Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007

Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007
By Brian Friel, Richard E. Cohen and Kirk Victor, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was the most liberal senator in 2007, according to National Journal's 27th annual vote ratings. The insurgent presidential candidate shifted further to the left last year in the run-up to the primaries, after ranking as the 16th- and 10th-most-liberal during his first two years in the Senate.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., the other front-runner in the Democratic presidential race, also shifted to the left last year. She ranked as the 16th-most-liberal senator in the 2007 ratings, a computer-assisted analysis that used 99 key Senate votes, selected by NJ reporters and editors, to place every senator on a liberal-to-conservative scale in each of three issue categories. In 2006, Clinton was the 32nd-most-liberal senator.

(snip)



As the battles for the 2008 Democratic and Republican presidential nominations have raged, the candidates have blasted each other for taking positions that are out of line with party dogma. Obama has repeatedly challenged Clinton's 2002 vote authorizing the Iraq war, labeling her foreign policy "Bush/Cheney-lite"; Clinton has pointed to Obama's "present" votes on the abortion issue in the Illinois Legislature to raise questions about his support for abortion rights. Meanwhile, Republicans have battled over the strength of their conservative credentials on taxes, immigration, and national security.

(snip)

At a January 16 Republican National Committee meeting, Karl Rove, President Bush's former campaign architect, called Obama "a straight-down-the-line United States Senate national Democrat." Rove pointedly added: "Nonpartisan ratings say that he has a more liberal and a more straight-party voting record than Senator Clinton does. Pretty hard to do." How the eventual nominee handles criticisms of his or her voting record could help determine the next president of the United States.

(snip)

The ratings system -- devised in 1981 under the direction of William Schneider, a political analyst and commentator, and a contributing editor to National Journal -- also assigns "composite" scores, an average of the members' issue-based scores. In 2007, Obama's composite liberal score of 95.5 was the highest in the Senate. Rounding out the top five most liberal senators last year were Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., with a composite liberal score of 94.3; Joseph Biden, D-Del., with a 94.2; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with a 93.7; and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., with a 92.8.

(snip)

http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/voteratings

why Obama wins in landslides in liberal states like Oregon and it's the opposite for Clinton in conservative states like WV.

why progressives and progressive sites like DU are overwhelmingly for Obama.

this primary has been an eye-opener for all. We see who the Democratic Party is made up of and who voters want representing our party. The more coprorate aligned, conservative candidate gets rejected.... after seeing Bush and the GOP in power for so long, I think America is sick of conservative politics and economics.

but i'd vote for noam chomsky, so... yeah...

The RW pundits cite this every chance they get.

Folks, it is not a coincidence. That Joe Biden comes in before Bernie Sanders tell us a lot about how selective the National Journal is in deciding what is a "liberal" vote.

This rating is done for Republicans to use against Democrats. It has worked for them because the media gives it validity. CNN's Bill Schneider, American Enterprise Institute fellow, is the one who originated these ratings for members of Congress. Figures!

candidate happens to be in any given year--Kerry won the "honors" in 2004. Neither man is the most liberal.

Every time we have a democratic nominee for president, they are labeled the "most Liberal".
Only reason for this is to scare republicans.

to be ones that put that year's Democratic Presidential nominee as their #1?

;)

Liberal isn't as dirty a word as "neo-con" is now! Eat it biatches!

Exactly! :D

Why am I not surprised Obama is this year?

And so the ones that he casted are weighted more. They did the same thing with Kerry in 2003. Biden is the same way.

In terms of positions on issues, Bernie Sanders is probably the most liberal senator.

Can anyone tell me the last time a liberal was elected president?

Its the same old crap

Funny how "liberal" is still a dirty word.

I understand why his being viewed as such would turn some people off, like CONs with their heads up their butts though.

when it suited their purposes.

People who post stuff from right-wing rags should be tombstoned.

"People who post stuff from right-wing rags should be tombstoned."

Nance Greggs be tombstoned and one calling her a troll. You are in good company my friend...

And the other day I was told that re-posting anything bad about Obama is just "spreading the virus" after I reposted an e-mail that claimed Obama is actually a Muslim spy from Kenya. So I stopped coming in for a few days. Getting tired of taking shit from both sides.

:hi:

There is a lot we can glean from this source and the 'analysis' it provides - this, after all, is not just a link to a freeptard thread, or a Malkin opinion piece. I wish the above poster would take the time to look a little deeper.

Dammit! :D

:hi:

in 2003, the year of the Iraq War Resolution, Hillary was the 8th 'most liberal' senator. And she voted for it.

Crazy rankings.

people get ranked pretty high ;)

I wonder what their criteria for this was? Who is running for President?

since they put Kerry as their most liberal senator in 2004 - surprise, just when he was running for president. Here's the critique of that point of view from a site called Fact Check:

http://www.factcheck.org/how_liberal_is_john_kerry.html

Here's one brief piece from Time that talks about the Obama ranking on a couple of key votes:

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/02/what_the_national_journal_libe.html

Here's a link to another sites that gives more scorecard ratings for Obama as calculated by key liberal organizations:

http://people.howstuffworks.com/barack-obama3.htm

I'm not sure what the poster's incentive was for starting up this conversation again, since the NJ ratings have been out for a few months, but it's probably necessary for the Obama campaign to have a strategy to discuss this going into the GE.

:thumbsup:

middle-class background, black, honest & straightforward, smart, successful, with a vision of America moving forward with other like-minded nations to make the world a better place to live for everyone.

Gobama! :hi:

Just blows my mind.


Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.

Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.
Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.
Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.
Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.

Archaic Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
Obsolete Morally unrestrained; licentious.

maybe we liberals are getting something in exchange? :D

Voting out the more conservative nominees. And what I loved the most is how hate radio was in a frenzy trying to keep McCain from being the nominee and it didnt work. Hate radio doesnt even have influence over their base any more.. Haha...
Conservatism is dying.

"Conservative" becomes a dirty word. And I look forward to seeing that day. :evilgrin:

Not that being liberal is a bad thing, but I don't believe for one second that Obama is more liberal than Bernie Sanders, a self-avowed socialist. Nor do I believe that Obama is more liberal than Feingold or Kennedy. It's bullshit.

Doesn't surprise me that the Wingnuts are pushing this meme, but it is quite disturbing that The Enablers buy it hook, line and sinker. Their hatred for Obama is far greater than their support for what is best for the Democratic party and, more important, the country. Their candidate didn't win , so they co-opt Right Wing talking points because they cannot accept that fact.

Did you see them today? Hell, they are improvising their own RW talking points, 'Johnny on the spot'.

Every election year, the Republicans site some bullshit study that lists the Dem frontrunner as "most liberal". (Oooooo! Scary liberal!)

Likewise, there are always liberal sources who declare the Democratic frontrunner as "least liberal".

Frankly, they're both full of shit. I can manipulate some numbers and declare myself King of Trinidad, if I'm so inclined.

signed,

Blue-Jay
King of Trinidad (screw those Tobago assholes)

I'm going to let it go this time.

for single payer universal health coverage....

:hi:

Unfortunately. So if he does it will be a most welcome surprise.

And then whether he is able to accomplish anything in that direction....

the new dirty word is "conservative." Whenever the Right rages about "liberals" this year, it gains the liberals more votes. Conservatives have no credibility, and its their own damned fault.

Durbin noses him out.

was saddled with it!

some Senator Milquetoast that voted for the IWR is not more electable nor more desirable on policy in general.

NOOO

He'll spend all out money, and tax and spend... NOOOOooo

wait isnt Bush the most liberal?

I just don't see Obama as the most liberal senator. This has the ear-marks of right wing attack machine all over it. It was used against Kerry (successfully) to chase moderate and independent voters away from him by making him out to be this out-of-touch Massachusetts super-liberal.

When it was actually news.

in·for·ma·tion (in-fer-mey-shuhn)
–noun

1. knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance; news: information concerning a crime.
2. knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction, etc.; factual data: His wealth of general information is amazing.
3. the act or fact of informing.

—Synonyms 1. data, facts, intelligence, advice. 2. Information, knowledge, wisdom are terms for human acquirements through reading, study, and practical experience. Information applies to facts told, read, or communicated that may be unorganized and even unrelated: to pick up useful information. Knowledge is an organized body of information, or the comprehension and understanding consequent on having acquired and organized a body of facts: a knowledge of chemistry. Wisdom is a knowledge of people, life, and conduct, with the facts so thoroughly assimilated as to have produced sagacity, judgment, and insight: to use wisdom in handling people.

It is OLD NEWS. And your post is simple siht srtrinig.

Knock it off.

:rofl:

Does this thread bother you that much? :D

"knock it off!" :D