Group targets Minnesota U.S. Reps. Kline, Paulsen

A Washington, D.C.-based group is launching a campaign that seeks to link Republican U.S. Reps. Erik Paulsen and John Kline to the Tea Party.

Americans United for Change is trying to tie 47 swing-district Republicans around the nation to the conservative movement with "Tea Stained," a legislative scorecard that ranks lawmakers by votes the group sees as aligned with Tea Party values.

The analysis includes 48 U.S. House votes, including votes to defund the Affordable Care Act and those taken during the government shutdown to fund some parts but not all of the government.

The group claims that Paulsen voted with the Tea Party 83 percent of the time in 2013 while Kline came in at 79 percent — and that their voting tendencies don't differ much from Rep. Michele Bachmann, founder of the congressional Tea Party caucus.

The label may not stick for Kline and Paulsen. Neither is officially affiliated with the Tea Party movement.

The scorecard is "highly unreliable at best," said Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey. "Clearly, it's just a campaign tactic. If their point is that John Kline and Erik Paulsen voted pretty consistently against Obamacare, that's not a bad thing."

Kline and Paulsen did not respond to requests for comment.

@C_C_Mitchell