Vote Them Out is decidedly nonpartisan. They claim to have only one goal: "to vote Congress out in 2014. Hold both sides accountable," they write, "and let's get this country back on course." They offer a voting record that emphasizes half a dozen House votes, although two of those votes were in 2008 before many current members of Congress had been elected. Those are their 6 votes and their description of each:
• Amash-Conyers Amendment- end funding for NSA to monitor and store phone calls of U.S. citizens (2013) • To gradually increase minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by 2016 (2013) • NDAA- indefinite detention without trial (2008) • Monsanto Protection Act (2013) • Vote to raise student loan rates from 3.4% • Bank Bailout (TARP)- $700 billion tax funds to banks (2008)
Only 13 Members of Congress had perfect scores, although if you don't penalize current Members for not having been in the House in 2008, that rises to 29. These are the 29 Members who probably shouldn't be voted out by followers of this group's scorecard: Karen Bass (D-CA)Xavier Becerra (D-CA)Bruce Braley (D-IA)Tony Cardenas (D-CA)Matt Cartwright (D-PA)Judy Chu (D-CA)John Conyers (D-MI)Marcia Fudge (D-OH)Alan Grayson (D-FL)Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)Janice Hahn (D-CA)Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)Barbara Lee (D-CA)John Lewis (D-GA)Ben Lujan (D-NM)Stephen Lynch (D-MA)Grace Napolitano (D-CA)Rick Nolan (D-MN)Chellie Pingree (D-ME)Mark Pocan (D-WI)Cedric Richmond (D-LA)Jose Serrano (D-NY)Lucille Royball-Allard (D-CA)Bobby Rush (D-IL)Eric Swalwell (D-CA)John Tierney (D-MA)Paul Tonko (D-NY)Peter Welch (D-VT)John Yarmuth (D-KY)So, if you're using this as a voting guide... no Republicans at all. Not one. Most Democrats would have to be defeated as well. It's kind of uncompromising. To get a perfect score, a Member would not only have to be very progressive, he or she would also have to be independent enough to go against their own party leadership. There were no Republicans who fit that profile, of course. But these are the 70 Members who voted wrong on every single item (including Members who weren't around in 2008): Andy Barr (R-KY)Dan Benishek (R-MI)John Boehner (R-OH)Jo Bonner (R-AL)Kevin Brady (R-TX)Susan Brooks (R-IN)Ken Calvert (R-CA)David Camp (R-MI)Eric Cantor (R-VA)Tom Cole (R-OK)Chris Collins (R-NY)Doug Collins (R-GA)Paul Cook (R-CA)Tom Cotten (R-AR)Ander Crenshaw (R-FL)Jeff Denham (R-CA)Renee Ellmers (R-NC)Bill Flores (R-TX)Bob Gibbs (R-OH)Kay Granger (R-TX)Brett Guthrie (R-KY)Richard Hanna (R-NY)Gregg Harper (R-MS)Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)Joe Heck (R-NV)George Holding (R-NC)Richard Hudson (R-NC)David Joyce (R-OH)Mike Kelly (R-PA)Peter King (R-NY)Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)John Kline (R-MN)Leonard Lance (R-NJ)James Lankford (R-OK)Billy Long (R-MO)Blaine Lutkemeyer (R-MO)Tom Marino (R-PA)Buck McKeon (R-CA)David McKinley (R-WV)Pat Meehan (R-PA)Luke Messer (R-IN)Kristi Noem (R-SD)Alan Nunnelee (R-MS)Pete Olson (R-TX)Steven Palazzo (R-MS)Erik Paulsen (R-MN)Robert Pittenger (R-NC)Mike Pompeo (R-KS)Tom Reed (R-NY)Jim Renacci (R-OH)Scott Rigell (R-VA)Martha Roby (R-AL)Hal Rogers (R-KY)Mike Rogers (R-AL)Tom Rooney (R-FL)Austin Scott (R-GA)Pete Sessions (R-TX)Jon Runyan (R-NJ)Paul Ryan (R-WI)Steve Stivers (R-OH)Fred Upton (R-MI)David Valadao (R-CA)Ann Wagner (R-MO)Greg Walden (R-OR)Jackie Walorski (R-IN)Daniel Webster (R-FL)Brad Wenstrup (R-OH)Frank Wolf (R-VA)Steve Womack (R-AR)Todd Young (R-IN)Like any scordcard, it's an imperfect way of deciding how to vote. You're always better off paying close attention and making an informed decision based on a Member's behavior over time on a broad range of policy and character issues. But this can be used as a start. I do like the idea of voting to oust every single Republican and every single Blue Dog. It does penalize a number of Democrats who, upon a closer examination might, might deserve reelection but, you might feel, as Cistercian abot Arnaud Amaury advised a soldier worried about killing orthodox Catholics along with the heretics during the sack of Cathar stronghold of Béziers in 1209, Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius." ("Kill them. For the Lord knew those that are His own.")