Kerry is 11th most liberal Senator!

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

National Journal has apparently done what I hoped they would do and compiled the composite "liberal" scores for current senators over their Senate careers.  

Kerry's missed votes in 2003 must have really skewed the results for this year, because he is only the 11th most liberal Senator by this methodology.  Others of note:

Mark Dayton (MN) is 1st
Ted Kennedy is 5th
Hillary Clinton is 13th

[opebo]

The differences here are slight - the frying pan or the fire.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

The differences here are slight - the frying pan or the fire.

I agree Kerry is a liberal, and should be proud of it.  But he's not an extremist as the "BIGGEST LIBERAL IN THE SENATE" claim implies.  That makes it sound like he's frequently on the minority side of 97-2 votes or something, which he is not...he's a mainstream Democrat.

On the other hand, Dick Cheney was frequently on the wrong side of VERY lopsided votes during his congressional stint in the 80's.  He voted against fighting aparteid in South Africa and against certain gun safety measures, votes on which he disagreed with about 99% of his colleagues.

[opebo]

The differences here are slight - the frying pan or the fire.

I agree Kerry is a liberal, and should be proud of it.  But he's not an extremist as the "BIGGEST LIBERAL IN THE SENATE" claim implies.  That makes it sound like he's frequently on the minority side of 97-2 votes or something, which he is not...he's a mainstream Democrat.

On the other hand, Dick Cheney was frequently on the wrong side of VERY lopsided votes during his congressional stint in the 80's.  He voted against fighting aparteid in South Africa and against certain gun safety measures, votes on which he disagreed with about 99% of his colleagues.

Yeah, Cheney is COOL.

[Gustaf]

The differences here are slight - the frying pan or the fire.

I agree Kerry is a liberal, and should be proud of it.  But he's not an extremist as the "BIGGEST LIBERAL IN THE SENATE" claim implies.  That makes it sound like he's frequently on the minority side of 97-2 votes or something, which he is not...he's a mainstream Democrat.

On the other hand, Dick Cheney was frequently on the wrong side of VERY lopsided votes during his congressional stint in the 80's.  He voted against fighting aparteid in South Africa and against certain gun safety measures, votes on which he disagreed with about 99% of his colleagues.

Yeah, Cheney is COOL.

What's wrong with fighting apartheid? Just the fact that the blacks were poor? Or was there some methodology problem?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

National Journal has apparently done what I hoped they would do and compiled the composite "liberal" scores for current senators over their Senate careers.  

Kerry's missed votes in 2003 must have really skewed the results for this year, because he is only the 11th most liberal Senator by this methodology.  Others of note:

Mark Dayton (MN) is 1st
Ted Kennedy is 5th
Hillary Clinton is 13th

Could we have a complete list posted here pleeeeeeaaaase?

[dunn]

National Journal has apparently done what I hoped they would do and compiled the composite "liberal" scores for current senators over their Senate careers.  

Kerry's missed votes in 2003 must have really skewed the results for this year, because he is only the 11th most liberal Senator by this methodology.  Others of note:

Mark Dayton (MN) is 1st
Ted Kennedy is 5th
Hillary Clinton is 13th

Could we have a complete list posted here pleeeeeeaaaase?

yeah, please?

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

National Journal has apparently done what I hoped they would do and compiled the composite "liberal" scores for current senators over their Senate careers.  

Kerry's missed votes in 2003 must have really skewed the results for this year, because he is only the 11th most liberal Senator by this methodology.  Others of note:

Mark Dayton (MN) is 1st
Ted Kennedy is 5th
Hillary Clinton is 13th

Could we have a complete list posted here pleeeeeeaaaase?

yeah, please?

I could only find the Top 15 most liberal.  I'm not sure if they did the calculations for most conservative.

The first number is year elected.  The second is Average Liberal Score over career:

Mark Dayton, D-Minn.     2000     90.3
Paul Sarbanes, D-Md.    1976    89.4
Jack Reed, D-R.I.    1996    89.3
Jon Corzine, D-N.J.    2000    88.8
Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.    1962    88.6
Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.    1992    88.5
Tom Harkin, D-Iowa    1984    87.6
Richard Durbin, D-Ill.    1996    87.3
Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.    1982    86.2
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.    1974    86.0
John Kerry, D-Mass.    1984    85.7
Carl Levin, D-Mich.    1978    85.5
Hillary  Clinton, D-N.Y.    2000    83.9
Patty Murray, D-Wash.    1992    83.8
Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. 2000    83.8

[angus]

Go Barbara!

[12th Doctor]

The differences here are slight - the frying pan or the fire.

I agree Kerry is a liberal, and should be proud of it.  But he's not an extremist as the "BIGGEST LIBERAL IN THE SENATE" claim implies.  That makes it sound like he's frequently on the minority side of 97-2 votes or something, which he is not...he's a mainstream Democrat.

On the other hand, Dick Cheney was frequently on the wrong side of VERY lopsided votes during his congressional stint in the 80's.  He voted against fighting aparteid in South Africa and against certain gun safety measures, votes on which he disagreed with about 99% of his colleagues.

So, he was still ranked the most liberal Senator in 1993 and has been second or third on the annual list I believe nine times in his career.

[Huckleberry Finn]

The differences here are slight - the frying pan or the fire.

I agree Kerry is a liberal, and should be proud of it.  But he's not an extremist as the "BIGGEST LIBERAL IN THE SENATE" claim implies.  That makes it sound like he's frequently on the minority side of 97-2 votes or something, which he is not...he's a mainstream Democrat.

On the other hand, Dick Cheney was frequently on the wrong side of VERY lopsided votes during his congressional stint in the 80's.  He voted against fighting aparteid in South Africa and against certain gun safety measures, votes on which he disagreed with about 99% of his colleagues.

Why problem should be that Kerry is too liberal? Why don't you see that Bush is too conservative?

The fact is that republicans would win easier, if some more moderate had their candidate.

[angus]

Bush, a conservative???

Man, this guy spends money faster than Lyndon Johnson.

Surely you jest.

[Kghadial]

Bush, a conservative???

Man, this guy spends money faster than Lyndon Johnson.

Surely you jest.

I think we've reached the point that no one is a fiscal conservative in this country.  The south isn't fiscally conservative, they get like $1.20 back for every dollar they send to washington. Reagan spent like a maniac (defense yes, but Star Wars? that should make conservatives shudder), Bush Sr. raised taxes, King George the Second has increased non defense discretionary spending more than just about anyone could imagine. Its enough to make socialists blush, that they don't spend like that.

Goodness a true fiscal conservative would go out and simply eliminate SS, and Welfare, and Medicare and unemployement. Give the people 95% of those taxes back (use the 5% for the war on terror), that would cause the mother-of-all booms. Give people at the bottom third of the totem pole their payroll taxes back (that's over 10% of their income you know), and bam GDP increases like 15% a year for 5 years. Sure people would die in the streets, but its all for the common good, right

[angus]

Different priorities, I suppose.  I was all for Republicans reaching out to the educators, back when I thought they'd spare a little change for improvement programs.  I have been a vocal advocate of Pell Grants and subsidized lunches for underprivileged students in primary schools.  Some Republicans don't think ketchup is a vegetable.  But we already have an Army and Navy second to none, and we should maintain it, of course, including defense R&D.  But corporate bailouts and profligate war spending is not "promoting the general welfare and securing the blessings of liberty."  No arguments here, boss.  That was exactly my point.

But don't kid yourself, Kerry is a big spender too.  Check out his record.  That vote against funding for Operation Iraqi Freedom?  That's called positioning.  He knew he was running for president and needed to fire off a few key votes to move himself off the number-one spot on the big spenders list.  That's the latent message of the thread.  Gotta read between the lines, sometimes, grasshopper.

[Kghadial]

Different priorities, I suppose.  I was all for Republicans reaching out to the educators, back when I thought they'd spare a little change for improvement programs.  We already have an Army and Navy second to none, and we should maintain it, of course, including defense R&D.  But corporate bailouts and profligate war spending is not "promoting the general welfare and securing the blessings of liberty."  No arguments here, boss.  That was exactly my point.

But don't kid yourself, Kerry is a big spender too.  

Not arguing with you, Dad.  I just felt like saying "its enough to make socialists blush".

Sure Kerry is a big spender too. However, no one will ever let a liberal spend big ever again. The Republican house and senate roll over to let Bush go on a spending spree.

Put Kerry in the White house, and he won't be able to spend much at all because there will be some Frist/Hastert on Kerry deadlock. As I always say: Deadlock = economic boom

[ilikeverin]

Mark Dayton (MN) is 1st

News to me!  We never hear anything about Dayton... ever... really...

[© tweed]

Schumer isn't on the list

[MN-Troy]

Mark Dayton (MN) is 1st

News to me!  We never hear anything about Dayton... ever... really...

Maybe Dayton is trying to  be like Paul Wellstone as being the most liberal senator.

It may be just me, but I will hear more often about Coleman, the other senator, in the papers than Dayton.

[angus]

Shumer is pretty mainstream.  The aclu and the bankers like him about equally.  Wellstone was a firebrand!  I'm sure he's missed.  He was especially willing to take on the Nader people.  From the Left.  I remember him on CNN talking to Cornell West calling him "My brother, don't vote for Nader" and that sort of thing.  I bet he and coleman drove each other batty.

[classical liberal]

Didn't Coleman replace Wellstone?

[zachman]

Yes. Coleman got real lucky, and is going places.

[angus]

yeah, coleman was st paul mayor before that I think.  back in the 90s Mayor Coleman made a major change for job growth, education, and security.  Actually he and wellstone probably worked well together.  Coleman was frustrated that the Democratic party he had been a part of from his youth had assumed the role of defenders of the status quo, he switched to the Republican party because he felt it held the best opportunity to bring about job growth.

[ilikeverin]

yeah, coleman was st paul mayor before that I think.  back in the 90s Mayor Coleman made a major change for job growth, education, and security.  Actually he and wellstone probably worked well together.  Coleman was frustrated that the Democratic party he had been a part of from his youth had assumed the role of defenders of the status quo, he switched to the Republican party because he felt it held the best opportunity to bring about job growth.

Yup, Saint Paul mayor.  Then he abandoned the Dems  Then he ran against Wellstone... Wellstone died... so Mondale ran and lost to him by 1%!

[angus]

Yeah, well in Missouri they fielded a dead guy against John Ashcroft and the dead guy won.  don't really know where I'm going with that though.  Mondale had really baggy eyes.  

[zachman]

Wellstone's son should have run. Mondale is a deadbeat.