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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2006
Contact: David Strom
Ph: (651) 294-3590 ext 201
Taxpayers League Scorecard Released
2006 Scorecard shows clear decline in conservative voting
St Paul—As it has since 1997, the Taxpayers League of Minnesota is releasing its annual scorecard rating the votes of Minnesota’s lawmakers.
As in past years, the scorecard still shows substantial differences in voting patterns between the Republicans and Democrats, but it also demonstrates a building trend of Republican willingness to spend more taxpayer dollars if they get to control the spending.
That trend is made most clear by comparing the voting patterns of Republicans in the Minnesota House, where they control the process, and Republicans in the Minnesota Senate, where they are in the minority. House Republicans scored an average of 58% this year—a decline of 13% from last year—while Senate Republicans scored an average of 84%. That amounts to a full 26% difference between the two Houses.
Also, in a departure from all past scorecards, many Republicans’ scores fell below some of the most traditionally liberal members of the Minnesota House. For instance, Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum scored below a number of liberal democrats, and was tied with liberal stalwarts such as Irv Anderson, Karen Clark, and Phyllis Kahn. Interestingly, this shift in voting patterns was not universal. Many of the traditionally conservative members of the House stilled scored 80 or above, and received “Friend of the Taxpayer” awards this year.
One of the driving factors in the shift of scores was conservative “wandering” on such issues as taxpayer funding of professional sports facilities, and a newfound appreciation for pork-barrel spending in the bonding bill.
David Strom, President of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota noted the change in voting patterns: “What changed in this scorecard was not the type of vote we scored, but the actual voting patterns of legislators. As Republicans have grown more comfortable in government, they seem to have become more comfortable with big spending. I certainly hope that this isn’t a trend that continues into the future.”
Copies of the scorecard will be distributed at the State Fair, and are available on the web at www.taxpayersleague.org.
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