State Sen. Jack Brandenburg, who prides himself on
being tougher than the rest in Republican politics, has lost his title of “most
conservative” in the Senate.
But it’s not as though the Macomb County Republican has
drifted toward liberalism. The new conservative/liberal rankings by Inside
Michigan Politics shows Brandenburg as the fifth-most conservative senator,
with just a few percentage points separating him from the other four.
Under the IMP system, voting
patterns are studied and a 100 percent score is considered the ultimate
liberal; 0 percent is the ultimate conservative.
For the fifth straight year, Democratic state Sen. Rebekah Warren of Ann Arbor (93.3
percent is the chamber’s most liberal
member. Republican Sen. Joe Hune
of Hamburg notched a perfect 0% voting record for the title of most conservative.
Township, tied for most conservative with fellow Republican Sen. John Moolenaar of
Midland, now Congressman Moolenaar. This year,
Brandenburg scored a 6.7 percent.
The senator stands as a stark contrast to his fellow
Macomb County Republican, Sen. Tory Rocca of Sterling Heights, who is, by far,
the moderate Republican in the chamber at 51.6 percent. Macomb’s third senator,
Warren Democrat Steve Bieda, is in the middle of the Democratic pack at 76.7
percent.
GOP Sen. Phil Pavlov of St. Clair, who represents a
small piece of northeast Macomb County, was not too far behind Brandenburg at
9.7 percent. Pavlov is a candidate for the 10th Congressional
District seat being vacated by Congresswoman Candice Miller and speculation
continues that Brandenburg may jump into that race.
the Senate covering an array of topics: social issues, the economy, taxes, environmental protection, civil
rights, guns and public health and safety.
