Kerry is 11th most liberal Senator!

[nclib]

National Journal has apparently done what I hoped they would do and compiled the composite "liberal" scores for current senators over their Senate careers.  

Kerry's missed votes in 2003 must have really skewed the results for this year, because he is only the 11th most liberal Senator by this methodology.  Others of note:

Mark Dayton (MN) is 1st
Ted Kennedy is 5th
Hillary Clinton is 13th

Could we have a complete list posted here pleeeeeeaaaase?

yeah, please?

I could only find the Top 15 most liberal.  I'm not sure if they did the calculations for most conservative.

The first number is year elected.  The second is Average Liberal Score over career:

Mark Dayton, D-Minn.     2000     90.3
Paul Sarbanes, D-Md.    1976    89.4
Jack Reed, D-R.I.    1996    89.3
Jon Corzine, D-N.J.    2000    88.8
Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.    1962    88.6
Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.    1992    88.5
Tom Harkin, D-Iowa    1984    87.6
Richard Durbin, D-Ill.    1996    87.3
Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.    1982    86.2
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.    1974    86.0
John Kerry, D-Mass.    1984    85.7
Carl Levin, D-Mich.    1978    85.5
Hillary  Clinton, D-N.Y.    2000    83.9
Patty Murray, D-Wash.    1992    83.8
Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. 2000    83.8

I am curious as to the 2003 ratings. Have you seen these anywhere? Or do you happen to know the title of National Journal's article that contains these. (I could access it through my univ.'s library engine, but I need to know the title.) Thanks.

[opebo]

Yeah, well in Missouri they fielded a dead guy against John Ashcroft and the dead guy won.  don't really know where I'm going with that though.  Mondale had really baggy eyes.  

A lot of soft-headed Republicans voted for the dead guy out of emotion.  The same kind of loons who voted for Perot.

[opebo]

Mark Dayton (MN) is 1st

News to me!  We never hear anything about Dayton... ever... really...

Maybe Dayton is trying to  be like Paul Wellstone as being the most liberal senator.

It seems like being the 'Most Liberal Senator' is bad luck for one's aeroplane...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That is SICK. Not funny, not clever

[opebo]

That is SICK. Not funny, not clever

Oh c'mon, if the Black Helicoper guys were knocking off Rick Santorum or John Kyl you'ld have a chuckle.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

No I wouldn't.
The only people who's deaths I might laugh at are:

a) evil dictators
b) Darwin Award winners...

[Gustaf]

I think you can joke about most things, personally. But I respect that other people can get offended, so I usually adapt my jokes to the audience...

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Wellstone's death was the most tragic political event I have lived through, and gives me a sick feeling whenever I think about the 2002 elections.

Wellstone would have made a great running mate for Kerry.  He was a true progressive who could win in a swing state.  He would have been able to criticize Bush with a sincerity that wouldn't turn people off.  He had great energy and charisma and could have taken it to Cheney in a debate.  Most of the leaders of the left now are either boring (Kerry, Sarbanes) or demogogues (Sharpton, Nader).

[opebo]

Wellstone's death was the most tragic political event I have lived through, and gives me a sick feeling whenever I think about the 2002 elections.

Wellstone would have made a great running mate for Kerry.  He was a true progressive who could win in a swing state.  He would have been able to criticize Bush with a sincerity that wouldn't turn people off.  He had great energy and charisma and could have taken it to Cheney in a debate.  Most of the leaders of the left now are either boring (Kerry, Sarbanes) or demogogues (Sharpton, Nader).

Good lord, I hate to say it but your side is better off if you would actually think of saddling Kerry with a running mate even more far left than he is!

[Ben.]

Wellstone was a great man in the same way that Goldwater was a great man... I did not very often whole heartedly agree with him but he was a partisan who stuck to his beliefs through thick and thin and really cared about the people he represented, and that’s why he won in a comparatively moderate state… on the dem side I’d say that Feingold is the only other liberal senator who is so very principled…

Having said all that he would have been a really bad choice for VP, he might well have endorsed Kerry during the primaries had he lived (he would not have been impressed by the moderate Dean shifting his positions to appeal to the primary voters nor Kucinich who he would have seen as “a well meaning fool”) but he would not have been VP… he could well have helped in MN apart from that not really any where else… Kerry needs a moderate who can appeal across the country to moderate independents and conservative democrats such a candidate would be someone like, Mary Landrieu, Bill Nelson, Mark Warner or below my top three Evan Bayh (Warner beat him only because Bayh is so dull), Bob Graham and Phil ? (TN Gov)…

[Gustaf]

Wellstone was a great man in the same way that Goldwater was a great man... I did not very often whole heartedly agree with him but he was a partisan who stuck to his beliefs through thick and thin and really cared about the people he represented, and that’s why he won in a comparatively moderate state… on the dem side I’d say that Feingold is the only other liberal senator who is so very principled…

Having said all that he would have been a really bad choice for VP, he might well have endorsed Kerry during the primaries had he lived (he would not have been impressed by the moderate Dean shifting his positions to appeal to the primary voters nor Kucinich who he would have seen as “a well meaning fool”) but he would not have been VP… he could well have helped in MN apart from that not really any where else… Kerry needs a moderate who can appeal across the country to moderate independents and conservative democrats such a candidate would be someone like, Mary Landrieu, Bill Nelson, Mark Warner or below my top three Evan Bayh (Warner beat him only because Bayh is so dull), Bob Graham and Phil ? (TN Gov)…

Edwards isn't even among the top 6? Ouch...

[Ben.]

He's definatly in the top ten but i dont know if he would wear well with voters... having said that he is indisputably better with independets and moderates than Kerry but he does lack sustance... He's definatly a contender but other possibilities might be able to actually bring states directly into the Dem colum... then again Edwards charisma and populism could play very well in states like WV, OH MN, IA and MO... but polling will prove or disprove this...