Since 1991, the Republican Liberty Caucus has released a Liberty Index of Congress annually. Construction of the 2008 Liberty Index involved the identification of 20 roll call votes on each of two dimensions of freedom: economic liberties and personal liberties.

Dr. Clifford Thies (pictured), a Professor of Economics and former Republican Liberty Caucus Chairman, has conducted the analysis for many years. In the process of deciding upon the lists of votes, he relied on advice from a small group of people that are current or past officers of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

In the U.S. House, Dr. Ron Paul retained his spot at #1 after a brief hiatus, with a combined score of 96. There was a seven-way tie for second place.

The lowest-scoring Republican was Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland, with a 26; the highest-scoring Democrat was Cooper (TN) with a 42.

In the area of economic liberties, 18 Republicans scored perfect 100s, while 68 Democrats scored perfect 0s. In the area of personal liberties, Congressman Paul registered a perfect 100, followed by three of his fellow Texas Republicans, Carter, Gohmert and Marchant.

In the Senate, there was a two-way tie for first place, with Senators Coburn of Oklahoma and DeMint of South Carolina both scoring 76.

Read the complete results by clicking here. You can also view past results.