“Americans for Prosperity” a right-wing, anti-tax, anti-government group has given one A+ score for 2012 in the US Senate. That score was earned by Florida Senator and Republican rock star Marco Rubio.

Recall last year, Rubio was one of only five Senators to get a perfect 100% score from the American Conservative Union who have been tracking Congressional votes since the early 1970s. This is a real achievement for any Republican Senator. Any hint of moderation, any vote even on a procedural matter which is out of line with conservative orthodoxy prevents a 100% rating from these types of advocacy organizations. As someone who has tracked interest group voting scores since the mid 1990s,  I can unequivocally state that Rubio’s record puts him on the far right, even further right than many of the  conservative zealots elected in the 1994 Gingrich wave and other tea-parties in both chambers elected in 2010.

Yet the national media continues to make Rubio into the great hope for the Republican Party, ignoring his reactionary voting record, the hints of scandal back home in Florida. They also consistently ignore his time as a State House member when he was among the most radical members of an already radicalized body.

Recently, Time ran a cover story on Rubio hailing him as the “Republican Savior.”

For a party that controls the majority of Governorships, has a record number of state legislators currently throughout the nation and has a comfortable U.S. House majority, you’d think they could find a “savior” with less baggage.