Walsh Receives “A” Grade from National Taxpayers Union

Rep. Joe Walsh, Tea Party-Ill., was the only member of Congress from Illinois to earn an “A” grade in the National Taxpayers Union’s annual “Friend of the Taxpayer” ratings.

“Congressman Walsh’s pro-taxpayer score of 90% was one of the best in the entire Congress,” NTU President Duane Parde said. “By voting day in and day out to reduce federal spending, taxes, and debt, Congressman Walsh proved to be one of the most effective advocates for taxpayers in Illinois as well as across the nation.”

The NTU insists it’s a non-partisan organization that bases its ratings on “all votes that could significantly affect the amounts of federal taxes, spending, debt, or regulatory impact. A total of 337 House and 234 Senate roll call votes were selected. We included votes cast on appropriations bills, authorization bills, budget target resolutions, tax bills, amendments, and certain procedural votes that could affect the burden on taxpayers.”

Suspiciously, though, only Republicans received “A” grades from the NTU, while all the “F” grades went to Democrats. According to group’s own scorecard, the average House Democrat voted with the taxpayers 17 percent of the time, while the average House Republican did so 76 percent of the time. In addition, the group’s president donated money to the presidential campaigns of Mike Huckabee and John McCain in 2008. Keeping in mind that the NTU’s “non-partisan” claim is B.S., and it only represents the interests of conservative taxpayers, here are its ratings for all of Illinois’s members of Congress:

SENATE
    Dick Durbin-D...........................F.. ....................9%
    Mark Kirk-R..............................B.. ..................83%
    State Average ................................46%

HOUSE
    Judy Biggert-R.............C+..................66%
    Jerry Costello- D..........D.. ..................29%
    Danny Davis-D ............F.. ..................12%
    Bob Dold-R..................C+..................66%
    Luis Gutierrez-D.......... F.. ..................14%
    Randy Hultgren-R ........B.. ..................76%
    Jesse Jackson Jr.-D........F.. ..................14%
    Tim Johnson-R..............B.. ..................78%
    Adam Kinzinger-R........C+..................68%
    Dan Lipinski-D .............F.. ..................19%
    Don Manzullo-R...........B+..................82%
    Mike Quigley-D ...........D.. ..................22%
    Peter Roskam-R.............B-..................71%
    Bobby Rush-D ..............F.. ..................11%
    Jan Schakowsky-D .......F.. ..................16%
    Bobby Schilling-R ........C+..................68%
    Aaron Schock-R ...........C+..................66%
    John Shimkus-R ...........C+..................69%
    Joe Walsh-R..................A.. ..................90%
    State Average ................................50%

 

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