Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich: Mavericks Extraordinaire

A recent study published by Princeton PhD student Ben Lauderdale — flagged today by Aaron Wiener of the Washington Independent and picked up by USA Today — finds that the two most “Mavericky” House members are … drumroll … Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich.

This shouldn’t be much of a surprise; any such study would hardly seem legitimate if these two didn’t come out on top.

What’s striking is that Paul and Kucinich probably couldn’t agree on anything economically (Paul wants to slash government involvement in pretty much everything while Kucinich wants to use the full power government to help the working class).

At the same time, they stand together in staunch opposition to America’s penchant for war and military action — a concept average pols and traditional newspapers are afraid to seriously consider, and which both parties typically get behind when push comes to shove.

No surprises that Russ Feingold, who has a similar outlook as these two on war, was the top Maverick in the Senate, according to the study.

Wiener explains Lauderdale’s model:

Mavericks, he explained to John Sides, are members who vote “less on the basis of the political dimension that predicts all legislators’ behavior and more on particularistic factors unique to themselves.” In other words, their voting might seem erratic in the context of a rigid political spectrum, reflecting an idiosyncratic willingness to break ranks to support or oppose legislation on specific policy grounds.

In an age of growing partisan polarization where the Republican Party increasingly demands conformity and squashes dissent — and where Democrats (not Kucinich) have subdued their criticism of various Bush policies after Obama adopted them — voting on the basis of policy and principles, rather than conventional wisdom and partisan loyalties, is something people admire.

It’s why Paul and Kucinich are both marginalized often by their party leaders yet have among the most passionate supporters across the nation.

Also, in what should surprise no one at all, John McCain — long the standard-bearer of the term in Washington — has since 2008 moved into negative territory on “Maverickiness,” having plummeted particularly after he began running for president.

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No surprises here...

"Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple. Deficit spending should be viewed as a tax on future generations, and politicians who create deficits should be exposed as tax hikers." - Ron Paul

"I think it's inconsistent to tell the American people that you oppose the war and, yet, you continue to vote to fund the war. Because every time you vote to fund the war, you're reauthorizing the war all over again." - Dennis Kucinich