Posted on 02/14/2009 2:52:58 AM PST by Robert A Cook PE
I wrote about the 2008 ADA rankings for the House and Senate. How Liberal are they? I also ran an analysis of the ten most liberal House Republicans. They didn't fare too well in 2008.
As I explained the Geithner vote, Arlen, PINO's, Extremism & a Tax Cheat why are the minority of Republicans considered mainstream? Why are they labeling principled Republicans as "extremists"? They are liberal extremists in the GOP and should not be setting policy or directing strategy. In fact, they should be sitting in the back of the Big Tent because they are out of the mainstream of the GOP and they are the extremists.
But what happened to the most liberal GOP Senators during the 2008 election cycle? Again, like the ten most liberal House members, they suffered a devastating attrition rate.
Here they are: (only 9, quite a few scored a 25% liberal rating)
Snowe, Maine, 80% ADA Rating Collins, Maine, 75% Smith, Oregon, 60% Coleman, Minnesota, 45% Specter, Pennsylvania, 45% Dole, North Carolina, 40% Warner, Virginia, 40% Martinez, Florida, 30% Stevens, Alaska, 30%
So what happened?
Snowe - election in 2012
Collins - Reelected
Smith - Lost
Coleman - Don't know yet. In a current legal fight with a vote margin of 215 for Coleman to 225 for Franken. However, a fiscal conservative and deficit hawk, Dean Barkley, ran as a 3rd party candidate and garnered 400,000 votes. Most would have gone to a principled limited government Republican candidate which would have created an easy election victory.
Specter - election in 2010. Already moving to the right on issues....
Dole - Lost. Biggest Senate seat margin loss in North Carolina history. NC is a Red State!
Warner - announced retirement. GOP grassroots have been fed up with Warner and had "Dump Warner" campaigns. Perhaps Warner realized he had finally lost the base.
Martinez - announced retirement after only one term. Many potential conservative contenders announced interest in a primary challenge.
Stevens - lost in a diehard Red state. Also convicted on 7 felony counts.
I have stated many times that this "move to the Left" strategy is sheer idiocy for the GOP as a party. Now it seems that it isn't very smart for a lot of politicians either. Of course, as long as the average GOP voter doesn't know the voting records of their candidates, they stand a chance. This blog and a growing network of individuals and groups will ENSURE that the average GOP voter is FULLY aware of GOP politician's voting record and positions on the issues.
If they are proud of being liberal extremists in the GOP, let them defend it to the base. If they are interested in winning over Democrats while losing Republicans, that is a losing mathematical game. (More on that in a local political district in the future.) And the theory that disgruntled Republicans will vote for just any R "no matter what" - this is the idiotic "would you rather see a Democrat in office?" theory - has been disproven in 2008. It won't work anymore.
Mainstream Republicans demand principled politicians not liberal GOP extremists. Not any politician who slaps an "R" next to their name. And if we must endure a Democrat politician (for one term) at least we can go after them when they vote the same way as the Liberal Extremist GOP politicians would....
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_In_Name_Only
Individuals claimed to be “RINOs”
Family Research Council’s Top 10 RINOs in the House of Representatives
The Family Research Council’s list of the Top 10 RINOs in the U.S. House of Representatives (published October 12, 2005). Ranked by an analysis of 13 votes representing a cross section of conservative issues, most of them concerning gay people, abortion, or stem-cell research.
1. Rep. Christopher Shays (Connecticut)
2. Rep. Michael Castle (Delaware)
3. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (New York)
4. Rep. Mark Kirk (Illinois)
5. Rep. Jim Kolbe (Arizona) (tied for 5th)
5. Rep. Rob Simmons (Connecticut) (tied for 5th)
7. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (Maryland) (tied for 7th)
7. Rep. Jim Leach (Iowa) (tied for 7th)
9. Rep. Mary Bono (California) (tied for 9th)
9. Rep. Nancy Johnson (Connecticut) (tied for 9th)
Boehlert and Kolbe retired from Congress at the end of their terms in 2006.
Simmons, Leach and Johnson were defeated in the 2006 elections.
Gilchrest was defeated in the Republican primary in 2008 by Andrew P. Harris and Shays was defeated in the 2008 general elections.
After the general election of 2008, three of the members of Congress on this list, Castle, Kirk and Bono, remained in in the U.S. House of Representatives.
To continue: Also from the aove Wikipedia entry:
RINO accusations since 2004
Two Republican senators who have been labeled RINOs by conservatives such as the group Club for Growth and Human Events magazine are Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island.
In 2004, Specter drew a conservative primary election opponent in Rep. Pat Toomey. Toomey had significant financial support from the Club for Growth while the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania provided volunteers. While the Club for Growth opposed Specter’s role in increased federal spending, many conservatives focused on Specter’s pro-choice views on abortion. Specter was supported by the GOP establishment including President George W. Bush and Senator Rick Santorum. This support helped Specter win by a narrow 17,000-vote margin.
In 2006, Chafee received over $1 million from national Republican party officials, especially the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Chafee defeated Steve Laffey, the mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island. When Chafee was one of six Republican incumbents who failed to be reelected in 2006, (losing to Sheldon Whitehouse), the party indeed lost its Senate majority.
Comparisons of liberal vs. moderate Republicans
John Nichols, a correspondent for The Nation (a left-leaning political magazine) argued in a 2004 article that “Using the measures that progressives might reasonably apply to define a liberal... it is possible to point to just one [current Republican] senator, Rhode Island’s Lincoln Chafee, and two members of the House, New York’s Amo Houghton and Iowa’s Jim Leach... A somewhat larger circle clings to the moderate GOP mantras of a Gerald Ford or a Richard Lugar, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but they are fading fast as a force in Congress.”
It should be noted that the three Republican congressmen whom Nichols considered liberal (Chafee, Houghton, and Leach) are out of office. Chafee and Leach were defeated in the 2006 elections, whereas Houghton did not stand for reelection in 2004.
While Delaware representative Mike Castle claims that there are 40-45 moderate Republicans in the House, Nichols remarks, “That’s actually a bit of a stretch — either of the numbers or of the definition of a ‘moderate’.”
To continue the trend, also from the same Wikipedia article:
[edit] National Journal’s Top 25 Liberal Republicans in the House of Representatives
National Journal (a nonpartisan magazine) list of the 25 most liberal Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2005.[26] Ranked by a weighted analysis of selected roll call votes by National Journal magazine.[27]
Representative... ...is more liberal than __% of the House on these issues:
Name
1 Leach, Jim, IA-2
2 Paul, Ron, TX-14
3 Shays, Christopher, CT-4
4 Castle, Michael, DE-AL
5 Boehlert, Sherwood, NY-24
6 Johnson, Nancy, CT-5
7 Kirk, Mark, IL-10
8 Ehlers, Vernon, MI-3
9 Johnson, Tim, IL-15
10 Simmons, Rob, CT-2
11 Wilson, Heather, NM-1
12 Flake, Jeff, AZ-6
13 Gilchrest, Wayne, MD-1
14 Jones, Walter, NC-3
15 Ramstad, Jim, MN-3
16 Biggert, Judy, IL-13
17 Schwarz, Joe, MI-7
18 Bartlett, Roscoe, MD-6
19 LoBiondo, Frank, NJ-2
20 LaTourette, Steven, OH-14
21 LaHood, Ray, IL-18
22 Otter, Butch, ID-1
23 Bass, Charles, NH-2
24 Fitzpatrick, Mike, PA-8
25 Reichert, Dave, WA-8
In 2006, Leach (IA-02), Johnson (CT-05), Simmons (CT-02), Bass (NH-02) and Fitzpatrick (PA-8) were defeated by Democrats where as Schwarz (MI-7) was defeated in the Republican primary. Boehlert (NY-24) retired from politics and Otter (ID-1) made a successful run for Governor of Idaho. In 2008, Shays (CT-04) was defeated by a Democrat while Gilchrest (MD-1) was defeated in a primary. Wilson (NM-01) retired to wage an unsuccessful run for the US Senate while LaHood (IL-18) retired from the US House only to serve as the Secretary of Transportation in Barack Obama’s cabinet. Both Schwarz and Gilchrest seats are now held by Democrats after the two were defeated in primaries by more conservative Republicans.
>>> defend it to the base. <<<<<
“The base.”
How about “the voters”?
Or “other Republicans”?
Or “conservatives”?
This marketing term “the base” is a politician’s term. It’s designed to degrade voters into an amorphous mob to be easily manipulated by political consultants and marketers.
One of the reasons politics has become so disconnected from voters and from reality is the use of marketing terms and psychology and methods which IMO are encapsulated in this term “the base”.
As for Warner (R, VA), I think he’s retiring because he’s 80 years old. But he’s also completely out of touch, and really blew it with his vague position on “comprehensive immigration reform” in 2007.
He ultimately voted against that dog of a bill, but it was a last minute thing and for that alone I’d happily have voted against him if he was to run again in the future.
Joe Schwarz is long gone, we threw him out in 06. We replaced him with conservative Tim Walberg who was deserted by the GOP in this election.
I already know the 3 winners of the Kennedys’ “Profiles in Courage” award for 2009.
I already know the 3 winners of the Kennedys’ “Profiles in Courage” award for 2009.
Is that a posthumous award? /sarc
Snowe and Collins will continue to be reelected as long as they choose to run, and probably with increasing margins.
Unless the State of Maine goes in the economic tank. Don’t buy lobsters, don’t go there on vacation.
Unlike some of the large Blue Zone states, Maine is vulnerable to economic sanctions. Slight declines can have a very large effect.
“Unless the State of Maine goes in the economic tank.”
Maine has been in the economic tank, comparatively speaking, since 1929, bert, and most Mainers would be happiest if the “touristers” “from away” would in fact stay away.
“Don’t buy lobsters”. The price went down to about $3.20 lb at Christmas time; tough on the fishermen but just great for everyone else.
“Slight declines can have a very large effect.”
“Unlike some of the large Blue Zone states, Maine is vulnerable to economic sanctions.”
Maine is a small place. If it got out, and it would, that right wingers from away were organizing an economic boycott of the state because of Snowe and Collins, those Republican leadership clowns in DC could permanently forget the votes of either of the Senators.
And bert, in Maine slight declines, like slight improvements, have no effect.
This is a PARTY problem. The party AS a party must solve it.
Start by booting these turncoats—NOW. They have to be GONE from the caucus, with well-funded opponants in the next election cycle.
Think I’m wrong? Helping Spector vs. Toomy was a smart move, too?
A better tactic: I wrote to the RNC and let it be known that I would not financially support them if they did not ensure that party members were COMMITTED to live according to conservative principles. Here in Tennessee, the Republicans just booted a turncoat out of the party.
“Here in Tennessee, the Republicans just booted a turncoat out of the party.”
Won’t happen in Maine, in great measure because the only way the GOP will have a seat on the delegation is if Snowe and Collins sit in them. The right wing of the GOP in Maine is a pretty pathetic, frankly laughable bunch, mostly from away, and a group which never misses an opportunity to tell the rest of Maine how to live, civilly and religiously. If, by some miracle, they were actually to succeed in booting out Collins and/or Snowe, the senators would simply return to DC as independents...probably with even larger margins than before.
I can tell you this, from what I hear, Mainers are having a grand time watching Republican leadership and radio personalities’ heads explode over all of this.
I believe it was on Fox last week during a discussion of how these two faux-Republicans could be repeatedly re-elected, I heard the figure thrown out that 80% of Maine's population receives some sort of gov't assistance. IF that is true, you're correct. They should become even more popular with their support of the "Porkulus" Bill and be able to add even more dependents to the rolls.
“I believe it was on Fox last week during a discussion of how these two faux-Republicans could be repeatedly re-elected, I heard the figure thrown out that 80% of Maine’s population receives some sort of gov’t assistance.”
Not true...not even close to true. Likely what you heard was some talking head exploding. There’s a lot of that going on these days. You know, it occurs to me that if those folks had anything at all constructive to say, they wouldn’t need to try (and fail)to keep their base in line with comments that don’t pass the milk through the nose test.
Any idea of what the actual %age is?
It depends on what you are talking about for assistance, but for the broad based Medicare, Medicaid, and TANF programs Maine is in the middle of New England states (with Conn.)higher than southern states and lower than the NW and California and the upper midwest.
The LIHEAP program may skew the numbers a little when that is factored in as will social security and VA payments and military pensions. Maine has, I believe, the oldest population in the country.
I think they meant everything including SS, everybody getting something from the gov’t. At least I took it that way. If Maine has the oldest population in the country, is it possible that 80% is close to the actual number?
“If Maine has the oldest population in the country, is it possible that 80% is close to the actual number?”
I doubt it. Only 14% of the population is over 65. I suspect that the figure you heard was something come up with by some group looking for a reason for the Senators’ votes. But that’s easy, they represent a very blue state and are, by the standards of the GOP of the past 8 years or so, quite liberal. IMO, they voted the way they did because its what their constituents want. Both, btw, voted for McCain’s bill.
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