Paul Ryan's ideological twin? Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann and Paul Ryan, separated at ideological birth? To  understand the extreme nature of Paul Ryan's ideology, Nate Silver went to the DW Nominate rankings. Guess who Ryan is most like? Yep, Michele Bachmann:

Various statistical measures of Mr. Ryan peg him as being quite conservative. Based on his Congressional voting record, for instance, the statistical system DW-Nominate evaluates him as being roughly as conservative as Representative Michele Bachmann, the controversial congresswoman of Minnesota.

By this measure, in fact, which rates members of the House and Senate throughout different time periods on a common ideology scale, Mr. Ryan is the most conservative Republican member of Congress to be picked for the vice-presidential slot since at least 1900. He is also more conservative than any Democratic nominee was liberal, meaning that he is the furthest from the center.

So Ryan is Michele Bachmann with an Eddie Munster mask. Now that makes for a scary Halloween.