Every Alabama lawmaker ranked from most conservative to most liberal

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The American Conservative Union (ACU) on Tuesday announced its annual list of Alabama’s most conservative and liberal lawmakers, and the organization’s scores may come as a surprise to some legislator’s constituents.

ACU was founded in 1964 and refers to itself as the “nation’s oldest and largest conservative grassroots organization.”

“I am pleased to present the American Conservative Union Foundation’s ratings for the 2015 meeting of the Alabama Legislature,” said ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp “Like our Congressional Ratings, our State Ratings reflect how elected officials view the role of government in an individual’s life. The Alabama legislators with the strongest scores voted most consistently with the ideals articulated in the US Constitution: limited and transparent government, individual rights, personal responsibility, and a healthy culture.”

Here’s how the ACU selected which votes to score:

ACU researched and selected a range of bills before the Alabama Legislature that determine a member’s adherence to conservative principles. We selected bills that focus on Ronald Reagan’s philosophy of the “three-legged stool”: 1) fiscal and economic: taxes, budgets, regulation, spending, healthcare, and property; 2) social and cultural: 2nd amendment, religion, life, welfare, and education; and 3) government integrity: voting, individual liberty, privacy, and transparency. This wide range of issues are designed to give citizens an accurate assessment that conveys which of Alabama’s elected leaders best defend the principles of a free society: Life, Liberty and Property

Here’s what they found overall:

Only four lawmakers received the ACU’s Award for Conservative Achievement for scoring over 80%.

After calculating last year’s votes, Senators Bill Holtzclaw (R-Huntsville) and Slade Blackwell (R-Mountain Brook) and Representatives Ed Henry (R-Hartselle) and Mike Holmes (R-Wetumpka) were rated the legislature’s most conservative members.

The legislature’s most liberal members were Senators Linda Coleman-Madison (D-Birmingham) and Priscilla Dunn (D-Bessemer) and Representatives Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham) and Randall Shedd (R-Fairview).

Perhaps the most significant takeaway from the ACU ratings is that there is very little difference between many Republicans and Democrats in the legislature at this point, particularly in the House. The ratings spread between the average House Republican and Democrat is only 2 points, and the most conservative Democrat actually scored 32 points higher than the most liberal Republican.

Check out the ratings for every member of the legislature below.