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obamian Donating Member (282 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 01:38 PM
Original message
Obama Ranked Most Liberal Senator

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.


http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/
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TeamJordan23 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 01:39 PM
Response to Original message
1. I wonder why she shifted to the left in 2007.....nm
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bellasgrams Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:11 PM
Response to Reply #1
15. She didn't shift. She & BO have almost identical voting records.
The repbs vilify her for being too left and radicals on DU vilify her for being to right. The former first lady is a solid dem. You won't hear her praise a repb in a campaign like the 'godly' BO. Stop slamming a dem. icon, she's devoted many years to helping less fortunate people but young people that have everything handed to them don't care they just see a 'messiah' an inexperienced black man. Heaven help us if the only choice is a warmongering man to old to be running for ofc. and a young know nothing,tempermental guy that has to have people tell him what to do like Bush has. Change? Same old stuff.
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stillcool Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:19 PM
Response to Reply #15
20. Here's some other 'Dem' icons...
http://www.nndb.com/group/269/000093987/
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Yossariant Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:13 PM
Response to Reply #1
17. That's going to motivate the Independents and disenchanted Republicans. NOT
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DJ13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 01:45 PM
Response to Original message
2. Theres that non-existant "triangulation" Hillary is known for...
Edited on Thu Jan-31-08 01:46 PM by DJ13
"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."


Prepping her run.
:eyes:
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. Out of how many? 32nd out of 48?
:wow:
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AtomicKitten Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 01:46 PM
Original message
In this case 1 > 32.
Gobama.
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MBS Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 01:46 PM
Response to Original message
3. I'm an Obama supporter, but I find this difficult to believe n/t
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jackson_dem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 01:59 PM
Response to Original message
5. The difference in votes is small
This is why I don't put too much stock in these type of ratings.

-snip-

Overall in NJ's 2007 ratings, Obama voted the liberal position on 65 of the 66 key votes on which he voted; Clinton voted the liberal position 77 of 82 times.
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surfermaw Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:00 PM
Response to Original message
6. I rank him the republican bought and paid for candidate
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cali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:01 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. Ignorance will do that to you. n/t
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bellasgrams Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:14 PM
Response to Reply #8
18. Cali-So what's your excuse
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Webster Green Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:02 PM
Response to Reply #6
9. Links?
:shrug:
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stillcool Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:19 PM
Response to Reply #6
21. check it out...
http://www.nndb.com/group/269/000093987/
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OzarkDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:01 PM
Response to Original message
7. Here's a way he can prove it
Raise the Bar - Adopt Edwards Health Care Reform Policy

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4313523

Come on Obama, are you man enough?
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jasmine621 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:03 PM
Response to Original message
10. So Obama shifts, that makes him a legitimate liberal. Clinton shifts
and it's trianulation. The Republicans are going to have field day with Obama.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:03 PM
Response to Original message
11. What do they use for these ratings? On trade and environment...
he seems less liberal than she is.
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jackson_dem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:09 PM
Response to Reply #11
14. That is the main problem with ratings
They are very subjective and can easily be manipulated. It is good to know their ratings but vote on their policies on the issues you care the most about. The ratings try to measure ideological orthodoxy, not whether the candidate suits what you believe in. These kind of ratings place equal weight on anything defined as "liberal".
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PresidentObama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:04 PM
Response to Original message
12. Expect for the GOP to use this against him, like they did Kerry in 2004.
While I think it's great, they sure don't.

And they use it against us.
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featherman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:09 PM
Response to Original message
13. This is unfortunate for the GE IMO
But consider the source - they're using Conservative shill Schneider's rating system of what is a "liberal Position"

"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."

A note about American Enterprise Institute fellow Schneider

http://mediamatters.org/items/200407260009
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Barack_America Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:14 PM
Response to Reply #13
19. What an excellent point. Thanks! n/t
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Mass Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 02:12 PM
Response to Original message
16. Absolutely stupid ratings -
It is urgent to call NJ ratings for what they are -- BS.
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struggle4progress Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-31-08 11:08 PM
Response to Original message
22. "... In 2004, National Journal rated Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry as the most liberal
most liberal senator ... The rating quickly became a talking point ..." http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/qanda.htm

The National Journal is full of shit
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