Jim DeMint

"We got too many Jim DeMints and Tom Coburns," Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) told the Columbus Dispatch. "It's the southerners."

I say give me a dozen more Jim DeMints or Tom Coburns and I'll give you healthcare reform that works.  I'll give you economic policies that free up the wealth creating energy of the American people and rocket us into recovery.  If only we had a few more of those guys...

Republicans need libertarians more than libertarians need Republicans.  It's time for libertarians - fiscally conservative, socially tolerant people who advocate limited government and individual freedom - to start fighting back. - Jon Henke

There are all sorts of self-described libertarians out there: Ron Paul libertarians, Libertarian Party libertarians, Club for Growth libertarians, Cato libertarians, Reason libertarians, Next Right libertarians, Neal Boortz libertarians and Lew Rockwell libertarians.  There are also millions of people who don't even know they are libertarians.

During the Goldwater-Reagan years, Republicans knew they needed libertarian votes to win the White House.  After George H. W. Bush disregarded his "read my lips" pledge, libertarians felt pretty isolated until the Republican Revolution.  Once the Republican Party gained control of Congress, libertarians and the goals of the Republican Revolution were simultaneously flushed down the commode of win-at-all-costs politics.

Republican leaders were warned time and time and time and time again that they would pay a price for dismissing potential libertarian supporters. Republicans did pay a significant price in 2006, but continued on as if nothing had changed.  Immediately after it became apparent that John McCain was going to win the 2008 Republican nomination, the Libertarian Party sent a funeral wreath to the RNC.

There are a lot of senior Republicans who apparently wish for this downward spiral to continue, as they continue to bash libertarians to this very day. 

No surprise here. -Matt Moon

For the last 30 years, the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) has ranked Members of Congress on their fiscal discipline. NTU’s Ratings database covers thousands of votes and has become a historical benchmark of how taxpayer-friendly individual Members, the parties, and the chambers are. While many other organizations’ scorecards use a small number of selected votes, NTU’s scorecard utilizes every roll call vote that affects taxes, spending, and regulatory issues during a session of Congress. For the second session of the 110th Congress (2008), the Rating was based on 182 votes in the House and 104 in the Senate. Further, NTU’s Rating is nonpartisan and every Member of Congress is rated on the same scale.

In 2008, only nine Senators and 39 Representatives attained scores that were high enough on a significantly “curved” scale to earn them an “A” and a “Taxpayers’ Friend Award.” The minimum rating in the House to earn an “A” was 80 percent and in the Senate was 76 percent. For the sixth consecutive year, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was ranked number one in the House with a 98 percent. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) earned the highest ranking in the Senate for the third consecutive year with a 96 percent. The highest-ranked Democrat in the House was Rep. Nick Lampson (TX) with a 44 percent score for a “C-,” while Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA) was the highest-rated Democrat in the Senate with a 26 percent score for a “D.”

Meanwhile, the 2008 Rating saw the highest-ever number of “Big Spenders,” with 267 lawmakers earning “F” grades for scoring 25 percent or below in the House and 15 percent or below in the Senate.

The averages were also very interesting and may shed some light on the direction of each party and Congressional chamber. In the House, the average score rose one point from the 2007 Rating to 36 percent, and in the Senate, the average score fell five points to 32 percent. For the parties, the average Democrats’ score in the House rose five points to 11 percent and in the Senate remained the same at 8 percent. The House Republicans’ average fell four points to 65 percent, while the Senate GOP score fell nine points to 57 percent.

To learn more about NTU’s Rating and to find how your Senators or Representative did, visit http://tinyurl.com/nturates08. Download NTU's 2008 Rating of Congress in PDF.

I'll file this under "reasons why I am glad George W. Bush won a second term."

Interestingly, this is from Sen. Jim DeMint's YouTube channel. Are we seeing a new trend in politicians using social media to directly engage in arguments and conversation with and about their colleagues? I think it's a great move for conservatives, Republicans, and Americans.

DeMint's proven himself this Congress to be the most reliable conservative voices in the Senate, and his online effort to get his message out is pretty cool to see. It reminds me of what Rep. Buck McKeon is doing over on the House side: taking advantage of technology to serve the people in new ways.

Video is great way to reach people, let them know what their colleagues are doing and saying up on Capitol Hill. DeMint's YouTube channel has the feel of a local townhall meeting back in the district or state, but done through the power of the Internet so that everyone can access the information. There are floor speeches, media appearances, and handheld camera responses to see what's going on in the Senate. Keep it coming, I say.

Mike Warren blogs daily at Vandy Right.