For Heritage, A Squad of ‘Sentinels’ That Are Mostly White Men

Updated: January 28, 2013 | 2:57 p.m.
January 28, 2013 | 2:32 p.m.

Former Republican Sen. Jim DeMint and Sen. Rand Paul are two of the Heritage 'Sentinels'. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

The staunchest defenders of the conservative Heritage agenda are overwhelmingly white and male.

On Monday, Heritage Action for America, the conservative political group, announced that only 29 lawmakers in the 112th Congress had achieved “sentinel status,” a designation reserved for those lawmakers, all Republicans, who scored at least 90 percent on the group’s voting scorecard.

Of the 29 “sentinels” named, 27 were white men. The lone exceptions were Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. The group counted six sentinels in the last Senate and 23 in the House.

The lawmaker tied for the group’s highest score, former Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, resigned his post to take a job leading the Heritage Foundation, the think-tank affiliated with Heritage Action. Two other “sentinels” of the last Congress are also gone: former Reps. Ben Quayle, D-Ariz., and Joe Walsh, R-Ill., who lost reelection bids (Quayle in the primary to fellow sentinel Rep. David Schweikert and Walsh to a Democrat in the general election).

Below is the full list of those deemed Sentinels by Heritage Action and their score on the group’s legislative scorecard:

Senate:

Jim DeMint (R-SC) - 99%

Mike Lee (R-UT) - 99%

Rand Paul (R-KY) - 96%

Marco Rubio (R-FL) - 96%

Ron Johnson (R-WI) - 94%

Orrin Hatch (R-UT) - 91%

House:

Jeff Duncan (R-SC) - 97%

Jeff Flake (R-AZ) - 97%

Trent Franks (R-AZ) - 97%

Tom Graves (R-GA) - 97%

Paul Broun (R-GA) - 96%

Jim Jordan (R-OH) - 95%

Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) - 95%

Trey Gowdy (R-SC) - 94%

Doug Lamborn (R-CO) - 94%

David Schweikert (R-AZ) - 94%

Jeff Miller (R-FL) - 93%

Ben Quayle (R-AZ) - 93%

Joe Wilson (R-SC) - 93%

Joe Walsh (R-IL) - 93%

Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) - 92%

Louie Gohmert (R-TX) - 92%

Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) - 92%

Dennis Ross (R-FL) - 92%

Justin Amash (R-MI) - 91%

Michele Bachmann (R-MN) - 91%

John Fleming (R-LA) - 90%

Scott Garrett (R-NJ) - 90%

Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) - 90%

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