McHenry County Blog

A press release from Congressman Don Manzullo:

American Conservative Union Ranks Manzullo #1 Conservative Illinois Member of Congress

Kinzinger ranked #8 of 11 GOP Members from IL in lifetime ratings

[WASHINGTON] – The American Conservative Union, America’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization, today issued its 2011 Congressional vote ratings that show U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL) is the #1 conservative from Illinois and his opponent, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) is ranked #8 out of 11 Republican Members of Congress from Illinois in lifetime ratings.

“Once again, Congressman Manzullo’s ACU rating shows a consistent commitment to conservative principles on a wide range of issues,” said Larry Hart, ACU Director of Government Relations. “His lifetime rating of 95.5 is one of the highest in the Congress over that period of time.”

The ratings for Republican Members of Congress from Illinois are as follows:

The ratings confirm what several other conservative and non-partisan organizations have stated this year in their own rankings – Manzullo is by a wide margin much more serious than his opponent about cutting wasteful Washington spending, balancing the budget, and paying down the national debt. The American Conservative Union’s ratings – which show Manzullo with 95.51 to Kinzinger’s 72 lifetime – dovetail with the 2011 ratings from

• the non-partisan National Journal (Manzullo – 73.7; Kinzinger – 58.2),
• Heritage Action for America (Manzullo – 84; Kinzinger – 63), and
• Americans for Prosperity (Manzullo – A+; Kinzinger – B).

“I am honored to again be rated the top conservative Member of Congress from Illinois. These ratings from the American Conservative Union show a wide disparity in conservative voting between myself and my opponent and again confirm that I am the only candidate in this race who is serious about cutting wasteful Washington spending, balancing the budget, and paying down our national debt,” Manzullo said.

“We now have four major national organizations that looked at the votes from last year and determined I am the conservative in this race who is focused on getting our financial house in order and reducing the role of government in our lives.

“America is at a crossroads right now, and we need solid conservatives who will go back to Washington and take the tough votes necessary to cut spending and reduce our debt. I have a strong record of voting to cut spending and that record will continue as long as I am in Congress.”

The vote rankings also confirm why Manzullo has received all the endorsements from the major national and statewide conservative groups, including:

• Illinois Tea Party
• Family-PAC federal
• Eagle Forum of Illinois
• Illinois Federation for Right to Life PAC
• Illinois Citizens for Life federal PAC
• Illinois Conservatives (4,000 conservatives across Illinois under 35 years old)
• RedState Editor and CNN political commentator Erick Erickson
• The Madison Project

Conservative groups are lining up behind Manzullo because they know he is the only candidate in the race who is serious about cutting wasteful Washington spending, balancing the budget, and paying down the national debt. In fact, Manzullo voted last year 79 more times than Kinzinger to cut $209 billion more in spending than Kinzinger. In addition, Manzullo voted for the only budget alternative that would have cut $9.1 trillion in spending and balanced the budget within 10 years. Kinzinger voted against the bill.

Here’s an interesting comment from Jameson Campaigne which was posted under my Huntley School District 158 teacher union dues article on Illinois Review.

I thought you and area teachers might like to read it.

Cal — As you well know, most of the NEA/IEA money goes to politics, not to representation on wages and working conditions issues.

When given a chance to opt out of paying for the politics portion of their dues (under the Beck decision of the Supreme Court and referenda passed in states like Washington), teachers opt out and union dues drop by about three quarters.

Keep in mind also that it is not just “teachers” who are paying these dues; it is also the vast administrative bureaucracies of most schools.

Defunding the NEA/IEA political-financial arm of the Democratic Party ought to be top priority of Republicans everywhere, since this is a civil rights issue (close to a majority of the nation’s teachers — not bureaucrats — are Republicans whose dues money is spent on a party and candidates they oppose). The American Conservative Union has had some success in lawsuits against the NEA along these lines as well.

Here’s an interesting comment from Jameson Campaigne which was posted under my Huntley School District 158 teacher union dues article on Illinois Review.

I thought you and area teachers might like to read it.

Cal — As you well know, most of the NEA/IEA money goes to politics, not to representation on wages and working conditions issues.

When given a chance to opt out of paying for the politics portion of their dues (under the Beck decision of the Supreme Court and referenda passed in states like Washington), teachers opt out and union dues drop by about three quarters.

Keep in mind also that it is not just “teachers” who are paying these dues; it is also the vast administrative bureaucracies of most schools.

Defunding the NEA/IEA political-financial arm of the Democratic Party ought to be top priority of Republicans everywhere, since this is a civil rights issue (close to a majority of the nation’s teachers — not bureaucrats — are Republicans whose dues money is spent on a party and candidates they oppose). The American Conservative Union has had some success in lawsuits against the NEA along these lines as well.