The anti-tax group Club for Growth released their 2009 "RePork Card" rating House members' efforts to rein in public spending, and by the Club's standards, the Democrats failed miserably.
The one exception: Idaho freshman Rep. Walt Minnick, who along with 21 Republicans earned a perfect 100 percent score from the Club. That means he voted for all 68 amendments proposed in the House to strip out earmarked spending projects, or "pork," from the 12 annual spending bills. The average Democratic score, in contrast, was 3 percent, with a median of zero.
Republicans averaged 57 percent, with a median score of 69 percent.
The next-highest scores for Democrats were Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper with 97 percent and Rep. Bobby Bright of Alabama with 61 percent.
Wednesday's pork report is another example of how Minnick has become an outlier in his own caucus, even amid the crowd of centrist Democrats who have taken office since the party's landslide 2006 and 2008 elections.
Minnick also recorded the most independent voting record among Democrats in the House in the first half of 2009, according to a CQ vote study. He backed the consensus Democratic position just 40 percent of the time in roll call votes that pitted most House Democrats against most Republicans.
All of which makes good political sense, given that the one-time Republican is seeking re-election in one of the country's most conservative states, in a district that voted for Republican John McCain over President Obama 62 percent to 36 percent.
Already, Republican Vaughn Ward is working to tie Minnick to the agenda of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the national Democratic leadership. Other Republicans could also join the 2010 race, which is expected to be one of the nation's most competitive.
CQ Politics rates the general election contest a Toss Up.
To see how the 2010 House races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map
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