Time Magazine has done a profile on fifteen Senators, selecting the 10 best and the five worst. I wish they had added another category: the five most batshit crazy Senators. Here’s my list: Tom Coburn-(OK), Jim Bunning-(KY), John Cornyn-(TX), Jim DeMint-(SC), and Jeff Sessions-(AL). James Infofe-(OK) gets honorable batshit crazy mention. Sam Brownback-(KS) gets most likely to secede. Here are the profiles from Time.
The Best Senators
- Thad Cochran
- Kent Conrad
- Dick Durbin
- Ted Kennedy
- Jon Kyl
- Carl Levin
- Richard Lugar
- John McCain
- Olympia J. Snowe
- Arlen Specter
The Worst Senators
What’s your list?
More patting on the back for McCain. Chroist. Horrible.
Amazed MIA George Allen is not listed as a worst. with 97% voting record supporting the Prez line, announcing he wished he’d been born in Iowa (he’s the jr. senator from Virginia!), and that the pace of the Senate is just too darn slow for his liking, both Democratic challengers to Allen are highlighting just how little time he spends in or about his own state.
Seconded.
And I live in Virgina now.
George Allen has absolutely no qualifications for anything other than to talk about football, which he does constantly, endlessly using football metaphors to descibe and justify administration positions. “I’m the son of a famous and beloved Redskins guy!”. If possible, he’s even less articulate than Dubya, and has no ability whatever to respond to or engage in any intellectually honest conversion: at best, he can be trained (perhaps by the repeated provision of treats?) to repeat the appropriate administration-provided talking points, regardless if they actually apply to the question or issue at hand.
Some have suggested that Allen may actually become the GOP’s presidential front-runner: I can only hope this will come to pass. Note and warning: I am going to shout here:
THE DEMOCRATS HAVE TO INSIST AND REQUIRE REAL DEBATES, NOT SIMULTANEOUS STAGED PRESS CONFERENCES.
It’s only in this way can these complete morons be publicly unmasked.
…Howdy-Doody California confederate a senator.
He is, quite possibly, dumber than shrub–and therefore will be taken seriously as having presidential timbre.
Yes we are living in bizarro-world, and that’s why “my daddy was a football coach” is even being taken seriously.
Best should include Fiengold and Boxer.Worst should include Lieberman just for being a dem in name only.
No Senator who voted for the war and gave an absolute idiot like Bush carte blanche on anything should be eligible for a title of “Best” anything except “Best Facillatator” or “Best Enabler” of our dry drunk president.
So I guess that leaves a list of one: Feingold.
The fact that Time doesn’t have him on the list shows AOL/Time Warner to be the corporate hacks that they are.
Yep, Feingold. Names for the best category are scarce as hen’s teeth. Too many to choose for the worst.
I don’tthink there are 10 superior senators. The ones that stand out for me are Feingold, Boxer, Durbin, Harkin, Kennedy.
The worst would be an embarrassment of riches, but the very bottom of the barrel would have to include Santorum, Stevens, Bond, Inhofe, Cornyn, Sessions, Kit Bond, Pat Roberts, Frist.
6 of the top 10 are Republicans?
Thad Cochran – who the hell is he anyways? He’s overshadowed by Trent Lott.
Jon Kyl – Overshadowed by McCain, plus he’s a Bush yes-man.
Richard Lugar – speaks up once every year or so when he doesn’t think things in Iraq are going too rosily.
John McCain – excuse me while I go out back and regurgitate my lunch.
Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter – so-called ‘Republican moderates’ who have done nothing but enable the Bush agenda over and over again. I have special dislike for these, which would also include Susan Collins.
I used to be considered a moderate independent, but the right has gone so far right that all of my positions now are considered extreme left.
I once voted for Thad Cochran. Back in the 70’s and 80’s, he was viewed as a moderate R, and the alternative candidates were not very strong. Thad has now turned into a rubber stamp for hyper-conservative bills and I rue the day that I ever voted for him.
He’s still not the worst of the worst, but Thad Cochran can kiss my behind for drifting so far off center. He is no longer a voice of reason constraining the wingnuts, he’s one of ’em.
How nice to see my Senator on the “worst” list! This will be a nice little soundbite for whoever runs against him in two years (hopefully my Rep, Udall). Plus it’s even true!
McCain and Spector on the “best” list?
Good gravy!
On a related note, anyone remember a while back when Rick Santorum and Patty Murray were voted the two stupidest senators by the congressional staff?
HA! Where’s the new survey? 🙂
Best List:
Add Boxer & Feingold
Remove the rest
Worst List:
Add Frist & Specter
I’d like to see a poll on the House…
How in the hell could they leave Boxer and Feingold off the list…and have Johnny-I love Falwell Now-McCain on the list. Proving once again any mainstream media publication is clueless, stupid and just plain sucks.
Wow, given our patriarchal socitey, and the cavemen at Time, it’s no wonder there’s only one woman (Snowe) on the list. What about Boxer (CA) and Murray (WA)?
No list of batshit insane is complete without Rick Santorum, of PA. Who will hopefully be gone come January.
I’d also put Reid on the best Senator’s list.
Santorum is corrupt and venal. He’s also deranged. But I stand by my list. All 5 of those Senators are more batshit crazy than Santorum. Coburn, Bunning, and DeMint belong in an asylum.
I know Bunning belongs in an asylum. I remember during his last campaign, they didn’t allow him out in public too much, simply because he’s totally lost it. I’m not knowledgable enough on the others.
I saw there was some disagreement about Specter being one of the better senators, but I agree with you. Even though he really gets my goat sometimes, I have to admit he’s effective.
Time magazine proves once again that their perspective continues to move further and further from reality and relevance.
McCain and Specter on the best list? Doesn’t Time know ‘murkins hate flip-floppers?
I would put Feingold and Boxer on my best list as well. I have been impressed with Leahy from what I’ve seen on C-SPAN lately. If anyone here is a Leahy constiuent, I’d be interested to know your opinion of him.
And yes, contrary to BooMan’s opinion, Rick Santorum is absolutely batshitfucking crazy!
McCain and Kyl on that list?
Missing from the worst list:
Saxby Chambliss
Richard Burr
Elizabeth Dole
Jeff Sessions
Trent Lott
Bill Frist
Jim DeMint
Mitch McConnell
plus the extremely batshit crazies
calvin would like to know what makes a cat good or bad. Does one need to be a good mouser? Bring home the pork, er, bacon? In calvin’s HO, Tribune readers could do a better job. Are there really ten good senators? calvin is well aware that there are more than five losers.