It has been an American political truism that Democrats are big spenders and that Republicans are more fiscally responsible (or less fiscally irresponsible).

The mainstream media and their Democrat allies are engaged in a full-fledged campaign to turn this conventional wisdom on its head. We hear almost daily reports that President Bush and the Republicans in Congress are spending money recklessly. Howard Dean recently called the Republicans the party of the big spenders, which is about as hypocritical as Sen. Kennedy accusing an adversary of alcoholism or reckless driving.

There is an element of truth to the criticism of Republicans. Federal spending has increased rapidly (as has spending by the Democrat-controlled North Carolina General Assembly).

President Bush initiated expensive new programs such as the Medicare prescription drug benefit and No Child Left Behind, and has failed to veto a spending bill. While many Congressional Republicans are fiscal conservatives, many others have embraced pork barrel projects as eagerly as the Democrats.

But, contrary to what the mainstream would have us believe, the Democrats remain the party of the big spenders. Their criticism of the prescription drug plan is not that it is too expensive, but that it doesn’t provide enough benefits. A Republican who proposes even the most modest spending cut, or votes against a spending increase, is branded as “mean spirited” by the mainstream media.

(One local example: the Record & Landmark and several local Democrats attacked Rep. Virginia Foxx for voting against an excessively costly Katrina relief appropriation. It has since been revealed that much of the money was spent fraudulently, and Rep. Foxx’s critics are now silent on the matter.)

The ratings of the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union (NTU) reveal that some Republicans in Congress are fiscal conservatives and many others are moderates, but that all the Democrat lawmakers are big spenders.

The NTU study is the most accurate and unbiased guide to the way members of Congress vote on fiscal issues. Rather than selecting only a few votes, the NTU rates every single vote that significantly affects taxes, spending, or debt. A vote against spending or taxes is counted as a plus vote. The votes are weighted according to the amount of money involved, and then averaged.

Although some liberals have scored near zero, no member of Congress has ever scored 100—even the staunchest fiscal conservatives support spending for purposes such as national defense.

The NTU rating assigns members a letter grade on a scale of “A” to “F”, based on their numerical score. Those scoring “A” are considered to be fiscal conservatives.

During the 2005 session, Republicans in the House of Representatives averaged a 60 percent score; the Democrat average was only 17 percent. In the Senate the partisan divide was even wider—the GOP average was 69 percent, versus only 12 percent for the Democrats.

Of the 535 members of Congress, only 44, all Republicans, earned a grade of “A”. Unfortunately, 227 lawmakers, all Democrats, received an “F” grade.

N.C. Sen. Richard Burr and Representatives Virginia Foxx and Patrick McHenry, whose districts include parts of Iredell County, are among the 44 members of Congress with “A” ratings. The scores and grades for several lawmakers are listed below:

Score: Grade:

Sen. Richard Burr 76% A

Sen. Elizabeth Dole 68% B

Rep. Virginia Foxx 70% A

Rep. Patrick McHenry 70% A

Rep. Sue Myrick 71% A

Rep. Robin Hayes 55% C

Rep. Mel Watt 15% F

Sen. Hillary Clinton 9% F

Sen. John Kerry 7% F

Sen. Ted Kennedy 7% F

Sen. Harry Reid 5% F

Rep. Nancy Pelosi 11% F

Sen. John McCain 78% A

Rep. Tom Tancredo 80% A

Rep. Ron Paul 84% A