You've probably heard the "Obama is the most liberal Senator according to the National Journal" talking point dozens of times, just as you likely heard it about Kerry dozens of times in 2004. Surprise- it wasn't true either time. The Houston Chronicle:
Looking behind their 2007 ratings, you find an odd assortment of 99 Senate bills. The Journal then divines which bill is liberal and by how much, then each Senator is rated by their vote on that particular bill. For an example: The Senate bill last year to establish an office of ethical responsibility was branded as liberal. If a Senator voted yes for the bill, then that was a liberal vote. I'm not sure when ethics became a liberal/conservative issue, but that is how they do it. The Journal then continues this manipulation of votes and weighting until they get the answer they want: Obama is the most liberal senator.No survey that places Joseph Biden to the left of Bernie Sanders should ever be taken seriously by anyone, much less quoted daily by pundits.Now, if you look at all the votes, then that result should be consistent, correct? Not hardly. If you look at all the Senate votes Obama participated in compared with all the Senators' votes, you'll find that he ranks 41st in 2007, more conservative than Hillary, at 29th.
538 has more, including a much better way of doing this.
I always thought Kennedy was the most liberal...
Posted by: A at June 11, 2008 06:19 PM