Look at this liberal/conservative rank of the 108th Senate. I was really shocked that they ranked Mclame as the 4th most conservative senator!
P.S. Despite these results the Republicans should trade Chaffee for Nelson.
Very interesting. In general what one would expect, but there are some surprises in the list.
How Optimal Classification Works in Two or More Dimensions (Under Construction)
There were 670 roll calls cast in the 108
th Senate as of 11 October 2004 of which 551 roll calls had at least 0.5% or better in the minority and were used in the scaling. The rank ordering is based upon these 551 roll calls. Note that tied ranks are allowed.
The overall correct classification is 94.2% with an aggregate proportional reduction in error of (APRE) .840. In the ordering below, the number just to the right of the Senator's name is the classification error and the number to the right of that is the total number of roll calls cast by the Senator. For example, placing Senator Boxer at rank 1.0 only resulted in 20 classification errors out of a total of 531 votes cast. The proportion correct is 511/531 = .962 (which is shown just to the left of the rank).
The two parties are almost perfectly separated in the liberal-conservative ordering. Senator Miller of Georgia is in the midst of the Moderate Republicans at the rank of 59.5.
108 15011 71 CALIFOR D BOXER 20 531 0.962 1.000
108 10808 3 MASSACH D KENNEDY, ED 20 525 0.962 2.000
108 14914 12 NEW JER D LAUTENBERG 26 543 0.952 3.000
108 29142 5 RHODE I D REED 24 546 0.956 4.000
108 40104 12 NEW JER D CORZINE 26 540 0.952 5.000
108 11204 48 SOUTH C D HOLLINGS 65 514 0.874 6.000
108 15503 43 FLORIDA D GRAHAM, BOB 29 431 0.933 7.000
108 13039 52 MARYLAN D SARBANES 11 538 0.980 9.500
108 94240 6 VERMONT I JEFFORDS 68 540 0.874 9.500
108 14230 31 IOWA D HARKIN 26 530 0.951 9.500
108 1366 56 WEST VI D BYRD, ROBER 51 534 0.904 9.500
108 14307 6 VERMONT D LEAHY 32 542 0.941 12.000
108 14213 1 CONNECT D DODD 25 542 0.954 13.000
108 14400 82 HAWAII D AKAKA 31 520 0.940 14.500
108 14709 23 MICHIGA D LEVIN, CARL 20 551 0.964 14.500
108 15021 21 ILLINOI D DURBIN 22 548 0.960 16.000
108 4812 82 HAWAII D INOUYE 39 499 0.922 17.500
108 49309 25 WISCONS D FEINGOLD 52 551 0.906 17.500
108 14922 56 WEST VI D ROCKEFELLER 39 548 0.929 19.000
108 49902 47 NORTH C D EDWARDS 10 309 0.968 20.000
108 14920 3 MASSACH D KERRY, JOHN 2 163 0.988 21.500
108 40105 13 NEW YOR D CLINTON 25 536 0.953 21.500
108 14440 52 MARYLAN D MIKULSKI 14 543 0.974 23.000
108 40101 33 MINNESO D DAYTON 41 539 0.924 24.000
108 49308 73 WASHING D MURRAY 26 545 0.952 26.000
108 29732 23 MICHIGA D STABENOW 20 551 0.964 26.000
108 39310 73 WASHING D CANTWELL 33 549 0.940 26.000
108 14871 72 OREGON D WYDEN 38 549 0.931 28.000
108 49300 71 CALIFOR D FEINSTEIN 44 542 0.919 29.000
108 15703 25 WISCONS D KOHL 32 544 0.941 30.500
108 14651 43 FLORIDA D NELSON, CLA 45 543 0.917 30.500
108 14858 13 NEW YOR D SCHUMER 34 550 0.938 33.000
108 15704 1 CONNECT D LIEBERMAN 28 345 0.919 33.000
108 14101 11 DELAWAR D BIDEN 44 522 0.916 33.000
108 14912 66 NEW MEX D BINGAMAN 46 544 0.915 35.000
108 15054 65 NEVADA D REID 30 532 0.944 36.000
108 14617 37 SOUTH D D DASCHLE 24 549 0.956 37.000
108 15425 37 SOUTH D D JOHNSON 25 514 0.951 38.000
108 14812 36 NORTH D D DORGAN 23 547 0.958 39.000
108 15502 36 NORTH D D CONRAD 45 547 0.918 40.000
108 40100 11 DELAWAR D CARPER 61 541 0.887 41.000
108 49901 22 INDIANA D BAYH 59 544 0.892 42.000
108 0 42 ARKANSA D PRYOR 34 549 0.938 43.000
108 29305 42 ARKANSA D LINCOLN 24 548 0.956 44.000
108 49702 45 LOUISIA D LANDRIEU 33 542 0.939 45.000
108 14203 64 MONTANA D BAUCUS 53 541 0.902 46.000
108 13056 45 LOUISIA D BREAUX 53 541 0.902 47.000
108 40103 35 NEBRASK D NELSON, BEN 38 534 0.929 48.000
108 49905 5 RHODE I R CHAFEE 89 546 0.837 49.000
108 14661 2 MAINE R SNOWE 58 551 0.895 50.000
108 49703 2 MAINE R COLLINS 50 551 0.909 51.000
108 14910 14 PENNSYL R SPECTER 59 532 0.889 52.000
108 49903 24 OHIO R VOINOVICH 40 540 0.926 53.000
108 15020 24 OHIO R DEWINE 33 551 0.940 54.000
108 49705 72 OREGON R SMITH, GORD 28 528 0.947 55.000
108 0 33 MINNESO R COLEMAN 23 548 0.958 56.000
108 14506 22 INDIANA R LUGAR 22 544 0.960 57.000
108 14712 40 VIRGINI R WARNER 34 547 0.938 58.000
108 14852 32 KANSAS R ROBERTS 18 549 0.967 59.500
108 49904 44 GEORGIA D MILLER 24 463 0.948 59.500
108 29523 32 KANSAS R BROWNBACK 23 537 0.957 61.500
108 95407 62 COLORAD R CAMPBELL 38 498 0.924 61.500
108 0 81 ALASKA R MURKOWSKI 31 527 0.941 63.500
108 49307 67 UTAH R BENNETT 16 538 0.970 63.500
108 49306 49 TEXAS R HUTCHISON, 48 545 0.912 65.000
108 49704 35 NEBRASK R HAGEL 29 533 0.946 66.500
108 29512 44 GEORGIA R CHAMBLISS 20 533 0.962 66.500
108 0 34 MISSOUR R TALENT 20 548 0.964 68.000
108 49900 21 ILLINOI R FITZGERALD 43 543 0.921 69.000
108 14226 31 IOWA R GRASSLEY 15 551 0.973 70.500
108 0 47 NORTH C R DOLE 25 546 0.954 70.500
108 14009 46 MISSISS R COCHRAN 13 551 0.976 72.000
108 12109 81 ALASKA R STEVENS 22 549 0.960 73.500
108 94659 41 ALABAMA R SHELBY 29 542 0.946 73.500
108 49502 54 TENNESS R FRIST 14 551 0.975 76.000
108 15501 34 MISSOUR R BOND 20 547 0.963 76.000
108 14103 66 NEW MEX R DOMENICI 18 503 0.964 76.000
108 14921 51 KENTUCK R MCCONNELL 9 539 0.983 78.000
108 29148 40 VIRGINI R ALLEN 25 550 0.955 79.000
108 0 54 TENNESS R ALEXANDER 23 543 0.958 80.000
108 14503 67 UTAH R HATCH 18 550 0.967 81.000
108 15406 51 KENTUCK R BUNNING 10 536 0.981 82.000
108 15701 64 MONTANA R BURNS 19 544 0.965 83.000
108 14031 46 MISSISS R LOTT 24 534 0.955 84.000
108 29345 63 IDAHO R CRAPO 16 543 0.971 85.500
108 14809 63 IDAHO R CRAIG 17 544 0.969 85.500
108 15424 53 OKLAHOM R INHOFE 16 536 0.970 87.000
108 0 49 TEXAS R CORNYN 15 544 0.972 88.000
108 15633 68 WYOMING R THOMAS 23 544 0.958 89.000
108 49706 68 WYOMING R ENZI 25 549 0.954 90.000
108 14826 4 NEW HAM R GREGG 53 543 0.902 91.000
108 29566 48 SOUTH C R GRAHAM 34 542 0.937 92.000
108 29740 4 NEW HAM R SUNUNU 31 527 0.941 93.500
108 29141 14 PENNSYL R SANTORUM 24 543 0.956 93.500
108 29108 62 COLORAD R ALLARD 18 549 0.967 95.000
108 29537 65 NEVADA R ENSIGN 39 538 0.928 96.500
108 15039 61 ARIZONA R MCCAIN 88 540 0.837 96.500
108 49700 41 ALABAMA R SESSIONS 20 544 0.963 98.000
108 14908 53 OKLAHOM R NICKLES, DO 10 548 0.982 99.000
108 15429 61 ARIZONA R KYL 21 545 0.961 100.000
McLAME voted with the demonrats on ANWAR. He's turned into a RINO, and I really think it's odd that he's so involved in CFR when he was part of the Keating 7 that influenced regulators into going easy on Keating. It ended up costing the taxpayers billions. In a related story, you may find this interesting:
BUYING 'REFORM' (Campaign Finance Reform Scam)
New York Post ^ | March 17,2004 | Ryan Sager
Posted on 03/17/2005 5:35:21 AM PST by oldtimer2
CAMPAIGN-FINANCE reform has been an immense scam perpetrated on the American people by a cadre of left-wing foundations and disguised as a "mass movement."
But don't take my word for it. One of the chief scammers, Sean Treglia, a former program officer of the Pew Charitable Trusts, confesses it all in an astonishing videotape I obtained earlier this week. This is an amazing story. I combined part of Ryan Sager's editorial and the transcript of the tape.
The tape — of a conference held at USC's Annenberg School for Communication in March of 2004 — shows Treglia expounding to a gathering of academics, experts and journalists (none of whom, apparently, ever wrote about Treglia's remarks) on just how Pew and other left-wing foundations plotted to create a fake grassroots movement to hoodwink Congress.
"I'm going to tell you a story that I've never told any reporter," Treglia says on the tape. "Now that I'm several months away from Pew and we have campaign-finance reform, I can tell this story."
That story in brief: Charged with promoting campaign-finance reform when he joined Pew in the mid-1990s, Treglia came up with a three-pronged strategy: 1) pursue an expansive agenda through incremental reforms, 2) pay for a handful of "experts" all over the country with foundation money and 3) create fake business, minority and religious groups to pound the table for reform.
"The target audience for all this activity was 535 people in Washington," Treglia says — 100 in the Senate, 435 in the House. "The idea was to create an impression that a mass movement was afoot — that everywhere they looked, in academic institutions, in the business community, in religious groups, in ethnic groups, everywhere, people were talking about reform."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
And also this little beauty:
He also wrote this which is connected:
Free Speech For Me But Not For Thee
By Ryan Sager Published 03/11/2005
In September of 2000, less than two years before the passage of McCain-Feingold, the liberal magazine The American Prospect put out a special issue devoted to campaign-finance reform. It was called, "Checkbook Democracy." And it was bought and paid for with a $132,000 check from the liberal Carnegie Corporation of New York, which has spent millions of dollars promoting laws to restrict political speech -- a fact the magazine never disclosed to its readers.
Welcome behind the curtains of the campaign-finance reform movement, where ideologues plot to restrict the speech of their fellow citizens while reserving a special free-speech zone for themselves.
Sounds paranoid? A little over the top?
Consider a report just out from the folks over at Political Money Line, "Campaign Finance Reform Lobby: 1994 to 2004." Ignored by the media to date, it details how the supposedly grass-roots campaign-finance reform movement has been funded over the last decade to the tune of $140 million. Of that $140 million, the vast majority ($123 million) came not from retirees scraping together their last nickels for the cause of democracy, nor from schoolchildren collecting deposits on cans plucked from dilapidated playgrounds.
No, the money came from just eight ultra-liberal foundations (including the Ford Foundation and George Soros' Open Society Institute), the same folks who fund: the Earth Action Network, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, the Naderite Public Citizen Foundation and the Feminist Majority Foundation.
That's quite a lot of money sloshing around a movement dedicated to "getting the money out of politics." Of course, the only place these people really want to keep the money out of is their conservative opponents' campaign war chests and the war chests of the independent groups that support them. To the reformers, reform is not an end, it is a means to their pre-existing liberal goals.
As Congress takes up legislation to close the 527 "loophole" that allowed so much pesky speech into the 2004 campaign, and as the FEC is forced by court order to look at ways to cleanse the Internet of insufficiently regulated political speech, it's worth understanding just how the campaign-finance reform lobby operates.
First, let's return to that bought-and-paid-for issue of the Prospect. On Wednesday, the magazine's founder and co-editor, Robert Kuttner, explained that this was one of its first ever "foundation-sponsored" special issues. Since then, he said, the magazine has been careful to disclose any financial contributions to coverage of specific topics right up front. "You probably found the one," he said.
Fair enough. But it's not really the magazine's actions here that should draw the public's attention. It is the campaign of media manipulation that has been quietly undertaken by the reform lobby.
Payments to the media found by Political Money Line include: the $132,000 to the Prospect, $69,000 to Public Radio International, $935,000 to the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation and more than $1.2 million to National Public Radio for items such as, in the words of the official disclosure statements, "news coverage of financial influence in political decision making."
No wonder McCain-Feingold contained a "media exemption." The media -- on top of having their voices amplified when private citizens, labor unions and corporations are barred from speaking -- are relatively easy to write some checks to. (Millions of bloggers, on the other hand, might be a little harder to corral -- hence the calls for a crackdown.)
But it's not just direct payments to the media that are the problem. It's the climate of sanctimony that the McCainiacs have created. All of the major reform groups -- Common Cause, the Alliance for Better Campaigns, the Campaign Finance Institute, the Center for Public Integrity, the Center for Responsive Politics, Democracy 21 and the William J. Brennan Jr. Center for Justice -- are funded by the same eight liberal foundations, and have received millions upon millions of dollars each.
Yet, by maintaining the fiction of independence from one and other, they appear to much of the press to be a pack of scrappy underdogs sinking their teeth into the ankles of the big-money men.
Well, it's a sham. It's a charade. It's a lie. They are the big-money men. And, with the release of the Political Money Line report, it's time the media started treating them as such. The billionaires and liberal foundations constantly calling for more restrictions on the freedom of ordinary Americans to assemble and speak are not a movement -- they are a lobby.
And the first lobbyist who should be called out is none other than the Reformer-in-Chief, Sen. John McCain. The senator has been caught with his pants down this week, accepting what are essentially campaign contributions to a phony think tank called the Reform Institute.
The Institute, according to its Web site, is technically a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, "representing a thoughtful, moderate voice for reform in the campaign finance and election administration debates."
In reality, however, the organization might better be dubbed McCain 2008 headquarters. The head of the Institute's advisory committee is none other than McCain, and his name appears in every other press release. What's more, the manager of McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, Rick Davis, is president of the institute and draws a $110,000 a year "consulting fee" -- at least until the official campaign gets underway.
Major donors who wish to flatter the senator's vanity and give a boost to his presidential ambitions can write checks to the Institute in amounts that would be illegal many times over (under McCain-Feingold) if the checks went to the actual McCain campaign.
One such donor is Cablevision, which gave the Institute $100,000 right after its CEO, Charles Dolan, testified before McCain's Senate Commerce Committee in 2003. Another $100,000 check from Cablevision came into the Institute in August of 2004, 12 days before McCain wrote to Dolan about a pending pricing issue, urging him to "feel free to contact me and discuss these issues further."
McCain, of course -- ever the scrappy underdog fighting for the little guy against the moneyed interests -- argues that the donations and the political help to Cablevision have nothing to do with one and other. In fact, he argues, no donation to the Reform Institute could possibly curry favor with him. (Cablevision must really just love clean government!) "There's not a conflict of interest when you're involved in an organization that is non-partisan, nonprofit, nonpolitical," he said.
Well, McCain can tell that to the NRA, the ACLU, the AFL-CIO and the rest of the non-partisan groups that sued to overturn his law.
In the meantime, he should be convicted in the court of public opinion based solely on the "appearance of corruption" -- after all, that's the standard by which he judges the public's right to speak.
Given these shenanigans, will Congress really listen now that he's calling again for further restrictions? Well, he certainly knows where they live: "Some billionaire decides he or she doesn't like you in office, and they decide to form a 527 and contribute $10 million or $20 million and dive-bomb into your state or district," McCain said last month. "That should alarm every federally elected member of Congress."
Elected officials deciding who can and cannot criticize them -- that should alarm every citizen of the United States. Now, if only someone would pay The American Prospect to spread the word.
Ryan Sager is a member of the editorial board of The New York Post. He also edits the blog Miscellaneous Objections and can be reached at editor@rhsager.com.