The perfect conservative? This California Republican congressman gets the highest rating
Rep. Tom McClintock is officially the perfect conservative.
He got a 100% score on votes crucial to the American Conservative Union, which tracks loyalty to its views. It selected 38 House votes as important for its 2021 rating, and the veteran Elk Grove Republican voted the ACU’s way every time.
As a result, he was given the ACU’s “Award for Conservative Excellence,” along with 64 other House members and nine senators.
No other California Republican came close. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville, had an 84% rating, while Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, who’s in a swing district Democrats are eyeing, got 62%. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, got 74%.
McClintock is running for re-election in the newly-drawn 5th Congressional District, and is regarded as the favorite to win. Former President Donald Trump won 55.5% of the vote in the district in 2020, and independent analysts list the race as “safe” or “solid” Republican.
Among his challengers is Republican Nathan Magsig, a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
McClintock’s perfect ACU score is not unusual; he has a 98.3% lifetime rating from the group.
Democrats rarely cracked 10% last year. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was among those cited as part of a “coalition of the radical left,” as he voted with ACU 3% of the time.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., just missed inclusion; she was with ACU 5% of the time. The difference involved a vote on an amendment to provide resources for border security enforcement. Senate Democrats split over the proposal.
Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, and Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, each were rated at 5%, while Reps. Ami Bera, D-Sacramento, and Jim Costa, D-Fresno, each scored 10%.
Tom McClintock’s conservative votes
McClintock, a congressman since 2009, has long been regarded as an often outspoken conservative. The votes listed by the ACU are a familiar list of positions he and the conservative movement have promoted for some time.
They include a vote against impeaching President Donald Trump and against making the abortion rights provided by Roe v. Wade a national law. McClintock also opposed the White House’s infrastructure plan and a plan to establish a commission to investigate the 2021 Capitol insurrection.
In each case, the ACU explained that such votes were important ways of limiting the size and scope of government or stopping what it saw as unfair political maneuvering.
Describing its objections to the infrastructure bill, the ACU said, “the bill contains funding for an endless list of liberal priorities such as electric vehicles, green energy and special programs to benefit labor unions.”
The ACU, in explaining why it included the Jan. 6 commission vote in its ratings, said the enabling measure “illegally establishes a committee falsely claiming to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol.”
It said it “opposes utilizing taxpayer funds and resources to carry out baseless attacks on political opponents and opposed this bill.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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