Posted on 02/22/2010 4:51:36 PM PST by Impy
I assume that “highest combined score” meant that, in a hypothetical with 6 ratings, he got a 65 ADA, a 75 AFS, a 90 LCV, a 50 ACU, a 35 CFG and an 85 FRC for a total of 400 points. However, what I do is not to add up the liberal scores to the conservative scores, but to add up the conservative equivalent of the liberal scores to the conservative scores. Thus, that same congressman’s conservative scores would be the sum of 35 (100 - 65 ADA), 25 (100 - 75 AFS), 10 (100 - 90 LCV), 50 (ACU), 35 (CFG) and 85 (FRC) for a total of 240 points, which divided by 600 would yield a conservative percentage of 40%. By comparison, a conservative with an ADA score of 5, AFS score of 8, LCV score of 9, ACU score of 96, CFG score of 88 and FRC score of 98 would have 560 total conservative points for a conservative percentage of 93.33%.
Before we blame a 2008 ACU score of 50 on Congressman Mike Rogers’s uncomfortably close reelection in 2008, we first need to establish (i) which Congressman Mike Rogers scored a 5. ACU in 2008 and (ii) which Congressman Mike Rogers was reelected by only 52%-48% or so. There are two GOP Congressmen Mike Rogers, one from central Michigan (in a district that leans Republican but is winnable for Democrats because it includes heavily RAT Lansing and East Lansing, and the other is from east-central Alabama in a district that probably leans Democrat in state races and has a fairly large black population (32%).
OK, I looked it up, and it was the Alabama Mike Rogers with a 50 ACU score and a 53%-46% reelection (election percentages as per Barone’s Almanac). However, I would posit that (i) ACU gave Rogers a 50 instead if his usual 85 or so because ACU’s 2008 ratings were skewed, not because Rogers turned liberal, and (ii) Rogers won reelection by only 7% because Obama’s candidacy heavily increased black turnout, which helped white Democrats (Obama was a “loss leader” in the South, ginning up black votes for white Democrats, who also managed to get white votes that Obama couldn’t get). The ultraliberal Montgomery Democrat that ran against Rogers cetainly did not run to his right, although he did criticize Rogers’s vote on the financial bailout (of course, he also criticized Rogers’s conservative vote on free trade with Central America).
That’s how it should be but it’s not. Their congressional history is crappy.
Alaska is a defacto 3 party state (Kansas is similar). Conservative GOP, Corrupt Pork-hungry RINOs and democrats. The State Senate is tied but even before that it was run by a rat/RINO coalition.
Right now for US Senator they have moderate Lisa and a liberal rat who narrowly beat Pork Overlord Ted Stevens thanks to trumped up charges (and maybe a little fraud Alaska seems clean though I wonder about the Eskimo vote).
Stevens by the way was a smidge worse than Lisa.
Lisa was appointed to replace her daddy, by her daddy, after her daddy was elected Governor. Palin was a possible appointee but Frank Murkowski went with his bouncing baby girl instead to make up for his failure to get her a pony when she a kid, it outraged many and spurred a change in the law to have a swift special election in the event of a Senate vacancy.
Murkowski would live to regret it as due to his crappy job as Governor Palin ran against him in the 2006 primary and crushed him into a fine paste (he actually came in THIRD).
As a Senator Frank was better than his daughter and Stevens. In fact he was the best Senator they’ve ever had. Before him and Uncle Ted labor Union democrats represented them since statehood.
Keene sure is a moron.
You did. You are clearly correct. The scores returned to usual this year. I guess they chose votes differently in 2008 for some reason.
A few more scores I noted from this year. Kansas Freshman Lynn Jenkins (pro choice?) regarded as coming from the RINO wing of the party got a 92. Good sign for her. And Freshman Leonard Lance of NJ got a 68, in the same range as all of the NJ Republicans always get except for conservative Scott Garrett. The rest seem like clones except that Chris Smith is vocally pro-life while the others are all I think pro-choice. Smith by the way got a stunning 28 one of the lowest GOP scores in 2008, this year he's back to a usual 64.
My bad. Thank you.
I know him and he is my Congressman. I’ve already informed him that if he runs as a dem again, he can kisss my vote goodbye.
You voted for him last time? I would never vote for a Pelosi enabler.
Just one aside on Bright, he was considered a Democrat Mayor of Montgomery, especially since he defeated the eminent Emory Folmar, the legendary GOP Mayor (1979-99) and Gubernatorial candidate. Bright’s leaving the office opened up the seat and we recaptured it with Todd Strange (apparently no relation to Luther, the last GOP Lt Gov nominee who lost by an inch to Jim Folsom, Jr.).
Yeah, after Saxton and Ferguson retired, Smith and Garrett are the only pro-life Congressmen in NJ.
68 is a bit high for Lance, but I cannot read the scores at all since the page is sideways.
Yeah I hate PDFs.
Adobe Acrobat (my version at least) has a button you can push to rotate the page.
Oh they had a special election after Dim left huh. I wonder if non-partisan elections are helpful or hurtful in this case. I would think helpful.
Oddly Strange has retained his main opponent from the election (A Dim aide) as an aide.
Bright was succeeded at once by a Republican (Charles Jinright), who was the head of the City Council, and then the special was called. The regular election is up next year.
Wow. GOP Mayor and council in city that’s almost 50/50 black/white.
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