Gov. candidate Hoekstra’s voting record over time
Over his lifetime in Congress, Rep. Hoekstra compiled a relatively solid voting record measured against the national RLC’s model-libertarian voting pattern. (See our chart here, showing him siding with the individual over the state more than any Michigan congressperson of the last two decades, save for former Reps. Walberg and Smith).
Now that he’s running for governor, we see it as our job to help further the conversation about this potential GOP nominee. And since commenters at RightMichigan have begun to ask about his record, we’ll begin there.
We thought it would be interesting to see how Rep. Hoekstra did according to the national-RLC survey on a year-by-year basis. Results are below, based on the data found here and here.
Defining RINO
Lately on Right Michigan.com, Nick De Leeuw has made a lot of hay out of branding prospective gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder as a RINO for his support of embryonic stem cell research via his political and business ties. While we here at RLCMI do not know that much about Mr. Snyder, neither apparently does Mr. De Leeuw. In fact, Mr. De Leeuw himself admitted on Friday that when contacted about Mr. Snyder’s candidacy by various media outlets he admitted to not really knowing who Mr. Snyder was. A cursory glance at the comments on Right Michigan.com indicates that many of the bloggers seem to define RINO on strictly socially-based issues. We here RLCMI would like to draw a contrast with such a definition by putting more emphasis on a candidate’s fiscal and economic positions. For example, Barry Goldwater in his later years became both pro choice and supportive of the rights of gays to serve in the military. Did that make the late Mr. Goldwater a “RINO?” Further, many of these same Republicans who are willing to accuse Mr. Snyder of being a RINO seemingly will without hesitation support candidates such as State Representative Paul Scott (R-Grand Blanc), someone who last fall was endorsed by not only Right to Life of Michigan, but also the Michigan Educational Association. And Mr. Scott is a primary sponsor of a total smoking ban in all bars and restaurants. So the question remains, what makes someone a “RINO,” and can one issue no matter how important to the majority of Republicans, such as the “Right to Life” issue, truly brand someone as a “RINO.”
Granholm Still Clueless
Last week, Governor Jennifer Granholm proposed replacing the 22% MBT surcharge with a graduated income tax on individuals. I’m no economist but I highly doubt such a plan will make up the revenue. Nor is such a plan all that wise considering the fact that many states have no income tax at all, and such a graduated tax here in Michigan would be so high of a tax income rate, that the few wealthy people left in Michigan are likely to leave along with any investment they may have brought.