The American Conservative Union (I am a Board member) issued their 2008 ratings of Congress just in time for the national Conservative Political Action Conference a couple weeks ago and the ratings make for some interesting understanding of the politics of our California delegation in Washington, D.C.
Of course, our two lady Senators from San Francisco were disasters. Of the 25 bills picked to indicate political leanings, which included votes on tax rebates, spending cuts, against earmarks, Iraq, global warming, missile defense, and the financial and auto industry bailout (I have attached the complete file), Feinstein and Boxer only voted right on one issue: they both opposed a liberal measure for an almost immediate Iraq troop withdrawal. That one vote earned them a "4" out of 100 on the conservative scale. Even Barack Obama got a more conservative "17" rating as a Senator, and he missed 12 of the 25 votes while campaigning for President!
Over in the House of Representatives, our leading Republican lights with perfect "100" scores were Congressmen Nunes, McCarthy, Royce, and Issa, and the four of these members only missed a combined total of one of the scorecard votes, which did not affect the score. Dana Rohrabacher was close by with a 96, as was Doolittle (now replaced by Tom McClintock who should improve even on that score) and Elton Gallegly was 92.
John Campbell’s score for 2008 was reduced a little from 92 in 2007 to 86 this year. He missed 4 key votes, including the auto bailout, where he was actually the only member of the House to vote "present" and therefore not take a position. David Dreier also scored 86. Jerry Lewis was a little less conservative than Campbell and Dreier, coming in at 84.
Brian Bilbray came in with a 92. Often thought of in the past as a liberal Republican, with an ACU lifetime score of just 78.22, a tip of the cap to you, Brian! Nice job! You get the "Most Improved" award!
Who is the most liberal Republican member of Congress from California? Don’t tell John and Ken that recalls don’t work against members of Congress, but the most liberal Republican for 2008 is……..Mary Bono Mack with a 74.
Most of the Democrats in the House from California were in the same ball park as our two Senators. The Most Conservative Democrat in California Award for 2008 was a tie between Pete Stark and Jerry McNerney with "13"s. (I know Stark is no conservative and had figured him for a 0.) Bob Filner in San Diego had a 12 and does throw conservatives a vote once in a long while.
See the attached file for all the details.