Liberty index shows where Congress members stand

From the thousands of federal regulations imposed each year to enhanced spying on American citizens through the National Security Agency and others, government continues to grow and become more intrusive in our lives. So who are the pro-liberty legislators trying to protect us?

The Republican Liberty Caucus’ 2015 Liberty Index of Congress provides some insight into who is — and who is not — guarding our freedoms against these ravages. The index, compiled by Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia Chairman Clifford Theis, scores members of Congress based on their votes in two categories: Economic Liberties and Personal Liberties.

The top performer in either chamber was Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., who scored a rare “double-100” in the two categories. Republican Reps. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Raul Labrador of Idaho and Thomas Massie of Kentucky were just behind in the House, with overall scores of 98. Californians Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Rep. Tom McClintock of Elk Grove also ranked among the top 10, each with a score of 95.

At the other end of the spectrum, the worst score of just 8 — the only single-digit score in the House — went to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who has lately gained more attention for being booed at her own party’s convention and forced to resign her post as chairman of the Democratic National Committee over an email scandal that revealed efforts by the supposedly neutral DNC to coordinate and strategize with Hillary Clinton’s campaign against Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., earned the highest score in the Senate (93), followed by fellow Republicans Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, both with 92. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, joined Rep. Schultz as the only ones not to crack the double-digit barrier, with an equally woeful score of 8 at the bottom of the list.

While it is not surprising that Republicans scored much higher, on average, than Democrats in the Economic Liberties category, their significantly higher scores in Personal Liberties might be considered less expected. This is likely because “our approach embraces the entire Bill of Rights,” including Second Amendment gun/selfdefense rights and the, unfortunately, now largely ignored Ninth and Tenth amendments, which preserve individual rights not enumerated in the Constitution and reserve powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people, respectively, Thies explained.

“In recent years, the federal government has become increasingly arbitrary and even despotic,” Thies warned, as the executive branch has tilted the balance of powers through executive action and, with the consent of Congress, through “allencompassing budget deals.”