Thanks to Chris Bowers I am now aware of a new feature at Progressive Punch that measures how a congressperson or senator is voting relative to the political tilt of their state or district. Stripping out new members whose voting records are not established enough to be meaningful, here are the ten best and worst Democratic members of the House and Senate from a progressive point of view.
10 Most Progressive House Members (excluding Freshmen)
1. Edwards, Donna D MD-4
2. Grijalva, Raul D AZ-7
3. Schakowsky, Jan D IL-9
4. Lee, Barbara D CA-9
5. Ellison, Keith D MN-5
6. Baldwin, Tammy D WI-2
7. Jackson, Jesse D IL-2
8. Sánchez, Linda D CA-39
9. Olver, John D MA-1
10. Solis, Hilda D CA-32
10 Least Progressive Democrats in the House (excluding Freshmen)
1. Ellsworth, Brad D IN-8
2. Altmire, Jason D PA-4
3. Childers, Travis D MS-1
4. Shuler, Heath D NC-11
5. Mitchell, Harry D AZ-5
6. Carney, Christopher D PA-10
7. Cuellar, Henry D TX-28
8. Barrow, John D GA-12
9. Murtha, John D PA-12
10. Giffords, Gabrielle D AZ-8
10 Most Progressive Senate Members (excluding Freshmen)
1. Brown, Sherrod D Ohio
2. Harkin, Tom D Iowa
3. Reed, Jack D Rhode Island
4. Whitehouse, Sheldon D Rhode Island
5. Sanders, Bernie I Vermont
6. Durbin, Dick D Illinois
7. Levin, Carl D Michigan
8. Lautenberg, Frank D New Jersey
9. Boxer, Barbara D California
10. Menendez, Bob D New Jersey
10 Least Progressive Democrats in the Senate (excluding Freshmen)
1. Nelson, Ben D Nebraska
2. Lieberman, Joe I Connecticut
3. Carper, Tom D Delaware
4. Baucus, Max D Montana
5. Inouye, Dan D Hawaii
6. Lincoln, Blanche D Arkansas
7. Pryor, Mark D Arkansas
8. McCaskill, Claire D Missouri
9. Feinstein, Diane D California
10. Kerry, John D Massachusetts
To repeat, these rankings are not measuring who has the most and least progressive voting record in the Democratic caucus, but who votes the most and least progressive relative to the political tilt of their state or district. Even though we know Ben Nelson is the most conservative member of the Democratic caucus in the Senate we would have no particular reason to assume that he isn’t just voting his state. It turns out, he isn’t voting his state. He has the most conservative bias of any Senate Democrat.
I have two observations from looking at these results. On the House side, six out of ten worst performing Democrats are Rahm Emanuel recruits. Only one of the best performing Democrats is a possible Rahm recruit (Keith Ellison). Thanks a lot, Rahm, for recruiting crappy Democrats.
On the Senate side, it’s interesting to see that the Democrats in conservative leaning states seem to overcompensate. McCaskill, Lincoln, and Pryor could probably afford to vote much less conservatively and still get away with it. The results confirm that Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman, Tom Carper, and Dan Inouye are just out completely out of touch with their constituents.
