims.
Santorum is the worst kind of "conservative;" one who thinks the government can be used for good. The shortsightedness to not understand that the same leviathan machine that helps "faith based" organizations under a Santorum Administration (ack!) can be the same one that makes abortion available on demand.
Nick| 2.17.12 @ 12:27PM
Mr. Sixpack,
It is not ad hominem. It's Bill's actual words.
Quartermaster| 2.16.12 @ 7:08PM
That Santorum voted against NAFTA doesn't bother me in the least. NAFTA is managed trade, not free trade.
Clint| 2.16.12 @ 9:32PM
We're The Pennsylvania Gun & Bible Clutchin' Conservatives, Who Helped Throw Little Ricky's Ass Out Of The Senate, After He Stepped In The Last Weeks And Propped Up The RINO-CINO Poster Boy,Arlen Specter Against Our Republican Primary Guy, Pat Toomey.
Now, Little Ricky And Specter Have Been Chased Away And Our Tea Party Senator, Pat Toomey Is In.
If Little Ricky Comes Back To Pennsylvania,We'll Throw His Big Government Israel Firster Chickenhawk Ass Out Again.
The Tea Party Rebellion Heads To A Brokered Convention.
Dan Phillips| 2.16.12 @ 10:59PM
The problem with most ratings scales (I'm most familiar with the ACU) is that they don't take into consideration the rational for a particular vote, just whether you vote yeah or nay. For example they might count a vote for the Republican budget as a conservative vote and that would score against Ron Paul because he votes against ALL budgets on constitutional grounds. Voting against a Republican budget because you think it includes unconstitutional spending is clearly not a liberal vote but the ratings scales wouldn't catch that. The best rating scale is the John Birch Society scale because it is judged on constitutional grounds and Ron Paul routinely scores 100 on it.
vb| 2.17.12 @ 9:29AM
Didn't Paul have a habit of attaching earmarks to non-conservative bills he knew would pass and then voting no on the bill to boost his conservative ratings? The ratings are too simplistic.
Tommy Frisco| 2.17.12 @ 3:30PM
Good one, vb.
Justin | 2.23.12 @ 7:42AM
No, but nice try...
Justin | 2.23.12 @ 7:45AM
Santorum is No Fiscal Hawk
Voted to increase the Social Services Block Grant from $1 billion to $2 billion
Voted to increase the FHA loan from $170,000 to $197,000. Also opposed increasing GNMA guaranty from 6 basis points to 12
Sponsored An amendment to increase Amtrak funds by $550 million
Voted to use HUD funds for the Joslyn Art Museum (NE), the Stand Up for Animals project (RI) and the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Project (WA)
Voted to increase spending on social programs by $7 billion
Voted to increase NIH funding by $1.6 billion.
Voted to increase NIH funding by $700 million
Voted to for a $2 million earmark to renovate the Vulcan Monument (AL)
Voted for a $1 billion bailout for the steel industry
Voted against requiring that highway earmarks would come out of a state’s highway allocation
Voted to allow Market Access Program funds to go to foreign companies.
Voted to allow OPIC to increase its administrative costs by 50%
Voted against transferring $20 million from Americorps to veterans.
Voted for the $140 billion asbestos compensation bill.
Voted against requiring a uniform medical criteria to ensure asbestos claims were legitimate.
Voted to make Medicare part B premium subsidies an new entitlement.
Voted against paying off the debt ($5.6 trillion at the time) within 30 years.
Voted to give $18 billion to the IMF.
Voted to raid Social Security instead of using surpluses to pay down the debt.
…And on Taxes
Voted against a flat tax.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for Medicare prescription drugs
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to fund health insurance subsidies for small businesses.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an $8 billion increase in child health insurance.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an increase in NIH funding.
Voted twice for internet taxes.
Voted to allow gas tax revenues to be used to subsidize Amtrak.
Voted to strike marriage penalty tax relief and instead provide fines on tobacco companies.
Voted against repealing the Clinton 4.3 cent gas tax increase.
Voted to increase taxes by $2.3 billion to pay for an Amtrak trust fund.
Voted to allow welfare to a minor who had a child out of wedlock and who resided with an adult who was on welfare within the previous two years.
Voted to increase taxes by $9.4 billion to pay for a $9.4 billion increase in student loans.
Voted to say that AMT patch is more important than capital gains and dividend relief.