Who's the most "Liberal?"
Much has been said by the media and by Republican talking heads recently regarding the most liberal members of the Senate. As I'm sure you've heard John Kerry is number one and John Edwards is number four. What the media declines to tell you is that statistic is a snap shot of one year in the Senate, a year in which Kerry and Edwards were heavily involved in a democratic primary and missed close to half of the votes. Using this same National Journal scale lets take a look at how these two men were rated over the past five years.
2003: Kerry - 1st (96.5) Edwards - 4th (94.5)
2002: Kerry - 9th (87.3) Edwards - 31st (63.0) Edwards made the centrist list.
2001: Kerry - 11th (87.7) Edwards - 35th (68.2) Edwards almost tied with Lieberman.
2000: Kerry - 20th (77) Edwards - 19th (80.8) Rankings past 20 are not available nor are composite scores for all Senators, so Kerry is 21st or higher.
1999: Kerry - 16th (80.8) Edwards - 31st (72.2)
Average: Kerry - 12th (85.9) Edwards - 24th (75.7)
Paints a bit of a different picture don't you think!!!!!!!!!!
It truly amazes me how inept our "Liberal Media" can really be. Is it too much to ask that someone put the National Journal numbers in some sort of context. Apparently so.
posted by ian @ 3:42 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Democrats run from the "liberal" label faster than Big Al does from a bar to get to the Pizza line.
And they're both truly quite funny.
Just last week, John Kerry claimed to represent "conservative values."
This really made me laugh. Liberals seem to be afraid to admit what they are because most of America does not embrace liberal values.
I'm just glad that we'll never see George W. Bush travel to a coffee shop in San Francisco and start telling the young folks there what a liberal streak he's got in him.
-BB
It’s truly unfortunate that conservatives have smeared the term “liberal” so effectively that many Americans view it as radical or out of touch. The terms “bleeding heart liberals,” “tax-and-spend liberals” and “big government liberals,” have been drilled into the American psyche. I’ve got to give Republicans credit, when they are told their talking points, they stay on message!!!!! I was in no way supporting this ludicrous sentiment, simply stating that the latest attacks on Kerry and Edwards are misleading to say the least and that both are actually much more moderate that their puported one year record. I would freely and openly consider myslef an unabashed liberal. But Bill, I would expect just a little more common knowledge about Presidential elections from you. Every presidential candidate for better or for worse, drifts to the center after they have sealed their parties nomination. Your Man G Dubs did it plenty, Clinton did it, Bush Senior did it, Carter tried to do it, and yes even good ol Ronny Reagan did it. But I guess its funny when John Kerry does it??? Yeah….anyway.
On to your next incredibly condescending comment about how everyone know’s America doesn’t support “Liberal Values”. Liberals are sinful creatures, they like free love, legalized drugs, and huggin trees man!!! Your completely unfounded generalization is a true tesatment the success of the Republican smear campaign.
Just a cursory glance at some recent poll numbers rebuke your insane statement.
Accodring to NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, 71 % of Americans support increased stem cell research. Republicans oppose it. Democrats favor it.
According to the latest CBS NEWS POLL only 25% of Americans think abortion should be banned. Most Republicans hold this minority view. Most Democrats do not.
The most recent GALLOP POLL taken shows that 57 % of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time. Even though, all three branches of Government are controlled by Republicans!!!
From the latest, University of Pennsylvania National Annenberg Election Survey, 43% of American’s support an amendment to ban gay marriage, while 48% oppose an amendment. President Bush of course supports a ban on gay marriage. Democrats do not support a ban.
Your blanket statement regarding American’s not embracing liberal values couldn’t be further from the truth. I wish I had time to list more!!! American’s welcome liberal values, they just reject the label.
That must be why John Kerry claims to represent CONSERVATIVE values!!
He knows that Americans reject the liberal LABEL!!!
bb
You already said that.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
More on the all important polls you keep listing...
On abortion, you say that only 25% of Americans think abortion should be banned and that may be true considering that most people accept it for cases of rape and incest, but here are some more numbers:
May 2004 Gallup poll:
Abortion is:
Morally acceptable 40%
Morally wrong 50
And from a June 2004 LA Times poll:
86% of Americans think abortion should not be legal under any circumstance (such as partial birth abortion)
Of course Kerry/Edwards voted AGAINST a ban on this procedure.
As for stem cells, this is an extremely complicated moral issue that would take up an enitre college course on ethics. Needless to say there are many Republicans, such as Orrin Hatch and Nancy Reagan who favor it. Much of it depends on the circumstances, such as whether the embryo is harvested for the purpose of destroying it for medical use. I don't necessarily trust a pollster to get the nuances here down right.
Gay marriage is also more complicated, especially when you consider the question of a constitutional amendment, which some conservatives oppose.
Here are Gallups' May 2004 numbers on the issue, slightly different from the ones that you presented:
Do you think marriages between homosexuals should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?
Trend when gay marriage question was asked before
civil unions question:
Should be valid 42%
Should not be valid 55
No opinion 3
Trend when gay marriage question was asked
following civil unions question:
Should be valid 35%
Should not be valid 62
No opinion 3
Would you favor or oppose a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman, thus barring marriages between gay or lesbian couples?
Favor 51%
Oppose 45
No opinion 4
The point is polls are polls. They are fickle and easily manipulated for political purposes. Just take the LA Times poll a few weeks back that was skewed by heavily polling Democrats.
But to say that there is a Republican smear campaign against liberals while not mentioning the terms "right wing conspiracy" and "right wing extremist" is absurd.
Read a transcript of the Dems fundraiser last week featuring the hilarious, classy jokes by Whoppi Goldberg, Meryl Streep and company. Tell me that's not a smear campaign aginst conservatives values.
I don't think that ALL Americans embrace conservative values and disavow all those of liberals.
Incidentally, working in politics, I am aware of the fact that Presidential candidates move to the center after the primaries. This was not my point.
What I find very telling is the fact that your candidate for President claims to represent the very same values that define the Republican party. This says more to me than any poll ever will.
-BB
Don't bother Ian.
He's a gay aborted baby.
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