EMILY's List ranks Gingrich worst hopeful

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- EMILY's List, a liberal political action committee, said Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is the worst in its rankings of the 2012 GOP candidates.

EMILY's List, known for backing Democratic women who support abortion rights, ranked Republican presidential hopefuls in its first U.S. presidential scorecard on issues of concern to the organization's membership, Roll Call reported Wednesday.

The worst-to-best rankings for the rest of the GOP field were U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

EMILY's List -- an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast" because it raises dough -- judged the Republicans' positions on Democratic-supported measures, evaluated candidates' stances on unemployment benefits and the minimum wage, and ranked their support for House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's proposal to overhaul Medicare, among other issues, Roll Call said.

"On each issue, candidates were given strikes for their rhetoric, actions and consistency," the organization said on its Web site. "Women voters are key to any candidate hoping to win in November 2012, and we want to make sure that voters know the truth about the Republican candidates. We encourage voters to learn more about the candidates' records and to explore how their views would impact their home states."