Obama the most liberal because he missed 1/3 of the votes that they used as backgrond data

[agdlp]

National Journal used 99 Senate votes in 2007 as the basis for its rankings, and because he was on the presidential campaign trail, Obama missed a third of those votes. (According to the magazine, Obama voted the liberal way 65 out of 66 votes. Clinton, meanwhile, voted the liberal way in 77 out of her 82 votes).

[KennedyGuy]

1. Present!

[jasmine621]

2. Good catch. nt

[rinsd]

3. At least in IL, he showed up to vote present.

[sunonmars]

4. he was so liberal with his job time also it seems

[jackson_dem]

8. lol

[leftofthedial]

5. not to mention that the survey in question is Bill Schneider

unflinching servant of the corporatocracy

his definition of "liberal" is absurd and is driven not by reality, but by the political needs of the right


AND

the Senate has studiously avoided bringing any truly liberal issues to a vote in the first place.

election season has provided a surfeit of "easy" votes that serve electioneering scorecards, not the interests of the people

[aquart]

16. So Obama is NOT going to use those numbers?

[leftofthedial]

29. I'd guess he already is to boost his support

among disaffected Kucinich and Edwards supporters

[LittleClarkie]

6. What does the percentage come out to then?

Obama 98%

Clinton 94%

Kinda meaningless either way, isn't it.

They're both pretty liberal.

We're not going to fight over a couple of percentage points, are we?

Well, some are, I suppose.

I'm not.

[redqueen]

13. God bless ya.

:toast:

They're both liberal enough... they're both smart enough... and dammit... I like them both!

[paulk]

27. the real problem with it is that it's not an accurate representation

of the candidates.

National Journal rated Kerry the most liberal in the last election the same way - with an incomplete snapshot, considering that all candidates in a campaign year miss a lot of votes.

The "most liberal" label was used against Kerry by the Republicans during the GE, with some negative effect in the purple states, I'm sure.

[leftofthedial]

7. so Clinton is 12 more liberal than Obama

[Maven]

9. LOL.

Good catch.

[Little Star]

10. He is slick!!!! He wants no record to be held accountable for.

Not in Illinois, not in the US senate.

[in_cog_ni_to]

15. That's exactly what his game plan has been all along.

No vote? NO RECORD.

[OzarkDem]

17. Very slick. His career means more to him

than serving his constituents.

[BlackVelvet04]

11. check out the no votes....

Abortion Issues
(Back to top)
Date Bill Title Vote
10/18/2007 Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions NV
09/06/2007 Prohibiting U.S. Assistance for Groups that Support Coercive Abortion NV
03/17/2005 Unintended Pregnancy Amendment Y

http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=94...

On, and here are the votes on environmental issues. Virginians really appreciate his NV on the off shore drilling issue.

Environmental Issues
(Back to top)
Date Bill Title Vote
12/14/2007 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) NV
12/13/2007 Energy Act of 2007 NV
12/11/2007 Government Sponsored Farm Insurance Policies Amendment NV
11/08/2007 Water Resources Development Act of 2007 NV
06/21/2007 Energy Act of 2007 Y
06/21/2007 Alternative Energy Subsidies Y
06/14/2007 Offshore Drilling in Virginia NV
06/14/2007 Clean Energy Achievement Criteria Y
12/21/2005 Removal of ANWR Provision from HR 2863 Y
11/03/2005 ANWR Amendment Y
09/13/2005 EPA's Clean Air Mercury Rule Y


and Health issues:



Health Issues
(Back to top)
Date Bill Title Vote
12/14/2007 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) NV
12/11/2007 Government Sponsored Farm Insurance Policies Amendment NV
11/07/2007 Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies NV
11/01/2007 Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (CHIP) NV
10/23/2007 Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies NV
10/18/2007 Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions NV
10/01/2007 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 NV
09/27/2007 State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization NV
08/02/2007 State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Y
05/07/2007 FDA Drug Import Certification Amendment NV
11/03/2005 Medicaid Generic Drug Amendment Y
11/03/2005 Medical Assistance and Prescription Drug Amendment Y
11/03/2005 Hurricane Health Care for Survivors Amendment Y
10/27/2005 AIDS Drug Assistance Program Amendment Y
03/17/2005 Medicaid Amendment N




What the hell does he get paid to do? Not vote?

[usregimechange]

12. So the remaining votes you suggest he would have changed how he voted the other 66 times

:eyes:

[Bitwit1234]

14. I posted this also. AND

if you goto the congressional record you will see the very important votes he did not make...it says NOT VOTING...he wasn't even there.

[BlackVelvet04]

18. this link shows each of those votes

http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=94 ...

[Yuugal]

19. I wish Hillary had missed more votes. nt

[Tom Rinaldo]

20. That is a good catch. Thanks n/t

[Radical Activist]

21. So Clinton had 5 bad votes and Obama had only one.

When you compare that to Obama's long progressive record as a State Senator it paints a clear picture that Obama is the only liberal left in the race.

[jackson_dem]

23. A four vote difference out of 66-82

This is being hyped beyond all proportion.

[emilyg]

22. Thanks.

[AX10]

24. Mr. Obama, how do you vote? "Present!"

Mr. Obama votes Present!

[KoKo]

25. Obama is a "Great Peacemaker." Voting "Present" and being against Iraq Invasion

when you weren't in the Senate at the time...getting "Anthraxed" ...makes you a HERO for making a Political Statement you knew...you could make because the "Powers that BE" had ALREADY Picked you as the Next Dem President.

Obama has lots of Courage. The weather and how long it takes him to get back to DC for Important Votes is REALLY IMPORTANT..to him.

[bluedog]

26. voted against S Chip.why?

09/27/2007 State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization NV

[bluedog]

28. correction.I mean didn't vote n/t

[bernicewilliams]

30. I don't see his "present" votes as a big deal, for some reason n/t