NAACP President Ben Jealous claimed yesterday that Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)–the first black Senator from the South since Reconstruction–does not believe in civil rights: “[W]e have Republicans who believe in civil rights. Unfortunately he is not one of them.” The basis for Jealous’s claim is that Scott received an “F” on the NAACP’s annual civil rights scorecard, where it judges legislators on their votes on several so-called “civil rights” issues.

In reality, the NAACP scorecard has nothing at all to do with civil rights, and is just a checklist of liberal Democrat policy priorities, from collective bargaining to global warming. Here are the NAACP’s key votes:

  1. ENFORCEMENT OF THE DAVIS-BACON ACT REQUIRING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS ONLY WITH EMPLOYERS WHO PAY PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS
  2. THE RIGHT OF TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (TSA) WORKERS TO ENGAGE IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
  3. BANNING THE EPA FROM REGULATING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
  4. REPEALING FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF HEALTH CARE REFORM
  5. BANNING ALL FEDERAL FUNDING FOR HEALTH CARE SERVICES PROVIDED BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD
  6. CHEN JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION
  7. LIU JUDICIAL NOMINATION / CLOTURE
  8. MEAN-SPIRITED, DRACONIAN BUDGET RESOLUTION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012
  9. JOB CREATION
  10. NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION TO REVIEW AMERICA’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
  11. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE JOB CREATION
  12. TRANSPORTATION JOB CREATION
  13. LIMIT THE EPA’S ABILITY TO REGULATE CROSS-STATE AIR POLLUTION
  14. RICHARD CORDRAY TO BE CONFIRMED AS DIRECTOR OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
  15. BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

None of the above votes has anything at all to do with civil rights, racial equality, or the welfare of black Americans. What the NAACP has done is create a litmus test that no conservative can pass. 

To support “civil rights,” according to the NAACP, you have to march in lockstep with Big Labor, support new government regulations, vote for activist judges, use public money to support abortion providers, favor weaker criminal penalties, and oppose constitutional checks and balances on executive power.

Arguably, to the extent that these policies degrade individual freedom, the votes above are hostile to civil rights. What is inarguable is that the NAACP is no longer a civil rights organization, but a Democrat front.