Survey: Kerry, Edwards Named Two of the Top Liberals in the U.S. Senate
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
March 1, 2004
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- In a revealing political ideology survey released by the National Journal on Friday, Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA) was ranked as the most liberal member of the United States Senate in 2003.
While the reelection campaign of President George W. Bush as well as the RNC have been portraying Kerry as a northeastern liberal, the reaction by the Kerry campaign has been to brand this portrayal as attacking his patriotism, as previously reported by Talon News.
However, the independent policy-focused National Journal gave Kerry a 96.5 rating out of 100 based on his votes in the Congressional Record, including abortion, tax cuts, Medicare, trade agreements, filibusters of judicial nominees, and budget increases.
One glaring part of Kerry's voting record was his one-sided voting stance on social issues. Of the 138 votes examined for the survey, Kerry failed to vote conservative even once. The National Journal survey noted that during 10 of the 18 years Kerry received a rating, he had a perfect liberal voting record on social issues.
For example, in 1996, Kerry voted against the Defense of Marriage Act which stated the federal government would not recognize same-sex marriage laws passed by the states.
Another intriguing part of the survey found that Kerry missed 37 of the 62 votes used by the National Journal because he was busy campaigning for president and failed to vote.
Nevertheless, despite missing nearly 60 percent of the votes examined for the survey, Kerry's votes against funding more money for the war in Iraq, against the budget and tax cuts, and his vehement opposition to the prescription drug benefit bill were included in the survey and contributed to his high liberal score.
The National Journal used 32 votes on the economy, 15 votes on social issues, and 15 foreign policy votes to determine the political leanings of each of the 100 U.S. Senators.
Kerry was well ahead of his fellow liberal Massachusetts colleague in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Ted Kennedy, who ranked as the 11th most liberal member in 2003.
And although he has attempted to portray himself as a more moderate alternative to Kerry on the campaign trail, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) was ranked as the fourth most liberal Senator in 2003 with a rating of 94.5. Like Kerry, Edwards also missed many of the votes used in the survey because he was campaigning for president.
One noteworthy observation about Edwards is the fact that he had previously maintained a consistently moderate voting record throughout the first four years of his first six-year term in the U.S. Senate. However, when he decided to forgo running for reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2003 to make a run for president, his record abruptly moved to the left.
When asked about their respective rankings during a debate between the Democratic presidential candidates on Sunday, both Kerry and Edwards dismissed their high liberal rankings.
Kerry immediately described the liberal label as "a laughable characterization."
"It's absolutely the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my life," Kerry exclaimed. "Labels are so silly in politics."
Edwards was equally nonchalant about the results of the survey finding both he and Kerry among the top liberals in the U.S. Senate.
"This is actually a subject that John [Kerry] and I agree about," Edwards reacted. "I don't think anybody in America cares about what some inside-Washington publication says about your ideology."
Edwards added, "What they care about is: What are your values, where you come from, what do you believe in, and who are you fighting for? And do you understand the real world and the problems that people face every day in their life? That's what the people of the United States are looking for."
Nevertheless, Kerry's voting record has become noticeably more liberal over the past three years. In 2001, he was the 12th most liberal member of the U.S. Senate, while in 2002 he moved up to ninth before taking the top spot in 2003.
"To be sure, Kerry's ranking as the No. 1 Senate liberal in 2003 -- and his earning of similar honors three times during his first term, from 1985 to 1990 -- will probably have opposition researchers licking their chops," the survey concludes.
This is not the first time Kerry has been named the top liberal in the U.S. Senate. Since being elected in 1984, Kerry has earned the biggest liberal title in 1986, 1988 and 1990.
Interestingly, in each of the four years that Kerry was the number one liberal in the U.S. Senate, there was a Republican in the White House -- President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and 1988, President George H. W. Bush in 1990, and President George W. Bush in 2003.
During the years former Democratic President Bill Clinton was in office, Kerry tended to vote more moderately than during Republican administrations. From 1991 through 1996, Kerry's liberal rating in the National Journal's annual review was dramatically lower than it is now, ranging between 78.2 and 85.8.
Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson said this survey substantiates the point they have been making that Kerry's voting record is important in the presidential election.
"This proves the point that John Kerry's record matters, and John Kerry has a lot of explaining to do about his voting record," Iverson told UPI.
In an e-mail sent out by the RNC on Friday highlighting the National Journal survey results, the subject line read "Label Him What You Want, Kerry Wrong Choice For America."
"John Kerry's record speaks for itself, and we've been saying that all along and will continue to say it," Iverson added.
Even President Bush pointed out Kerry's propensity for taking both sides of the issues in U.S. Senate career during a campaign speech last Tuesday.
"The other party's nomination battle is still playing out," Bush said in the speech last week. "The candidates are an interesting group with diverse opinions: for tax cuts and against them, for NAFTA and against NAFTA, for the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act, in favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts."
Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton responded to the survey results by saying his candidate's involvement in the Vietnam War and his willingness to take on the deficit do not classify him to be called a liberal.
"Anyone who knows John Kerry knows that this label doesn't fit," Clanton claimed to UPI. "He's a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, a former prosecutor, and a deficit hawk that's opposed his party and voted to shrink the deficit."
Political commentator Doris Kearns Goodwin told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Kerry must decide now whether he wants to be identified as a liberal or not during the presidential election.
"If you defend yourself and you're somehow sure and proud of what it means to be a liberal, if you say, 'Yes, if being a liberal means Social Security like FDR, if being a liberal means civil rights like Lyndon Johnson, if being a liberal means Medicare, I'm for it'," Goodwin stated. "If he runs away from it, as Dukakis seemed to try to, then it's a problem. But if he doesn't, I think it's fine."
DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe appearing on "FOX News Sunday" said political labels are not important as he avoided directly answering a question posed by Fox's Chris Wallace three times about Kerry's liberal ranking.
"Well, this campaign is not going to be about different types of liberal, conservative -- I don't want this campaign to be fought about labels," McAuliffe said. "We can talk about John Kerry, and I'm proud to do it all day."
Those who characterize Kerry as a lifetime liberal point to other important votes on several key issues, including opposition to the death penalty, voting against banning partial-birth abortions, supporting cuts in and the elimination of military programs, supporting gun and ammunition taxes, supporting cuts to CIA funding while complaining about intelligence failures after September 11, and supporting furlough for first-degree murderers.
The ratings system used by the National Journal was created in 1981 by William Schneider, who now serves as a political analyst and commentator on CNN. He remains as a contributing editor to the National Journal and is involved in the calculation process. The annual survey uses data processing and statistical analysis provided by Information Technology Services of the Brookings Institution.
Other groups have also identified Kerry as a liberal U.S. Senator.
The American Conservative Union gave Kerry a 13 out of 100 rating as a conservative. His career ranking from the group is 5.
Finally, a liberal political group called The Americans for Democratic Action has given Kerry a 92 out of 100 liberal ranking. |
