The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that counts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity among its members, released its 2011 Legislative Scorecard today. The more conservative Illinois congressman? Rep. Joe Walsh -- by a wide margin. Walsh agreed with the Foundation on 93 percent of his votes, which tied him for 12th in the nation, putting him in the same league as fellow Tea Partiers Sen. Jim DeMint and Rep. Michelle Bachman. His ranking put him far ahead of the Prairie State’s runner up, Rep. Don Manzullo, who only scored 81 percent.
Here are some of the issues on which Walsh won the Heritage Foundation’s approval:
-- Voted to repeal “Obamacare”
-- Voted to prohibit federal funding of National Public Radio
-- Voted to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s global warming regulations.
-- Voted to expand offshore drilling for oil and natural gas
-- Voted to bar federal funding of Planned Parenthood
-- Voted against raising the debt ceiling
-- Sponsored a bill to end taxpayer bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
-- Sponsored a bill to cap welfare spending
Here’s how other Illinois Republicans scored:
Rep. Randy Hultgren: 73 percent
Rep. Peter Roskam: 63 percent
Sen. Mark Kirk: 61 percent
Rep. Timothy Johnson: 59 percent
Rep. Aaron Schock: 54 percent
Rep. John Shimkus: 54 percent
Rep. Bobby Schilling: 53 percent
Rep. Adam Kinzinger: 51 percent
Rep. Judy Biggert: 44 percent
Rep. Bob Dold: 44 percent
And the Democrats:
Rep. Dan Lipinski: 20 percent
Rep. Jerry Costello: 18 percent
Rep. Jan Schakowsky: 16 percent
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.: 11 percent
Rep. Mike Quigley: 10 percent
Rep. Bobby Rush: 10 percent
Rep. Danny Davis: 7 percent
Rep. Luis Gutierrez: 7 percent
Sen. Dick Durbin: 0 percent
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