Rand Paul most conservative

RANKING OF POLITICIANS – CONERVATIVE/LIBERAL (PHOTO ON SECOND PAGE)

 

Stanford University researchers have created Crowdpac, a for-profit organization that rates potential political candidates according to three primary measurements: 1. Voting records. 2. Speeches and statements. 3. Campaign contributions. Their most recent ranking explores where potential Republican and Democratic 2016 presidential candidates fall on the left-right ideological spectrum.

A “10C” is the highest rating conservative rating one can receive and a “10L” is the highest liberal score.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) is the most conservative  Republican with a 10+C ranking, says Crowdpac, ahead of Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx) who received a 9.7C, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker came in at 7.8C followed by former Indiana Governor Mike Pence 7.6C and Dr. Ben Carson at 7.4. Potential candidates Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee all fell below 7 points.

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt) is ranked as most liberal overall at 8.3L, followed by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma) who comes in at 8.2L.

 

But on the civil liberties-related issue of government surveillance and spying on U.S. citizens–Rand Paul was ranked as more liberal than any potential Democratic candidate.  Sanders, Warren, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton–all of them.

 

Crowdpac notes the difficulty of designating certain positions “liberal” given shifting definitions of what constitutes “right” and “left.” Regulating the NSA’s spying programs, particularly those targeting U.S. citizens, has become a part of the Republican Party platform in the recent past and was included due primarily to efforts by tea party activists.

CNN explains how Crowdpac gave the foreign policy realist Paul a higher conservative ranking than the hawkish Rubio:

 

Perhaps the most counterintuitive find suggests that Sen. Rand Paul, known as a vocal champion of non-interventionist policies, earned a slightly more conservative rating on defense and foreign policy than Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who supports a robust American action abroad.

 

Crowdpac advisers pointed to Paul’s donor base and his Senate record. In particular, they cited four votes that they said push him to the “right” of Rubio: A 2014 vote to provide loan guarantees to Ukraine in which Paul opposed and Rubio supported; a 2012 Paul-proposed bill to restrict foreign aid that Rubio abstained from voting; another to renew import restrictions which Paul supported and Rubio opposed; and Paul’s opposition to the 2014 defense authorization bill.

 

Paul spokesman Brian Darling told CNN, “Senator Rand Paul has a very conservative outlook on foreign policy, yet his detractors try to paint him as something that he is not.” Darling added, “There is nothing conservative about spending billions of taxpayer dollars on foreign nation building and trying to be everywhere all the time.” None of these potential candidates have officially announced their entrance into the 2016 presidential race.

 

Read more at http://rare.us/story/rand-paul-ranks-as-most-conservative-2016-candidate-and-the-most-liberal/#oLU8vvup7kmglj8g.99