2. Hatch supported the Food Safety Act, but ultimately did not vote for it so it won't show up in his rating.
3. Hatch caved to Democrats during Memogate, when Republican Senate aid (and Hatch advisor) Manuel Miranda was found to have been viewing Democrat files on an unsecured shared Intelligene Committee server. Never mind that the memo, written by Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller, was about secret Democrat plans to corrupt the bipartisan Intelligence Committee process by stringing along Republicans until they are ready to:
"Prepare to launch an independent investigation when it becomes clear we have exhausted the opportunity to usefully collaborate with the majority. We can pull the trigger on an independent investigation at any time-- but we can only do so once."
Since there was no vote on this matter, it won't show up in his rating.
4. Hatch was weak during the Clinton impeachment and Senate trial, often publicly offering Clinton a way out.
5. Hatch supported the judicial nominations of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Steven Breyer. Hatch voted for the nomination of Timothy Geithner for Secretary of Treasury and Eric Holder for Justice. Hatch previously voted to confirm Holder for Clinton's Justice department.
PJ
The quiet little secret is that the Tea Party cost us control of the Senate in 2010.
If we had not had that buffoon not-a-witch woman in Delaware and Angle in Nevada, we would have won with more mainstream candidates. That is reality.
Don't get me wrong; I love much about the Tea Party. Unfortunately, that forgot three very basic rules of elections:
1: Nothing really matters except the General Election. Winners of that govern us, losers go home.
2: Always nominate the candidate the candidate closest to your beliefs who CAN win the General. We had two much stronger candidates in ‘10 Nevada and Delaware Senate races, but we went with ultra-conservative losers.
3: Untra-conservative losers, are just that; losers.