“Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes it’s laws” — Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschildchild
For as long as I can remember, there has been a litmus test for those seeking higher office, particularly so for those seeking elected roles in one of the three branches of the Federal Government. To be sure, Roe v. Wade has been a hot button topic since its inception. It is about as polarizing as it is controversial. And life certainly is worthy of our debate. But at the end of the day, abortions affect very few Americans-somewhere around 1% of the population. On the other hand, Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that opened the flood gates to unlimited corporate donations to political candidates is decisively not controversial. 83% of Americans disagree with this particular Supreme Court decision.
In this era of highly polarizing journalism, you migh be surprised to learn that Americans from all political walks do, in fact agree on some core fundamentals. Consider:
83% of Americans disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC
88% of Americans want to reduce the influence of large campaign donors
84% of Americans disagree with the practice of civil asset forfeiture
83% of Americans believe in a system of checks and balances
80% of Americans are concerned that corporations don’t pay their fair share of income taxes
78% of Americans are concerned that wealthy individuals don’t pay their fair share of income taxes
Money in politics has been with us since the dawn of our nation. Obscene money in politics, however, has been a more recent development, one that is deeply concerning to an increasingly large percentage of us. Just three Americans – Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Jeff Bezos now control more wealth than 160 million Americans combined. As a capitalist I believe in a meritocracy. But I draw the line when the pursuit of profit becomes more important than protecting Democracy. It is in this spirit that I have created the Taft Test.
Robert Taft, the Ohio Senator and eldest son of the 27th President of the United States once said, in response to his exit from the 1952 Republican Presidential Primary, “A good Senator puts country first, party second, and personal ambition at the bottom of the totem pole.” This attitude is reflective of what I remember learning about public service and civic duty. And it is an attitude that has all but vanished from our current cadre of elected officials. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
At the end of the day, I’m to blame for the current state of affairs. And so are you. We’ve all participated in this national money grab. As long as we continue to elect leaders who dance to the strings pulled by their wealthy benefactors, we will continue to languish in their shadow.
Maybe it’s time to abandon the ‘lesser of two evils’ decision making process for elected officials. We no longer have the luxury of waiting around until the first Tuesday in November and hoping for the best. Maybe it is time to say enough is enough. Maybe it is time to start electing leaders who still believe in Senator Taft’s civic vision. Maybe it is time to start supporting them early. Maybe it is time to start encouraging them to run.
The Taft Test is an independent, non-partisan index based on data sets encompassing a candidates education, background, employment, and campaign finance reporting. It is an attempt to not only raise the bar for our elected leaders, but to set it at a level that holds them accountable to the best interests of a super majority of the citizens they represent. Candidates for higher office should be held to a higher standard. More on my methodology here.
The Index
The Taft Test is a scaled index that aims to raise the standards by which we judge our candidates for higher office. In honor of legendary coach John Scolinos, the bar is set at 17.
- Scores of 17 and lower are reflective of candidates who most likely put their country ahead of party and personal wealth.
- Scores from 18-34 are concerning and warrant further investigation. Proceed with caution.
- Scores 35 and above indicate that personal ambition and wealth creation are more important than country. Danger Will Robinson.
2020 Candidates By Score
February 1, 2019
| Candidate | Party | Feb 2020 Score | Feb 2019 Score | Diff |
| Warren, Elizabeth | D | 9.97 | 3.08 | +6.89 |
| Sanders, Bernie | D | 15.52 | 16.65 | -1.13 |
| Biden, Joe | D | 19.28 | 14.95 | +4.33 |
| Gabbard, Tulsi | D | 25.97 | 0.40 | +25.57 |
| Bennett, Michael | D | 38.64 | 37.54 | +1.10 |
| Yang, Andrew | D | 35.00 | 33.00 | +2.00 |
| Buttigieg, Pete | D | 38.00 | 24.25 | +13.75 |
| *Clinton, Hillary | D | 47.70 | 42.60 | +5.10 |
| Steyer, Tom | D | 48.00 | – | – |
| Klobuchar, Amy | D | 48.54 | 37.98 | +10.56 |
| Bloomberg, Michael | D | 55.50 | 50.00 | +5.50 |
| Trump, Donald | R | 62.24 | 61.95 | +0.29 |
Potential 2020 Candidates By Score
February 1, 2019
| Candidate | Party | Score |
| Hickenlooper, John | D | 0 |
| Inslee, Jay | D | 0 |
| Gabbard, Tulsi | D | .4 |
| Warren, Elizabeth | D | 3.08 |
| Ryan, Tim | D | 3.48 |
| O’Malley, Martin | D | 8.333 |
| Flake, Jeff | R | 10.2 |
| Harris, Kamala | D | 10.68 |
| Cuomo, Andrew | D | 11.24 |
| Casey, Bob | D | 11.53 |
| Swalwell, Eric | D | 12.98 |
| Biden, Joe | D | 14.946 |
| Corker, Bob | R | 15.68 |
| Sanders, Bernie | D | 16.649 |
| Bullock, Steve | D | 21 |
| McAuliffe, Terry | D | 23.656 |
| Brown, Jerry | D | 25 |
| Castro, Julian | D | 25 |
| Walker, Scott | R | 25.167 |
| Kasich, John | R | 25.313 |
| Merkley, Jeff | D | 30.62 |
| O’Rourke, Beto | D | 31.98 |
| Yang, Andrew | D | 33 |
| deBlasio, Bill | D | 33.25 |
| Murphy, Chris | D | 36.61 |
| Kaine, Tim | D | 36.93 |
| Kerry, John | D | 37.09 |
| Bennet, Michael | D | 37.54 |
| Klobuchar, Amy | D | 37.98 |
| Delaney, John | D | 38.3 |
| Weld, Bill | R | 40 |
| Clinton, Hillary | D | 42.6 |
| Brown, Sherrod | D | 44.03 |
| Gillibrand, Kirsten | D | 45.55 |
| Sasse, Ben | R | 48.1 |
| Booker, Cory | D | 49.78 |
| Bloomberg, Michael | D | 50 |
| Holder, Eric | D | 50 |
| Moulton, Seth | D | 57.35 |
| Romney, Mitt | R | 61.62 |
| Trump, Donald | R | 61.95 |
| Cruz, Ted | R | 77.43 |
Potential 2020 Presidential Candidates By Name
| Candidate | Party | Score |
| Bennet, Michael | D | 37.54 |
| Biden, Joe | D | 14.946 |
| Bloomberg, Michael | D | 50 |
| Booker, Cory | D | 49.78 |
| Brown, Jerry | D | 25 |
| Brown, Sherrod | D | 44.03 |
| Bullock, Steve | D | 21 |
| Buttigieg, Pete | D | 24.25 |
| Casey, Bob | D | 11.53 |
| Castro, Julian | D | 25 |
| Clinton, Hillary | D | 42.601 |
| Corker, Bob | R | 15.68 |
| Cruz, Ted | R | 77.43 |
| Cuomo, Andrew | D | 11.24 |
| deBlasio, Bill | D | 33.25 |
| Delaney, John | D | 38.3 |
| Flake, Jeff | R | 10.2 |
| Gabbard, Tulsi | D | 0.4 |
| Gillibrand, Kristen | D | 45.55 |
| Harris, Kamala | D | 10.68 |
| Hickenlooper, John | D | 0 |
| Holder, Eric | D | 50 |
| Inslee, Jay | D | 0 |
| Kaine, Tim | D | 36.93 |
| Kasich, John | R | 25.313 |
| Kerry, John | D | 37.086 |
| Klobuchar, Amy | D | 37.98 |
| McAuliffe, Terry | D | 23.656 |
| Merkley, Jeff | D | 30.62 |
| Moulton, Seth | D | 57.35 |
| Murphy, Chris | D | 36.61 |
| O’Malley, Martin | D | 8.333 |
| O’Rourke, Beto | D | 31.98 |
| Romney, Mitt | R | 61.617 |
| Ryan, Tim | D | 3.48 |
| Sanders, Bernie | D | 16.649 |
| Sasse, Ben | R | 48.1 |
| Swalwell, Eric | D | 12.98 |
| Trump, Donald | R | 61.95 |
| Walker, Scott | R | 25.167 |
| Warren, Elizabeth | D | 3.08 |
| Weld, Bill | R | 40 |
| Yang, Andrew | D | 33 |
The Taft Test 