Goldwater Institute Report Card: Arizona Lawmakers Not Extremely Goldwater-y

The right-wing Goldwater Institute released its "legislative report card," and if you're buyin' what the institute's sellin', then liberty is on the decline here in Arizona.

Well, at least, the Legislature's not as Goldwater-y as it has been in years past, according to the report card.

However, since the recipient of the highest score in all the land from the Goldwater Institute went to someone (Republican Senator Judy Burges) who thinks the president is from Kenya, and believes straight up communism is being instituted by the United States government, we're not convinced that a high score from the Goldwater Institute is a good thing.

See also:
-Goldwater Institute Feeds from Tax-Exempt Trough While Decrying Cost of Medicaid

Burges tied with fellow Senator Andy Biggs for the top score, at 74.

Believe it or not, every Republican scored above 50, and every Democrat under 50.

The least Goldwater-y legislator is Democratic Representative Juan Mendez, who received national attention earlier in the legislative session for leaving God out of his "prayer" to kick off an afternoon in the House.

In general, it looks like the Goldwater Institute devotees are on a bit of a decline. Here's part of the release from the Goldwater Institute on the report card:

Now in its 11th year, the Goldwater Institute's Legislative Report Card analyzed 326 votes taken by the Legislature in 2013. The Report Card considers legislation in the areas of education reform, tax and budget policy, regulation, and constitutional government.

For the first time since 2003, scores in both the House of Representatives and the Senate declined from the previous year, with an average score of 54% in both chambers. No legislator received an overall score of A or higher.

"After redistricting, and with the battle over Medicaid expansion producing unusual anti-liberty coalitions, it appears the pro-liberty gains of past years have been blunted," said Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute Director for Policy Development and the author of the report. "Hopefully, this will prove to be a temporary phenomenon. There is reason to hope because, while average scores are lower, most median scores are higher, indicating that more legislators have improved their scores than otherwise."